Hi
This is my 1st post on AC. A gentleman told me there is a thread on my speakers.
I agree that all planar or OB speakers share a common open sound signature. OB has been around a long time, the Western Electric Shearer speaker has field coil woofers on an open baffle. The open sound is what I like, having owned and modded many large Maggies and Quad ESL (double or triple stacked)
I do think that the quality of the drivers will also play a role in the sound signature, particularly the mid. That is what Jean Hiraga always said, and actually his magazine and la maison de l'audiophile was what brought me into audio in the 70s. The 12NDA was chosen because it does sound in some areas similar to the field coil Supravox
The asking price relates to this specific pair, which uses premium exotic figured veneer cut from a single tree for matching grains between the 2 speakers, bases and crossover boxes. The speakers front and back, the base and crossover boxes require quite a bit of acreage. You could buy quiet a few 3G Iphones for the cost of the veneer material. Unlike the Maggie and Quad planars I have owned before, what I have in mind for our speakers is the raw look and feel of high end furniture made from wood. There are some 7 layers of finishes applied, rubbed and waxed by hand with Renaissance wax which is used by NY MOMA and british museums.
Pricing is also reflective of the components used. For this pair, we have Siemens film in oil caps, Western Electric polyprop caps, large value Clarity SA caps, Mills MRA, shotgun MIL-spec silver/OFC wires (the same wire used in your stealth fighter jet -aerospace is my other passion), etc. The Siemens and WE caps are in very limited supply so we will be using different oil caps once supply run out.
Depending on the chosen wood finish and the other components, the price will change. Normally, I would not recommend exotic wood. Finding the right lot and matching the grains can be a lot of work.
I do agree that if you can design and build your own speakers, that is the most cost effective path and it also an excellent learning path.
Thanks for the interesting discussions. Regards
