[newzooreview]

Clayton was just at Pacific Audio Fest, looking good and working in the new sales role. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-ynYyemBSFE

It sounds as if a) Spatial Audio Lab's day-to-day management is handed off to folks who have been part of the company for a long while, so b) this frees Clayton up to keep working on aspects that he is good at and enjoys while easing what was no doubt a hefty workload due to the company's success.

Clayton visited GR Research and identified the potential for the new driver in the Q6 to replace (or improve on) the discontinued M3 Sapphire driver. It doesn't seem like he has stopped providing input or ideas on new product design.

The introduction of the Don Sachs amps and a premium crossover version of the X series are also excellent expansions of what Spatial offers.

It seems that a) Spatial is keeping an extremely good $5k speaker in the lineup and b) they are continuing to innovate. I wouldn't be surprised if they return to earlier thoughts of a sub-$5k speaker, adding an open baffle sub-woofer for folks who have existing speakers from other manufacturers, or some other innovations that Clayton could not get to when wearing all the hats.

If you look back at the state of hi-fi in the '70s and '80s, there seems to me to be a wider selection of high-quality components at more accessible prices than there has ever been. Vinyl has had a resurgence, tubes are still going strong, and new technologies like GaN are giving us new options.

Salk and Spatial built resilient and viable companies that are being continued in the spirit of their founders. They have not been bought and gutted to market the name like Harman Kardon, Polk, and any number of other companies of the past. That seems both welcome and hopeful news.

[VinceT]

Not to muck up the thread, but the economy is not doing all that well. Reminds me of a quote I once read from Benjamin Disraeli: 'There are three types of lies -- lies, damn lies, and statistics"

Bringing this back to speaker builders IMHO the DIY speaker companies is the best business model to be in right now. With the high interest rates and inflation, hard to come up an extra 10k for speakers for a lot of folks. That is why I am surprised the CSS and Salk thing didn't pan out and they could not come up with something to make that work being CSS had the infrastructure in place for the DIY crowd. You need a line in the 3-5K range in this day in age.

[Early B.]

Factually incorrect.  Here's wealth and income in the US per income quartile, adjusted for inflation.  People in the bottom are doing about the same as they always have, maybe even slightly better.  It's clear to see EVERYONE is doing as well as ever, and some are doing even better. 

Two things are for certain: 1) the cost of living has increased dramatically since COVID; and 2) wages have not increased in proportion to the cost of living. As a result, one could argue that discretionary spending for items such as audio gear has probably decreased significantly in the past 12 months. Personally, I've been grabbing gear for the past year because, by the end of the summer, I may not have the funds to do so. My bills have increased by about one-third. Homeowners taxes in my area have nearly tripled in the past two years. During this same time period, I've received a 3% raise on my job.

So yeah -- $5K for speakers is wildly expensive for the majority of consumers and perhaps too high for audiophiles. It would be interesting to take a poll here on AC and see how much people paid for the speakers they use on their main system. In the same poll, ask ACers the most we're willing to spend on speakers. Same poll for amps...   

[I.Greyhound Fan]

Lets not forget the effect of big box stores like Best Buy and Circuit City.  The same goes for online stores.  These things spelled the death of mom and pop shops.

However, I think that now is a good time for young people to get into audio and many are buying good inexpensive gear like Schiit  Audio, Elac speakers etc..  Also, many younger people are getting into vinyl.  You can't argue with the numbers.  I personally know of several people including teenagers that are into vinyl.

[lazbisme]

Danny Richie at Gr-Research is selling DIY kits definitely in the price range of <$3K and even his lowest priced stuff sounds good> Not just good for the price, but, GOOD! Nothing in this for me just posting F Y I

[FullRangeMan]

The sad truth is the boomers are this hobby, as they retire, stop buying gear, and pass on there is nowhere near the young adult to take their place. This is why we see products become ultra-expensive to make money for those with deep pockets before the whole hobby goes belly up. For the most part, it is no longer marketed or planned for the middle class or even the upper middle class for the most part. I know some have complained about spatial audio prices being higher but while that is true it is nowhere near where a smaller 2 way can cost you as much and if not thousands more than Spatial speaker's most expensive models.

+1 on Mr.Big. 
Since I bought a Carver Amazing in 1992 I have always been shocked at how boxed loudspeakers continue to sell well every year to this day 2023, even with that thin 2D soundstage(monopole, emit sound only to front) and high price due to the very expensive MDF Box and the finishing, in US a loudspeaker only sells well if it has an impressive looking, what are irrelevant to sound quality.

I wish whole heart to Spatial and other panels and OB manufacturers much success in their sales.