[Boon[_2_]]

On Apr 23, 6:21*am, John Stone wrote:
On 4/22/10 4:52 PM, in article
, "Boon"





wrote:

Low volume usually means a onesy twoesy man shop with no ISO-9000, no
product liability (not a big factor with speakers usually, though ones
with active power supplies could catch fire and of course Maggies
could fall over and hit someone if they fell apart), engineering costs
a one time consulting fee (i.e. they paid $500 for a Dick Pierce or
Joe d'Appolito half day consultation), etc. They are probably
manufacturing out of a back lot space in a "business incubator" or in
a defunct strip mall- or a suburban garage.

Anyway, $200 in parts plus a cab means if you are paying two thousand
plus you are getting screwed. In my opinion.

One of the marketing formulas in audio is "times ten." Parts are
usually around 10% of the MSRP. That certainly doesn't mean your
margins are 90%, or even 50%. R&D, labor, advertising, shipping and
other fixed costs take a big chunk out of the pie.

Have you ever run your own business? Generally, businesses need to
make a profit, you know.

On 4/22/10 4:52 PM, in article
, "Boon"





wrote:
On Apr 22, 4:01 pm, Bret L wrote:
Low volume usually means a onesy twoesy man shop with no ISO-9000, no
product liability (not a big factor with speakers usually, though ones
with active power supplies could catch fire and of course Maggies
could fall over and hit someone if they fell apart), engineering costs
a one time consulting fee (i.e. they paid $500 for a Dick Pierce or
Joe d'Appolito half day consultation), etc. They are probably
manufacturing out of a back lot space in a "business incubator" or in
a defunct strip mall- or a suburban garage.

Anyway, $200 in parts plus a cab means if you are paying two thousand
plus you are getting screwed. In my opinion.

One of the marketing formulas in audio is "times ten." Parts are
usually around 10% of the MSRP. That certainly doesn't mean your
margins are 90%, or even 50%. R&D, labor, advertising, shipping and
other fixed costs take a big chunk out of the pie.

Have you ever run your own business? Generally, businesses need to
make a profit, you know.

Obviously he doesn't have a clue. He thinks Dick Pierce or Joe d'Appolito
will do crossover consulting work for $500. You can multiply that figure by
8-10X. He also leaves out the costs of crossovers, input terminals, wire,
fasteners, variovents, damping material, grille, documentation. Then there's
the little matter of shipping cartons and packing material. And never mind
the labor involved in assembly and testing. Given the cabinet design,
overall BOM costs on these has to be over $600, so I don't see these as
overpriced in the context of BOM cost to MSRP ratio. The simple question-to
be answered by the customer- is whether or not the design choices are
desirable at that price.

When I worked for TONEAudio, I learned just how much packing materials
really cost. Even the simplest cardboard boxes and styrofoam inserts
for a pair of floorstanding speakers could cost $100 to $200. I'm
amazed at companies such as Aperion Audio who offer affordable gear
and free shipping while still double-boxing each speaker and placing
it in its own purple velvet bag. Get a big high-end speaker that's
over 150 pounds, then you're talking professional packing crates and
shipping that cost the better part of a grand.

You even have to hire a guy called a packaging engineer to design the
right shipping materials for your product. That's a handsome chunk of
change as well. We dealt with one guy who manufactured a four-tower
machined aluminum speaker system for $110,000. He actually delivered
the system himself anywhere in the US...he said it was cheaper that
way.

Bratzi also seems to be stuck on the cost of the drivers, when any
speaker designer will tell you that the cabinet is the most expensive
part of a speaker. If you're going to charge a lot for a speaker, it
had better look gorgeous, and that takes the skills of a master
carpenter. Those guys aren't working for minimum wage, either.