All I have to say is that these are the finest speakers available in this size range for anything close to $10k. Good luck finding something for $30k that sounds as good. They play with delicacy, but can go deep and play loud - an extremely engaging sound, but one which has not once fatigued my ears (a huge problem for me with Focals and Wilsons I have owned). All of this AND a pretty small cabinet with a cool design with a high WAF.
Jonathan (owner of OMA and Fleetwood) is a true genius who makes things that are just better than the rest of the industry. The solid construction is so much nicer than the veneered particleboard bullshit you get elsewhere and the drivers are professional transducers rather than some $30 crap made in China. These will list your lifetime and probably your grandchildren’s lifetime.
Are these expensive? Yes. Have I owned much much more expensive speakers that sound hilariously worse? Yes. The value proposition on these is through the roof. Are they really expensive when you consider how much a single solid wood shelf or chest costs? Honestly it’s not crazy - it’s underpriced in terms of both build cost and performance - just the parts and materials in these things are literally several thousand bucks. Then you have a ton of handmade USA labor (I figure 30-50 hours), packaging, and development costs (which have to be recouped over a relatively small run). I think the $9,600 black model I have is almost a loss leader - of course he is making a bit of margin, but it is waaaay less than the margin of a typical high end distributor and dealer (80%). Consider that most $10k speakers literally cost about $1-2k to make...
Anyway - rant over - but you should call Jonathan at OMA or Mark at Northern Audio and get yourself a pair. You will not be sorry.
Jonathan (owner of OMA and Fleetwood) is a true genius who makes things that are just better than the rest of the industry. The solid construction is so much nicer than the veneered particleboard bullshit you get elsewhere and the drivers are professional transducers rather than some $30 crap made in China. These will list your lifetime and probably your grandchildren’s lifetime.
Are these expensive? Yes. Have I owned much much more expensive speakers that sound hilariously worse? Yes. The value proposition on these is through the roof. Are they really expensive when you consider how much a single solid wood shelf or chest costs? Honestly it’s not crazy - it’s underpriced in terms of both build cost and performance - just the parts and materials in these things are literally several thousand bucks. Then you have a ton of handmade USA labor (I figure 30-50 hours), packaging, and development costs (which have to be recouped over a relatively small run). I think the $9,600 black model I have is almost a loss leader - of course he is making a bit of margin, but it is waaaay less than the margin of a typical high end distributor and dealer (80%). Consider that most $10k speakers literally cost about $1-2k to make...
Anyway - rant over - but you should call Jonathan at OMA or Mark at Northern Audio and get yourself a pair. You will not be sorry.