[JohnR]

Seems like the crowdfunding thing is taking off.... maybe not "audiophile" but still:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/deepblue2-the-ultimate-bluetooth-speaker-designed-by-peachtree-audio#home

Is it a bubble?

[jarcher]

Considering V1 was discontinued after less than 6 months (problem with a supplier), seems a bit obnoxious to expect prospective customers to bail them out of their production misfortunes by pre-buying V2. Especially when there are literally hundreds of these kind of products now - many of them quite good. Kinda like saying - we got it wrong with the first version, but we'll kindly let you pay us in advance for V2 so we can get it right, if you really want one - so how about it?  That's what's called chutzpah. 

So it puts out more bass.  Big whoop.  Gimme me a mature and well rounded product like the Sonos Play 5 where they actually spent time, money and effort to engineer a real product.  Guess I'm getting cranky with these tactics to pass the buck w/ hyped up crowd funding.  Bad enough when salesmanship promised you the moon w/ an already made product : now we're being asked to "participate" and join the adoration cult by pre-buying on just some future promise - which can be reneged, changed, or delayed substantially at will.  All at most to save a few hundred bucks and questionable first adopter bragging rights.  Where will it all end? Guess people are free to roll the dice with their own money, whatever form that might take. 

[srb]

I might be interested if it was 1200W but I'm not going to invest for a measly 440W 

Seriously though, the perfect portable amplified speaker for me would

A.  Have the option of running on an internal rechargeable Li-Ion battery at reduced power levels (it's got a handle for moving around)

B.  Be mono - I've never gotten much from the stereo effect coming from small boxes with minimal channel separation, not to mention the increased clarity possible without driver interaction

Bluetooth will largely dictate that the source is in the same room, versus WiFi or Sonos Mesh that has potential whole house coverage.

Steve

[JohnR]

Steve, interesting ideas, esp. B. Hadn't really thought of it but it makes perfect sense.

Guess I'm getting cranky with these tactics to pass the buck w/ hyped up crowd funding.  Bad enough when salesmanship promised you the moon w/ an already made product : now we're being asked to "participate" and join the adoration cult by pre-buying on just some future promise - which can be reneged, changed, or delayed substantially at will.  All at most to save a few hundred bucks and questionable first adopter bragging rights.

Hi Jon, the lure of the discount is strong!! Although to add to the points you brought up, the retail price itself could be changed, so the amount of the discount itself is a bit ill-defined.

I think it's interesting that established companies are using this "crowd funding" model now. This one is on the heels of the PS Audio Sprout campaign. A thought that struck me this afternoon is that, amongst other things, it could be seen as a way to bypass their established dealer networks and get a taste of direct internet sales, at least for a short time.

Thus, I also wonder if some of the success may be due to demand from international (non-US) backers. For them, the discount is even better, despite the cost of shipping, because the customary markup over US retail is also removed.

Crowd funding campaigns for audio gear are not always successful. Here's one that I saw earlier:

https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/vacuum-tube-audio-amplifier

It almost seems that companies that don't need crowd funding are the ones that run the most successful "crowd funding" campaigns - ?!

It will be interesting to see if Peachtree delivers on time. If they do and PS Audio does too, then that might suggest that the model works. If they don't, then perhaps there will be more and more "once bitten twice shy" audiophiles and the model will stop working.

[JLM]

I'll keep my $100 Logitech UE Smart Radio (wireless clock radio with 6 hour battery, ethernet & 3.5 mm analog inputs, headphone or powered/active speaker output).  Other than bluetooth/aptx input it seems to have the whole DB2 scene covered and then some (mono, smaller, cheaper, still fills on large living room with decent sound). 

As I recall DB (original) was supposed to be a layman's alternative to expensive/complex audio systems, but can't put a TV/computer screen in the middle of the sound.  The preponderance of good $500/pair (or cheaper) powered/active speakers (such as Adam F5, Audioengine A2+, Emotiva 5, NuForce S3-BT, PSB Alpha PS1, Vanatoo) that can hook up to the computer/TV should give pause to this product.

Why doesn't Peachtree just go to the bank for a loan?  (Must be crowd funding is really easy.   )

[JohnR]

Why doesn't Peachtree just go to the bank for a loan?

I guess that gets right to the heart of it. For one thing, there's no interest. For another, you have a stack of orders in advance. Which also (hopefully) has collateral advantage in terms of positive reviews on forums etc by the time the product gets into the regular retail sales channel. As jarcher pointer out, there's also no actual obligation to repay/deliver, other than a possible lawsuit. But I think primarily, it is the ability to get the money to build a good number of units in advance without going into debt to do so, which is the opposite of the usual scenario.

[MaxCast]

My question is what is $63K going to do for them?

[MaxCast]

I see John's post during mine.  It looks like the major investment of tooling and pre-production costs are already spent.  I can see 63k helping for a first production run but they still have to ship a unit or something for the majority of those backers.

[jarcher]

Would just like to temper my initial comments by saying that Peachtree is a company that I like and their integrated amps are products that brought well deserved attention back to this product class as they not only sound good and add some needed cosmetic flair at reasonable prices.  But this indiegogo campaign seems ill advised as potentially causing more problems than resolving a short term one.  For me it puts in question their commitment to DB as a product class, or otherwise worse Peachtree's stability as a company if they have to hold out the hat for what seems like a minor funding need to finish a production run.  I.e. in the best case they aren't fully committed to this product line - in the worst they have more serious financial problems.  Not trying to be overly speculative and fan ill founded rumors, but this is the impression they are giving off at least to me. 

Hopefully its the former, in which case they really should have pissed or got off the pot with this product and not put out the tin cup to clients.  I don't really see them as a speaker manufacturer - but they wouldn't be the first boutique audio company to try to become a full product line company (e.g Rega before, Emotiva now). 

As for high end audio crowd funding in general - I can see it having merit to make something based on customer demand that does not have broad commercial appeal (which doesn't hold true for a mass market bluetooth speaker).  Then it really does feel like something special and "bespoke" and can tighten bonds with existing client base.

But then it has to be a tightly controlled endeavor with excellent fulfillment if your crowd funding to direct consumer.  "Backers" are not sophisticated wall street angel investors expecting 1 in 10 things to make it.  If you keep going the way of Light Harmonic, e.g., I think you could end up doing yourself more harm in the long run by harming your market reputation with poorly executed campaigns. E.g. I hope Light Harmonic can right its crowd funding ship as it's constant delays has, at least to me, dissuaded me from pre funding a Geek Source - and put a question mark in my mind regarding the integrity of the company as it releases ever more "perk" options and devices before adequately meeting their current fulfillment obligations.  And what they have put out to date : a USB DAC that honestly at least externally looks like a $15 mainland chinese USB DAC with its ugly plastic and hard edges.  I know its what's inside that counts, but c'mon, if AQ can have really nice fit and finish on a $150 USB DAC - even if they are producing at much higher volume - LH needs to come closer to the bar.

Didn't mean for this to become a rant on LH - but I think you know where I'm going. I.e. Peachtree : stick to making a "better mousetrap" by making even better sounding and repackaged versions of your existing products.  High-end Boutique Audio Cos : don't be "me too" and carelessly dive into crowd funding lest it come back to bite you in the ass.  Make it a real, well thought out marketing tool expertly executed to offer unique low volume products to cement bonds particularly with existing clients.  If you have doubts about meeting those goals : don't do it.  Business 101 lecture over. 

[Don_S]

[JohnR]

And what they have put out to date : a USB DAC that honestly at least externally looks like a $15 mainland chinese USB DAC with its ugly plastic and hard edges.  I know its what's inside that counts, but c'mon, if AQ can have really nice fit and finish on a $150 USB DAC - even if they are producing at much higher volume - LH needs to come closer to the bar.

A bit off-topic... but there's no plastic on the Geek Out. I quite like the look and feel of it, to be honest