Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

[martyh]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

Are those actual full builds Jeff? If so, you are a madman lol! To be able to conceptualize, design, build, test, tweak etc 4 full builds per year is possible but won't be easy by any means.

I agree with Chuck. There's no way for me to concept/design/prototype/then build four in a year. One is doable, two is pushing it, three and I'd lose my job, four and I'd lose Cheryle! ;)

Marty

[dcibel]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

Well it's only open to U.S. citizens so I'm out of the picture. However I do agree that I would struggle to complete a project every 3mo purchased, designed, built and published. Putting a required throughput on the hobby makes it look a lot more like a job to me. Personally I'd want PE at the very least to purchase the parts for the builds.

[rpb]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

I can help answer some of your questions and/or address your concerns:

The entry project is just for the application. We are requesting that team members provide 1 project per 90 days, and of course they are open to provide more should they choose to. (Everyone works at different paces) They will be awarded a store credit for each completed project in addition to an initial start-up stipend and a monthly stipend to purchase products for their projects. It's not a set specific number of hours and projects can be a variety of scales and/or sizes. Our goal is to be flexible with team members and supportive of speaker building in general.

In terms of publishing other designs, that is up to the individual designer, but obviously we would not want a conflict of interest with a direct competitor. It would not be good for either party, (the competitor nor Parts Express), but if a Team Member is doing a project for an editorial piece, they are not obligated to use PE if it's not tied to Parts Express.

Hope that clarifies some things.

Ginger

I have questions about the costs involved. I can easily crank out some designs if PE is picking up the tab for drivers, and/or letting me return them after 6 months or so. I build ugly boxes, but enjoy doing x-overs. I like the RS drivers, or similar performing drivers from other manufacturers. I throw a new baffle on a box, and over half the work is done. For example, I could swap out my 831735 Peerless HDS woofers with the two or three other HDS drivers that will drop right into the same box. Morel tweeters might fit, if not, I'd simply modify the box. Or PE could supply some prefinished boxes maybe.

[Paul Carmody]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

. The quantity isn't that big of a deal either. I have completed eight full designs since March. So, it's not too hard.

Jeff,I think I'm in the same boat as you on this that sometimes I look back and realize "wow that was a lot of designs I just churned out in a short period of time!" But more often than not, someone else is doing the woodworking (and keeping the finished result at their house). Doing a full-blown start-to-finish (yes, literally finished, not bare plywood) pair every 90 days would probably get pretty exhausting.

[Mark65]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

I'm fairly sure that I don't have the chops for this, but if I were to be chosen, would all work have to be my own, or could I be an idea man, and farm out the enclosures or crossovers (a la Jim Holtz and Curt Campbell), and divvy up the spoils amongst a group? And how do the finished designs arrive at PE? Are you providing for packing and shipping, or is that on the designer as well? OR, would a fleshed out concept make the cut, even if not actually built and shipped?



Mark

[hongrn]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

Hey, if PE supplied the cabs, it'll be easy to crank out one pair every 90 days...

[UnfitNitwit]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

From what Paul C. and Mark say, wouldn't a group effort give a good spread to what gets used, and created in the end? Not that individuals won't make a project to showcase, but why not mix up ideas to see what comes from that?
Like one of those chef shows where you get ingredients and do the best with what you have.
You get these to start
http://www.parts-express.com/10-squa...white--290-910
http://www.parts-express.com/faitalp...-ohm--294-1104
http://www.parts-express.com/tymphan...-ohm--264-1381
Build!

[Jeff B.]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

Jeff,I think I'm in the same boat as you on this that sometimes I look back and realize "wow that was a lot of designs I just churned out in a short period of time!" But more often than not, someone else is doing the woodworking (and keeping the finished result at their house). Doing a full-blown start-to-finish (yes, literally finished, not bare plywood) pair every 90 days would probably get pretty exhausting.

Yeah Paul, you're right. In all fairness I only did the cabinets on one of those eight designs. On the others I took all of the measurements and designed the crossovers and voiced them.

I don't speak for anyone else, but I do not plan to submit my name for this team. I think I prefer to maintain some autonomy in my design work. Plus I seem to be pretty busy already. I think I will just continue to do what I have been doing.

[PWR RYD]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

Not that I have the chops to be chosen as one of the elite 10 but even if I did count me out. One of my favorite things about DIY speaker design and building is that I get to choose what I'm going to design and build, what my deadlines are (or aren't), and what designs I feel like sharing or when I feel like helping others out. Anything beyond that makes it more like a job than a hobby. The lure of free parts is certainly inticing... but the flipside for me greatly out weighs that. It reminds me of when I mistakenly started to build race engines and transmissions for other people's cars for money. Took all the fun out of my hobby.

[Wolf]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

That's way too much work for a year, and I've been there done that with another company. It's more like a second job I just don't have time for. Before I had a daughter, I might have said yes. I was cranking off between 4-6 designs a year, and that was a lot of work. I know I can't swing it now.
I'm out,
Wolf

[andy19191]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

We just ask if it's a Parts Express project, that no more than 25% be non-PE products. We realize we cannot always carry everything that someone might be wanting to use.

You are not looking for the designs to form a PE kit? Or perhaps some as designs + kits and the rest as just designs?

[donradick]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

I don't have any illusions that I am or would be one of the top ten designers, but I'd agree
with many other postings that 2 or 3 designs per year is about my limit. More than that,
and it won't feel like a hobby. Remember, the root of amateur means someone who
loves what they do.

[carlspeak]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

We just ask if it's a Parts Express project, that no more than 25% be non-PE products. We realize we cannot always carry everything that someone might be wanting to use. Hope that helps!

Is that by parts count? or $ spent? It's important to know.

[Sydney]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

... but I'd agree with many other postings that 2 or 3 designs per year...

In my best days, never got near that :o

[Paul K.]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

I'm retired and have lots of time to build speakers, but I usually do only one new design a year. I could probably do two, however, but doing four a year would feel more like a job than a hobby and take much of the fun out of it. Of course I model lots of TLs for others which is sort of like doing multiple designs. While I do all of the woodworking myself, I farm out crossover designs to others, but I don't really do "complete" designs on my own. So, I don't think I'm interested or qualified.
Paul