The mistake armchair speaker snobs make too often
Recently read the comments, briefly, on the Stereophile review of a very interesting speaker. I say it’s interesting because the designers put together two brands I really like together: Mundorf and Scanspeak. I use the same brands in my living room and love the results.
Unfortunately, using off-the-shelf drivers, no matter how well performing, immediately gets arm chair speaker critics, who can’t actually build speakers themselves, and wouldn’t like it if they could, trying to evaluate the speaker based on parts.
First, these critics are 100% never actually going to make a pair of speakers. They only buy name brands. Next, they don’t get how expensive it is to run a retail business.
A speaker maker has to sell a pair of speakers for at least 10x what the drivers cost. I’m sorry but the math of getting a speaker out the door, and getting a retailer to make space for it, plus service overhead, yada yada, means you simply cannot sell a speaker for parts cost. Same for everything on earth.
The last mistake, and this is a doozy, is that the same critics who insist on only custom, in-house drivers, are paying for even cheaper drivers!
I hope you are all sitting down, but big speaker brand names who make their drivers 100% in house sell the speakers for 20x or more of the actual driver cost.
Why do these same speaker snobs keep their mouth shut about name brands but try to take apart small time, efficient builders? Because they can. The biggest advantage that in-house drivers gives you is that the riff raft ( this is a joke on an old A'gon post which misspelled riff raff) stays silent. If you are sitting there pricing speakers out on parts cost, shut up and build something, then go sell it.
@fleschler Wrote:
JBL does with the 1501AL-2 ALNICO woofer, 3-layer pure pulp sandwich cone with foam Injection core. See Everest DD6700 speakers below: Mike |
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@ditusa Thank you. So it is rather rare to build foam core drivers then. That was my point rather than no one else does it. Maybe no one does it the same either as Zellaton uses Dr. Podszus method. As to why most speaker manufacturers use "off the shelf" drivers is because it is more cost effective and easier. Some of these drivers are relatively expensive so they aren't "a dime a dozen." The very popular Accuton ceramic drivers range from about $500 to $2000 each. I don't think that's cheap. Imagine a floorstander with 3 2 $2000 Accuton woofers, a $500 Accuton mid and another $500 Accuton tweeter. That's $5000 just for the raw drivers. That speaker would retail for $50,000 with the manufacturer getting maybe $30,000. After their costs, maybe $10,000 in profit. |
As to why most speaker manufacturers use "off the shelf" drivers is because it is more cost effective and easier. Easier? Yes. Cost effective? No, companies that make their own drivers don't do it to compress their margins, they do it to increase their margins: https://www.paradigm.com/en/technology-design/factory-tour
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@kota1 I disagree. As to obtaining the true stereophonic sound of a recording based on a stereophonic mastered recording, only two speakers are required and only two speakers are generally used in mastering. The quality of the speakers, associated equipment and room determine how accurate the stereo image is reproduced. I have heard fantastic audio systems that present a "live-like" image of the performers. Why would I want or need more by installing a center speaker? I don't. As to dispersion, that is one of the three reasons I want a high end speaker which disappears, retaining imaging and resolution in a wide seating pattern. You should hear Audio Physics Virgo or any of Von Schweikert Ultra speakers in good setups. I've heard them and there is no need for a central channel speaker. Now, when you talk about Duntechs, Dunlevys and my Focus, they are big box, one person listening speakers. A 3rd center channel Focus would be great. My Legacy Signature IIIs with their rear tweeter provides a superior open sound and dispersion where everyone in the room enjoys great sound. Actually, my friend's high end mini-monitor speakers have fantastic center fill and great imaging/dispersion. I'm not stuck on thrills but on the reproduction of the recorded event. |
