Gauging interest: American-made audio company

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

I'll go ahead and dash your hopes now- this is for a fake company. More details will follow.

As some of you remember, I was in a business plan competition earlier this year. I made up a theoretical company that offered a product that monitored how efficiently a car was being driven. It was fun and all, but since it was for a class, I had a team to please, a grade to worry about, and a fast-approaching deadline. On top of that, it was a product that didn't do much for me. I had no passion for it.

Well, I decided I'm going to do the business plan competition again in March 2010. I made it to the finals with six weeks' worth of work, so imagine what I could do with a year's worth of work. I'm also going at it alone. Since it's not for a class, just for me, I don't have to bother with pleasing a team or impressing my teacher.

This time, I will be proposing to the judges a new audio brand whose products are designed and manufactured in the United States, out of domestic parts. None of this Chinese crap.

The company will be aimed at a more sophisticated market than the average kid who walks into Best Buy. It will be sold in B&M shops exclusively. The products will be more SQ-oriented. The amps will be about a dollar a watt, the higher-end components will be about $350-400, and the flagship woofer will be $500+.

The aim of the brand will be to bring back the heyday of american-made audio. It will bring back the soul of car audio. The products will be unique, not the dime-a-dozen products you see coming out of China nowadays. The amplifiers will be built to withstand extreme operating conditions, and the woofers will be designed to last for years.

What do you think about this idea? Is it appealing to you?

Click to read more...

 

[Ellsworthz 10+ year member]

dollar a watt is kinda stupid

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

dollar a watt is kinda stupid

We're not talking hifonics-quality amps. We're talking old-school HCCA-quality amps. The kind you can run down to .125 ohms.

 

[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

Brilliant! The amps will end up costing $4000 for a 2kw amplifier because its made in the USA!

...wait, didnt TRU already go this route?? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[audioarsonal 10+ year member]

dollar a watt is kinda stupid

Back then that was GOOD.Shit some amps had a dollar to watt ratio higher then that. Orion USAmps LanzarOptidrive Earthequake they all had big amps.

 

[timaishu 10+ year member]

I guess its kinda cool.

What exactly do you have to do for this competition? You you have to come up with product design also? Or is it all theoretical with numbers business plans?

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

I guess its kinda cool.
What exactly do you have to do for this competition? You you have to come up with product design also? Or is it all theoretical with numbers business plans?

I have to do a business plan complete with marketing plans, product designs, financials, etc. Pretty much exactly what i'd need if i were opening a business

 

[illbmeubu 10+ year member]

this sounds interesting, but those prices are crazy high but realizing you are a new company, you are going to have to either decrease the price on you Initial offerings, or hope that the company catches fire from Word of mouth. knowing your target as far as price, what brand sector would you hope to compete with?

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

It is a neat idea in concept, but it will NEVER fly with the overseas competition. By the time you get this theoretical company up and running, another "me too" name on an heatsink amplifier will be there to cut your throat. You can push quality all you want, but they will say things like "you could buy THREE of my product for the price of ONE of his" and that will hurt you in this economy.

Then again, it could fly if you could create a niche market, surrounded by a bunch of hype over your Ess-Que. You will just have to find a way to position your product to appeal to older people with money versus catering to your average "high school hero" who has mommy and daddy purchasing his stereo equipment.

 

[illbmeubu 10+ year member]

very good point. new-school econ 101

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

I would really like to see a pure gain block, with true separate power supplies for each of the channels. No crossovers, no filters, EQs, or any of that.

You'll sell amps, provided they're built well, but don't expect to be more well known than a Lunar Audio. It won't be a mass-volume game. Get yourself involved with someone that's doing well in either IASCA or MECA SQ.

dollar a watt is kinda stupid

All relative, my first tube amp was around $350/w //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

 

[jmanpc 5,000+ posts]

My thinking: If JL can sell a woofer for $1300, then I can sell damn near anything //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif

Yes, I know they have an image helping them out.

In comparison to many of the other big-name manufacturers, though, prices like those are pretty competitive.

 

[snoopdan 5,000+ posts]

I would really like to see a pure gain block, with true separate power supplies for each of the channels. No crossovers, no filters, EQs, or any of that.

Kind of like Monitor 1 ? You never see that shit in the lanes, hell in any car for that matter.

 

[JimJ 5,000+ posts]

I'd be wary of limiting yourself to B&M distribution. Most of the successful home audio handmade amps (Decware, Bottlehead, Quicksilver, etc...) shun traditional stores and sell direct. They simply don't have the volume to sustain sales otherwise. An exception is the other Fi, but I think not having an online presence hurts them significantly.

I honestly doubt if you'd be able to come in under a dollar/watt.

 

[gunz4me 10+ year member]

My thinking: If JL can sell a woofer for $1300, then I can sell damn near anything //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif
Yes, I know they have an image helping them out.

In comparison to many of the other big-name manufacturers, though, prices like those are pretty competitive.

Hell, well contact Will Castro and get him to feature your products on Unique Whips. Either that or convince Snoop Dogg to run your stuff in one of his rides. Think Critical Mass here!//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif