I guess its time to cover the most often asked question...how much will these cost?
Well, we decided that the first pair we built would be constructed out of solid bamboo. Not having worked with it in this fashion, I didn't expect it to be much different than any other material. I was wrong.
If you put an 80-grit belt on a belt sander, turn it on and lean on it hard, you will barely be able to create any dust. We burned out one router and one belt sander on this pair alone. I think that would be par for the course. It took Sam 3 1/2 days to sand the woofer cabinets alone.
So it became increasingly apparent that bamboo cabinets, while incredibly solid and inert, would be expensive. I guess that is par for the course since everything about this design is expensive.
While at AKFest, Constantine Soo from Dagogo asked me the cost. I told him I didn't know. He told me he needed a price for his write-up. So I did my best to figure it out on the spot. Yikes!
The next morning on my way back to the show, I got to thinking about comments I had heard the day before. "Too bad I can't afford those," and, "those are too large for my room" were often heard. I expected the first comment. But I had not anticipated the second and it made me think.
The 12" woofer section was developed in order to deliver bass extension to 20Hz. But, other than perhaps pipes organs and Japanese Tyko drums, there are really any instruments that play that low. In reality, you really only need to go just below 30Hz to cover almost all traditional musical instruments.
I turns out that the bottom of the top section is 12" wide. The woofer section of our Veracity HT3 design is also 12" wide. So, if we developed a woofer section based on 10" drivers, they would still handle almost all traditional instruments, but they would be smaller (about the same dimensions as the top and about the same size as the current HT3's), they would be easier to build because no taper would be required at the top of the woofer cabinet, and they would be less costly. We could also do versions in MDF as well as bamboo.
In earlier discussions on this circle, there seemed to be a consensus that it would be nice if this speaker would come in at under $10K. Earlier, I thought that was simply an impossibility. But with four variations, it seems that it may indeed be possible. So here are the four variations and associated costs.
If we build the speaker using a 12" woofer section and construct with solid bamboo, the cost would be $17,999 plus upgrades, if any.
If we build the speaker using a 12" woofer section and construct with MDF, the cost would be $13,999, plus the cost of veneer.
About $1500 of the cost differential is the cost of bamboo, the rest is increased labor and tools.
If we build the speaker using a 10" woofer section and construct with solid bamboo, the cost would be $11,999.
If we build the speaker using a 10" woofer section and construct with MDF, the cost would be $9999, plus the cost of veneer.
These are very substantial cabinets. The speaker weigh in at 155 pounds each.
I don't know how many of these speakers we will eventually sell. One of my associates thought we were crazy to even take on this project in these economic times. Regardless, I am very glad we did. I spent the last couple of days listening extensively and I am extremely happy with my new toys.
- Jim
