MIKED,
... So what's the story?
Well, as far as the S-9s being too hard to make... you got that right!
If I never have to build another one it will be too soon. Talk about a major pain!
Well... I suppose it wouldn't be such a big deal if NuForce could/would charge a minimum of $15K per pair. Then "maybe" it would be worth all the trouble. But from a marketing standpoint they feel that they can't.
Basically, if those enclosures were garages, they'd be fit for a Bentley or a Rolls. Since the target price was a max of $5.5K and the enclosures turned out to be a lot harder to build than first thought, certain compromises had to be made during development. So, time passes and as good as they ended up being, they never lived up to their potential. Fast-forward to the present and NuForce is upgrading all of their remaining stock to the new ring-radiator tweeter/500Hz crossover that we're also using in the S-8s (and in all Aether Audio Millennial Reference Series speakers too).
After those are gone though... no more. Well... if somebody wants to ante up $15K... we'll think about it.
Rest assured, they'd live up to their potential then. Actually, the few that are left which are slated for upgrading will be exactly what that "$15K" pair would be... except they ain't gonna charge that much for them - as far as I know anyway.
The difference between the S-8 and S-9s is that (a) the woofers in the S-9s (original driver) can handle more power (+3dB)/produce greater bass dynamics than the S-8 and (b) as nice as the S-8 enclosures are, short of being made the same way... they're not the equivalent of the S-9 enclosures - nor are many others selling for less than $25K (think *Magico Mini*).
Anyway, that's the scoop.
Take care,
-Bob
