Can speakers become cheap(er)

[Power Pop 23]

$468 a pair for the CBM-170SE2 - in 2026 dollars.

Ascend Acoustics has lowered the cost of a highly performant loudspeaker.

 

[FrantzM]

Hi

I am biased, before the Ascend there were (still available) the JBL LSR 308 and 305 both active, The 308 in particular is surprisingly good. Its performance is also remarkable, hovering around $450, bought them for less, 8 years ago.

ASR review Click here.

With subwoofers .. It may not distort as much.. Haven't seen any measurements of it with subs ... actually woudl ike to see how speakers fare when relieved from producing bass. Many here, use subs ... some like I, are proponents of subs , of multiple subs

 

[Rosenbloom]

"wood, metal, magnet, copper" - are all going up in price.

But if you look at guitars, they use all these materials and yet you can now buy a better Chinese guitar for 1/4 the price of that from the old oligopoly suppliers, so there must be scope for Chinese brand speakers.

I expect most speakers bought in the west are made in China, but you are still paying a ton for the familiar badges - there is scope for Chinese brands to cut out what is essentially an expensive middle man. Especially now their electronic kit has cut through so successfully. I think some familiar audio groups have already been bought up by Chinese firms.

Regarding guitars, recently I purchased a Chinese brand "JoLuck" classical guitar for about US$250. I was intending to use it roughly. To my surprise the JoLuck sounds so good that it immediately outclasses my Cordoba Torres, which was made in the USA and costed me over US$4000. Without any hesitation I sold my Cordoba.

I hope one day good and cheap speakers are commonly available for us music lovers.

 

[Power Pop 23]

per @Bleib,

Moondrop's claimed measurements for their 'MM3a' active, 2-way desktop loudspeaker with a 3-inch driver and passive radiators on each side of the loudspeaker.

Moondrop cites use of a Klippel Near Field Scanner (NFS) to develop the MM3a.

Currently $170 a pair at Amazon USA. I don't know the price in other regions.

Amazon.com: Moondrop MM3A Computer Speakers 5-in-1 Multi-Function Active 3‑Inch Home Desktop Bluetooth 6.0 Audio Speakers : Electronics

Amazon.com: Moondrop MM3A Computer Speakers 5-in-1 Multi-Function Active 3‑Inch Home Desktop Bluetooth 6.0 Audio Speakers : Electronics

www.amazon.com

Assuming the Moondrop MM3a measures well at ASR or Erin's Audio Corner, I wonder what level of performance Moondrop could deliver at higher price points with a driver larger than 3 inches in diameter ?