[Aether Audio]

Friends,

As you have probably been able to tell (duh), Bob has been pretty stressed out lately.  In fact, one might tend to think that things are going down hill even.  The fact is though that actually, business (and consequently finances) have never been better.  SO good in fact that now the biggest demon I've ever faced has been on the attack - PRODUCTION!!!  What was once never really a problem due to minimal levels of business and orders has now become a frick'n Godzilla!

Back in the day when orders were much further apart, it didn't matter as much if our ability to produce was slow.  Heck, I could even take a day off here and there if I wanted and it didn't impact throughput much.  Now... one day is worth an incredible amount of potential for either throughput or setback - depending if its a good day or not.  (Blizzards have been the bane here lately.)

From a business standpoint, most business owners would love to be in my position.  But...no... not Bob.  He's a little toasty still from the days when there weren't many orders and $$$ was the big concern.  Seems like we went from the frying pan into the fire almost overnight.  At least back when we didn't have much business, the only people I had to worry about really were the creditors.  We all know what you do then.  "Checks in the mail, man" and then you go back to whatever you do to kill the time. 

But when you're in the situation we are now (at least if you're me anyway) you constantly worry about not aggravating your customers because of throughput and production delays.  Those guys are in many ways your friends, not just someone you owe product to.  I don't know, maybe other business owners can just blow it off, but for me... I can't do that.  Seems lately all I do is worry about getting another pair of speakers out the door and trying to make sure folks aren't mad at me for taking so long.

So... I've been biting my nails back to the bone and stressed to the max.  For once $$$ and our long term prospects are looking like we'd always hoped for, but I still don't have any peace.  In fact, the stress is far worse than when we were broke.  Well, besides my state of mind and the fact that I can't keep living like this, the bigger issue (from a business standpoint) is that we just can't keep operating like this.  It's now obvious SP Tech having to operate in La Porte, IN cannot attract the kind of skilled labor we need to build quality enclosures.  There has never been any industry like this in our area so there are simply no skilled laborers to pick from.  Now, drive an hour east of here and it's Amish country/cabinet Mecca... but those folks aren't going to drive that far to work here.

In the final analysis, the only way for SP Tech to get out of this mess has been to find a vendor that we can rely on.  Easier said than done because many businesses want substantial orders up front before they'll give you the time of day.  But... I am here to report that as of today - WE HAVE A NEW VENDOR!!!

I just spoke to the owner of the company that made some of the first Mini parts for us and they are willing to work with us to supply all of our enclosures -finished and ready for final assembly!  We have a little paper work to get in order and a contract to sign yet, but the commitment has been made.

So... it looks like we should  be in a whole new position within the next 3 months or so.  As frazzled as my nerves are, even I can hang on that much longer.  FINALLY...once they are delivering finished enclosures, Bob can have a life again.  Gee... not only that but then our customers won't have to wait so long for their speakers that they're eligible for retirement benefits either.  What a concept.  Timely delivery.  Who'd a thunk it?

That being the case, you guys won't have to listen to my whining anymore.  Hell, whatever those enclosures cost us I'm sure you'll all agree that the price is well worth it just for that!  I figure I must have run off a few potential customers already with all the complaining I've been doing.  In fact, I suspect that subconsciously I did that intentionally, just so we didn't get any more orders.  I do Know we've been intentionally holding back on advertising or any other promotion of our product for that very reason.  Taking too long to fill orders can be worse for business than not having any orders in the first place - from a marketing standpoint anyway.

Well, it looks like it won't be too long now and those days will be over.  For those that have been waiting, thanks so much for putting up with us and all of the delays (which aren't over yet).  Words cannot express my appreciation for your loyalty and faith in us.  You guys are really all of the "first" customers we've had, at least as far as the "infancy" days are concerned.  In that, your devotion and patience has made little SP Tech possible and helped to keep us going to where we could pull everything together and get our ducks in a row.  Now because of that, "little" SP Tech might not be so little much longer.  Great.  Next I'll have to teach the "kid" how to shave and explain the "birds and the bees."  Arrggghhh... A father's job is never done.

Take care,
-Bob

[ted_b]

GREAT news Bob.   

You guys deserve some breaks, and I'm glad you're getting some.  Oh, and don't worry about the whining; it's that frank "what you see is what you get" attitude that draws so many of us to your philosophy, design and products.  It's refreshingly honest.   Hmmm.....sounds like my Revelations; honest, dynamic, incredibly fast (whoops, maybe not) 






Now....go get my Continuums done! 

[2bigears]

   sounds great!!!! hard work pays off,it just has to.How long till the 1st set of Revs hit the border????  thks   Pat

[Rx8man]

CONGRATULATIONS Bob !! 

I prayed for your sucess and that you wouldn't throw in the towel, you well deserve the break. 

Thanks for calling me, wish I had more time that day before leaving to work. 

Weather permitting, I'm looking forward to visiting you this weekend. 

[spence]

Great news Bob! We're all hoping things work out. I'm not giving up on you yet!

Dave

[reefrus]

It's About time!

[BrianM]

So what's the situation with using dealers for these speakers?  I thought (assumed) they were only direct, but the above poster is listed as a dealer.

[reefrus]

So what's the situation with using dealers for these speakers?  I thought (assumed) they were only direct, but the above poster is listed as a dealer.

No worry Brian!
Mini's order only direct from SP Tech.
Dealers only sell Reference line.

[BrianM]

So what's the situation with using dealers for these speakers?  I thought (assumed) they were only direct, but the above poster is listed as a dealer.

No worry Brian!
Mini's order only direct from SP Tech.
Dealers only sell Reference line.

What's the Reference line?

[Aether Audio]

Brian M,

We offer both Factory-Direct sales and sales through dealers.  In essence, since none of our dealers are "stocking dealers" at this time, one would essentially be purchasing direct from the factory anyway - in a sense.  Reefrus above is one of our oldest, most loyal and highly experienced owners/dealers.  He would be glad to do a demo for you in his Denver, CO location, but because he doesn't have any extra speakers in stock beyond his personal pair, we would end up shipping directly to his "customer."

In fact, any owner can "potentially" be a dealer if they so choose to be.  You will find that a majority of high-end dealers are now dealing out of their homes these days and often only have one unit (or one pair, as in the case of speakers) of a particular product, which is also their demo unit.  Certain long-time and devoted dealers like Reefrus retain a kind of "special" status, such that even though they are not a "stocking" dealer, they have earned, as a result of their loyalty and length of relationship, a very special place in our program.

We also have in place a program for more traditional "brick and mortar" stores, but in their case they are required to either have a website and/or advertise and/or retain extra product in stock.

In this modern age of the Internet, a small company must be more flexable in its marketing strategies as compared to foregone years.  We have come up with a program that allows more entities to participate in promoting our products, wherein their official "status" is a function of their ability/willingness to invest, the length of time they have been in the SP Tech "family," their level of commitment and their operating overhead.  I know this all seems a bit complex and it is, but we negotiate and deal with each of our representatives on somewhat of an individual basis.

Should we become the next "Wilson Audio" or whatever, the above may change.  For now we don't see that happening any time soon, so we think this program will work for some time to come.  Besides, we like the "grass roots" approach.  If all goes as planned we'll fly under the "big name" companies' radar and take them out before they know what hit them.

Hope this helps.
-Bob

[BrianM]

Thanks for the explanation, Bob.

Progressive Audio here in Columbus, OH, is under new ownership (as of late last year).  Right now they deal in Thiel, Wilson and B&W speakers.  They've also (like everyone else) gravitated towards HT installation, almost exclusively I beleve.  However I'm told the new owner wants to get back into 2-channel high-end audio more, and he's open to new directions.  I don't know if you're looking for more dealers, but if you feel your speakers would compare favorably to any of the above brands, well, I'm sure there are those around here who would appreciate having an SP Tech dealer in town.

[Aether Audio]

BrianM,

You're most welcome.

Hey... we're always open to the possibility of new dealers.  If you happen to know those folks and get a chance to mention us to them some time, that would be great.  Maybe they will make contact.  As it is now we couldn't build product for them, but once our enclosure vendor comes on-line, that will change everything.  Thanks for the suggestion and...

Take care,
-Bob

[Geardaddy]

That's wonderful news Bob.     Dale at Intuitive Audio needs a similar breakthrough....the pace and pressure will kill him.

[Rx8man]

If Progressive Audio took on the SP Tech and Intuitive Designs, I'd have good reason to spend a lot of time or maybe work there !

The problem I had was finding a decent parking spot without having to feed a damn meter every 20-30 minutes.

[jneutron]

But... I am here to report that as of today - WE HAVE A NEW VENDOR!!!

I just spoke to the owner of the company that made some of the first Mini parts for us and they are willing to work with us to supply all of our enclosures -finished and ready for final assembly!  We have a little paper work to get in order and a contract to sign yet, but the commitment has been made.

So... it looks like we should  be in a whole new position within the next 3 months or so.  As frazzled as my nerves are, even I can hang on that much longer.  FINALLY...once they are delivering finished enclosures, Bob can have a life again.  Gee... not only that but then our customers won't have to wait so long for their speakers that they're eligible for retirement benefits either.  What a concept.  Timely delivery.  Who'd a thunk it?

Bout time dude.

That being the case, you guys won't have to listen to my whining anymore.

Don't worry, I didn't listen before..

Next I'll have to teach the "kid" how to shave and explain the "birds and the bees."  Arrggghhh... A father's job is never done.
Take care,
-Bob

Forget the kid.  Whatever happened to the cables??

Good luck with the business..

Cheers, John

[Aether Audio]

John,

Sorry so long to respond.  I don't seem to have the time these days to stay up on things.   Thanks for stopping by.

As a matter of fact, I really need to thank you again for that cable info.  For a period there I really worked the heck out of the little spreadsheet I created as a result of it.  I built several variations and made some discoveries regarding speaker cables and the resulting sound.  As much fun as it is to believe in, I hate to say that as far as I can tell... there's nothing going on in the way of "alternative physics." 

Specifically regarding speaker cables, my investigations have led me to a theory which I have since proven empirically (at least to myself).  There may be others that have already discovered the underlying principles, but so far I haven't read about or seen any discussion about them anywhere.  These principles require a "systematic view" of the driving amplifier, the cable and the speaker.  Most discussions tend to isolate each component and view their properties and behavior separately. 

To be honest, I see this approach as a rather naive and overly simplistic view of the subject.  No wonder there's no clear theory as to why different cables sound different and/or some (somewhat) work for one setup and not (or less so) for others.  In lieu of any real systemic analysis, "snake oil" and/or the "shotgun" approach (a seemingly endless process of experimentation with different cables) is bound to rule the day.

As far as my cables go, I've been so busy with SP Tech that I haven't had time to get set up to build them.  Actually, I've just started setting up a work space over the last couple of weekends.  I have a clear cut design objective now and have to do some testing to select the correct dielectrics, then we will start making the first ones that will be available for sale.

As a little side note, I have found that in order to have the most thorough effect/improvement in performace, one needs to address all of the wire in the chain.  If one were able to completely re-wire their speakers internally as well as optimize the cable externally, that gives the greatest improvement.  At some point I may offer a service to do this, but of course with the cost of shipping involved... this would be a substantial investment for the customer.  I would tend to think that only those speakers that already represent a substantial investment would be the best candidates for such a service.  Other than that, folks just need to buy SP Tech speakers as they are already designed based on my theory and with their wiring optimized accordingly.

Anyway... that's the scoop.  Before too long you'll probably see my wires being offered.  I don't expect them to put any other manufacturers out of business, but I reckon there will be a few folks that like them.

Take care,
-Bob

[jneutron]

John,
Sorry so long to respond.  I don't seem to have the time these days to stay up on things.   Thanks for stopping by.

Never a prob.

As a matter of fact, I really need to thank you again for that cable info.  For a period there I really worked the heck out of the little spreadsheet I created as a result of it.  I built several variations and made some discoveries regarding speaker cables and the resulting sound.  As much fun as it is to believe in, I hate to say that as far as I can tell... there's nothing going on in the way of "alternative physics."  

Yah, it gets boring once you set up mathamatical rules, eh?  Pick a desired parameter, and poof, out pops everything you need to design the cables..

Specifically regarding speaker cables, my investigations have led me to a theory which I have since proven empirically (at least to myself).  There may be others that have already discovered the underlying principles, but so far I haven't read about or seen any discussion about them anywhere.  These principles require a "systematic view" of the driving amplifier, the cable and the speaker.  Most discussions tend to isolate each component and view their properties and behavior separately.  

A system approach is the only way to go.  agreed.

To be honest, I see this approach as a rather naive and overly simplistic view of the subject.  No wonder there's no clear theory as to why different cables sound different and/or some (somewhat) work for one setup and not (or less so) for others.  In lieu of any real systemic analysis, "snake oil" and/or the "shotgun" approach (a seemingly endless process of experimentation with different cables) is bound to rule the day.

That's what I've been harpin for several years now.   I'm glad your having fun.

As a little side note, I have found that in order to have the most thorough effect/improvement in performace, one needs to address all of the wire in the chain.  If one were able to completely re-wire their speakers internally as well as optimize the cable externally, that gives the greatest improvement.

When you're dealing with a low impedance cable, say 8 ohms, with a dielectric constant of 2.7, you're talking about 300 pf per foot and 10 nanohenries per foot.  And then, blow all that low inductance away with uncontrolled single wires?

If keeping the inductance in the 10 nH per foot range is required, blowing it all with a 2 uHenry #14 wire pair internally doesn't make sense..

Take care,
-Bob 

You too.  Good luck with the business

Cheers, John

[juanitox]

   So with right now if i would like a timepiece mini or a 3.0
how long to get one?  is it still 2or 3month of delay?

Thanks..