Speaker manufacturers or box manufacturers with off the shelf drivers?


This is nothing new, it has existed for decades.  There are several good makers of speakers that make their own drivers and those that build boxes and put ScanSpeak or some other "purchased" drivers in their boxes.  

This is not ment to be demeaning or a put down, it is more of a question.  With so many speaker "builders" using off the shelf drivers...is this simply a "high-end" version of Radio Shack or are these legit high-end products? 

 I do not know if other manufactures sell their drive units to box manufacturers....


whatjd

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I Think it comes down to being a smart consumer an educated audio enthusiast and training your ear/brain. Speaker design is an art and a science and its up to you to decide if a speaker represents a good value for your budget and tastes.

Also don’t forget that driver designers are experts at what they do and make them often at an economy of scale that would be much more if they were bespoke for each speaker company.

To use a car analogy, a lotus Elise
I once rented had a Toyota engine and transmission. It was a fantastic exhilarating ride and if I didn’t live in a NYC I’d probably own one. Did the Commuter car components (though tweaked) take anything away from the car? No, in fact it made it affordable and reliable.