Andrew Jones out at ELAC!

[Ericglo]

I'm sure there's some truth to that. I'm sure the CFO pushed for that as it will create a cashflow positive company though.

I think those in the industry know who the good suppliers and manufacturers are over in China.

 

[jtwrace]

I think those in the industry know who the good suppliers and manufacturers are over in China.

The key is selling in volume though. Hence the reason for my comment.

 

[jtwrace]

Great art comes only from those willing to be vulnerable.

Art?

Hmmm. Engineering my friend!

 

[Chrispy]

Art?

Hmmm. Engineering my friend!

Well, for many it's not just engineering but some aesthetic/furniture type art that comes into play, as well as in the marketing

 

[redshift]

Art?

Hmmm. Engineering my friend!

Work of art…

Have you ever met an engineer 100% satisfied with his or her work?

Doesn’t exist.

 

[Wes]

Just ship it

 

[Ralph_Cramden]

Maybe Sonos hired him?

 

[Beer Budget]

I would love to see a diy from him, internet direct.

 

[Chrispy]

Be interesting one way or the other as to what he announces....suppose he's got some sort of no compete clause to contend with?

 

[redshift]

Be interesting one way or the other as to what he announces....suppose he's got some sort of no compete clause to contend with?

Perhaps he’ll manufacture his gear in the elac production lines, using their supply chain and dealer network?

“Andrew Jones XYZ by ELAC”. With all the costs accounted for, split the margin.

It wouldn’t surprise me if he got some avant garde shenanigans cooking in that CAD software package of his. I surely wish it will be a somewhat affordable prosumer/pro kit.

 

[restorer-john]

Maybe a Sony or a Yamaha lets him loose with an unlimited R&D budget and he designs knockouts for mass-produced prices.

They can do that on their own. Don't need AJ for that.

I reckon IAG is a possibility. He could resurrect their speaker brands like Leak, Quad, Castle, Mission and fire up Wharefdale with some new designs, too.

 

[Haint]

I would guess that either a venture capitalist has offered to fund his own speaker company, or one of the Trillion dollar corporations has offered him a very high ranking leadership role at their audio department, and/or carte blanche.

 

[restorer-john]

I would guess that either a venture capitalist has offered to fund his own speaker company, or one of the Trillion dollar corporations has offered him a very high ranking leadership role at their audio department, and/or carte blanche.

Maybe him and Danny from GR research are going to team up?

 

[redshift]

They can do that on their own. Don't need AJ for that.

I reckon IAG is a possibility. He could resurrect their speaker brands like Leak, Quad, Castle, Mission and fire up Wharefdale with some new designs, too.

He has branded himself as a name in traditional Hifi circles. Never underestimate the person (engineer) and persona (character) in marketing, specially when the market for boxes-standing-on-floors is in terminal decline and the man likely got a loyal following.

Being a nice bloke and capable of crafting good gear certainly isn’t to be scoffed at if you want to stay in business.

The era of direct sales and all that…

 

[redshift]

I would guess that either a venture capitalist has offered to fund his own speaker company, or one of the Trillion dollar corporations has offered him a very high ranking leadership role at their audio department, and/or carte blanche.

I would guess ELAC.

 

[restorer-john]

He has branded himself as a name in traditional Hifi circles. Never underestimate the person (engineer) and persona (character) in marketing, specially when the market for boxes-standing-on-floors is in terminal decline and the man likely got a loyal following.

Being a nice bloke and capable of crafting good gear certainly isn’t to be scoffed at if you want to stay in business.

The era of direct sales and all that…

Setting up a SOTA factory is really, really expensive. The equipment is measured in millions per machine, right from laminators, CNCs, vacuum presses, paint lines etc. Then you have the environmental issues now with low formaldehyde emission board being required just about everywhere and sustainable pine sources. I reckon it'd have to be an existing player in a low cost country with already existing scale.

As Don would say, just my 2 cents, microcent whatever.

 

[redshift]

Setting up a SOTA factory is really, really expensive. The equipment is measured in millions per machine, right from laminators, CNCs, vacuum presses, paint lines etc. Then you have the environmental issues now with low formaldehyde emission board being required just about everywhere and sustainable pine sources. I reckon it'd have to be an existing player in a low cost country with already existing scale.

As Don would say, just my 2 cents, microcent whatever.

Not to mention assembly, QA, R&D, marketing, warehousing, shipping, warranty returns, forums/’tubes warriors, etc…

If a production line got some spare capacity, why not boot AJ out with a check and contract manufacturing deal in hand if addressing the prosumer/pro market is his design goal. For the high end, running a small bespoke shop is probably enough. I guess AJ want more than obscurity.

I reckon the high end and low end is dead. They both carry this aura of obnoxious .

The trad Hifi shops probably need to retool as restomod, gear auditioning and places of inventory rather than use slick personas for peddling wares.

IMO.

 

[restorer-john]

The trad Hifi shops probably need to retool as restomod, gear auditioning and places of inventory rather than use slick personas for peddling wares.

Kind of ironic. That's what they all were like in the 70s, 80s and 90s. They all had service departments for both warranty and non-warranty work for their key brands. They all had listening rooms, comparators and backup stock out back, ready to go. They'd even sell you their brand new display floor stock if they had to to put money in the till.

The big problem of course is wages and tenancy costs (rent). Unless they owned the building, the rent was the real killer. Then the other outgoings, advertising, electricity, lighting, cleaning, re-fits to stay fresh, etc. These days, the customers don't want to pay for all that, but they want the benefits.

No fat in terms of margin left. It's amazing there are any dedicated HiFi stores still around when you think about it. The value-adding of AV custom installs and smart-home bespoke design meant shopping around became harder, but we've all heard of deals where someone literally spent months on design work, only to have the customer go cold and ultimately take the entire concept to a competitor for a better price.

 

[redshift]

Kind of ironic. That's what they all were like in the 70s, 80s and 90s. They all had service departments for both warranty and non-warranty work for their key brands. They all had listening rooms, comparators and backup stock out back, ready to go. They'd even sell you their brand new display floor stock if they had to to put money in the till.

The big problem of course is wages and tenancy costs (rent). Unless they owned the building, the rent was the real killer. Then the other outgoings, advertsing, electricity, lighting, cleaning, re-fits to stay fresh, etc. These days, the customers don't want to pay for all that, but they want the benefits.

No fat in terms of margin left. It's amazing there are any dedicated HiFi stores still around when you think about it. The value-adding of AV custom installs and smart-home bespoke design meant shopping around became harder, but we've all heard of deals where someone literally spent months on design work, only to have the customer go cold and ultimately take the entire concept to a competitor for a better price.

One step back, two steps forward…
Chop wood; carry water…

For every ruthless opportunist there is ten with good intent and will likely return for more. It is always possible to fire an abusive customer.

Yes, it’s good to have a few decent Hifi shops around since the prosumer/pro gear likely isn’t going anywhere, since it is where the margins are to be found anyway. (Look at competent system cameras for example)

I guess decent cans and a near field PC rig likely spills over into competent floorstanders/inwalls/onwalls plus power electronics within a short amount of time and applied WAF mitigation techniques.

Yeah, I find it difficult to bargain on good Hifi gear. That shit costs money and effort to bring into your living room. Wait for sales or buy used gear than being obnoxious in the stores.

Engineering and delivering your own gear puts stuff into perspective.

 

[McFly]

He’s big on his concentric/coaxial drivers. He worked with KEF on the uniQ, he’s done concentric at ELAC, I’d say he’s going to some Internet Direct company that does Concentric/coaxial drivers.