Proof you don't have to go broke to get great sound

[Kyle Richardson]

Check out my thread at Jim Fosgates HT
and pay attention to how much Jim Fosgate has invested into each of his speakers. It will blow your mind that he has less than $150 into each speaker array.

The key, and much more additional cost, is in the design of the room.

[ThomasW]

The fact that his system is TRI-AMPED with active external crossovers, does somewhat nullify the "these are cheap speakers" aspect of the equation. You'll need to add about $1500+/stereo pair at retail (if the XO's are tube based), to compensate for this




theAudioWorx
Klone-Audio

[Kyle Richardson]

True enough Thomas.

What I was trying to point out was that the drivers themselves were not expensive at all. The 10" drivers, midranges and tweeter were all around $20 each piece instead of ~$100-~$300 each like many think you need to spend to get good sound.
Now don't get me wrong, the more expensive components do generally sound better than the $20 items, but if integrated well with good amps and crossovers the inexpensive stuff can sound quite amazing. Of course having a dedicated room designed from the ground up doesnt hurt either

[ThomasW]

Kyle

Just sort of an FIY, the retail cost of some speakers, is the mfgr's cost multiplied times NINE! :E

Also it would certainly be interesting to hear his system/room with some high-end drivers installed




theAudioWorx
Klone-Audio

[Patrick Sun]

Kyle, it's rarely the cost of the driver components in spekers that drives up their costs, it's the R&D that went into designing and modelling and creating crossovers and the enclosures that will use the drivers to their best use, plus MARKETING budgets must be paid to get the word out for their speaker products (and then the wholesalers need to get their cut, and finally the retailer need to make their profit too).

I also know the components are cheap, but putting them all together and getting a great sound speaker is what will cost you: either in research time and/or production time.

And then as Thomas pointed out, the electronics to drive the speakers are yet another barrel of monkeys that need to be tweaked for good audio performance.




PatCave; HT Pix;Gear;DIY Projects;DVDs; LDs

[Kyle Richardson]

Don't get me wrong guys! I understand the mark-up on retail speakers as I used to sell them. You are paying for a lot more than the actual components, but I am specifically talking about DIY components here!

All that I am saying is that I was amazed when he told me how much the individual components cost after the demo. I would have guessed each speaker costing at least $1500 in components alone. Would his system sounded better with expensive drivers? Probably, there is no denying that you get what you pay for. Was I shocked at how good it sounded for inexpensive drivers? Absolutely! I used to have the mind set that the cheap stuff wasn't worth even looking at let alone actually buying.

Now the question: If/when I build some mains for my HT will I buy the cheap, midrange or premium drivers? Probably midrange to premium What can I say, I like nice stuff

[ThomasW]

Kyle

The trick for getting the best quality at reasonable prices is to watch the sales and closeouts. MCM, PE, Madisound, Zalytron, Meniscus, SpeakerCity, etc., all have periodic sales. That's the time to buy.

For example the 7" Eton drivers used in the "WhisperProject" list price was approx $150ea. These were purchased for $62ea as a factory closeout.




theAudioWorx
Klone-Audio