In a UK national newspaper today, about 80 USD, emphasis on the XS of XS8303
http://technology.guardian.co.uk/wee...091219,00.html
Is £40 the right amount to pay for a loudspeaker screw?

Charles Arthur
Thursday May 31, 2007
The Guardian
http://image.guardian.co.uk/sys-imag...niture/2007/05
/30/sony_screw.jpg
The world's most expensive screw?


Strictly speaking, it should be ?61.31 (£41.51), which will buy you one -
count it, one - screw that will hold your valuable Sony XS8303 loudspeaker
together. Actually, you'll need four of them, as the picture clearly shows.

So, will you be paying by cash or credit card, sir or madam? Do you carry
that much cash around with you?

The discovery of this pricey fixing, verifiable through Sony's parts
database, unveils the strange world of spare parts, where things that you
would expect to cost about £1 for a dozen instead cost a dozen pounds each.

What on earth could it be made of? "The crushed souls of Sony gamers,"
suggested one wag on the quartertothree.com forums. "Plutonium," ventured
another. "Unobtanium," said yet another.

We did call Sony to find out the secret of fixings that cost as much as a
meal in a London restaurant (including wine). Alas, its people were in
Unobtanium too.

Still, if you feel excited about that screw, and you've got an XS8303 (or
perhaps two - speakers often come in pairs), then you can get your very own
manual for them online. Just drop by Manuals Paradise and you can download
the PDF - for just $19.50 (£9.80).

Those screws are looking a bit cheaper already, aren't they?

--
Diverse Devices, Southampton, England
electronic hints and repair briefs , schematics/manuals list on
http://home.graffiti.net/diverse:graffiti.net/