[klh]

Kevin,

The direction you are going in sounds extremely impressive. Consider the benefits of what you just went through. You learned that you have to play the game to do well, not just provide an outstanding product. By next year, you will really have something to show, and you'll also have a better idea of how to get your product noticed. This past week may have been frustrating, but in the long run you may get more out of it than you'd initially thought.

Speaking of the newer products, will they also be sold as kits? Will the speakers other than the center channel have the BG planar magnetics? Will you use the Neo 8 PDR or old Neo 8 in the center channel? From the wording on your previous post, it's a little hard to tell if the BG Neo 8 will cover the mid and high frequencies or just the mid... please confirm what it will do. Will you do newer wall mount 3-way L, C, R and surrounds? Are you willing to hint at a price range?  Lastly, will the center channel be able to be used effectively as an LCR? I can imagine MTM wall mounts with two Extremi and one Neo 8 PDR and MT wall mounts with one Extremis and one Neo 3 PDR. Having those as LCR's and surrounds, respectively, and having them paired with the Hypex amps and individualized parametric EQs would be amazing.

You really seem to be heading in an area that few are involved in. If you find a way to get noticed... if you find a way to get noticed next year, I think you'll have a lot of potential to do well. Good luck.

[trekker]

Kevin,

I just found some CES show coverage here: http://www.enjoythecinema.com/home_theater_show_report/ces_2006/      It's at the bottom of the page.  Other companies mentioned on the same page are Snell, Harmon Intl, NAD and Sunfire.

Arnold

[skrivis]

I think you are right on.  I'll take the blame for not spending more of my time networking with the right people before the show.

If all else fails, try bribery!

"Pssst! Free steak dinner if you come in and check out our products..."

Stereophile seems to have a lot of chubby reviewers, so I bet food would work on them. hehe  

[dawaro]

As far as getting press at CES I am not really sure your products fit the criteria. I don't really think I have ever seen coverage of exceptional products at affordable prices ever mentioned before. It always seems to be the outragously over priced items that get covered. The stuff that 99% of the public are going to be amazed that someone would actually spend that much money on something of that nature. Like the $12K cables you mentioned. Just a thought...

[Kevin Haskins]

Kevin,

The direction you are going in sounds extremely impressive. Consider the benefits of what you just went through. You learned that you have to play the game to do well, not just provide an outstanding product. By next year, you will really have something to show, and you'll also have a better idea of how to get your product noticed. This past week may have been frustrating, but in the long run you may get more out of it than you'd initially thought.

Speaking of the newer products, will they also ...

Thanks... I appricate the positive feedback.    Every day is a learning experience.  

In terms of kit versions I may or may not do them.   Right now my main concern is making enough money to live.     I like doing the kits because there are so many more things you can do with a kit vs. a commercial product.   You can offer features and functions you wouldn't do in a commercial product.   The problem is the support time.   The more complicated the kit (active design) the more time on the phone both before and after the sale.    Basically I have to make a decision on how much time I have to support something like that.

How is that for a non-answer?  

[klh]

Not bad... you're improving your skills of talking out of both sides of your mouth! The answer is also fair. I'm sure you would have a lot of people who would be interested in and likely buy the kit, but I'm sure it would also take up a lot of your time. We here would have highly biased opinions, and I'm sure you know what we'd prefer, but you have to do what's good for you and your business. Good luck.

[zane9]

Yes... Cedia is a different kind of show.   I'd say 99% of the people would not be interested in our setup because in the install business it's about price and ease of install.   Our product is going to be a niche product.   There is no way we can compete on price due to our size and sales volume.

I think your presence at the Montreal show would be a good fit for you.

http://www.fsiexpo.com/index.html

Smaller enterprises like yours, many of whom have circles here, have exhibited at FSI to great success. Of course there is the time, expense and energy needed to commit to participating in any show, which of course you would weigh against the likelihood of increased exposure and sales. For some companies, too-rapid growth can have negative outcomes. You know your business plan better than any of us!

[guest1632]

I just wanted to put down my thoughts on CES and some of our new products in the works.

First off... we showed a multichannel set-up at Alexis Park using the new slim profile Silhouette Series loudspeakers.   Our room was the coolest demonstration of a HT setup (forget the loudspeakers for a moment) I've seen at a show with exception of the big boys who have put over $250,000 into the exhibit.   We basically built a shell inside the hotel room using 2'x4's and mounted curtains and an overhead projector/s ...

Hi Kevin,

Could you give maybe in another thread some info on these Silhouette speakers. 27 HZ for a cabinet that size, wow! Thanks.

[Kevin Haskins]

We are still working on the engineering at this point.   Our main work is on the amplification and signal processing.    

What allows the output is a pretty simple formula though.    We take a variation of the Extremis and put it in the smallest sealed box that will fit the driver, grill, crossover and Planar tweeter.    We then equalize the response to compensate for the small box acoustic behavior.   We apply a combination linkwitz transform & high pass filter to shape the low frequency response to what we want (Sealed box Q = .67 and f3 40Hz) and whola... you have in-room response well into the 30s, especially with near wall placement.    We also added a single band of parametric equilization on each channel to deal with at least a single room node.    

Realistically what limits us is the mechanical ability of the driver, and the power we can get into the system.   With our system at CES we where mainly power limited.    The Hypex Class D amps allow us to throw plenty of power at them and keep a reasonably small footprint while Extremis like driver gives us the mechanical ability to reach deep.  

We have developed a couple specialized drivers that are closely related to the Extremis that will be a better fit for our design goals than the current Extremis.   Outside of that our main hurdles are finishing the signal processing, adding more heatsinking capability and perhaps a SMPS to decrease package weight and increase system efficiency further.

[dave_c]

Sounds like you're racking your brain on how to get your company into a major growth phase.  Great idea considering the level of your products relative to the current market (especially HT).  I think it's going to take a major identity change to get you there.  Not only from your company standpoint but maybe a personal one as well.  I think I remember your site starting out selling variations of the asylum cable.  Now you're at the point where you're becoming the marketing arm for various OEM's as well as performing R&D as well.  At this point it may be time to shed the DIY image and go for one that screams well engineered product worthy of your hard earned dollars.

Marketing dollars are hard to part with if you don't see immediate impact, but the right image goes a long way.  I think that's why many companies try to explode on the scene with a "Statement" product to make a big product splash and then sell their volume money makers on the coattails of that initial press.  You're sort of in the opposite position where your reputation grew steadily among a small niche market and now you're primed to make a run at the big time.  

The problem is the people who show at CES are the biggest players in the big pool and the biggest players in the small pool too.  I think maybe positive press should be built up in the months coming up to keep you in the mind of the press prior to those shows.  Also, figure out who you want press from.  Like Phil suggested, invite the HT Mag or Sound and Vision guys over to check out your HT Gear.  Don't forget the other HT Forums (Avsforum) and online mag guys too (Audioholics and Secrets of Home Theater).  I think being able to bring up reviews on google, ecoustics and CNet are just as relevant as being in a print mag.

Not trying to tell you how to run your business, these are just some observations I've made.  Good luck in your future!

[cOz]

Sounds like you're racking your brain on how to get your company into a major growth phase....

Dave has hit the nail on the head!  The other major ingredient to success in the new online world is a strong fan base.  People that will promote your products because they believe in your company, ideas, and products.  A company can not put a price on having a community to support them.  An almost sad commentary on this new era is that people actually identify themselves by the brands they support.

[Kevin Haskins]

Sounds like you're racking your brain on how to get your company into a major growth phase. Great idea considering the level of your products relative to the current market (especially HT)

Not really racking my brain... I just show up for work every day and do what makes sense.   I'd rather grow at a moderate level than a major one.   My goals are pretty simple.   I don't want to be owned by my business, I want a reasonable amount of income to support my family and time to spend with them.   I don't desire a large unmanageable company that takes all my time.  

From a personal standpoint my income requirements are modest.   I'm happy with my old truck, blue jeans and cheap beer.   Vacation for me is putting on my backpack and suffering for a week in the wilderness.   If I had Bill Gates type of money I wouldn't do anything different so why would I break my neck trying to earn it?  

Great idea considering the level of your products relative to the current market (especially HT). I think it's going to take a major identity change to get you there. Not only from your company standpoint but maybe a personal one as well. I think I remember your site starting out selling variations of the asylum cable. Now you're at the point where you're becoming the marketing arm for various OEM's as well as performing R&D as well. At this point it may be time to shed the DIY image and go for one that screams well engineered product worthy of your hard earned dollars.

I won't change... I'm too old and stubborn.     We do have an Exodus Audio site in the works though.  It will feature all of our assembled products and things that are at least partially designed by me.   There won't be anything DIY about the site as part of the goal is to attract partners to help me sell the products.   I draw on multiple engineers for most of our products.   Nobody is the best at everthing so knowing when to outsource engineering as well as manufacturing is smart business.

Not trying to tell you how to run your business, these are just some observations I've made. Good luck in your future!

Hey.. I don't feel like that at all.   All your observations are good ones and thanks for the well wishes.

[Kevin Haskins]

Sounds like you're racking your brain on how to get your company into a major growth phase....

Dave has hit the nail on the head!  The other major ingredient to success in the new online world is a strong fan base.  People that will promote your products because they believe in your company, ideas, and products.  A company can not put a price on having a community to support them.  An almost sad commentary on this new era is that people actually identify themselves by the brands they support.

I agree... most of our business growth has come from word of mouth.   I've not spent squat on advertising at this point.   When I do it will be measured and based upon performance metrics.  

I don't want to grow fast.   I want to grow at a very reasonable rate.   I don't want to be stressed trying to fill orders, working weekends and stretched financially to make things work.   I just want to show up every day and work at building a company that I like.

[dave_c]

I agree... most of our business growth has come from word of mouth.   I've not spent squat on advertising at this point.   When I do it will be measured and based upon performance metrics.  

I don't want to grow fast.   I want to grow at a very reasonable rate.   I don't want to be stressed trying to fill orders, working weekends and stretched financially to make things work.   I just want to show up every day and work at building a company that I like.

Great words!  I think its awesome that you are doing something you like to do and remain connected to your customers.  Its much better to hear it from you than a customer service representative who will be with me shortly.