Inverter high cost vs low cost performance difference

dingpud

I have used a multitude of inverters within the past couple of years. I've experienced the good and the bad. I've found that the higher dollar inverters seem to work better, but don't know why. I used a 2KW Samtec Pure Sine wave inverter to power a 1500 watt load without any issues. I tried a 3KW Xantrex inverter which was half the cost yet rated for an additional 1KW, and the inverter alarms and craps out after a couple of seconds.

Without dissecting my entire setup and giving pages of information on what I tested, specs, etc., what is it between the 2 different inverters that
1.) causes the price to be higher and
2.) actually allows the inverter to work the way it is suppose to?

I know that Xantrex makes an industrial line which I am sure compares in cost and performance to the Samlex, but what I want to know is if it's lower quality components, then which ones? Is it missing a certain circuit? Is it a protection thing?
Originally coming into this, I thought that the difference in price only effected the "noise" or type of wave being produced.

Any thoughts, or life experiences with this would be helpful. I don't want to take the inverter apart. I'm pretty much ready to just accept the fact that you just "Get what you pay for", but really am kind of irked by the "why".

Thanks,