Why are replacement drivers so expensive?

[Loczki]

Ive got a pair of Tannoy F4s, and ran them too hard and long until at least two of the drivers are gone. I rang up Tannoy, and they said a Bass Driver would be 51.73 pounds and a tweeter would be 34.78, not including VAT.
Now, if I was to replace all 4 bass drivers and both tweeters, it would cost over 260 pounds, which got me wondering, wouldnt it be better to buy 2 pairs of Tannoy F1s - the baby brother to the F4 - at 80 pound each and replace the drivers for 160....
Does anyone know if there is a difference between the F1 and F4 drivers?

-Edit: The Bass drivers on the F1 are 5.00" not 6.5". In that case, does anyone know if there is any way to get replacement drivers other than direct through tannoy?

 

[Frank Harvey]

Whichever retailer you go through, they have to deal with tannoy directly anyway, so you'll be in the same boat. It depends whether the manufacturer sells them to you for the same as the retailer does, or whether they sell them to you for the same price as they sell them to the dealer. But then again, the F4 is a £440 speaker at rrp, so that sounds about right.