About ScanSpeak

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I went from thinking that speaker building was this great racket, where you took a few average drivers and some cheap MDF and by beaing smart and careful, turned it into gold the way Gordon Ramsey can do with a 5-quid bit of leg of lamb. Now, having looked deeper, I wonder how they aren't all starving. Speaker prices are much more reasonable that I gave credit at first.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I couldn't disagree more. Depending on the scale of product an audio store is selling, the average cut it around 30-40%

As for starving speaker manufacturers, take a look at the likes of Boenicke, who are making a 20+ times mark up taking the drivers, cheap crossovers and materials into account. Companies like Wilson Audio, you're looking at very much more. High-end audio .... is very rare, but you won't find it in a speaker reviewed by the likes of WHF. What most people are paying for are very average performing speakers (and Scanspeak are far from the best) and a lot of overpriced wrapping. Go see the likes of the B&W Maserati edition for an example.

If you want high-end speakers, you're going to have to go beyond the likes of the magazine touting nonsense. And when it comes to individual drivers, go do some homework, but please don't tell me that the likes of Wilson Audio, PMC, ATC, Sonus Faber are high-end, because that's very much not the case, and it shows a disticnt lack of understaning of acoustrics, rather than your (not aimed at SpursGator) so-called acoustical prowess!

 

[BigH]

I went from thinking that speaker building was this great racket, where you took a few average drivers and some cheap MDF and by beaing smart and careful, turned it into gold the way Gordon Ramsey can do with a 5-quid bit of leg of lamb. Now, having looked deeper, I wonder how they aren't all starving. Speaker prices are much more reasonable that I gave credit at first.

Sorry to resurrect an old thread, but I couldn't disagree more. Depending on the scale of product an audio store is selling, the average cut it around 30-40%

As for starving speaker manufacturers, take a look at the likes of Boenicke, who are making a 20+ times mark up taking the drivers, cheap crossovers and materials into account. Companies like Wilson Audio, you're looking at very much more. High-end audio .... is very rare, but you won't find it in a speaker reviewed by the likes of WHF. What most people are paying for are very average performing speakers (and Scanspeak are far from the best) and a lot of overpriced wrapping. Go see the likes of the B&W Maserati edition for an example.

If you want high-end speakers, you're going to have to go beyond the likes of the magazine touting nonsense. And when it comes to individual drivers, go do some homework, but please don't tell me that the likes of Wilson Audio, PMC, ATC, Sonus Faber are high-end, because that's very much not the case, and it shows a disticnt lack of understaning of acoustrics, rather than your (not aimed at SpursGator) so-called acoustical prowess!

Some of that is true. The dealer will get about 40%, the tax man in UK 20% so there is only 40% left for the manufacturer. Yes a lot speakers do have cheap drivers that true, you can look up the prices of some, even if you buy just 2 its cheap like £20 each for mid range speakers. If buying in bulk say 250+ its much cheaper. Scanspeak are good but they are expensive because made in Scandinavia, there are better value manufacturers around. If they are only producing small numbers then they will be expensive.

So tell us some good value speakers and decent high end ones?