by OnYrMrk » Thu Jan 19, 2006 11:21 am
Raul, although I appreciate your comments, the bottom line on the worth of a set of speakers is what a consumer is willing to pay for them. I don't claim to be an authority on the build quality of speakers, or the whether they are the best in the land, all I can come up with is personal experience.
Your needs are going to be different to everyone else's needs. Does that make your needs better or more important. Only to you.
I sold McIntosh car audio for 3 years. Out of those three years, I would say I sold probably 4x as much Kicker, 2x as much Pioneer Premier and Canton than the McIntosh. But when a buyer comes in to buy the "Elite" of car audio, Kicker and Premier just won't suffice. And through those McIntosh consumers, I managed to sell over $200,000 worth in 3 years.
My clients included a doctor, a lawyer, a kid who just got an inheritance, a college student, a traveling business man and alot in between them, middle class and upper middle...It appeals to everyone.
To most, the best equipment we offered was the ONLY thing they wanted to look at. To the others, the reputation of the product was what they were after.
The only thing that truly makes a speaker worth the price of admission, is the reputation, warranty, and the desire the customer has for that product.
Examples of High End Components and Raw components:
Focal: Reputation alone could keep this company afloat. The fact that their line sounds good, is just a plus.
Seas Lotus: Reputation in the car audio forums is huge, they sound fantastic but not sure on the warranty
Morel: Reputation, Sound in car audio is huge
Dayton: Raw drivers used in home and mobile environments. People don't know of this outside the car/home market. Average consumer has no idea.
Vifa: Home Raw drivers, can be used in the mobile market. Low price, great sound.
Brax: Excellent reputation, excellent sound, excellent build quality...but low saturation in the field.
ScanSpeak: Argueably the best speaker maker out there. Incredible reputation in Home/Mobile markets, low saturation due to lack of dealers
there are more but you get the idea. I have never heard of the RS Audio brand before today, but evidently they have quite the following in the Euro market. ScanSpeak has a small but dedicated following here in the states and abroad, Morel as well, Seas Lotus too. I believe that the F#1 Status even uses the ScanSpeak tweeter and it cost $5000 for the set.
what am I getting at, I can only offer what my experience has produced. I see many installers on these forums who have no idea what is said in the front room during a sale. And others have both sales and install experience, like you seem to Raul.
I don't care about the particulars about what makes the speaker a speaker, I care about the sound that is produced by them. It has been noted by myself that I will not buy any speaker based on it's reputation, I will instead listen to it first and make my decision based on overall satisfaction from the music.
Raul, although I appreciate your comments, the bottom line on the worth of a set of speakers is what a consumer is willing to pay for them. I don't claim to be an authority on the build quality of speakers, or the whether they are the best in the land, all I can come up with is personal experience.
Your needs are going to be different to everyone else's needs. Does that make your needs better or more important. Only to you.
I sold McIntosh car audio for 3 years. Out of those three years, I would say I sold probably 4x as much Kicker, 2x as much Pioneer Premier and Canton than the McIntosh. But when a buyer comes in to buy the "Elite" of car audio, Kicker and Premier just won't suffice. And through those McIntosh consumers, I managed to sell over $200,000 worth in 3 years.
My clients included a doctor, a lawyer, a kid who just got an inheritance, a college student, a traveling business man and alot in between them, middle class and upper middle...It appeals to everyone.
To most, the best equipment we offered was the ONLY thing they wanted to look at. To the others, the reputation of the product was what they were after.
[b]The only thing that truly makes a speaker worth the price of admission, is the reputation, warranty, and the desire the customer has for that product.[/b]
Examples of High End Components and Raw components:
Focal: Reputation alone could keep this company afloat. The fact that their line sounds good, is just a plus.
Seas Lotus: Reputation in the car audio forums is huge, they sound fantastic but not sure on the warranty
Morel: Reputation, Sound in car audio is huge
Dayton: Raw drivers used in home and mobile environments. People don't know of this outside the car/home market. Average consumer has no idea.
Vifa: Home Raw drivers, can be used in the mobile market. Low price, great sound.
Brax: Excellent reputation, excellent sound, excellent build quality...but low saturation in the field.
ScanSpeak: Argueably the best speaker maker out there. Incredible reputation in Home/Mobile markets, low saturation due to lack of dealers
there are more but you get the idea. I have never heard of the RS Audio brand before today, but evidently they have quite the following in the Euro market. ScanSpeak has a small but dedicated following here in the states and abroad, Morel as well, Seas Lotus too. I believe that the F#1 Status even uses the ScanSpeak tweeter and it cost $5000 for the set.
what am I getting at, I can only offer what my experience has produced. I see many installers on these forums who have no idea what is said in the front room during a sale. And others have both sales and install experience, like you seem to Raul.
I don't care about the particulars about what makes the speaker a speaker, I care about the sound that is produced by them. It has been noted by myself that I will not buy any speaker based on it's reputation, I will instead listen to it first and make my decision based on overall satisfaction from the music.