http://www.adireaudio.com/
looks like Adire is hanging it up. making a business out of DIY is a hard path. too bad, seemed like great guys.
looks like Adire is hanging it up. making a business out of DIY is a hard path. too bad, seemed like great guys.
Yeah, there's been a big thread about it right on the main page of carstereos.org / soundillusions.net for a while, although the site mysteriously seems to be down at the moment. Sounds like a bunch of people got screwed. They're all very angry at Dan Wiggins, and I can't really say I blame them. If Dan ever starts something else in the future and it becomes known, there's quite a large group of people willing to cause hell right now. It probably hasn't been the easiest thing for people who sold his products to deal with, either- ie: acoustic-visions, etc. On the other hand, I remember a time when I really admired some of Adire's products, and the customer service was fantastic. And I really enjoyed reading some of Dan's posts around the net. However, I think that all went completely south a long time ago. And, of course, a lot of people are kinda just left hanging. Oh well...
Adire & Dan Wiggins
I understand (through 2nd hand news, so take this with the appropriate grain of salt) that Adire tried to move production to Chile a few years ago. It was a huge fiasco, with production being over cost, late, and poor quality that was rejected.
This is unfortunately one of those business decisions, rather than going to China like everyone else, which backfired.
Personally I hate to see them go. They made some great products, and I still have and use their 10 subwoofer. But to blame Dan personally for this is not right. If he wanted to screw someone he would have accepted the bad product from Chile and sell it until the reputation prevented them from selling more. He chose the high road, which I personally appreciate.
If someone knows the inside information better than I, please speak up. But in the mean while I appreciate Dan's intellegent designs and look forward to being able to get them from someplace new.
I understand (through 2nd hand news, so take this with the appropriate grain of salt) that Adire tried to move production to Chile a few years ago. It was a huge fiasco, with production being over cost, late, and poor quality that was rejected.
This is unfortunately one of those business decisions, rather than going to China like everyone else, which backfired.
Personally I hate to see them go. They made some great products, and I still have and use their 10 subwoofer. But to blame Dan personally for this is not right. If he wanted to screw someone he would have accepted the bad product from Chile and sell it until the reputation prevented them from selling more. He chose the high road, which I personally appreciate.
If someone knows the inside information better than I, please speak up. But in the mean while I appreciate Dan's intellegent designs and look forward to being able to get them from someplace new.
69stingray said:
Adire as a manufacturer may be gone, but IINM XBL^2 was a technology licensed to a variety of OEM's, CSS among them.
I wouldn't be surprised if Bob has already secured arrangements for continued manufacture of CSS products, although some minor cosmetic differences or changes to model names might be anticipated.
Jon Ver Halen: Although my previous post probably didn't sound like it, I'm actually with you, and pretty much feel the same way (and I also own a 10" Brahma 
). Had I been one of the ones that was screwed, however, I'd probably be much more ignorant to the whole situation. I get screwed over A LOT. Yanno...one of those ones that always seem to have the very worst of luck. Oh well, anyways...
It's my understanding that the Extremis 6.8 will be no more, and that Exodus Audio (DIYCable.com) is making a replacement for their stuff, although it'll be much different from the Extremis. On the other hand, I'm not exactly sure what will happen with the FR125/WR125.
My guess is that the absence of Adire won't be THAT huge of a loss, as their many contributions to audio will continue to be replaced/replicated with similar models by other manufacturers as a result...
Adire has pretty much been out of it for quite a while now, and I was pretty certain I saw this coming a long time ago. During this time, however, a few other manufacturers of interest with great products have popped up... Mainly CSS, Ascendant Audio, Resonant Engineering or RE Audio, Mpyre, etc etc. It's clearly obvious that Adire's previous contributions to this market will continue to live on, regardless of whether or not they're actually in business producing their own products. After all, their primary focus was OEM.
). Had I been one of the ones that was screwed, however, I'd probably be much more ignorant to the whole situation. I get screwed over A LOT. Yanno...one of those ones that always seem to have the very worst of luck. Oh well, anyways...69stingray said:
It's my understanding that the Extremis 6.8 will be no more, and that Exodus Audio (DIYCable.com) is making a replacement for their stuff, although it'll be much different from the Extremis. On the other hand, I'm not exactly sure what will happen with the FR125/WR125.
My guess is that the absence of Adire won't be THAT huge of a loss, as their many contributions to audio will continue to be replaced/replicated with similar models by other manufacturers as a result...
Adire has pretty much been out of it for quite a while now, and I was pretty certain I saw this coming a long time ago. During this time, however, a few other manufacturers of interest with great products have popped up... Mainly CSS, Ascendant Audio, Resonant Engineering or RE Audio, Mpyre, etc etc. It's clearly obvious that Adire's previous contributions to this market will continue to live on, regardless of whether or not they're actually in business producing their own products. After all, their primary focus was OEM.
IMHO, the writing has been on the wall since Hemp Acoustics & Adire merged... from what little i heard the Chile fiasco really seemed to have sucked the life out of Adire. I think you will find that XBL2 will continue on, i don't know whether Dan & Dave or Hemp Acoustics gets the royalties. I have suspected since the merger that we will see XBL HA drivers.
We will likely see at least a couple "improved" Extremis show up, a lovely woofer.
The CSS WR & FR are in no danger, the RoHS compliant FRs (the FR125SR) is now here.
dave
We will likely see at least a couple "improved" Extremis show up, a lovely woofer.
The CSS WR & FR are in no danger, the RoHS compliant FRs (the FR125SR) is now here.
dave
Evenharmonics said:Sad news indeed.
I built my first DIY subwoofer with Adire's Shiva 5 years ago. What a deal it was. I still use it with pleasure. Oh well...
Very sad indeed.
I built a Shiva Sub (using Shiva #1) for a friend, after Brian Bishop drove over with the first driver they unpacked and measured. Something like 45 minutes from the arrival of the first pallet of drivers at Adire. It was a ported, downfiring oak cabinet with a marble top and used an Apex Jr. Sub Amp (it's still going strong!).
I had dinner with Dan and Kevin Haskins (Exodus Audio) earlier this evening and it was great going over old times. Dan's doing a lot of consulting work and generally staying busy. He admitted that the Chile deal had really hurt Adire, but the final straw was the Washington State Auditor's Office and their flagrant abuse of authority. This has been the topic of several local newspaper articles over the last few years and is one of the main reasons that Boeing Aircraft has been relocating many of their facilities in other, more business friendly, states for the last 10-20 years. It seems that Adire Audio is just the latest victim in the ongoing struggle between small business and the "Soviet of Washington."
Best Regards,
TerryO
Thanks Terry for sharing that. At last year's meet on Mercer Island, I got to meet Dan and actually overheard parts of a conversation he had with another attendee regarding Chile. The parts I heard had something to do with either an agent or employee who was hired to oversee the work in Chile. Apparently this person did a horrible job and was replaced or fired, but the damage had already been done. Dan seemed rather philisophical about the whole mess and seemed ready to move on. I'm sorry to hear this news.
On the tax thing, I can relate to that in a lot of ways. I, too, am a small-business owner who works out of my home in Washington State. One time, about 15 years ago, the City of Seattle tried to tax all the furniture in our home becasue our business was home based. There is some law in Seattle that taxes business personal property. I had to go downtown and talk to them, telling them that our desks were salvaged from the garbage (true!) and that everything else we owned had been given to us or scrounged for free or very little money. They finally figured out that we did not make enough money during the year in question and let us go, but it was a big hassle to get straightened out. Otherwise, I would have had to declare the value of every piece of furniture we had in our home and pay tax on it. The Soviet of Washington is alive and well. They have some of the most regressive B&O taxes in the nation. I even have to pay B&O tax on the money we pay our subcontractors, who then have to pay their own B&O tax on that money. It's crazy.
Doug
On the tax thing, I can relate to that in a lot of ways. I, too, am a small-business owner who works out of my home in Washington State. One time, about 15 years ago, the City of Seattle tried to tax all the furniture in our home becasue our business was home based. There is some law in Seattle that taxes business personal property. I had to go downtown and talk to them, telling them that our desks were salvaged from the garbage (true!) and that everything else we owned had been given to us or scrounged for free or very little money. They finally figured out that we did not make enough money during the year in question and let us go, but it was a big hassle to get straightened out. Otherwise, I would have had to declare the value of every piece of furniture we had in our home and pay tax on it. The Soviet of Washington is alive and well. They have some of the most regressive B&O taxes in the nation. I even have to pay B&O tax on the money we pay our subcontractors, who then have to pay their own B&O tax on that money. It's crazy.
Doug
hmmm - reminds one of the Lennon/Harrison lyric
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman
If you drive a car, I'll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.
Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.
could add "if you dream too well, I'll tax your sleep"
Let me tell you how it will be
There's one for you, nineteen for me
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Should five per cent appear too small
Be thankful I don't take it all
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah I'm the taxman
If you drive a car, I'll tax the street,
If you try to sit, I'll tax your seat.
If you get too cold I'll tax the heat,
If you take a walk, I'll tax your feet.
Don't ask me what I want it for
If you don't want to pay some more
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
Now my advice for those who die
Declare the pennies on your eyes
'Cause I'm the taxman, yeah, I'm the taxman
And you're working for no one but me.
could add "if you dream too well, I'll tax your sleep"
69stingray said:
It was my understanding that the FR125 and WR125 weren't built by Adire just that they were consulted on the design so it wouldn't make a lick of difference to CSS. Anyone have other information?
As far as the upset customers on carstereos.org I believe their complaints are with warranties. For instance, people who sent in their items to be fixed and never got them back. Nothing I can personally atest to and the carstereos.org site seems to be down so I can't link to it.
Hi all,
I'm only going to post once, and would ask the moderators to consider locking this thread so it doesn't turn in to a long, drawn out shoutfest that can often happen...
Shutting Adire came from a variety of issues:
1. A partner in the Chilean venture ran off with an extremely large sum of funds, leaving essentially zero. As I shut it down, I made sure that I personally covered all paychecks and expenses of all employees - the ethical lapse of my partner was not their fault and they did not bear any repercussions from it.
2. Having a key member of the creation of the Chilean venture (chief engineer of another company) quit right at the beginning, seriously impacting the start of operations.
3. Another partner who became seriously hands-off and essentially didn't want to work in the business, but still expected full compensation and benefits.
4. Two dealers who ordered and accepted very large shipments of product, only to promptly go out of business, and having another dealer still running an extremely large outstanding balance over the last few years.
5. A few users who destroyed their drivers (we're talking screwdrivers through surrounds, frames cracked from being dropped, voice coils turned to charcoal) and refused to pay for any repairs claiming it had to be from defective products, and loudly claiming such over the forums (for the record, we still have 7 drivers here waiting to be paid for repair work; that's it).
6. A dealer who, only after threat of legal action, finally admitted to lying and slandering us about product quality, deliveries, authorization and pricing. Just made things up to better his own position at the expense of ours.
7. A state and federal tax system that has gotten extremely onerous and difficult to work with (including having random EINs newly assigned every year, for 9 years running - imagine being told you now have 10 tax IDs and why haven't you paid on 9 of them you little tax cheat?).
Aside: Terry, Kevin and I spoke at length about this issue simply because it's what older men do - drink coffee and complain about the government. That and shake our fists and yell at the kids to get off our lawn.
But in reality this was one of the smaller - but more irritating - issues.
8. A realistic look at where the aftermarket car and home DIY markets are heading. It's not pretty.
9. A realistic look at where our income is really coming from; having clients and licensees from tiny operations like CSS to big guys like Microsoft (yes, both a licensee and client) really sets where to focus efforts.
Given the above, it was pretty much in the best interest of all involved just to terminate and go our seperate ways. XBL² is still covered via US Patent 7,039,213 and new licenses are being negotiated every week. Multiple new products are being designed, from drivers to electronics to systems for a wide variety of clients, worldwide.
Basically, I got tired of all the drama, and watching everyone wanting to jump on board when times were good and bail the second we hit a pothole, so I decided it was best to just shut down. So that's what happened.
If anyone has a product that's in for service and wants it fixed, the e-mail address is posted on the website. Most of these products have been finished for over a year, just waiting for the client to pay a reasonable fee ($99 - flat rate that has been for 3 years) for parts and labor.
Anyway, it was a good run, I met a lot of great folks - TerryO, against my better judgement, being one of them - and am happy in what I am now doing. You'll hear more of what I work on in many ways, just with me and my new team working in the background.
Dan Wiggins
I'm only going to post once, and would ask the moderators to consider locking this thread so it doesn't turn in to a long, drawn out shoutfest that can often happen...
Shutting Adire came from a variety of issues:
1. A partner in the Chilean venture ran off with an extremely large sum of funds, leaving essentially zero. As I shut it down, I made sure that I personally covered all paychecks and expenses of all employees - the ethical lapse of my partner was not their fault and they did not bear any repercussions from it.
2. Having a key member of the creation of the Chilean venture (chief engineer of another company) quit right at the beginning, seriously impacting the start of operations.
3. Another partner who became seriously hands-off and essentially didn't want to work in the business, but still expected full compensation and benefits.
4. Two dealers who ordered and accepted very large shipments of product, only to promptly go out of business, and having another dealer still running an extremely large outstanding balance over the last few years.
5. A few users who destroyed their drivers (we're talking screwdrivers through surrounds, frames cracked from being dropped, voice coils turned to charcoal) and refused to pay for any repairs claiming it had to be from defective products, and loudly claiming such over the forums (for the record, we still have 7 drivers here waiting to be paid for repair work; that's it).
6. A dealer who, only after threat of legal action, finally admitted to lying and slandering us about product quality, deliveries, authorization and pricing. Just made things up to better his own position at the expense of ours.
7. A state and federal tax system that has gotten extremely onerous and difficult to work with (including having random EINs newly assigned every year, for 9 years running - imagine being told you now have 10 tax IDs and why haven't you paid on 9 of them you little tax cheat?).
Aside: Terry, Kevin and I spoke at length about this issue simply because it's what older men do - drink coffee and complain about the government. That and shake our fists and yell at the kids to get off our lawn.
But in reality this was one of the smaller - but more irritating - issues.
8. A realistic look at where the aftermarket car and home DIY markets are heading. It's not pretty.
9. A realistic look at where our income is really coming from; having clients and licensees from tiny operations like CSS to big guys like Microsoft (yes, both a licensee and client) really sets where to focus efforts.
Given the above, it was pretty much in the best interest of all involved just to terminate and go our seperate ways. XBL² is still covered via US Patent 7,039,213 and new licenses are being negotiated every week. Multiple new products are being designed, from drivers to electronics to systems for a wide variety of clients, worldwide.
Basically, I got tired of all the drama, and watching everyone wanting to jump on board when times were good and bail the second we hit a pothole, so I decided it was best to just shut down. So that's what happened.
If anyone has a product that's in for service and wants it fixed, the e-mail address is posted on the website. Most of these products have been finished for over a year, just waiting for the client to pay a reasonable fee ($99 - flat rate that has been for 3 years) for parts and labor.
Anyway, it was a good run, I met a lot of great folks - TerryO, against my better judgement, being one of them - and am happy in what I am now doing. You'll hear more of what I work on in many ways, just with me and my new team working in the background.
Dan Wiggins
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