I am glad more people are taking the opportunity to hear my ART System. I am also glad that a growing number of people are cuing into their benefits.
Regarding their price, they are very difficult to fabricate with the correct "tone" to perform to spec. When we started production we had "only" a 50% rejection rate on resonators that measured to spec (no we will not post the secrets of what we measure for). Since then that number has swelled to nearly 90%- this means that 9 out of 10 resonators forged must then be destroyed because they do not measure up and this has led to a back order status. On top of this each resonator must be heat treated, by hand, and the person who does this is yours truly. The heat treating process is very time consuming and of the resonators that I heat treat, not all exhibit the proper tone so we have more waste. After the heat treating process violin lacquer is applied in a climate controlled clean room and this is not cheap. All in all the manufacturer of the ART System is a very labor intensive process done 100% in the United States- not Asia, also expensive. The final treatment- Quantum Tunneling with a large purpose built, solid-state Tesla Coil is also time consuming and the expense that went into the development of that technology was significant. Speaking from a material cost to retail basis, what do you think the mark up is for traditional room acoustics made from Owens Corning fiberglass that can be banged out without any tuning or waste?
For many the Acoustic ART System is their ONLY acoustic treatment option- wives or aesthetic concerns simply do not allow for ANY traditional room acoustics. All in all, 3k for a well treated room is not at the high end of the spectrum, nor is my Acoustic ART System the most expensive room treatment system based on resonator technology. If you want to see expensive, take a look at the costs for the Acoustic System Resonators- you can spend over $10,000 and not get the benefits of a $3,000 Acoustic ART System. While the Acoustic ART System may seem expensive for what they are, they are in fact inexpensive for what they do and irreplaceable in rooms that would otherwise go untreated.
Lastly as has been pointed out by others, you do not need to buy the entire system to get excellent results. One Gravatron Satellite placed between your speakers and one Bass Station will give you HUGE gains for under 1k.
Value if relative but in this case, I feel the value of the Acoustic ART System is absolute.
Yours in music,
Ted Denney III
Lead Designer, Synergistic Research Inc.