For the price I am underwhelmed.
The paint apps are sloppy, the plastic is only decent in quality, the transformation could do with some refinement and the size is not good enough for the price. Compared to overseas prices for Soundwave and the cassettes he is well priced, he just isn't really worth the price for what you get.
The stupidly oversized box does not help things either.
If he were around $100 with the cassettes, I could forgive all the cut corners and lack of finish, but he certainly isn't a $50 better toy than Acidstorm or even something like Cybertron Primus.