[Bill Baker]

As many of you already know, Response Audio has been modifying tube products for some time now. Some of these modifications are quite involved and extreme. Such as our EXtreme ASL Hurricanes.

 Over the years, we have been asked if we will come out with a few of our own custom designed products.

  What's your thoughts? Bring out a few custom designed tube amp products? OR,  Keep with what is working for us now, modifying existing products to bring out their inner most true potential.

  For those who think we should come out with our own products, what kind of designs would you like to see? SET? push-pull? Low, medium power? I have been working a few designs over the years that are based around 10-40 watt mono blocs using EL34, 6L6 and KT88 tubes.
  Another option is taking our existing modified products to a new level with new custom chassis based on real wood designs. The designs/circuitries we currently work with are already established and we have permission to go as far as we want with these products from the manufacturers. (Jolida, ASL and Ming-Da)

  Again, I turn to the circle members for their open and honest thoughts and opinions.

  Can the market handle another product from a smaller company such as Response. Hhmmm.......

[WEEZ]

Bill,

As you know, there are at least a few companies that got their start doing mods and upgrades; and now have their own product line- while some have stayed in the modification business. I guess it really depends on how 'big' you want to get. There are advantages to both business models. As a company grows, there can be economies of scale and maybe a chance for more profits, but maybe at the expense of having to hire a larger staff and the "people" problems that can occur.

As far as profit goes- you would be the best judge of that.

My only thought regarding a 'new' product would be to ask: What product is the market lacking? A new line of "me-too" products may not take off unless they represent unusually good value (performance/price ratio) OR,
represent cost-no-object-type designs that truly advance the state of the art.

Quite frankly, I think your Jolida mods represent excellent value. The 302/502 in 'full wood dress' are really unique products.

One product that the market has very few of, is a pure vacuum tube full-function pre-amp (you know, with tape loops; tone controls; loudness compensation; phono stage; stereo blend control; etc.) Maybe there's a good reason-- maybe nobody wants such a thing. I don't know. Others may wish to opine on this subject.

Don't guess I've been any help. Just a few rambling thoughts.

Good luck with whatever avenue you travel.

WEEZ

[Bill Baker]

My only thought regarding a 'new' product would be to ask: What product is the market lacking? A new line of "me-too" products may not take off unless they represent unusually good value (performance/price ratio) OR,
represent cost-no-object-type designs that truly advance the state of the art.

  I don't see the market really lacking anything at this point. I have considered both end of the scale with a true value component and the cost-no-object. I am leaning more towards the latter as the components I would use in the final designs would be the best I could get my hands on such as the VH V-Cap capacitors.

Quite frankly, I think your Jolida mods represent excellent value. The 302/502 in 'full wood dress' are really unique products

 Thanks for that. The Jolida has been my main product line for sometime and the Special and Reference series will continue for a few more years as I have a large number of these available. I am working on a set of 502 mono blocs now. Lately it has been the Reference 801 that has been grabing everyone's attention.

One product that the market has very few of, is a pure vacuum tube full-function pre-amp (you know, with tape loops; tone controls; loudness compensation; phono stage; stereo blend control; etc.) Maybe there's a good reason-- maybe nobody wants such a thing. I don't know. Others may wish to opine on this subject.

 Hhmmm.... I agree. I have been looking over some old designs from various companies including Mullard. I like some of the nastolgic circuit designs with the tone controls and loudness. This has been in the back of my mind for some time now. We'll see!!

Don't guess I've been any help. Just a few rambling thoughts

 Actually, that is exactly the type of response I am looking forward to hearing. My problem is that maybe I enjoy this kind of work too much. I like the experimentation process as much as the final outcome. The latest EXtreme ASL Hurricanes have proven to me that there is a whole new world of presentation hidding within many products out there. Maybe this is why the Jolida venture has been so sucessful over the years.

  Thanks for the feedback.

[JLM]

Bill:

What is your 5 year business plan?  (Does this fit into your plans and your family's?  What would your bank think?  Most business venures take 2 years to break even.)

What direction do you see the market heading?  (If I had to guess, I'd say digital/PC.  Is that your expertise?)

How busy to you want to be?  (What would be willing to give up if necessary?)

Would you be happy dealing with suppliers and/or overseas manufacturer?  (Are you comfortable handing some control over to others?)

Where do you see yourself in the audiophile market?  (IMO that will dictate what niche your own brand would be most successful.)

What would you project the sales numbers to be for a given product?


I'll tell you what I'm waiting for:  an affordable all in one audio PC that includes boards for single channel digital amps.

[Bill Baker]

What is your 5 year business plan? (Does this fit into your plans and your family's? What would your bank think? Most business venures take 2 years to break even.)  Still feeling the waters at this time. I do not think I would go for the mainstream market but rather a smaller niche market. Also not something I would be looking at right away. The audio industry is a constant change and when/if I make this type of move, I would want all my ducks in a row. I also wanted to make clear that I am not looking to become a large manufacturer but rather offer a limited, cutom built product.

What direction do you see the market heading? (If I had to guess, I'd say digital/PC. Is that your expertise?)  Not at all. I would stay in the world of tubes. Obviously will never be the mainstay of the audio market but I feel comfortable that it is here to stay.

How busy to you want to be? (What would be willing to give up if necessary?) Busy enough to keep my family happy but not to the point of neglecting them. I do understand your point.

Would you be happy dealing with suppliers and/or overseas manufacturer? (Are you comfortable handing some control over to others?) I would not be sourcing the construction to overseas agents but rather having chassis custom built locally and sourcing all the components here in the US. I know foriegn manufacturers are much less expensive but with the proper research, I feel I can offer a high quality product at a reasonable price.

Where do you see yourself in the audiophile market? (IMO that will dictate what niche your own brand would be most successful.) Custom built, high quality tube amplifiers. That's where I 'want' to be.
What would you project the sales numbers to be for a given product?


I'll tell you what I'm waiting for: an affordable all in one audio PC that includes boards for single channel digital amps. Not going to happen on this end.

 I am going to stick with the custom modification ventures for the time being. These have been very good to us and with the contracts and exclusive products I now have, this will give me plenty of time to think out the future. I currently have enough to keep me going for 3-5 years. A lot can happen in this time. We'll see where the industry takes us.
  Thanks a million for you honest and very good points

[mca]

I think a vacuum tube full function pre-amp is an excellent idea. I did some searching and could not find anything like it on the market, that's why I ended up with my McIntosh. I really like the Mac, but I miss tubes  

[Bill Baker]

I think a vacuum tube full function pre-amp is an excellent idea.

  I think this is more of the area of Dan at ModWright. He has spent a lot of time developing his tube pre and maybe there will be more "functions" incorperated into the design in the future. I will probable stay more involved at the power end of the chain.

[Grover]

Hi Bill:

Only you will be able to weigh all the factors that go into your decision to bring out a new product.  I hope my comments below will be somewhat helpful.

You have a ton of products already, but I think there's room for more.  I first would like to see you define your website a bit better and try to differentiate your components.  ASL mods, Jolida mods, RAM Reference mods, Ming-Da, Uf-Da, Musica-Bell, the brands are starting to blend together a bit.  I would suggest organizing your site by Brand first, then when you click on ASL (for example) you are taken step by step to your Reference, Signature and Extreme categories after that.  I think I would also try to add thumbnail photos of the components.  The 6moons site does a great job of this and is what I'm talking about.

There's getting to be a whole bunch of inexpensive Chinese tube integrated amp these days.  They all look pretty much the same with the black/gold/chrome/mirror thing going on.  They all sorta remind me of walking down the lighting fixture aisle at Home Depot.

I LOVE your idea of a high end U.S. sourced component.  Please take a peek at how the Italians style their equipment.  The Pathos One, The higher end Unicos, the Sonus Faber speakers.  Make your equipment BEAUTIFUL to look at and BEAUTIFUL to listen to.  I think that is where you can differentiate yourself.  

Good luck with your decision making.

[Bill Baker]

You have a ton of products already, but I think there's room for more. I first would like to see you define your website a bit better and try to differentiate your components. ASL mods, Jolida mods, RAM Reference mods, Ming-Da, Uf-Da, Musica-Bell, the brands are starting to blend together a bit. I would suggest organizing your site by Brand first, then when you click on ASL (for example) you are taken step by step to your Reference, Signature and Extreme categories after that. I think I would also try to add thumbnail photos of the components. The 6moons site does a great job of this and is what I'm talking about.

Point taken. Obviously I am no web designer and at this time, my first priority was getting the site back up and running. I am learning more anout this program every day and I also think your ideas on cleaning things up a bit are warranted. I will start working on this as time allows. This is the type of feedback I appreciate.

There's getting to be a whole bunch of inexpensive Chinese tube integrated amp these days. They all look pretty much the same with the black/gold/chrome/mirror thing going on. They all sorta remind me of walking down the lighting fixture aisle at Home Depot.

 I agree 100%. This is the reason why we do not sell the Ming-Da products in stock form. The Sig. & Ref. preamps are becomong quite popular and I believe it is due to the fact that we go through them with upgrades first. The other thing that sets us apart from others selling the various Chinese products is that I warranty all my products myself without having to send them back to the Mainland for service.

I LOVE your idea of a high end U.S. sourced component. Please take a peek at how the Italians style their equipment. The Pathos One, The higher end Unicos, the Sonus Faber speakers. Make your equipment BEAUTIFUL to look at and BEAUTIFUL to listen to. I think that is where you can differentiate yourself.

 This is something that has been eating away at me for some time now. I am one who want my components to look as good as they sound. I am a big fan of wood and currently working on some new cosmetics for many of the products already in the line-up.

 Thanks Grover, for all the honest feedback. As I have always mentioned, I know I can count on the Circle members honesty without being cruel.

[nature boy]

Bill,

I wish you the best of luck with your potential line of products.  Because you are a "tube kinda guy", I think that you should consider a niche' cost-no-object amplifier as a start.   A lot of companies are out sourcing production of tube and non-tube equipment in China & Southeast Asia these days, virtually flooding the market with lower to moderate cost equipment.  I do not see a competitive advantage here - even for a US based net retailer with low overhead.

Also, I believe the high end market is shrinking.  No real numbers to base this on, just informal discussions with friends and music lovers.

I think your profit margins on cost-no-object pieces will be more sustainable in the long term.  You also won't have to worry about cranking out tons of units and can maintain better quality control.  Just my thoughts.

NB

[Hogg]

Bill, my advice, after dealing with many business is be very careful as to what your value proposition to the consumer is.  It's not clear to me how you will differentiate yourself from other manufacturers.  What's compelling about your offerings to excite the consumer into buying your product over others?  Norh and now the Chinese manufacturers have started to exploit the low-cost production from the Far East offering the consumer value for the price paid.  Many US manufacturers are running to the very high-end to avoid price competition.   Without knowing more about your plans, it's difficult to be very specific but I would be happy to talk to you.  Good luck.

[Bill Baker]

Greetings Hogg,
  As it stands right now, I think I will stick with the custom modifications and exclusive products. With the Chinese market offering such valued components it leaves a lot of room for modification upgrades and this is what Response Audio has become known for.
  Products now being offered in this country are exceptional values even in stock for. With the upgrades and modifications we have come out with they still maintain a very good "value level" allowing consumers to get much more for their money. I have worked with many of these manufacturers to become authorized to perform these modifications and still maintain warranty. For those products we bring in, such as the Ming-Da line, we offer our own warranty.
 To bring out our own line would also require a long period of developing a new reputation. The audio industry is to radical to get involved with this at this point. I'm happy where I am.
  At the very least, maybe I will come out with a custom product on a small scale down the road.