Slugth Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 Hi Guys, Hope you don’t mind me asking this question, but just maybe you will be glad you did someday. I want to create a balancing or tuning process that helps produce an audio component that is of the very best quality. I’m thinking of cables or maybe speakers or something, any ideas? My background is in the production of bespoke machines and systems for high-tech products (automation, test & inspection). I have been working on testing RF amps for a few years, but this was for satellites and I would love to get into high-end consumer audio products. I’m not an audio expert but I can work to specs and automate iterative processes to optimise product performance. I’m thinking with my skills a couple of robots / spectrum analysers / Bit error rate testers the sky is the limit. Unfortunately I cant afford to do this just for fun though. Come on guys what’s needed in this market, or what is overpriced due to high entry level of technology? I immediately think of providing cables with 100% testing, providing individual test reports for each cable to assure it quality. I maybe barking up the wrong tree but thought it worth asking. Any advice / comments much appreciated. -Slugth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sherwood Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 Translation: "I want to know all your opinions. I want to understand this new market thoroughly. I want to revolutionize some portion of this industry. Please tell me this stuff outright so I don't have to actually read any threads." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
aardvark baguette Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 I like that you took the time to use a different font, how lovely. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 You want to get into the high-end cable market, but you want to make them cheaply? You've got it all wrong, it's all about wordsmithing, which is not the same thing as typography. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomana Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 Yet another cable maker? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n_maher Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 Awesome first post. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hopstretch Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Duggeh Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 Good afternoon. My name is Douglas. I do not know anything about the restaurant business. I've never even worked as a barman. However, my profession is the chemical testing of dog and cat food for supermarkets and manufacturers. I would like to apply this knowledge to the restaurant business. I think that chemical testing of human food for eating in restaurants might prove valuable. However as I said I do not know abotu restuarant business. And I wondered if some of you might come and do the jobs of barman and chef and waiters for me in my new restaurant. But I'd like you to do it for free. I don't want to take the time to actually hire people you see. Because I don't understand the restuarant business and it would be faster to have people do things for me instead. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fitz Posted December 28, 2009 Report Share Posted December 28, 2009 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augsburger Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Well I would start with (Rick) Warren Audio and Virtual Dynamics. If you can't recognize them as supreme contra examples of good business practices then perhaps you should try for a restaurant sous chef gig. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
boomana Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 I could be sous chef, despite not having any idea of how to cook anything most people like to eat. Does that mean I should also start cable company? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augsburger Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 uhhh not sure.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
deepak Posted December 30, 2009 Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Slugth I know a man you can send your demon units to for testing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slugth Posted December 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Well thanks for the replies everyone - if they were not useful they made me laugh or at least smile. Special thanks to Augsburger are you referring to the “Warren Audio's broken hd800 cables” thread? But I’m used to dealing with cables for spacecraft where quality and performance is paramount. The people who sold the cable in the referenced threads photos should be knocked out the market in my opinion. I would prefer to get mine from China! I’m still not much wiser though, even after Duggeh’s post. I’m not going to spend time beating others on say, return loss and group delay when it’s of little interest to you guys. Unless I can target specific specifications and then send out some samples to you guys for feedback, nothing is going to happen. Don’t get me wrong (Sherwood) I can, and am doing my own independent investigation. And Dusty Chalk – WRT price I have low overheads (large workshop at home) and some existing test equipment and software that may help reduce initial investment. I specifically want to avoid “cheap” and focus on providing the best, or at least match the best at a reduced cost with better service. I don’t want to get to hung-up on cables, as I’m thinking maybe valves are the way to go (investigation underway)! HAPPY NEW YEAR -Slugth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slugth Posted December 30, 2009 Author Report Share Posted December 30, 2009 Slugth I know a man you can send your demon units to for testing. Who? please let me know. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Augsburger Posted January 1, 2010 Report Share Posted January 1, 2010 Well on a more serious note I would evaluate your basic business premise so let me start there with a few assumptions since your stated objectives were a little vague to me. I am not an engineer but I am a consumer who understands marketing and to some degree marketing retail products to the audio(phile) audience. Let's start at the beginning, you ask a fairly open ended question regarding what audio product segment you should focus on given your strengths in analytical, testing and efficient manufacturing. I can't recall very many reviews of cables using graphs and signal data. I am sure many exist but they apparently haven't made an impression on me since I do not recall any. Most of the recent cable reviews focus on build, relative value regardless of their cost and the reviewers subjective findings that the cables under review sounds a smidge better than some other overpriced cable. Trying to convince the audio market that your cables graph better than someone else's is very time consuming and a litigation magnet IMHO. If you choose this route, you will have to develop a very compelling argument that quantifies your results versus the competition and why your data means your cables are a superior value. With this strategy you have a educational challenge and a marketing challenge. Perhaps you should consider something easier like improving on the selection of $2-7K speakers. Currently you have no visibility in the marketplace and have limited manufacturing and financial resources. It seems to me it would be easier for a startup with no name recognition to take an existing product with a recognized name that the market is familiar with, improve upon the speakers sonic characteristics, make something better and cheaper while still turning a profit, then evolve your product line from there. One option would be to gain access to a pair of Wilson Watt Puppies, run a battery of tests on them, figure out their deficiencies,(be careful here) build a better product and ship them off to CanJam 2010 with your custom matched ICs and speaker cables for demos. Graphs, data and sales pitches will get attention, but to compel consumers to purchase products at your (assumed) price points, they need to hear for themselves otherwise you will spend a lot more money and time waiting for acceptance. The audio market can remain uninformed and ignorant far longer than you have the funds to remain solvent. IMHO. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slugth Posted January 2, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Many thanks Augsburger for taking the time to share your thoughts Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Currawong Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Slugth: Two comments from different people strike me here. The first was probably in this forum, about vacuum tubes and basically stated that those that measured the best tended to be considered as sounding the worst. The second comment, from an equipment manufacturer, was that Chinese companies make a lot of gear that measures well and sounds like crap. As for subjective opinions, why do you think that is? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HeadphoneAddict Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Hi Guys, Hope you don Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wmcmanus Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Unless I can target specific specifications... Yes, specific specifications are a good thing but they must be kept top secret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dusty Chalk Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 You could make these guys' jobs easier: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ymzBa-DFuEY Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
naamanf Posted January 2, 2010 Report Share Posted January 2, 2010 Can you laser trim cables? And why would you anyway. I guess you could burn in some snake oil if you had enough gigwatts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cetoole Posted January 3, 2010 Report Share Posted January 3, 2010 I am having trouble thinking what would be beneficial to be laser trimmed in a finished product, let alone how you would go about doing it or determining what values would be most ideal. Sure, laser trimming is extremely useful when building a component, especially in ICs, but are you really going to do something like buy a prebuilt DAC, remove the top of the chips, and trim the ladders for greater precision? At that level of reverse engineering, just build your own gear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slugth Posted January 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 Slugth: Two comments from different people strike me here. The first was probably in this forum, about vacuum tubes and basically stated that those that measured the best tended to be considered as sounding the worst. The second comment, from an equipment manufacturer, was that Chinese companies make a lot of gear that measures well and sounds like crap. As for subjective opinions, why do you think that is? Seems like in this industry there are at least some sound characteristics that are not well quantified / measured, that may render my initial approach impossible! Anything that measures well and performs poorly highlights a measurement deficiency. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Slugth Posted January 4, 2010 Author Report Share Posted January 4, 2010 You could make these guys' jobs easier: YouTube- How It's Made (Season 13 / Episode 8 / Part 3) Think I'll put that that challenge on the back burner for now . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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