To be fair to him, the bikes he is hoping this will stand comparison with on performance are at the top end of the carbon framed full suspension world, and compared to those very expensive bikes this bike is good value.
Soundwave took another route to get good value by buying a top end e mountain bike second hand from someone who had bought one and then sold it quickly, taking a hit on what he had paid new.
When I bought my crank drive Yamaha Haibike new in 2015 it was the first year that Haibike had offered bikes with the Yamaha motor system and at £1,750, seemed good value to me, as at that price it was only a few hundred pounds more than a ready built hard tail mountain bike with Chinese motor system.
Back when I bought my bike in 2015, the next cheapest Haibike hard tail mountain bike had a Bosch system and was a wopping £500 more.
I specifically wanted a crank drive for off road use. Components make a huge difference to price. When I bought my entry level bike there were other Haibikes that used exactly the same Yamaha motor system that cost close to £10,000.
I agree with him about the drive train. Crank drive bikes wear out drive trains and they are all now pretty good and my humble 9 speed system has a good gear spread and costs a fraction of the cost of the top of the range.
I bought three cassettes last Christmas off amazon of all places that cost £12.95 each delivered. You really cannot complain at that price.