My 9th cousin’s, 3rd bridesmaids, second father in law’s gardener could have done better!
4 Likes
Hmm… So, a $30K high end speaker, the top of the range is now Made in China?!
I could have swallowed it if the lower end products were made in China, but the reference top of the line speaker demanding $30K is now made in some Chinese factory?! This is quite a surprise.
Why couldn’t they make the cabinets at a US factory, then assemble the rest in-house? Specially at these low volumes?! I for one, was under the impression they be at least assembled in-house… not good! At least I HOPE they’re not made in Xinjiang where horrendous things are happening!
1 Like
This was discussed ad nauseum further up this thread. Let’s not go any further with it …
8 Likes
So what? I just saw the video and I’d like to make my own comment on this topic as I have been impacted by atrocities happening in China.
I understand it’s the easiest and cheapest way to make things these days, but we need to have some high moral standards specially for such high end products. As I said, if it was $1-5K, sure. It’s justified. At $30K, COME ON!
2 Likes
Let’s try not to make this political. I don’t disagree with you, but LOTS was posted on this above and the discussion digressed … a lot. This speaker probably would not have happened had it taken a different course.
3 Likes
Maybe then Paul can make a commitment to try and source another place for cabinets and then assemble in house in the future. At this stage I won’t be purchasing these or the lower end as I have been personally impacted by atrocities committed there. It’s not political for me, it’s personal.
2 Likes
Thanks for that. Nothing 30K or even 10K.
1 Like
If anyone wants to suggest that PSA or any other company starts to build speakers in-house I suggest you youtube factory tours of some of the companies that do build in-house.
In short the sheer amount of new competencies that need to be brought up from zero is mindboggling. Cabinetry build alone is incredibly complicated.
We don’t know what PSA is planning. But if it was me, I’d start exactly with what PSA is doing by learning from companies that are already doing this at a high level. Once there’s a very mature understanding, then it’s time to step back and see where and how improvements can be made.
4 Likes
We have now, once again, addressed the China issue.
Everyone is free to buy, or not buy, whatever they choose. Let’s leave it there.
Edit: I deleted all further posts on this topic as we have beaten this dead horse many times and the topic leads to less than respectful posts. If you want to discuss this further with another member, please take it to PMs. Thanks!
15 Likes
Thanks for that.
I thought Paul had posted some time ago, that they tried to find a Colorado and then USA factory to make the cabinets, and none existed at that time that had the tooling and capability…
1 Like
As a cultural anthropologist, I wholeheartedly endorse Tett’s book and others she has written.
It may have been mentioned here before, but for a sense of what high-end speaker manufacturing can entail, check out this Bowers and Wilkins factory tour video:
A staggering investment must have been required…
12 Likes
Very nice. But I can’t help but wonder how an 802 D4 is priced the same (a bit cheaper actually, and even more through dealer negotiations) as FR30 but with a more sophisticated cabinet design, and made in England. Where the FR30 is a rectangular box and made in China.
Quantity.
3 Likes
In the UK the FR30 price is midway between the 801D4 and the 802D4, so almost at the top of the range.
That process must produce incredible structural rigidity with that wood/glue lamination which is then expanded to hold the matrix.
The factory has been tooled over decades, so the cost will have been spread. What you clearly can’t outsource is a skilled workforce of hand-finishers who only work on one brand of product.
Drivers also made in-house.
I’m sure lots of the cheaper models are made overseas, given the prices and that they are basic boxes.
Yep. Plus established line and years of experience and accumulated resources.
Apples and baseballs comparison, IMO.
3 Likes
You have no idea how the FR30 is made or what design is on the inside of the cabinet.
To say it’s just a “rectangular box” is a little premature don’t you think?
4 Likes
This entire thread is premature 
6 Likes