Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

[isaeagle4031]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

Short of a great friendship and all the knowledge I've gleaned from them, I haven't received anything from Meniscus Audio for my Blues kits. To be honest I don't even know if or how well they sell. Having my name on a listed kit is more than enough for me, and without them I'd have never been able to do it anyhow. Those guys do what they do for the love of audio, and they're good at it. I'm lucky to have their tireless support, and I very much appreciate their friendship.

+1 Never asked for or received anything from them in that regard. But great guys and true friends.

[Æ]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

I think four per year is doable - perhaps some of them can be pro-audio related, amplifier/DSP related, a series of modular designs implementing larger/more woofers under the same T/M...

No problem for Wolf, he does four a week in his sleep.

[Jeff B.]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

Ginger,

If I may make a suggestion - rather than a monthly or quarterly stipend and guys feeling some pressure to crank out a project (even if you are not intentionally putting any pressure on them), why not just let them contact a point-person at PE when they are ready to work on a project, whether it is 1 or 5 a year, and you guys credit their account at that time so they can get started. This way there is no pressure on anyone and you are still supporting as they need. You may get very good participation this way.

[1100xxben]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

Ginger,

If I may make a suggestion - rather than a monthly or quarterly stipend and guys feeling some pressure to crank out a project (even if you are not intentionally putting any pressure on them), why not just let them contact a point-person at PE when they are ready to work on a project, whether it is 1 or 5 a year, and you guys credit their account at that time so they can get started. This way there is no pressure on anyone and you are still supporting as they need. You may get very good participation this way.

I agree completely Jeff. I would rather see someone put forth due diligence on a design and only crank out a couple a year as opposed to having pressure to generate 4 designs and cut corners.

[fdieck]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

+1 Never asked for or received anything from them in that regard. But great guys and true friends.

I guess as an retired underpaid EE in the telecom industry and old cynic I will have to go sit in the doghouse with my new dog. Maybe someday I will do something good enough to be in the public domain or heaven forbid actually get built by someone.

[jhollander]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

I guess my question is why do you need a PE design team for this? Couldn’t PE just reach out to those who have completed projects that would be a good fit for a flyer? Or ask a current designer to design something with a stipend.

Seems like I could easily find 12 people to do a project on speakers, amps, finishing, stands, measurement set up etc. but then again maybe not...

[Pete Basel]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

I don't quite understand the logic. PE is providing support and should get something in return, that being control over the design and use of it for marketing and or a kit for some period. It makes sense for them and for the designer for the support he or she receives. I think some people are over thinking this. I wonder what the quid pro quo for the designers of the kits (which are even often proprietary) at "that other" speaker parts company is.

Right, if people are going to do a design anyway and make it public then here is a chance for PE to
help pay for it. Seems to make sense.

[Pete Basel]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

Your stipend is to purchase whatever you need - we're not going to dictate that. If you need prefinished boxes, then use that credit to get what you need. Our plan is to be very flexible and to show a variety of project ideas - not just elaborate speakers, but if you have a show-and-tell, and it is valuable information for those who are interested in speaker building or audio, then it should count as well. Projects is a loose term - they do not have to be full-on builds. It could be a modification of something. For instance, let's say you get a set of the DA B652s and want to modify in some capacity. That's a project.

Hi Ginger, I just want to be sure that I'm understanding you:
"Members will receive a monthly stipend to spend on parts and will also receive additional credit for completed projects, etc."
"Your stipend is to purchase whatever you need - we're not going to dictate that."

If it is actually monthly, what is the amount? This will help us determine if it is worth it based on how complex our projects are.
Or by "purchase whatever you need", do you mean that designers get credit for boxes, drivers, XO parts, etc. as much as is
needed to finish the project?
If it really is whatever is needed for a project then, obviously the amount doesn't matter.
What is the credit amount for completed projects, is it fixed or does it depend on the complexity?

[rpb]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

Your stipend is to purchase whatever you need - we're not going to dictate that. If you need prefinished boxes, then use that credit to get what you need. Our plan is to be very flexible and to show a variety of project ideas - not just elaborate speakers, but if you have a show-and-tell, and it is valuable information for those who are interested in speaker building or audio, then it should count as well. Projects is a loose term - they do not have to be full-on builds. It could be a modification of something. For instance, let's say you get a set of the DA B652s and want to modify in some capacity. That's a project.

Let me make sure I understand. Lets say I want to build a design using a pair of Peerless 6.5" HDS woofers, and a Pair of Morel tweeters in a prefinished .75 cu-ft box, to make a 2-way. Does the stipend pay for 100% of the driver and cabinet costs? No money out of my pocket? If the design doesn't seem to work well in the early stages, can the woofers or tweeters be returned for different ones? In short, can I build speakers with PE picking up the tab? Do I get to keep any of the items? Do I ship the finished speakers to PE for evaluation?

[martyh]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

A couple of thoughts:

- As a group I believe we're over thinking this. This really appears to be nothing more than a way to clean up the Speaker Project Gallery and incorporate designs that PE has confidence in - created by people that PE has confidence in.

- The '4 projects per year' that we're all obsessing about is really no more than a suggestion. Thanks for the clarification, Ginger.

Remember guys, this is supposed to be fun! I don't know if my game is up to PE's expectations but what the heck, Ginger my application is on the way.

Marty

PS: How can I get one of those cool purple shirts?

[tomzarbo]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

I think maybe we could look at this process from a different perspective. There are maybe a few hundred fairly hard-core speaker guys on the board who live, eat, and breathe this stuff... they probably visit this board at least once a day and excitedly look forward to new drivers coming out, great speaker designs that someone has just introduced, etc. I kind of count myself in that group based on how much I love this stuff and how I feel that you guys are my friends on this board -- if not on what I build, cause I can't really hang with the 'big guys' yet...

But there are probably thousands upon thousands of folks who get the quarterly sales flyer who are not as into it as the core group of DIY'ers, and they look at a project on the flyer as something to read -- something of interest -- like an article in a magazine. It's more than just a company selling something, it's entertaining to a degree to read about a project, and how it came to fruition, and how it progressed to a finished project. I really enjoyed reading about Jeff Bagby's latest speaker project several months back and I read it several times because it was just an interesting read; probably more so because I actually know the guy and really like him. Remember the DAK catalogs from a few decades ago? I LOVED that thing, it went way past selling a product and delved into the category of entertainment -- for me at least. In fact, it probably stoked my interest in audio quite a bit back then.

It's a cool thing to have projects in the sales flyers and I think maybe there have not been a lot of them submitted lately... the current flyer? No project. I was surprised when I saw that. I figure many of you folks who are real good at designing all aspects of a speaker have the ability to put something amazing together, but for whatever reason, don't...

I think the dilution of the speaker project gallery has probably contributed to the "it's not so special anymore" type of conception... I was just looking at a project in there with one picture and no real description of what was inside or how it worked. I'm sure seeing stuff like that doesn't make you guys -- who can knock a design out of the park in all aspects and document it well -- want to submit something there... but maybe this process of soliciting designs from a few guys who really know their stuff will give PE some cool projects to feature on the flyer, and make getting and reading the flyer a lot more fun and interesting to so many folks who may just chuck it if it just had 5 or 6 items for sale on the front. I think anyone who has ever ordered from PE to an address gets a flyer for probably a year or so? I bet they have A TON of customers... I often see their ads in Car and Driver for example.

At any rate, I understand the reasons for the yae's and nay's, I just wanted to mention an alternate point of view.

TomZ

[dlr]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

If I may make a suggestion - rather than a monthly or quarterly stipend and guys feeling some pressure to crank out a project (even if you are not intentionally putting any pressure on them), why not just let them contact a point-person at PE when they are ready to work on a project, whether it is 1 or 5 a year, and you guys credit their account at that time so they can get started. This way there is no pressure on anyone and you are still supporting as they need. You may get very good participation this way.

This seems like the best of the suggestions. Time constraints may direct designs to smaller, simpler projects.

dlr

[dustinbagby]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

2) Your work is yours. While on the team, those designs may not be submitted to a competitor without permission but then at the end of the team duration (one year), the finished projects are your property and you can do so as you wish with them.

Here is where things get a bit fuzzy for me.

Lets pretend the Overnight Sensations were a design turned in by this team. Cheap, small, sounds good, and VERY marketable to beginners. PE loves the design, turns it into a kit and boom, they start flying off the shelves. They begin selling by the thousands, and the cash is just rollin' in.

Now, the desinger still has the physical first pair of speakers, and thats great. They have a small reward, paid for by PE, for their hard work. However PE has the rights to the actual design work. So all of the money generated by this new speaker belongs to PE. The designer has already been compensated for their work, so as the kits just keep flying off the shelves PE just bankrolls, with the design costing them a one time "cost of wholesale parts."

Is this correct? Gosh I sure hope not.

[dustinbagby]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

A couple of thoughts:

- As a group I believe we're over thinking this. This really appears to be nothing more than a way to clean up the Speaker Project Gallery and incorporate designs that PE has confidence in - created by people that PE has confidence in.

- The '4 projects per year' that we're all obsessing about is really no more than a suggestion. Thanks for the clarification, Ginger.

Remember guys, this is supposed to be fun! I don't know if my game is up to PE's expectations but what the heck, Ginger my application is on the way.

Marty

PS: How can I get one of those cool purple shirts?

And I think this is where someone needs to be careful. As I stated in my last post, if you design a speaker, PE loves it and sells it as a kit, and they do in fact own the right to the design since youve agreed to be compensated with a one time cost of parts, then you lose. Period.

To say that this is just a way to clean up their project page and post designs in their flyers is awfully naive, especially based on the vague information weve been given. When dealing with a large company you have to wonder why they arent just contracting a single person to do these things. Their goal, here and now and always, is to save money. Theres a huge potential for you to be on the losing end of that.

[ROTECH]

Re: Announcing the Parts Express Speaker Design Team call

Losing end of what? You're not starting with anything to lose, yet you're only gaining some free parts and perhaps some street cred. I'm seriously beginning to get disgusted with the dissention surrounding a simple program that happens to be mutually beneficial.
Yes, PE is a business, but they are far from ENRON. lighten up.