Marketing or malice?

[Proyecto NEMA]

Lately I've noticed that there are countless new brands in the HiFi field, mainly aimed at young people or new audiences (OJAS is an example).What impresses me is the sales volume they have with premises from the 20th century, such as a custom passive crossover, low distortion, proprietary horn technology, and also without measurements.

As consumers, what can you fairly expect when you pay thousands of dollars for a speaker? In other words, a custom crossover is a minimum requirement, and we all know that any speaker needs a custom one. Second, unless your design is horrendous, they are all low distortion, depending on the application.

The third, and for me the worst, is that developing intellectual property is very capital-intensive, only for companies like Genelec, Neumann, or Danley. Can a workshop that builds different speaker setups each year really afford to develop technology that it will only use once?

And on top of everything, WITHOUT MEASUREMENTS, how can you improve something you don't know is wrong?

I don't know if these companies do it out of malice or ignorance, but either way it's dangerous.

 

[GS430man]

Neither. It's greed.

 

[Chrispy]

Consumer education?

Curious, what do you mean a custom crossover is a minimum requirement? A crossover designed just for a particular consumer or ?

 

[voodooless]

OJAS

I don’t think you should worry about this particular brand. The website still has a Covid-19 banner noting possible delays in order fulfillment, years after the fact

And on top of everything, WITHOUT MEASUREMENTS, how can you improve something you don't know is wrong?

Well, they improve the companies bank statements, and that is measurable

 

[DVDdoug]

I wouldn't call it "malice". Usually, they aren't trying to hurt you or cheat you. But some of it is fraud, borderline fraud, and ignorance.

Quite a bit of it is "market demand" from the crazy audiophiles who dominate this "hobby". In the audiophile market, simply having a high price makes the product more desirable... Testimonials with vague "feel good" vocabulary don't hurt either... "A veil was lifted and it was like the musicians were in the room."

A lot of it is just advertising "fluff" or "puff" which isn't illegal or completely dishonest (often undefined or irrelevant) and it's considered "fair game". You're not going to sell a lot of stuff by being totally scientific and logical.

From what little I know about OJAS, they seem to be focused on style, design, and image...

Can a workshop that builds different speaker setups each year really afford to develop technology that it will only use once?

Sure... Anybody can make something "new and different"! Whether it's useful or some kind of "breakthrough" is another story... Often when someone claims a new technology it's not really new, and they are often secretive and vague about it (especially in audio) because it would be easy to copy and possibly not patentable.

When there is new/different technology there is often no clear audio benefit.

Manufacturers will always tout their design decisions although there is always more than one way to do something and there are trade-offs, frequently including economic trade-offs.

 

[voodooless]

Can a workshop that builds different speaker setups each year really afford to develop technology that it will only use once?

These companies usually don’t develop technology. They use off the shelf parts, maybe create their own waveguides, possibly buy modified drivers, made to spec. They are way too small to build their own.

And yes, it is possible to create decent products that way, though often these items are more like statement/art pieces. Some even are measurement centric, like for instance Joseph Crow. I’m sure there are many more that are not at all like this.

 

[Chrispy]

Just looked at the Ojas page. My eyes hurt.

 

[MoreWatts]

Just looked at the Ojas page. My eyes hurt.

OMG! This brought me back to 1993 with my CTX laptop and dial-up modem....

These speakers are simply Altec-type copies of 1950s (or earlier?) technology. The tweeter wave-guides are designed to disperse sound to the full width of, and to the balcony of, movie theaters.

 

[Proyecto NEMA]

Consumer education?

Curious, what do you mean a custom crossover is a minimum requirement? A crossover designed just for a particular consumer or ?

I mean that each speaker needs a specific crossover; if you change anything, no matter how small, you have to change the crossover. In that sense, all crossovers are custom-made.

 

[Chrispy]

I mean that each speaker needs a specific crossover; if you change anything, no matter how small, you have to change the crossover. In that sense, all crossovers are custom-made.

Thanks, I'd just call it that speaker's crossover....of course if you change components/box then the crossover might need changing...