avguytx
Lunatic Member
This is an older article but was quite an entertaining read.
Confessions of a Former Driver Designer
Confessions of a Former Driver Designer
"Confessions of a Former Driver Designer"......good article
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His comment about taking a 6x9 car driver with a whizzer cone and putting it in a transmission line and marketing it as high end reminded me of Redehko (sp?) who did something very much like that in the 90s, though I don't think it was a TL -- priced like it was though! ( I guess they had to charge a lot to make people take the speaker seriously) -- they did fairly well in England I think, which seems to smile on loony and no so loony audio ideas. I think that there was some connection with Audio Note, though it may have simply been that Audio Note recommended the speaker for their low power amps.
theebadone
Super Member
Makes me wonder what kind of changes are in store for the audio world in the near future, When the computer and audio worlds collide. Nice read, thank you.
Stephen J
Suum Cuique
Didn't that already happen ?....:scratch2:...DVD's ...Digital remastering ?...I-pods....MP3's.....
finnbow
The Dude Abides
Good article. Here's his insightful take on Bose products and marketing:
http://www.perrymarshall.com/marketing/bose/
http://www.perrymarshall.com/marketing/bose/
BMWCCA
Addicted Member
I've heard all that before and, while his take certainly appears fact-based, neither of his articles shows any interest in or appreciation for listening to high-quality systems in an attempt recreate the live-music experience.
More engineering than music appreciation. Valid empirical information but no heart or soul.
myu701
Vintage futurist
Fascinating. I can see the merits of his experience. The R&D spent in economizing, means a serious amount of experimentation. And not only do you learn about making more with less, you discover where the quality really matters. A high end shop is probably not going to have a very wide knowledge of materials, more focused on specific known high cost materials.
One might argue that he didn't have that much time as a speaker designer. But 3 years spent exposed to a huge myriad of parts across the speaker driver building spectrum and getting to test them out in a lab from parts to testable driver in 30 minutes probably amplifies his experience to about 10 years compared to someone at a more prestigious speaker company.
I wouldn't necessarily agree that the listening room is the absolute top. Sure, a very poorly set up room will interfere a lot, but I'd expect that to be more of an exception than the rule. I'd put that just below the quality of the signal source.
Terrific link, Finnbow. Perry Marshall really calls it right with Bose, IMHO. I don't think I've ever read an opinion that seems so close to the truth about them.
1) They do have highly skilled engineers.
2) They do have impressive audio technology in their stable.
3) But rather than delivering for the audiophile, they deliver for the average audio consumer. They do it very well. They market it extremely well.
4) The combination of selling to what people want (not what they think people need) and crafting captivating slick marketing campaigns bring about impressive business success.
5) They don't make the best products. They make good products designed in a way to feed seductive advertising that attracts people with money who don't have audiophile demands.
So it isn't to say they make crap. It's overpriced for what you get, no doubt. Take the Bose 901 speakers. At MSRP, forget it. But for a few hundred in the used market? A very good buy.
BMWCCA
Addicted Member
I seriously doubt if any of the ideas in the article were his alone. Seems to me over the years much of what he points out has been covered by others, including this now-infamous exposé from years back: http://www.intellexual.net/bose.html
theebadone
Super Member
I think ipods and mp3s are just the tip of the iceburg, i am sure there are more complex digital formats on the horizon.
voltcontrol
Fizheuer Zieheuer
A very nice read, thanks for sharing.
Neat read, and so was the Bose marketing article.
A friend worked for an OEM for about 4 or 5 years - they supplied the auto industry and his experiences (as told to me) pretty much match what the article said. He also found that many of the small full range drivers that go into the doors of our cars have pretty good freq response - +-3dB from 100Hz to 8-10kHz was not unusual. They're also built to withstand (and work in) very extreme heat and cold and the shock involved in closing a car door several thousand times! All that for about $5 each.
A friend worked for an OEM for about 4 or 5 years - they supplied the auto industry and his experiences (as told to me) pretty much match what the article said. He also found that many of the small full range drivers that go into the doors of our cars have pretty good freq response - +-3dB from 100Hz to 8-10kHz was not unusual. They're also built to withstand (and work in) very extreme heat and cold and the shock involved in closing a car door several thousand times! All that for about $5 each.
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