When you buy expensive speakers, what are you paying for?

Not the greatest forum to post this on, but I've been wondering what factor causes a high end speaker to cost thousands to tens of thousands of dollars?

Is it the cabinet?

The brand?

Drivers?

Labour?

Whenever I think about it; I can pick some top quality drivers off my favorite website, design the crossovers with audio grade components, maybe get creative and make the cabinets out of some nice hardwood, slap it all together and you end up with an amazing sounding set of speakers.

I built a pair of DIY floorstanding speakers about 6 years ago using some decent yet not top quality drivers (Daytons). I also collect and refurbish vintage audio gear for kicks. I've had speakers that costs thousands of dollars (in the 70s and 80s) that don't sound as good as my DIY speakers. I won't lie I haven't been exposed to a lot of modern day hifi. I'm not sure what the "in" brands are right now but I've most likely heard nothing from them. Am I living in the dark or are these speakers worth major dollars?

So that's 2 questions I suppose.

Daytons are still good. So are Seas. Personally I think these are SEXY. Thor cabs and Thor kit

Daytons are still good. So are Seas. Personally I think these are SEXY. Thor cabs and Thor kit

ChubbyGuy40

Daytons are still good. So are Seas. Personally I think these are SEXY. Thor cabs and Thor kit

ChubbyGuy40

[QUOTE="ChubbyGuy40"]

Daytons are still good. So are Seas. Personally I think these are SEXY. Thor cabs and Thor kit

PS2_ROCKS

Sound. Expensive speakers sound great at all volume levels, or they should. Yes, your homebrews undoubtedly sound a million times better than Radio Shack's best, but I'll bet they don't have a flat response across the range of human hearing---there are dips and spikes at certain frequencies. Careful design using theory and mathematics (and trial and error) go into great speakers, so you're paying the salaries of some PhDs who work for a company that doesn't sell many units a year. They have to charge a lot to stay in business. You are funding audio science when you pay for the best, and you get bragging rights, and a tour of the factory when you come to town. Great speakers are heavy. The cabinet has to be rigid---not resonant. A good material would be granite. That ups shipping costs. I'll bet your cabinets are solid as all get out. That is the main difference between cheap speakers and good ones.Blistrax

I suppose power handling is a valid point. Larger magnets and windings of copper and more rigid cone materials equals some more money. But I thought the highest of hifi ran all their gear off 10Wpc tube amps anyways ;).

And no I'm not comparing my speakers to "RadioShack's best", here's a good example of what I've directly A/B compared them to:

EV Sentry 500 (Studio Monitors)

70lb each, 40Hz - 18kHz +-3dB, cast aluminum 12" woofer

And its not as if expensive speakers don't have dips and spikes at certain frequencies. All speakers do. You can reduce them with crossovers and cabinet design but at the end of the day that response graph will be bouncing all over the place. Hence the +- X dB ratings. Nothing is truly flat, but rather just within a flat tolerance level.

When you buy high-end speakers - and I assume you are referencing complete speakers, not just drivers - you are buying:

• The drivers; quality varies dramatically, some drivers are proprietary (Polk manufactures theirs to spec, for example) and some are drivers sold to name brands who repackage them. The drivers themselves also incorporate varying degrees of common and uncommon raw materials depending on the type of magnet, voice coil, cooling, cones, and other components used in their construction. Just using press-clips versus spade-clips increases manufacturing and assembly costs.
• The cabinet, including raw materials. Various cabinets are manufactured using different materials, with some plastics, fiberglass, and woods being more and less expensive.
• Engineering; bass reflex cabinets are relatively simple, but when you get into bandpass and transmission line enclosures you have to start doing some serious calculations and testing. Speaker building is as much art as science. That's just the enclosure, designing the crossover, driver location and selection, and various other factors also requires attention to detail. Bose 901's were amazing in their day (early 1970's, I believe; before my time) because they had vastly superior engineering.
• Assembly; after all, the speakers don't put themselves together, and high-end speakers are often hand-assembled since the customer base is smaller.
• Distribution, including delivery and inventory fees.
• Marketing; it's how you find out the company and it's speakers exist.
• Proprietary technology; some speaker makers do have patents, and you pay for exclusivity
• Brand; sometimes you pay for the name. Monster Cable knows this all too well.

Most people do not want to build their own speakers. Heck, I want to build my own, but with three kids and a job finding the time is a chore unto itself! So you're paying for a lot of conveniences.

Boz

I could tell ya myself, but I think this B&W vid sums it up :)

I could tell ya myself, but I think this B&W vid sums it up :)

Mozelleple112

[QUOTE="Mozelleple112"]

I could tell ya myself, but I think thisB&W vid sums it up :)

PS2_ROCKS

[QUOTE="PS2_ROCKS"][QUOTE="Mozelleple112"]

I could tell ya myself, but I think thisB&W vid sums it up :)

NVIDIATI

Also. three words.

Abbey Road Studios. If it was about money, I'm sure they'd be using Sony speakers lmao. B&W 800D is not only the speaker of choice for the worlds most famous recording stuido, but is also the speaker of choice in one of the world's best cinemas. And according to KSS, B&W 800D is only bettered by Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference, in 8+ channel surround.

[QUOTE="NVIDIATI"]

[QUOTE="PS2_ROCKS"] How much does a pair of those 800s go for?Mozelleple112

Also. three words.

Abbey Road Studios. If it was about money, I'm sure they'd be using Sony speakers lmao. B&W 800D is not only the speaker of choice for the worlds most famous recording stuido, but is also the speaker of choice in one of the world's best cinemas. And according to KSS, B&W 800D is only bettered by Snell THX Music & Cinema Reference, in 8+ channel surround.

[QUOTE="PS2_ROCKS"][QUOTE="Mozelleple112"]

I could tell ya myself, but I think thisB&W vid sums it up :)

NVIDIATI

[QUOTE="NVIDIATI"]

[QUOTE="PS2_ROCKS"] How much does a pair of those 800s go for?PS2_ROCKS

I think the B&W 800D is grossly underpriced. I expected a ~ $250,000+ price tag. Mozelleple112

[QUOTE="Mozelleple112"]I think the B&W 800D is grossly underpriced. I expected a ~ $250,000+ price tag. NVIDIATI

[QUOTE="NVIDIATI"]

[QUOTE="Mozelleple112"]I think the B&W 800D is grossly underpriced. I expected a ~ $250,000+ price tag. Mozelleple112

[QUOTE="NVIDIATI"]

[QUOTE="Mozelleple112"]I think the B&W 800D is grossly underpriced. I expected a ~ $250,000+ price tag. Mozelleple112

Words.MOSFET56

They're not in the same league as some of the half million speakers being discussed here but recently i was fortunate enough to hear a demo of Monitor Audios jewell in the crown Platinum range and to say they blew my mind is a solid understatement.

Music has never sounded so good and real, with my eyes shut if i didnt know i would absolutley swear it was real and in the room with me, it was truly amazing i thought with crystal clear highs and mids with seemingly bottomless deeps on multichannel music it was fantastic.

With movies it was again hugely impressive, the ribbon tweeters revealing elements of the soundtrack id literally never heard before and the presence in the room was just incredible, its like the speakers didnt exist and the sound was naturally all around me i was hugely impressed with them.

The only sad part is that i now have to go through life knowing i'll never be able to afford a set of them:(:(

The only sad part is that i now have to go through life knowing i'll never be able to afford a set of them:(:(

l34052

I'm gonna have to go win the lottery now. I want those sexy beasts :cry:

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