Please help me understand
 

Please help me understand the price of fEARful cabs!
I mean no offense, but I just don't get why they are so expensive.
I know they are hand made, but even so they are sometimes twice the amount than for a similar commercial cab.
I might be omitting something...

Simple story? Premium components and materials bought and cut in small quantities.

No large scale mass production or large quantity buys to reduce costs.

Yep. What you're omitting is any consideration of their superior performance.

They often match - or even exceed - the performance of any two ordinary, garden-variety cabs of comparable size & configuration. On a price per performance basis, they're actually a bargain - particularly if you're able to build them yourself.

Still think they're overpriced? :eyebrow:

MM

I don't think they are overpriced, I posted this just to know why they are expensive (overpriced is not the same as expensive, right? :p)
I do want to try one, but wasn't able to do it yet...

Now you have the business answer and the Kool-Aid answer. :)

Damn refreshing to get some business responses here

Thanks, I don't understand the overly emotional, what sounds like offended responses to a simple cost of doing business question. :)

Think whatever you like... :rolleyes:

I wasn't "offended"...and I'm still not. The subtext of the question seemed to question the value of the cab. So I tried to provide some context.

All right with you? :eyebrow:

MM

You pay for what you get.

There's really nothing to understand. Some people think they're worth it, and some don't. Those who think they're worth it buy them. Those who don't buy something else. Not everything in this world is priced to where everyone can afford it and that's how it goes.

Jeez, cut the guy some slack and stop treating him like a troll already. It's obvious the OP is asking a civil, straightforward question based on genuine curiosity. You've done enough business here at TB to know that this is how a troll poses the question.

There really is no magic in the production of a great sounding cabinet. no magic in producing a lightweight cabinet, no magic in producing a low cost cabinet.

There is magic in doing all of the above, and magic does not exist.

At the end of the day here, there is significant manhours and parts cost in the manufacture of the basic construction panels.. Those fibreglass/foam/fibreglass panels are laid up by hand and cost a huge amount more than plywood or MDF and will have improved damping responses.

If weight is not a concern for you, or cost is a concern, simply exclude Fearful from your list and move on.

First of all, the drivers are very expensive. The 12" Kappalite 3012LF costs over $200, where a generic 12" driver might cost less than half that. It can handle a lot more power without distorting or hitting its excursion limit, which is a big part of the reason a Fearful cab can play as loud as a much larger generic cab.

Second, the construction of the cabinet is more complex. The midrange driver is housed in a separate sealed internal enclosure, which adds to both materials and labor cost. It isn't just a square empty box.

Are they really more expensive than other high quality speakers?

http://www.rocketmusic.net/cgi-bin/c...&category=BERG

As others have said, low volume production together with premium speaker and crossover components (also subject to low volume procurement) are what elevate the price.

There are some specs that do objectively illustrate the differences in the quality of drivers used - that spec is displacement, typically listed as vd. Displacement is a measurement that does a pretty good job of illustrating how much air a driver can move. Go look at Eminence's site, they do a good job of publishing displacement specs for many of their drivers.

The woofers used in designs like like the fearful have a much higher vd than the products used in mass market cabinets. Several of the designer types around here liked to reference the Eminence Alpha series as typical for mass market drivers.

;)

The OP asked about price. Your answer reflected your impression of value. It doesn't really help the OP understand the issue.

They are worth what someone who wants one is willing to pay.

One of the main reasons I have a pair of fEARful 12/6s is that they were INEXPENSIVE! I built them for ~$350 each, although at today's prices for the drivers, it would probably cost me another $100 per cabinet.

To get a good idea of the component cost for a fEARful put a shopping list togehter at Speaker Hardware or Parts Express. You'll find that the drivers and crossover componenets alone will come to ~$450. Then add the corner protectors, handles, jacks, grills, and other hardware.

+1

If you are going to get one made for you they are a good value IMO... but, if you can leverage your "cost" down using your own labor as hobby time [free] they really are cheap = excursion limit of a dollar a watt or less [a 15/6 = +/- 750 watt excursion limit for less than $750 even after adding a grill and finish].

http://www.speakerhardware.com/fearf...driver-kit.php

Could be even less if you cut your own boards.

That's hard to beat in a new cab regardless of compromises in weight / portability / dispersion / frequency response.

Try before you buy so you can assess value in your own context.

Check the user map at the bottom of the page on greenboy's forum - a lot of fEARful owners are happy to show off their cabs.

http://greenboy.us/forum/index.php

Or contact an Authorized Builder.

http://greenboy.us/

These cabs seem expensive because we know what goes into them. If we knew what went into Behringer cabs, i.e., how cheap their parts are, they would seem expensive too.

Another factor worth mentioning is the overhead cost of running the business. It's pretty eye opening to begin adding up all of those costs. Some are obvious and some aren't. And the small time gear makers wouldn't be able to handle the increase in sales volume if they lowered their prices. It's not a straightforward matter to say that you'll just open up another production line, or hire an employee. Those things radically change the nature of your business, and doing so isn't always successful.

A much better strategy for small time gear makers is to set a price that lets them maintain a reasonable pace of production, while really paying attention to quality and customer service. Let