This post was necro'ed (brought back up to relevance) recently. Interesting read.
Behringer is definitely cloning. Everyone is entitled to their opinion about it. I like it. It's what people have been asking for but it's either ignored or the prices are extreme.
Surface mounted electronics have brought down the cost of electronics manufacturing. The levels of automation allow for smaller design and much better quality control. But the savings, generally, were not passed on to the consumer.
Behringer's costs of production and even R&D are the same as any other major music manufacturer or at least within their realm of possibility. Affordable, great sounding instruments seem to be Behringer's mantra... and they are going back and giving everyone a taste of the classics.
More over, the experience gained in redesigning what is starting to shape up as every major analog synth of the 1970's and 1980's gives their engineers an advantage when producing new instruments. They've had hands-on experience with anything that was popular.
I detest their marketing versus delivery. Only a handful of models have hit the market, yet they've been marketing and hyping a vast number of synths and instruments that have still yet to hit the market several months after their announcement and prototyping.
Sweetwater and other dealers had to wait and wait as the Neutron was pushed back and back. But the huge numbers of pre-orders seemed to make up for it. If your inventory is sold before it even arrives, you already have a successful product.