I suspect that the manufacturer is in an enviable position from one point of view but a sell out from another. They are probably quite passionate about what they do but they have to give their clients what they want - they sell them Kudos - it just happens that the kudos can be used to listen to music and might come in handy if ever they need to weld a 40" diameter pipeline together one day. But hey, some people have the money and sums such as these are a relatively small investment from their point of view.