OK - you guys got my attention.
Glad to see we haven’t fallen into obscurity. I’d be tempted to launch off into some marketing hype in order to drum up some business right now but thanks to some of you folks, I don’t have to. Controversy seems to be the best salesman. I’m just glad I didn’t have to dye my hair green and parade around in a wedding dress!
I can’t resist temptation though, so here’s some marketing for everyone to ponder. I highly recommend that owners/advocates of SET amps and other low powered units NOT PURCHASE our speakers. In fact, we will not extend our “NO RISK” guarantee to you if you do. I only mention this because I’ve had quite a number of inquiries regarding such and I really don’t have time to keep up with them, especially seeing that it shouldn’t be necessary in light of the lower sensitivity rating of our products. Also, I don’t recommend our products to individuals that only have mid-fi receivers and the like. Either our products are so poor that you have to mate them with quality electronics to get a reasonable sound quality out of them or they’re so revealing that the shortcomings of low quality components are blatantly revealed. Either way, that’s for the market to decide. Maybe ya’all could help pass the word. It would help me find time for more important things.
Now - does that sound like marketing hype? If that was what we were about I should be telling everyone, no matter their equipment, to purchase our product. Or better yet, just remain silent on the issue. To be frank, I’m not savvy enough to push something that doesn’t basically sell itself nor stupid enough to try. As Jerry said, the No Risk deal would be a fast path to bankruptcy. At over 70lbs. shipping weight each, it cost $98 bucks and some change just to ship the review pair down to Bill Roberts in Florida, what with insurance and all. And that was only one-way. I must be awful stupid to offer such a deal if I wasn't convinced we had a winner.
And as far as ehider has stated, he is correct; our theory page is not nor was it intended to be a tutorial on loudspeaker design. Volumes would be required and there are plenty already out there for your reading pleasure. Instead, it was intended to inform those already familiar with design with regards to the – dare I say – “logic” behind our somewhat unique approach.
My good friend Bill Roberts has shared a rather eloquent quote: “Insanity is the act of repeatedly doing something the same way and expecting different results.” Our speakers look different because they are different and therefore have produced different results. Whether or not that is a good thing is for you all to decide. Telling everybody about why they are different on our THEORY page is not so much a marketing ploy as an opportunity to avoid repeating myself endlessly with each inquiry. That along with the increased likelihood of being thorough and giving our favorite customers (the scrutinizing type) a chance to refer back to it at their convenience.
As a side note: I would ask ehider or anyone this question. Why in the world would I want to educate my competition in loudspeaker design on my website? Contrary to the idol worship that some seem to assign to the art, loudspeaker design is not exactly rocket science or require a PHD in Quantum Mechanics to effectively engage in. You have no idea how many years have passed wherein I would regularly peruse all the audiophile magazines, fearfully looking for my design concepts already being marketed by another company. To my thinking, the principles employed in our products should have been obvious to any serious engineer long ago. Thankfully for us at SP Technology, few engineers out there seem to understand the basic concepts of Natural Law or how to apply them – form simply follows function.
The “No Risk” deal, on the other hand, IS a marketing tactic. Duh. I may not be that smart financially but I can’t think of a better way to get everyone’s attention. ‘scuse me, but I think it’s working. Yes, we’re taking a gamble. I’m BETTING that there are honest folks out there that will give our products an honest try and in the end they won’t return them. You, on the other hand, can BET that when the word finally gets out, that the “No Risk” deal will eventually go away AND the present pricing structure of our products will change. That’s a promise. I’ve found that a little faith is often rewarded many times over. As the recent C-1 Bankcard advertisement goes, “So what’s in your wallet?”
The point is, our products are under priced and that was a marketing tactic too. Don't worry, we're not going to gouge anybody later on, that would fly in the face of everything we stand for. Never-the-less, we will have to have a price increase at some point as we switch over to dealer representation. The dealer has to get his cut in order to make our products more convenient for everyone to audition. That's business.
Finally, we’re glad to see that others are investigating some of the other ideals and concepts that we are committed to share. Believe it or not, there are other things more important than audio. I know – BLASPHEMY!!! Sorry, but the unfortunate fact is that there are very few things that will last forever. While there may be a number of audiophiles that do, I’m certain that no matter how good - their audio systems won’t. In the end, we at SP Technology are more concerned with people than products or money. Yeah I know, just another marketing ploy…as far as the cynical soul is concerned. We really do hope though, that everyone discovers their Transfinite potential before they experience their finite end.
May the “Logos” be with you all,
- Bob
