Scanspeak is discontinuing a wonderful 10" woofer in the Revelator series - good bargain now. Recently assembled an isobaric sub configuration and powered it up with a Bryston 4B, and it sounds as fast as my ESL's.
The mistake armchair speaker snobs make too often
Recently read the comments, briefly, on the Stereophile review of a very interesting speaker. I say it’s interesting because the designers put together two brands I really like together: Mundorf and Scanspeak. I use the same brands in my living room and love the results.
Unfortunately, using off-the-shelf drivers, no matter how well performing, immediately gets arm chair speaker critics, who can’t actually build speakers themselves, and wouldn’t like it if they could, trying to evaluate the speaker based on parts.
First, these critics are 100% never actually going to make a pair of speakers. They only buy name brands. Next, they don’t get how expensive it is to run a retail business.
A speaker maker has to sell a pair of speakers for at least 10x what the drivers cost. I’m sorry but the math of getting a speaker out the door, and getting a retailer to make space for it, plus service overhead, yada yada, means you simply cannot sell a speaker for parts cost. Same for everything on earth.
The last mistake, and this is a doozy, is that the same critics who insist on only custom, in-house drivers, are paying for even cheaper drivers!
I hope you are all sitting down, but big speaker brand names who make their drivers 100% in house sell the speakers for 20x or more of the actual driver cost.
Why do these same speaker snobs keep their mouth shut about name brands but try to take apart small time, efficient builders? Because they can. The biggest advantage that in-house drivers gives you is that the riff raft ( this is a joke on an old A'gon post which misspelled riff raff) stays silent. If you are sitting there pricing speakers out on parts cost, shut up and build something, then go sell it.
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Well there’s the domestic tranquility factor to consider… 😉 It took a bit for the new missus to cotton to the 1+1s but she came around. I think? But the B&W Matrix 800s OTOH won’t be installed in this living room! Next house will have an audio only room. As for gear, I’m not that picky I suppose with regards to having a consistent appearance. It’s a very personal preference right? I’m not all that fond of the looks of the newer ARC front end stuff. Love the amps and the “ghost meters” though. Performance uber alles though! Happy listening. |
I am dumbfounded at the number of companies around the world trying to inject their footprint into high end audio market whether it is amps, DACs or speakers. You are right OP, a small highly specialized market. It appears to me the only way to break even is to see how high you can drive the price knowing there is a pool of audiophools out there. Especially cables, power cords, bi-amp all the other useless drivel. I am remined of the 'Corvette Theory" an economic professor mentioned when I was in university back in the 70s. It basically stated, "If it is that expensive, then it must be good" |
*L* Personally @dekay , calling an ottoman a 'pouf' certainly ups the snob appeal...I guess...😏 My cats couldn't tell the diff until they got hit with the spray bottle.... ...anyway...as one who takes drivers and mods them into Walsh drivers, one does learn the intricacies of accomplishing that....and trying to ensure that, after the item in hand has been baptised with various names and comments it actually performs as desired. Doing a recone with surround R&R isn't all that difficult... A major revamp? 😑 I do it because a pair of MBLs' requires a lottery win of some substance....not to { Lengthy Exposition Tyme } Spouse 'suggested' I go 'do something fun'...*!* "Why not go to this astronomical event, and watch the Perseid meteor shower where there's no city lights 'n all that...?" (Looked at the event listing....) "Because it's aimed at the 5-12s' we build stuff for, and allows the parents to drink beer, smoke 'alternatives', and park the kids elsewhere....But...." *PG pause* "....PE is having their DIY speaker comp and 'garage sale', which is more my sort of predilection...and I can see the Perseids by just getting out onto the Parkway...." Done deal/transmission had just been restored on the Focus/could use 800 mi. of 'break-in'...and I could see what it was all 'bout, Alfie.... Which was $70 on Phoenix plugs for my amp, some grille cloth remnant of a sort I don't have, an Xmas surprise for the spouse ('some assembly required')... ...and 4 - 8" 4 ohm woofers foam surrounded with a 'look-alike' cf cone, and a vented magnet structure nearly the diameter of the basket. Heavy little SOBs'...just the potential ticket for the distrib bass array I've in mind. Entrants primarily a whole rash of bookshelf sized pairs, some standouts... The Unlimiteds better as a whole; some nicely done woodwork to be appreciated. Overall: 5% best of show, 10% not so much....balance in the middle of the curve between....Imho....such as it is and was...*S* Basically...I spent the event as a spy of sorts....😏 ...and got an answer to my query: Can one enter more than one category with the same units? (There's 4...) "Yes, as long as the entry fits the description..." (*G* A few dipoles; a couple of omnis that didn't impress...) I can enter the Unlimited series; anything @ any $ amount. The Under $300, anything spent on drivers by anyone. Perhaps....The Over $300, similar to the <300 (IF I factor in my labor...*L*) The 'All Dayton Drivers'.....no. Got a year to get my act in gear....*S*
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Not to be argumentative, but probably more like 15x (as you note further down): manufacturers get a discount on the shelf price of drivers, and we have to factor in the cost of other materials, of prototypes, of XO components which when used once are often discarded later, and... in all of this, the designers & the builders have to actually survive until they start receiving money for the speakers they designed!
That is a logical inference except for the fact that large manufacturers, like Scan Seas, etc, benefit from economies of scale that smaller comapnies (like ATC) probably do not. (and I, too, am using ATC as an example; in real terms, I find their speakers are bvery good and reasonably priced for the sound they offer...)
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