Hey, Thanks for the question - it's a really good one.
There are lots of reasons why this plug-in costs what it does.
Firstly, it's actually at least three processors in one. It's a mastering grade compressor, limiter, AND de-esser. To get the same functionality from other plug-in manufacturers you'd need to spend at least as much on several different plug-ins. And that's without even talking about the quality.
There's a reason every serious mastering studio has a DS1-MK3, despite its impressive price, and that's because it's the best-sounding and most versatile mastering dynamics processor there is. Secondly, it's code-ported from a digital hardware unit which costs almost $10,000. It's not just an approximation or a model, but the exact same code. So it sounds not just similar but the same. People are very welcome to buy the hardware, but this plug-in represents a huge saving, especially with the added flexibility it offers.
Add to that the fact that as an officially licensed and branded partner product, the original maker of the unit, Weiss, has some say in the pricing, and is due a royalty on every sale. But we're not just charging that much 'because we can'. More than three years of work has gone into making these plug-ins a reality, from our research and development team, our DSP engineers and developers, through to our sales and marketing department.
And now our customer service and support people will be working tirelessly over the coming months and years to make sure everyone who buys these products can use them in the way they want, and that they have the user experience they deserve and expect when they buy a Softube product. Making these plug-ins and then making it possible for people to own and use them is not free, by a long way.
Furthermore (and this is the sweet dessert at the end of this hearty meal) when you buy the DS1-MK3 plug-in the MM-1 Mastering Maximizer is included in the price, giving you quick and easy access to the very best-sounding mastering processing available.
Seriously, I appreciate the question. I hope this goes some way to answering it.