Fleetwood Sound - Deville speakers

[fpitas]

If by “different” you mean 1940s tech combined with putting appearance and high cost above sq, then yes… different.

I think some 1940s speakers were better...

 

[MAB]

They also have another new speaker coming soonView attachment 243823View attachment 243824

Looks to me like George Jetson's space ship got in an accident with a JBL Paragon...

 

[kemmler3D]

Maybe they're operating on different acoustic principles than I learned, but I'd say those look like they tossed together stuff to look Steampunk. I guess if the owners are happy...

I've said it before and I've said it again, looks really do matter when it comes to audio equipment. This is not a dejected observation, it's something I think we should all take seriously... especially if you want to sell speakers that cost as much as a decent house.

 

[MattHooper]

(LOL at dangling this red meat in the ASR forum ).

I like the design. It's one of the current speakers I'd really like to hear.

 

[HeadDoc12]

I've said it before and I've said it again, looks really do matter when it comes to audio equipment. This is not a dejected observation, it's something I think we should all take seriously... especially if you want to sell speakers that cost as much as a decent house.

No argument here, though taste (especially with speakers?) is highly subjective. I recently replaced an aging coffee maker with a new one, and spent a little more for one that looks nicer on my kitchen counter... AFTER researching which models make better coffee, are easy to use, etc. Form FOLLOWS function. I like the looks of my Kef LS50WIIs (I prefer audio equipment that doesn't call attention to itself, but I get why others have very different tastes), but would NEVER have considered them if I didn't like the sound and associated tech. goodies. Speakers are a TOOL first, furniture second. I have zero interest in a stunning wooden hammer, especially one that costs as much as 20 functional ones.

 

[Schollaudio]

If by “different” you mean 1940s tech combined with putting appearance and high cost above sq, then yes… different.

Who says sq is poor? I wonder how much different a BOSE cube markup is from OMA.

 

[Chrispy]

Interesting response to John Atkinson's measurement of sensitivity "We stand by our 94dB/W/m sensitivity rating with a clear conscience, as we do not artificially inflate our specs. Differences in measured results will naturally arise from technique and equipment deltas." WTF does that mean and how did they measure?

 

[kemmler3D]

Form FOLLOWS function....but would NEVER have considered them if I didn't like the sound and associated tech. goodies. Speakers are a TOOL first, furniture second.

This is definitely a point of view that will maximize your sound quality per dollar. However, I think it's worth noting that most people do it the other way around.

WAF (as sexist as the term may be) is probably the single biggest determinant of how well a given piece of equipment sells... there's a reason that most mainstream speakers (Sonos, google, amazon, JBL bluetooth, etc.) are designed to disappear in your decor rather than stand out.

Most people will never bother looking at specs. Even fewer people will look at specs if the speaker doesn't tick their box for aesthetics. I'm not saying this is right or wrong, just observation as a former audio marketer.

 

[Doodski]

This is definitely a point of view that will maximize your sound quality per dollar. However, I think it's worth noting that most people do it the other way around.

WAF (as sexist as the term may be) is probably the single biggest determinant of how well a given piece of equipment sells... there's a reason that most mainstream speakers (Sonos, google, amazon, JBL bluetooth, etc.) are designed to disappear in your decor rather than stand out.

Most people will never bother looking at specs. Even fewer people will look at specs if the speaker doesn't tick their box for aesthetics. I'm not saying this is right or wrong, just observation as a former audio marketer.

I retailed home audio gear for ~9 years and for the last ~5 years of that I had ~a dozen speaker lines on offer. One of them was MB Quart. The MB Quart offerings came in ~15 exotic wood finishes and we stocked most of the finishes spread across ~9 models. So customers could try the speakers and see the finishes and if they realllly wanted a specific finish in a specific model they could special order (But we tried not to backorder because living by the backorder is to die by the backorder. Sales slang for you will be wasting hours faxing, telephoning and following up on special orders.) Anywayyy... The MB Quart gear required about 3 months and then people started coming in and selecting finishes and models and the stuff was selling unbelievably fast. The WAF factor was astronomically high and selling the wives on the speaker was pretty easy and when the husbands where sold on the sound and the German quality the stuff just required some thought about making sure the finish is what they wanted because a special order is "usually" not refundable. We made exceptions to that rule with MB Quart because the stuff was selling so well and we knew we could sell a cancelled special order fairly easily. So we up-graded, side-graded and down-graded MB Quart speakers and had no longer term inventory issues. That is rare in home audio sales to be casual about the special order terms but the gear was so nice the customers wanted it and where understanding. Out of ~a dozen different speaker lines that we had I never saw a speaker line as successful in such a short period of time as that MB Quart gear was. So... in my experience the aesthetics are veryyy important.

 

[MattHooper]

I agree speaker aesthetics is important. But in the audiophile world, is the WAF actually that much of an influence?

I know it *does* figure in to some guy's choices of speaker, but my general impression is that the speaker choice is very much driven by what the audiophile wants, not what the wife wants. And it seems a majority of audiophiles do care about how a high end speaker looks. So my impression is that it's the audiophile who is typically assessing which speakers he likes, including which he finds attractive. That's certainly my case. There's all sorts of speakers that would horrify my wife, especially since my speakers go in the front room of our house. But they'd horrify me for the same reason.

 

[Chrispy]

Don't know about the aesthetic thing, personally I don't find these speakers particularly good looking altho adding a clock to the wood tweet waveguide thingy could be interesting....

 

[restorer-john]

Interesting response to John Atkinson's measurement of sensitivity "We stand by our 94dB/W/m sensitivity rating with a clear conscience, as we do not artificially inflate our specs. Differences in measured results will naturally arise from technique and equipment deltas."

It's basically sticking up the middle finger and inferring JA's technique (which he's been using for decades) is not the same as theirs- and theirs is right.

They want a high efficiency number to sell to the audiophiles with piss-ant low powered tube amps, whether it is a true number or not.

 

[Doodski]

I agree speaker aesthetics is important. But in the audiophile world, is the WAF actually that much of an influence?

I know it *does* figure in to some guy's choices of speaker, but my general impression is that the speaker choice is very much driven by what the audiophile wants, not what the wife wants. And it seems a majority of audiophiles do care about how a high end speaker looks. So my impression is that it's the audiophile who is typically assessing which speakers he likes, including which he finds attractive. That's certainly my case. There's all sorts of speakers that would horrify my wife, especially since my speakers go in the front room of our house. But they'd horrify me for the same reason.

The WAF factor is pretty obvious with some people, with others it is a disgruntled male/female secretly saying behind his/her back that his/her wife controls everything and he needs his/her permission and in other cases the wife and the husband are pretty open about him/her controlling the décor and him/her controlling the equipment operation and maintenance. I ran across those situations fairly often. To see a couple come to the store or even come with a baby in tow or with children too is a pretty good sign they are buyers because people don't bring the kids to tire kick audio gear...lol. If I where retailing gear again I would take very seriously any couple coming to the store and respect the WAF factor.

 

[NiagaraPete]

Cadillacs? Coupe de Ville or Sedan de Ville? Fleetwood limo??

Horrible cars, both.

 

[Chrispy]

Horrible cars, both.

Could depend on year, tho.

 

[Doodski]

Could depend on year, tho.

I just love cruising/floating along in a big old luxury car. The Ford, Pontiacs and Chevies where the best I have driven.

 

[MattHooper]

Don't know about the aesthetic thing, personally I don't find these speakers particularly good looking altho adding a clock to the wood tweet waveguide thingy could be interesting....

I know what you mean. I find them *almost* good looking. I sort of like the wider baffle aesthetic, but the wood finish choices border on cheap looking, reminding me a bit too much of 70's oak wood paneling. If I had my choice of exotic woods for the various parts I think they could look nice.

 

[Chrispy]

I just love cruising/floating along in a big old luxury car. The Ford, Pontiacs and Chevies where the best I have driven.

I've had a wide experience in Cadillacs growing up (my mom's dad got a new one every other year plus some experience with older and newer models after he passed). The model name doesn't really translate across the board....

 

[Chrispy]

I know what you mean. I find them *almost* good looking. I sort of like the wider baffle aesthetic, but the wood finish choices border on cheap looking, reminding me a bit too much of 70's oak wood paneling. If I had my choice of exotic woods for the various parts I think they could look nice.

They might be something I might like if I made 'em but $19 k? seriously?

 

[MattHooper]

I just love cruising/floating along in a big old luxury car. The Ford, Pontiacs and Chevies where the best I have driven.

Bench seats for the win!