Obtaining drivers in the UK?

[sploo]

Does anyone know of good sources for drivers* in the UK?

Comparing the prices on numerous US based sites (madisound, partsexpress etc.) to the figures over here indicates to me that people are up to the old 'dollars to pounds' trick (i.e. 1USD=1GBP). With the current exchange rate, it means we're paying twice the price

Buying from the US isn't practical, due to the shipping costs (and import duty + VAT).

Are there any outlets in mainland Europe that charge more reasonable prices?

* I'm thinking of Scan-Speak, Seas, Peerless, Vifa

[daatkins]

My advice is don't discount the US vendors: I've ordered from Madisound several times and can highly recommend them, even more so with the current exchange rate. Just send them an email with the parts you want and they'll calculate a shipping quote with no obligation to buy.

To give you an idea of the costs, I ordered an NHT1259 (a12" sub with heavy cast frame) a few years ago and 3-day shipping by air was about $40 - probably similar to what Wilmslow would charge. Import duty on speakers is next to nothing (1% or 2%, from memory) and VAT is 17.5% on top of everything. The courier company (Madisound usually use FedEx, I think) add an additional handling charge of about £5 for doing all the paperwork.

I hope this helps.
David.

[FullThrottleRic]

I think for Scan Speak we're pretty much stuck with Wilmslow audio, they have a good range of stuff and good service but they're very expensive

For a bit of an outside shot you could try giving someone with a Tymphany account if they can get certain drivers for you. Both Mad About Sound and BK Electronics sell the Peerless XLS drivers, so they might be able to get the rest of the Tymphany range if you give them a call? Both are much cheaper than Wilmslow.

[5th element]

Originally posted by FullThrottleRic
I think for Scan Speak we're pretty much stuck with Wilmslow audio, they have a good range of stuff and good service but they're very expensive

Mad About Sound and BK Electronics sell the Peerless XLS drivers, so they might be able to get the rest of the Tymphany range if you give them a call? Both are much cheaper than Wilmslow.

Which amazes me, why can't Wilmslow sell cheaper? if other places can so easily, in the UK, then they can too... Some of their products are okay in price, but nothing special, whereas most are just ridiculous.

[FullThrottleRic]

Originally posted by 5th element


Which amazes me, why can't Wilmslow sell cheaper? if other places can so easily, in the UK, then they can too... Some of their products are okay in price, but nothing special, whereas most are just ridiculous.

Because they have the market to themself, they are the only game in town so they can charge whatever they feel like, if people want it they will buy it

I'm one of those suckers, I recently bought the drivers to build my Ekta derivative and got them from Wilmslow. I did get ripped off I'm aware of that but for the hassle if anything goes wrong I'd rather pay a bit more. As it happeed one of the 12m's had a misaligned voice coil which was rubbing, how much messing about whould I have had if it had to go back to the US?! By getting it from Wilmslow I had a replacement quickly and no faffing about, I fully expect someone like Madisound ect would have been just as helpful but it would have taken much longer to sort out.

[ssmith]

I'd agree with David -- just order from Madisound, and do it fast before they up their prices due to the exchange rate.

Otherwise, here is a Netherlands based company, which I've just before for smaller odds and ends. Maybe cheaper than Wilmslow.

www.bmm-electronics.com

Cheapest place in the world I've found for ScanSpeak is Nelson Audio, the official dealer for China/HongKong -- even a little cheaper than Madisound.

[waltona]

You could try http://www.audiocomponents.nl/ .

I have never used them myself but I have asked for a couple of quotes (Scanspeak 18W/8535) and they were considerably cheaper than Wilmslow (~£75 compared to £116 per driver). P&P was ~35 Euros for up to 30kg.

Rolph seemed very helpful and trustworthy. If I were in the market for new drivers I certainly would give Wilmslow my business (I hope they are reading this!).

Al

[larksp]

because they can.

i did buy from one of the US shops and was about $60 for the 2 jasper jigs no tax as it is under the price whats good and shipping was not to bad was from madisound
they was a bit slow at the time it took for communication. but shipping was quite quick and it worked out cheaper in the end than buying one of them in the uk and having it shipped BUT i got both of the types

bigger weight more it will cost and then import tax on more costly things
Wilmslow audio do seem helpful maybe bit over priced but have a fair amount of choice to other shops..

[ShinOBIWAN]

Originally posted by ssmith
Otherwise, here is a Netherlands based company, which I've just before for smaller odds and ends. Maybe cheaper than Wilmslow.

www.bmm-electronics.com

A word of warning about BMM, before ordering, please be sure to email them and make sure you get some kind of reply and in a timely manner. On both of the two occasions that I've bought from them(or tried to buy) I've had a disappointing experience. With the last one I had to file a paypal money claim after 1 month of unanswered emails and no-show of goods. The other was also related to time delay and broken promises but I did eventually receive the goods.

Not trying to bad mouth the company, I've read of people having no issues with BMM and I could have just been unlucky on both occasions but I've now made the decision to not deal with them in the future.

[ShinOBIWAN]

Originally posted by 5th element


Which amazes me, why can't Wilmslow sell cheaper? if other places can so easily, in the UK, then they can too... Some of their products are okay in price, but nothing special, whereas most are just ridiculous.

Wilmslow's pricing is on the high side and, like you say, daft for some of the stuff. Probably the worst is the Volt range.

I believe Puggie and Blackcatsound, who are both UK based members here, can get the Volt range at trade prices. I'm sure if you throw them a ten or twenty note they'd order for you and pass significant saving on to you.

Not sure about Scanspeak and Seas. Try looking around the EU because you'll avoid UK VAT and import duty plus shipping shouldn't be bad at all.