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What makes an expensive speaker expensive

When one plunks down $10,000 $50,000 and more for a speaker you’re paying for awesome sound, perhaps an elegant or outlandish style, some prestige ... but what makes the price what it is?

Are the materials in a $95,000 set of speakers really that expensive? Or are you paying a designer who has determined he can make more by selling a few at a really high price as compared to a lot at a low price?

And at what point do you stop using price as a gauge to the quality? Would you be surprised to see $30,000 speakers "outperform" $150,000 speakers?

Too much time on my hands today I guess.
128x128jimspov
tomcy6's avatar
tomcy6
2,598 posts
 

Cstooner, Wouldn’t some of the people who buy the big speakers also be the people who frequent the symphony and opera, maybe just to be seen there, but still there, listening? And wouldn’t these people at some point think to themselves, "My big speakers sound like crap, I’m going to trade them in on something else"?

Michael Fremer, who is probably one of the people most obsessed with sound quality in the world and who is very knowledgeable about it, owns some big Wilsons and even upgraded a few years back and stayed with Wilsons. His room, from what I read, is rather small and yet he gets sound that blows people’s socks off, again from what I read. What’s going on there? Could one element be that different people hear differently and therefore like different speakers?

I’m not saying that all expensive speakers are worth the money or that the more you spend the better the sound you get. In fact I’m sure you could spend $500,000 and end up with a system that sounds bad, but there must be something other than stupidity and deafness keeping the ultra high end speaker market alive..

martykl
3,578 posts
 
Tomcy6,

I can 100% guarantee that different people hear differently.  All you need to do is grab a few friends and run some pitch training software.  I've done it (part of a performance curriculum I took several years ago ) and you'll see fundamental differences in how different people perceive pitch and changes in pitch.

Different people also prioritize things differently, even if they're hearing the same thing.  Take two speakers that are similar, but not identical in mid-range accuracy.  The slightly more accurate speaker has less deep bass extension (or less clean max output or less high end extension, etc).  Two people that hear things identically may well have different preferences depending on what benefit they prioritize.

Unless you have a perfect speaker (and you don't) preferences will differ.
martykl
3,578 posts
 
Tomcy6,

I can 100% guarantee that different people hear differently.  All you need to do is grab a few friends and run some pitch training software.  I've done it (part of a performance curriculum I took several years ago ) and you'll see fundamental differences in how different people perceive pitch and changes in pitch.

Different people also prioritize things differently, even if they're hearing the same thing.  Take two speakers that are similar, but not identical in mid-range accuracy.  The slightly more accurate speaker has less deep bass extension (or less clean max output or less high end extension, etc).  Two people that hear things identically may well have different preferences depending on what benefit they prioritize.

Unless you have a perfect speaker (and you don't) preferences will differ.
bpoletti
1,554 posts
 
The speaker manufacturers build pricing model into their design.  They charge whatever the they can get [away with].
timlub
2,041 posts
 

So what makes an Expensive speaker Expensive?  Well, I'll chime in, but I'm sure that I won't solve a thing and will offend someone. Many of you know that I've built a lot of speakers and through the years, I've been inside of a lot of speakers.  Most of what I'll say is accurate, but a bit conjecture and some just opinion.

First, the first thing that makes a good speaker good is understanding the parts used, knowing what response curves sound like, how crossover frequencies change everything because 1 driver may sound better at a given frequency so the crossover point is changed to have one part handle the frequency... a few 2 ways come to mind where the tweeter sounded better at 2k than the woofer, so even though the woofer could go out farther, the designer still crossed lower to use the better sounding tweeter in the upper mid frequencies.

Next what crossover slopes sound like and how the frequency crossed at and the slope affect phasing and time alignment.

Next cabinet design in conjunction with the drivers to get the drivers with the flattest response and time alignment necessary and to hear the speakers rather than the box. 

So in short,  the design is first and for most, regardless of cost.

My initial reaction toward most speakers until I hear them is skepticism. I have opened so many very expensive speakers, scratched my head and wondered "how can someone in good consciousness charge this for such a speaker". 

I have also looked at speakers and have seen Diamond or Beryllium parts,  maybe aluminum or magnesium, individual drivers that are so very expensive that I new that most likely that I wouldn't have the opportunity to build with these parts myself and  then knowing how hard it is to take the peaks out of some of these very expensive parts and I hear them and hear music and accuracy....

My weakness is cabinetry.  I can make a cabinet that in the end will make a nice sounding speaker, but when I see some of the beauty and artistic work in some of these speakers,  I wonder just how much I would charge for a speaker made like that. 

Sometimes, you have a designer that is truly a master craftsman in his driver selection and crossover work that those speakers automatically take them to the next level in pricing,  then I see others that add the artwork in their cabinetry and I understand why they charge a premium. 

Now, all that said,  I truly believe that it is possible to design and deliver....lets say a $5,000 + speaker that can compete at a very high level and depending on the associated equipment could yes sound better than some multi-mega buck speakers. 

And my last comment would be,   $50,000 + speakers?  I'm not sure any speaker is worth that,  but I don't blame anyone for making a buck,  its the people that are willing to pay that keep those few in business.  Hey, they may be worth $50,000 or $150,000 to an individual and if they can afford it and aren't bankrupting their family to own them,  more power to you......... and enjoy. 

I hope this helps someone,  Tim

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