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Klipsch McLaren Forte IV. Good idea or Jump the Shark decision?

Dingman said:
Well, obviously I'm ignorant about the massive McLaren F1 market that exists.
Next up - NFL branded Klipschorns! Order yours today so you'll have them before next years football season!
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I dunno.

It's a limited edition of 25 pairs, with a new passive for placement in a room rather than behind a screen.

The McLaren Group does obviously race in F1, however, they also design and build cars, that start at about $250,000, most sell for $350K and up. They were up to selling about 4 to 5K units a year until the supply chain issues, and they still managed to sell something like 1,500 units.

25 pairs, to a market of 20K owners (last 5 years of sales) who can pluck down between a quarter to a half million for a Sunday car? I think it's a pretty safe bet, and I don't think the football analogy would apply, certainly a different demo.

Every serious Indy car race fan from the 70s knows that color as they were extremely successful during that time, they were also very successful in sports car racing especially in Can-Am because they dominated that series for about 5 straight years.

I always liked the color, I think it goes back to watching Indy racing as a kid and seeing JR win in one two or three times and then seeing the car in a shopping mall somewhere.
 
cecaa850 said:
In the blu tooth speaker and the bookshelfs in the same series of speakers. Klipsch makes great speakers but their electronics suck.
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Okay, thank you, now I remember Klipsch’s electronics unreliability being discussed on the Klipsch forums, but I wouldn’t worry about the free small Klipsch Bluetooth speaker’s amp when buying those expensive Klipsch Forte speakers, but it’s a legitimate concern and a bit funny post by Dean.
 
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Since starting this thread I've gone back a few times to the website thinking, "well, let me take another look - maybe they'll start to grow on me." ..Nope. They actually look worse.

I can't help but scratch my head and wonder who on earth would want these? Sure, if you're into racing I can imagine 1960s- 70's F1 memorabilia being part of a listening rooms decor. ..But black & orange speakers with a garish racing stripe? Anything but video game audio coming out of these would seem completely incongruous. But what about Bob Dylan? The Clash? Nina Simone? Vivaldi? ..I dunno - just wouldn't seem right. Maybe Mario or Pac Man.

And what about the vinyl appliqué? Think that will hold up for 20 years without peeling?
 
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ODS123 said:
Since starting this thread I've gone back a few times to the website thinking, "well, let me take another look - maybe they'll start to grow on me." ..Nope. They actually look worse.

I can't help but scratch my head and wonder who on earth would want these? Sure, if you're into racing I can imagine 1960s- 70's F1 memorabilia being part of a listening rooms decor. ..But black & orange speakers with a garish racing stripe? Anything but video game audio coming out of these would seem completely incongruous. But what about Bob Dylan? The Clash? Nina Simone? Vivaldi? ..I dunno - just wouldn't seem right. Maybe Mario or Pac Man.

And what about the vinyl appliqué? Think that will hold up for 20 years without peeling?
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I agree with all of this.
 
ODS123 said:
Since starting this thread I've gone back a few times to the website thinking, "well, let me take another look - maybe they'll start to grow on me." ..Nope. They actually look worse.

I can't help but scratch my head and wonder who on earth would want these? Sure, if you're into racing I can imagine 1960s- 70's F1 memorabilia being part of a listening rooms decor. ..But black & orange speakers with a garish racing stripe?
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Surely the market for F1 fans with unlimited assets who are also big time audio is huge. I'm sure they're flying out of the warehouses.
 
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cecaa850 said:
Surely the market for F1 fans with unlimited assets who are also big time audio is huge.
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Huge? Why on earth would you assume that?

I bet it’s actually a pretty small group.

And just because someone is an F1 fan and an audio fan doesn’t mean they want those hobbies blended in such a garish way.
 
Well, here is something for all you Porsche fans for only $12,000

https://www.porsche-design.com/us/e...oundbar-2.0-pro/?variationCode=WAP0509110NSDB

The strictly limited-edition (500 pieces) 911 Soundbar 2.0 Pro, made from the original Porsche 992 GT3 (992) exhaust system. The 2.1.2 Virtual Surround Sound System features 300 watts of system power, 4K compatible HDMI ports, Bluetooth 5.0, Dolby Atmos DTS-HD, streaming with Apple AirPlay 2 and Google® Chromecast built-in for multiroom. The Soundbar is equipped with in-room multi-channel streaming technology that connects with the 911 Soundbar Special Edition, the 911 Soundbar Final Edition as well as future new Porsche Originals sound products. It can be hung on the wall or placed on the base provided. Made in Germany.
 
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twk said:
They do not care how many they sell. This is marketing and we are talking about them so it worked.
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Umm... Yes they DO care about how many they sell. And NO, just b/c we're talking about it does not make it a marketing success. That would not be a very smart approach to marketing.
 
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One911Guy said:
Well, here is something for all you Porsche fans for only $12,000

https://www.porsche-design.com/us/e...oundbar-2.0-pro/?variationCode=WAP0509110NSDB

The strictly limited-edition (500 pieces) 911 Soundbar 2.0 Pro, made from the original Porsche 992 GT3 (992) exhaust system. The 2.1.2 Virtual Surround Sound System features 300 watts of system power, 4K compatible HDMI ports, Bluetooth 5.0, Dolby Atmos DTS-HD, streaming with Apple AirPlay 2 and Google® Chromecast built-in for multiroom. The Soundbar is equipped with in-room multi-channel streaming technology that connects with the 911 Soundbar Special Edition, the 911 Soundbar Final Edition as well as future new Porsche Originals sound products. It can be hung on the wall or placed on the base provided. Made in Germany.
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I've seen that before. It's grossly overpriced but really cool.
 
Long history of F1 teams and speakers but I've never really understood the connection outside of money and "cutting edge" tech.
 
cecaa850 said:
It was sarcasm. I'm surprised it went unnoticed..
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haha.. sorry, my bad for not realizing; I should have known.

And you summed up the absurdity quite perfectly. The intersection of F1 fan, audiophile and wealth is apt to be very very small. And smaller still when the buyer would have to have a significant other who would allow such monstrosities in the house.

Would’ve been interesting to see THAT Venn diagram presented at the marketing meeting. :)
 
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