Joker,
Certainly we would not keep the information to ourselves if we had something to report and it made sense...
One big problem with what you (I'm not picking on you, there are lots asking the same thing
) are asking for is that things change. A release date is impossible to predict; think of all the things that go into a speaker...
Each pair of LS9's has 24 woofers, 18 tweeters, 24 ports assemblies (which consists of three separate parts each), four binding posts, two main networks with Sonicap bypass caps shipped to Erse to install on their boards, two daughter board networks for the bass management system, lots and lots of wood, two bases, eight spike/insert/floor protector combos, a whole lotta screws, gaskets, special fancy screws for the bass management system access door, special plaque for the back of the speaker, paint, veneer, stain and wiring. To build one or two pairs of speakers is easy but we need to be able to build hundreds of exact replicas of the gold sample.
Now I can take the date I expect all of those items to be in the factory (I can't stock a years supply of much of that stuff just waiting to be used, it has to arrive JIT (just in time) but what if even one vendor does not deliver when they say they will? Remember that most of the LS speaker components are custom built just for these speakers. Most vendors specify 30-45 days or 60-90 or 90-120 days for their particular component. If even one vendor does not deliver, that date I gave you is shot. What if two slip behind? I'm in real trouble now. I have hundreds of emails in my inbox asking why we are late. You can see the vicious cycle...
I tell you what you want to know but if I am wrong (and I will be; at least one vendor will be later than expected - we're humans and it happens), I get yelled at by throngs of customers. If I don't tell you, I get tons of emails asking for updates, why won't you tell me, etc. I definitely understand these emails and why I get them. I don't want anyone to think that we are not grateful for our loyal customers. We certainly are! There are just realities of manufacturing (and at this scale) that most people do not understand - any why would they? They don't run speaker companies and factories.
So, now one or two vendors are late... but wait... I had the factory time scheduled (as I build 200 other SKU's in the same factory I have to schedule out what machines will be used on what day for what item) and the containers lined up for this specific date. Now what...? I have to re-schedule everything to fit it in. That date just changed again.
You can see that in the end, a more ambiguous answer is all I can do...
On the other hand...
We as a company do recognize the position we have put ourselves in. We love to talk about the new stuff in the works. We get valuable customer feedback on designs in process and we are agile so we can and do make changes based on that feedback. But when we have to get quiet during the real working months of bringing a product to light...well, you know what happens
Because of this, we are looking at going to a subscription based information delivery model. Mark (pres of AV123) is still working out the details but in general, we will no longer post tons of info out in the public. We might announce that work has started on the Line Source Center speaker and will note no release date etc. but if you want updates on the progress, you have to sign up to the update service. It will be email based and free. Again, details are still being worked out...
Thanks Joker.
Sean
