What makes an expensive speaker expensive
Hehe, I just posted about this. Please see my blog entry on a Cynical View of Speaker Pricing as well as the Stereophile Reviews - The Data Doesn't Lie But to answer your question in two lines:
Let me know what you think. Be well, Erik |
I did a lot of research on this subject. The answer is, roughly, driver prices and gimmicks. For most high end speakers (and I use the term pejoratively) the final cost is between 20 and 30x the cost of the DRIVERS of one speaker. I know, you’d think it was something else, but it’s usually not. This formula explains about 85% to 95% of these speakers. In addition, to be rated highly at Stereophile at any price-point it usually must follow the "Stereophile Curve." For more details and some examples, please visit my blog on the subjects: http://speakermakersjourney.blogspot.com/2016/05/a-cynical-introduction-to-speaker.html http://speakermakersjourney.blogspot.com/2016/05/stereophile-reviews-data-doesnt-lie.html |
I roughly know the cost of the drivers of Vandersteen speakers and I can promise you that it's nowhere near 20X the cost of them. I totally agree on many other of the top manufacturer's. I've pointed that out about Wilson in earlier posts I'm sure. The other thing that no one thinks about is speaker matching. Many top line producers have to find drivers that match within certain specs and then they have all those other drivers that they need to make up the cost of. There are various ways to do so, however part of it is the cost of making speaker A. Ton's of reasons and many should cost what they do. Not saying the sound quality is worth it by any means. I haven't like most of the TOL speakers from so many makers. Some just sound bigger, but not better. There really is no blanket reason as each maker has their own reasons. I know many manufacturers and have for years and most don't really care about following anyone else's graphs. They just care to make music the way they feel is best for the majority of buyers out there. Not saying they don't do what they can to get a great review, but honestly, it's nearly impossible to get a poor one these days. |
There are exceptions to the rule. I'm just saying that in general, this is how they seem to line up, the blanket reason being business, marketing and making money. Not that I'm against any of that. I'm against low value, juiced speakers being touted as the best we can have. As I wrote, making your own drivers is often a way to reduce the costs, and going way past the 30:1 mark. The real loss in my mind is that the industry tries to promote the idea that only the richest can have good sounding music. This puts a huge barrier to music and culture for most consumers. The more of the middle class can afford great sounding speakers, the better off our society will be. :) I've seen this effect in person. Introduce a person with little musical education to great sounding speaker system and bam, they are suddenly interested in a lot more types of music than they were before. The entry level for this should not be $20,000. Best, Erik |
cstooner, you never answered my question about why Michael Fremer, one of the people most obsessed with sound quality in the world, has upgraded his speakers twice and stayed with Wilsons (Maxx2 to Maxx 3 to Alexandria XLF)? I'm sure he gets a great deal on them, but why would he keep upgrading up the Wilson line if the speakers aren't that good? I'm sure Vandersteen would give him a nice discount too. Here's a couple of things he had to say about the Wilsons and, by chance, the Vandersteen Sevens in his review of the Marten Coltrane 3s: "The Coltrane 3s also produced holographic, pinpoint images, both in front of and behind the baffles, as appropriate—but as I said of the original Coltranes, the sizes of these aural pictures were "more about bringing the event to you than about bringing you to the event." I wrote that last observation a few years before I heard the largest loudspeaker models from Wilson Audio Specialties in my room, after which that distinction became more obvious. As with the similarly sized (42.5" tall) Vandersteen Model Sevens, the overall width and height of the Martens' soundstages didn't compare with the Wilson Alexandria XLFs' widescreen, floor-to-ceiling presentation. "However, the driver outputs of the Wilson Alexandrias and, to a lesser extent, the Vandersteen Sevens are physically time-aligned by means of stepped enclosures. In my opinion, in terms of sound, this allows for instrumental layering and an apparent bafflelessness that no "slab" speaker can duplicate, regardless of degree of baffle rake or meticulousness of crossover design."
So, He prefers the Alexandria XLFs to the Vandersteen Sevens. Does Michael just like to throw money away or can't he hear very well or what? |
