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Fuhrious
457
Jun 13, 2017
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Huh, a little confused with the pricing seeing as how the actual 305s are 36 bucks cheaper on amazon w/ free shipping
TheTaggerung
138
Jun 13, 2017
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FuhriousBut these are Massdrop branded, which means they're automatically 9000x better than the original.
Will
8470
Chief Product Officer
Jun 14, 2017
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FuhriousWell, as TheTaggerung said, obviously because these say "Massdrop" they're 9000x better.
Jokes aside, we priced these as agressive as possible, but extra stuff costs extra money and JBL really doesn't inflate the price of the 305 like many audio companies do (thus allowing our versions to come in at dramatically lower price points).
Where a paint or vinyl wrap finish takes a few minutes to apply, the lacquer finish in the 30X requires many layers to be applied in a completely dust-free room, allowed to dry over the course of hours, applied again, dried again, repeat many many times and you can understand the additional cost involved.
To achieve channel matching within 1db, again you've got an expensive time consuming process. Instead of two units coming off the line, getting put in a box, and going out the door, those units come off the line and they go to a sorting stage. There they're measured and matched to a sister speaker with a response within 1db of an exact match. This takes more time and it means there are some drivers that never make the cut, resulting in a lower yield rate and again higher cost.
Finally for isolation feet, the rubber needs to have specific properties that suit the goal of isolating speakers. Generally rubber feet are very cheap because hundreds of millions are being made. These feet are custom made for this product and the per unit cost on ~10,000 is a lot higher than ~100,000,000.
Ultimately, the community has to decide if these improvements are worth the additional cost, but we've done everything in our power to make it as easy a decision as possible.
Jokes aside, we priced these as agressive as possible, but extra stuff costs extra money and JBL really doesn't inflate the price of the 305 like many audio companies do (thus allowing our versions to come in at dramatically lower price points).
Where a paint or vinyl wrap finish takes a few minutes to apply, the lacquer finish in the 30X requires many layers to be applied in a completely dust-free room, allowed to dry over the course of hours, applied again, dried again, repeat many many times and you can understand the additional cost involved.
To achieve channel matching within 1db, again you've got an expensive time consuming process. Instead of two units coming off the line, getting put in a box, and going out the door, those units come off the line and they go to a sorting stage. There they're measured and matched to a sister speaker with a response within 1db of an exact match. This takes more time and it means there are some drivers that never make the cut, resulting in a lower yield rate and again higher cost.
Finally for isolation feet, the rubber needs to have specific properties that suit the goal of isolating speakers. Generally rubber feet are very cheap because hundreds of millions are being made. These feet are custom made for this product and the per unit cost on ~10,000 is a lot higher than ~100,000,000.
Ultimately, the community has to decide if these improvements are worth the additional cost, but we've done everything in our power to make it as easy a decision as possible.
RojasTKD
375
Jun 14, 2017
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baesexC'mon is not just feet.
the glossy paint adds to it, though personally I could do without the gloss. The 1 dB matching is the real selling point here. For some that won't matter as much as to others.
Each person has to decide if its worth it to them.
the glossy paint adds to it, though personally I could do without the gloss. The 1 dB matching is the real selling point here. For some that won't matter as much as to others.
Each person has to decide if its worth it to them.
baesex
220
Jun 14, 2017
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RojasTKDI know it's not just feet, but the comment I replied to mentioned the feet costing a lot to produce because they only made ~10,000 of them. I work in the industry so I know they cost eff all. You're paying more for the paint here. Agreed it's up to the buyer. But I just thought it was rich to claim the feet bring the cost up in any way worth mentioning. $1 increase max.
RojasTKD
375
Jun 14, 2017
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baesexyeah, I assume that comment was a joke. At least I hope so. ;)
dwane5
293
Keyboard Club Member
Jun 16, 2017
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Fuhriouswhy would u be confused? did u read what they accomplished with this collabo?
Daed
574
Jun 19, 2017
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baesexFeet don't cost anything? Don't you think that would depend on what they're made of?
http://a.co/39NTX3U
I work in mechanical engineering. We specify vibration dampening feet for the kind of equipment that can vibrate a building apart. Matching the material to the type of vibration you want to eliminate, and the weight of the equipment in question takes a lot more effort than you realize, and I can assure you, it absolutely does cost something.
Unless you just want to put some Bumpons under them... then it'll only be about $10 for a 100 pack. Of course, it won't isolate anything outside of a narrow frequency range which may or may not be within your range of hearing anyway. But it'll keep your table from scuffing the gloss finish, at least.
http://a.co/39NTX3U
I work in mechanical engineering. We specify vibration dampening feet for the kind of equipment that can vibrate a building apart. Matching the material to the type of vibration you want to eliminate, and the weight of the equipment in question takes a lot more effort than you realize, and I can assure you, it absolutely does cost something.
Unless you just want to put some Bumpons under them... then it'll only be about $10 for a 100 pack. Of course, it won't isolate anything outside of a narrow frequency range which may or may not be within your range of hearing anyway. But it'll keep your table from scuffing the gloss finish, at least.
Daed
574
Jun 19, 2017
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baesexAbsolutely correct, if you want the wrong feet. First of all, in an industry where a manufacturer will use cheap capacitors to save $0.10 per unit, $0.75 per isolator is hardly negligible. Second, sure you can find them cheap -- if you want the wrong ones. As I said, "Matching the material to the type of vibration you want to eliminate, and the weight of the equipment in question takes a lot more effort than you realize..." Your Amazon search did not equal the knowledge and effort required to properly specify vibration isolators.
Now I'm not trying to say it's worth $100 for the feet. My only argument here is that specifying feet for vibration isolation isn't as simple as you seem to think. An Amazon search for "rubber feet" doesn't cut it, if you want it to cut vibration properly. No, I think most of that money is going into JBL's time. Off the top of my head, I'd guess maybe $5 at most is for the feet. I know JBL and Massdrop both can get a better deal in bulk on quality feet than you and I can on Amazon. I think probably 25% of the upcharge is going to the gong towards the gloss lacquer finish, and the bulk of it is going to JBL's time to level-match EVERY PAIR that goes out.
Actually, I should step back a bit here. I'm giving JBL and Massdrop the benefit of the doubt, and ASSUMING they're doling the work to properly spec the feet, because they're not 3M Bumpons. I could be completely wrong -- they might have just grabbed some 3-cent rubber hemispheres off the shelf.
Now I'm not trying to say it's worth $100 for the feet. My only argument here is that specifying feet for vibration isolation isn't as simple as you seem to think. An Amazon search for "rubber feet" doesn't cut it, if you want it to cut vibration properly. No, I think most of that money is going into JBL's time. Off the top of my head, I'd guess maybe $5 at most is for the feet. I know JBL and Massdrop both can get a better deal in bulk on quality feet than you and I can on Amazon. I think probably 25% of the upcharge is going to the gong towards the gloss lacquer finish, and the bulk of it is going to JBL's time to level-match EVERY PAIR that goes out.
Actually, I should step back a bit here. I'm giving JBL and Massdrop the benefit of the doubt, and ASSUMING they're doling the work to properly spec the feet, because they're not 3M Bumpons. I could be completely wrong -- they might have just grabbed some 3-cent rubber hemispheres off the shelf.
Will
8470
Chief Product Officer
Jun 19, 2017
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DaedHey, can't get into all the details right now (between meetings) but your points are generally valid and I appreciate you saving me the effort to explain the intricacies involved.
wwenze
13
Jun 25, 2017
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WillOk, so the speakers are measured after assembly completion and then matched with another speaker with drivers of similar sensitivity.
Makes me wonder tho - is JBL doing the same sensitivity matching for woofer and tweeter within the same speaker? Since this affects the frequency response of the single speaker sold, wouldn't this be an even bigger deal compared to 2 speakers each with their volume control?
a) If JBL isn't doing this woofer-tweeter matching, then their driver variation is small enough b) If JBL is doing this woofer-tweeter matching and correcting, if they can correct the sensitivity of one driver, why wouldn't they correct the sensitivity of both?
Makes me wonder tho - is JBL doing the same sensitivity matching for woofer and tweeter within the same speaker? Since this affects the frequency response of the single speaker sold, wouldn't this be an even bigger deal compared to 2 speakers each with their volume control?
a) If JBL isn't doing this woofer-tweeter matching, then their driver variation is small enough b) If JBL is doing this woofer-tweeter matching and correcting, if they can correct the sensitivity of one driver, why wouldn't they correct the sensitivity of both?
tunejunky
24
Oct 18, 2017
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wwenzethe difference in the graph is very much less than what you'd see from comparable speakers.
and by comparable i mean by a *real* speaker company with the legacy and experience of JBL.
i'm more than a bit of a high end snob to be honest. i still have my Meridian M80's i bought new in the 1980's rocking my bedroom...the new version of which would set you back a cool six grand. yes i have newer and better speakers but the point is the JBL's.
at full price this is a good buy. yes Harmon has them made overseas...in their own factory that's been there since the 1990's and they are designed in Los Angeles.
with powered speakers you really have to address the quality of amplification and that's where the wheat is separated from the chaff. JBL/HarmonKardon/Infinity/Mark Levinson (all the same company) has been designing amplification since the 1950's.
this is not fly-by-night southeast Asian bullshit.
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