As far as sales are concerned from PE, I feel the truly better designs out there that are then DIY are based on driver sales. The people that want a best-size-fits-all, are not interested in drivers, but finished speakers only. This group generally are not the perfectionists that the DIYer tends to be, nor do they typically have they a better trained ear or understanding of measurements of such a system like the accomplished DIYer has learned, grown, developed, or experienced.
As to lower cost retail speaker designs;
You have to be able to:
- build to a price point, keeping design time low and results high
- use aesthetically pleasing and marketable drivers and cabinets
- find a decent spectral balance that both good and bad recordings sound rudimentally "fine".
- keep price high enough to make profit, and low enough to sell.
- keep size format small enough for most living rooms, and also the spousal acceptance factor.
I'll repeat that they met their target audience head-on with better than average suitability, and lower cost, and better performance than seen in similar products. They sound and look good, and that is all they need to do. Let's see anyone design and successfully sell a commercial offering for less money with better performance under the same criteria.
These are not Genelecs, JBLs, ATC, etc. They do not have the branding advantage that these pro heritage companies do. All companies have to start somewhere to get a product like this introduced.
They were the cheapest speakers for sale at AXPONA last year, Jaws dropped all day, and many were very impressed sonically. Except for squiggles not matching something in a state of the art commercial offering that costs at least twice as much, really, what is not to like?
Bickering about this or that being inferior or superior with regard to a design such as this is like kicking your dog for licking your face or being the wrong breed or color. These are just the wrong choice for your preferences.
