InclinedPlane said:
1st the modifications are far from slight. IMHO, at $225/pr they offer better value than a stock pair at $95. The time i put into a driver is probably 4 or more times what it takes to manufacture.
No royalties or permission required. All Fostex waranties are void as soon as i touch brush to them (hence the 100 plus hour break-in before anything gets done). The ditributor i get them from is pleased that i am consuming drivers ever more rapidly & my drivers do nothing but enhance the Fostex brand-name. I'm not doing anything secret (i will walk anyone thru taking their Fostex drivers up a couple levels -- what i can't do is pass on what only practise will get you)
Modifying someone else's basic product is a time-honoured practice... consider for instance all the small manufacturer CD players that start out as a Philips or a Marantz or a Pioneer or whatever, or cars of any ilk for that matter.
Having the help or cooperation of the manufacturer is a bonus, i hope at some time Fostex does notice what i'm doing... or that eventually i can afford to buy drivers directly from them with a few factory improvements.
dave
Dave beat me to it. But rest assured, it's perfectly acceptable & legal.
The base drive-units are purchased legally (they don't just arrive at Dave's free of charge
); and after that, you can do what you like with them -you don't need a license or royalty agreement when you sell a car, right? Same thing here.
In re the renaming, the modifications are so extensive from the base driver ('slight' is something of an understatement) that it can't really be called the same unit. Same thing applies to the Decware modifications to stock Fostex drivers, which are also re-named to account for the changes.
It does the market good in the long run, enhancing the Fostex name when they see how much performance can be extracted from the drivers, increasing sales etc. And reputable people like Dave & Steve (of Decware) always make clear what the base-unit is / are.
It's actually quite common / normal practice in the general business world -outside audio, there are some quite interesting examples. A couple immediately spring to mind from the automotive field. Bimota make some of the most exclusive sports bikes in the world, but everyone knows the engine, gearbox etc., are Suzuki & Ducati units. That's what they do -take great drivetrains & use in their own frame. And I want one. Lister were famous to those in the know the world over for many years, for their stunning re-engineering of stock Jaguar's (7 litre V12 XJ6 anyone? I want one of those too. ) Again, they were always re-badged as Lister's, not Jaguars. And so on.
Hope that helps a bit
Scott
The base drive-units are purchased legally (they don't just arrive at Dave's free of charge
); and after that, you can do what you like with them -you don't need a license or royalty agreement when you sell a car, right? Same thing here. In re the renaming, the modifications are so extensive from the base driver ('slight' is something of an understatement) that it can't really be called the same unit. Same thing applies to the Decware modifications to stock Fostex drivers, which are also re-named to account for the changes.
It does the market good in the long run, enhancing the Fostex name when they see how much performance can be extracted from the drivers, increasing sales etc. And reputable people like Dave & Steve (of Decware) always make clear what the base-unit is / are.
It's actually quite common / normal practice in the general business world -outside audio, there are some quite interesting examples. A couple immediately spring to mind from the automotive field. Bimota make some of the most exclusive sports bikes in the world, but everyone knows the engine, gearbox etc., are Suzuki & Ducati units. That's what they do -take great drivetrains & use in their own frame. And I want one.
Lister were famous to those in the know the world over for many years, for their stunning re-engineering of stock Jaguar's (7 litre V12 XJ6 anyone? I want one of those too. ) Again, they were always re-badged as Lister's, not Jaguars. And so on. Hope that helps a bit
Scott
InclinedPlane,
Prepare your cloud walker shoes.
I know of one person in the NE, but down in Maryland, with a set of EnABL'd drivers. Rather than drive, why don't you treat your own? Surely there are a pair of cheap car audio or computer audio speakers, or perhaps a boom box. just laying around near you? A few bucks, a few days and you will have your answer. You do not have to limit yourself to paper cone FR either. ALL drivers respond in the exact same fashion, even those metal ones that are supposed to not have transverse wave issues and are only supposed to respond as perfect pistons.
Or you could beard P 10 in his den and buy a pair of quasi legal speakers, now called something else and with magic marker over all corporate property statements.
Just sitting in open air, without any baffles, they will be quite a bit more than surprising. In a Fonken cabinet, quite delicious.
Really, most everyone is being pretty circumspect in what they say, mostly because this is uncharted territory and the words that would apply, have been sucked dry of their value by those who wanted what EnABL brings, but weren't able to obtain what the words used to mean.
Anyway, you won't be contacted for fee's by anyone other than P 10 or your local craft and hobby stores.
Bud
Prepare your cloud walker shoes.
I know of one person in the NE, but down in Maryland, with a set of EnABL'd drivers. Rather than drive, why don't you treat your own? Surely there are a pair of cheap car audio or computer audio speakers, or perhaps a boom box. just laying around near you? A few bucks, a few days and you will have your answer. You do not have to limit yourself to paper cone FR either. ALL drivers respond in the exact same fashion, even those metal ones that are supposed to not have transverse wave issues and are only supposed to respond as perfect pistons.
Or you could beard P 10 in his den and buy a pair of quasi legal speakers, now called something else and with magic marker over all corporate property statements.
Just sitting in open air, without any baffles, they will be quite a bit more than surprising. In a Fonken cabinet, quite delicious.
Really, most everyone is being pretty circumspect in what they say, mostly because this is uncharted territory and the words that would apply, have been sucked dry of their value by those who wanted what EnABL brings, but weren't able to obtain what the words used to mean.
Anyway, you won't be contacted for fee's by anyone other than P 10 or your local craft and hobby stores.
Bud
Sorry for going back more than a couple of posts.
The only way to publish the drivers that IMO would be illegal would be to sell the modified ones as if they were factory new and unmodified units, or to say you get them already custom built and modified for you by Fostex. That way Fostex would be held responsible for things done by unauthorized third parties.
Just putting a reference that the drivers are not as originally sold by Fostex is enough... And P10 does more than that in his site.
my 0.02 cents
Gastón
The only way to publish the drivers that IMO would be illegal would be to sell the modified ones as if they were factory new and unmodified units, or to say you get them already custom built and modified for you by Fostex. That way Fostex would be held responsible for things done by unauthorized third parties.
Just putting a reference that the drivers are not as originally sold by Fostex is enough... And P10 does more than that in his site.
my 0.02 cents
Gastón
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