But if one uses the 5-20 times cost ratio we find in any product sold thru retail — enuff so that the manufacture, distributor & dealer can make some money and cover the cost of packing boxes, accounting, shipping, insurance and all the other stuff — then £5k is probably a reasonable number.
Gives you a much better idea of how much value there is in diy. And a bette ridea of how cheap those parts are in that $1000 3-way tower.
dave
@Dave: Exactly. I've never had a set of cabinets made from solid wood (and remain unconvinced that is the best material) but I would expect little change from £500 to get that done as a single pair. MDF a lot less of course. Even less if I can supply cad files...
And people complain when I charge 4 grand for a 240 W per channel power amp or £1700 for a pre - both with full 5 year warranty.
That said, I went to see a dealer about a year ago in Surrey here in the UK. Set everything up, played some music. They said they liked it, but after about an hour asked if had anything more expensive. 😀. The place was full of 20 and 30 grand speakers (Magico’s etc), VTL amps and stuff I’d never heard of at 20 grand a pop.
I struggle to understand audio pricing or why people pay what they pay.
Seems the other issue is audiophiles with money want physically BIG stuff. Almost all of them are the size of large microwave ovens (and they take their styling from the same household appliance IMV). One of the first questions I normally get is ‘oh, so that must be class D?’
No. It’s just not full of fresh air.
No. It’s just not full of fresh air.
I think it's less important that it's big, but it is more important that it is imposing (as in visibly present in the room) and pricey, if it is custom to allow for some unimportant details all the better.
Bonsai, you can just guild a plaque to put on the front by yourself to make it truly unique, get some calligrapher to do a logo by hand over it.
Start a new SN series starting with A+++01 and do not under any circumstances make more than 42 units. Triple the price.
For me it looks veneered. Could also be solid oak veneered.
Edit: "Because our enclosure casings are made with a minimum thickness of 30mm for ....... without any kind of veneer, there is absolutely no reason why the natural finished cabinets will not remain in perfect condition forever, as long as they are looked after properly and kept in the right conditions."
It has varnish/stain finish.
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I have a friend who decided he could get a 150k Ferrari, drive it for 2 years and then sell it making money because some want instant gratification no matter what the price.
You need to think big.
Jan
There's more to it.
Some people in "the business" have told me that there is a customer perception amongst the target market that more expensive equals better. They all cited examples they knew of personally where introducing a product at too low a selling price killed the market. Rebooting a Mark II edition selling for more money expanded sales. Or, maybe, just repackage the same product into a more appealing package and raise the price at the same time.
In many ways, a lot of these companies have two layers of customers. They also have to sell to the dealers they have. Dealers aren't always concerned about performance first and foremost.
It's a complicated problem. I don't necessarily like it, but I guess that's what is needed to run a profitable business.
When I was a mere lad, I used to read the thick as a phone book - also an anachronism - UK audio magazines. The advertisements were truly amazing. It seemed that there was generally three tiers of audio gear dealers. (This is only my perception from across the Atlantic...)
One gave you great customer service, up to and including possibly bringing the gear to your house, installing it, and showing you what the controls were. They also had their own above and beyond the manufacturer warranty policies. For this, you paid list price.
The second had nice folks at the store willing to show you the gear. They might help you carry your purchase to your car. The warranty was the standard factory offering. They'd also offer a modest discount.
The third group had the biggest discounts, by far. They also offered the lowest level of customer service. The warranty was 30/30 - 30 feet out the door or 30 seconds, whichever came first.
That clearly showed the cost of customer service at a dealer. But, I guess you at least had a choice.
Some people in "the business" have told me that there is a customer perception amongst the target market that more expensive equals better. They all cited examples they knew of personally where introducing a product at too low a selling price killed the market. Rebooting a Mark II edition selling for more money expanded sales. Or, maybe, just repackage the same product into a more appealing package and raise the price at the same time.
In many ways, a lot of these companies have two layers of customers. They also have to sell to the dealers they have. Dealers aren't always concerned about performance first and foremost.
It's a complicated problem. I don't necessarily like it, but I guess that's what is needed to run a profitable business.
When I was a mere lad, I used to read the thick as a phone book - also an anachronism - UK audio magazines. The advertisements were truly amazing. It seemed that there was generally three tiers of audio gear dealers. (This is only my perception from across the Atlantic...)
One gave you great customer service, up to and including possibly bringing the gear to your house, installing it, and showing you what the controls were. They also had their own above and beyond the manufacturer warranty policies. For this, you paid list price.
The second had nice folks at the store willing to show you the gear. They might help you carry your purchase to your car. The warranty was the standard factory offering. They'd also offer a modest discount.
The third group had the biggest discounts, by far. They also offered the lowest level of customer service. The warranty was 30/30 - 30 feet out the door or 30 seconds, whichever came first.
That clearly showed the cost of customer service at a dealer. But, I guess you at least had a choice.
Soiid wood can make for a speaker that is a literal art-piece, and it can sound good. It has to be well built by someone who knows what they are doing and even then. And each wood species has its own pluses and minus.
MDF is a crappy speaker building material.
I have tons of CAD files (which i cannot currently access
).dave
It's a good material once you put it into a context, especially in DIY situation. It's relatively cheap, readily available, easy to work with and has good material consistency. Unless you believe granite stone panels are just as cheap, readily available and easy to work with, MDF is it.
Its only advantage is its cheapness. So we see it far too often. It is an accounting solution not an engineering choice.
dave
dave
In reality where accounting exists as part of life, what's your list of speaker cabinet material that's better than MDF?