Possible Demise of NEO speakers?????

[RaginRog]

I was wondering if any of you heard about the possibility that they're on the way out?? Per a post from a friend of mine on Facebook, apparently China is the largest exporter, and they want to keep their neodymium for use in electric car technology??

[jmac]

There have been many threads about this topic. Some companies absorbed the cost, some raised prices, and some might be changing product lines.

[3506string]

The End of Neodymium Cabs?

[B-string]

Love to hear from RAG (owner G-K) on this. He owns his China factory, could be an advantage.

[seamonkey]

Many electrics and hybrids are using induction motors: GM, Ford, Toyota, ...
No permanent magnets at all.
Many other reasons.

[Eric Moesle]

Its only a temporary issue. There's plenty of the ore in the U.S. that hasn't been mined because it was so much cheaper to buy it from China. Now that China is holding back/raising prices, the U.S. mining will ramp up.

Might take a few years to come to market -and prices will probably be higher - but total demise in the market? Just not going to happen.

[SlingBass4]

THIS makes the scare a non-issue...

By Stephanie Buck
Mashable – Mon, Jul 4, 2011

A huge deposit of “rare earth” minerals has been discovered on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, Reuters reports.

Japanese scientists announced their analysis of the deposits Monday, claiming the area around Hawaii is especially rich in minerals that help build iPads, LCD TVs and other electronic devices.

Prior to this discovery, manufacturers and environmentalists alike expressed concern over the limited and dwindling supply of rare earth minerals. However, experts report that the minerals found in the Pacific may reinforce known land supply by 1,000 times.

The mud is rich in rare earth minerals like gadolinium, lutetium, terbium and dysprosium, which are especially important in the manufacturing of technology like hybrid cars and flat screens. China, which currently produces 97% of the world's rare earth metals, has at times threatened to cut exports of the materials, leading to fear that the prices of electronic devices could soar.

Now, China's near monopoly is threatened as scientists say that ocean bed extraction from this particular region should be relatively simple using acid leaching techniques.

“The deposits have a heavy concentration of rare earths. Just one sq km (0.4 sq mile) of deposits will be able to provide one-fifth of the current global annual consumption," Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo, said in a Guardian.co.uk interview.

[billoetjen]

All your neos are belong to us....

[Turnaround]

At least one cab manufacturer has given up on neo. And the price for the rare earth materials has gone up so much that speaker manufacturers have been rasing their prices dramatically.

So are neos done? Perhaps not, but you can expect to pay a lot more for those cabs in the short term. Yes there are other sources for rare earths coming on line (in 5 to 10 years) but you can bet the demand will outstrip the supply for sometime and that means price increases. Extracting rare earths is not a simple process, and I have heard that it takes 10 years to ramp up for production. Canada has a mine that is 5 years in and it is expected to be five more before they have commercially available product. Even then the demand is likely to be so high that lowly speaker manufacturers will be hard pressed to secure a supply of neo magnets.

I am wondering what will happen to MarkBass. They only had neo cabs. So will there be big price increases or will they rework their lineup to have ceramics?

[billoetjen]

I won't miss'em.

[B-string]

I guess this all explains why when I went to buy more 3015's they had gone from $140 to $300?

[4Mal]

I sure will. I love have super loud, deep and smooth cabs that weigh in under 40 lbs... Not to mention hi performance light weight PA subs and tops, all relying on neo speakers.

Of course this is all old news. The 3012 lf & 3015 lf are still worth the extra dough.

[cableguy]

Glad I already have mine. It's only (2) 3012lfs but if I need louder than that, I will playing was bigger stages than I planned on. Wouldn't be a bad problem.

[fdeck]

Originally Posted by SlingBass4

THIS makes the scare a non-issue...

By Stephanie Buck
Mashable – Mon, Jul 4, 2011

A huge deposit of “rare earth” minerals has been discovered on the floor of the Pacific Ocean, Reuters reports.

Japanese scientists announced their analysis of the deposits Monday, claiming the area around Hawaii is especially rich in minerals that help build iPads, LCD TVs and other electronic devices.

Prior to this discovery, manufacturers and environmentalists alike expressed concern over the limited and dwindling supply of rare earth minerals. However, experts report that the minerals found in the Pacific may reinforce known land supply by 1,000 times.

The mud is rich in rare earth minerals like gadolinium, lutetium, terbium and dysprosium, which are especially important in the manufacturing of technology like hybrid cars and flat screens. China, which currently produces 97% of the world's rare earth metals, has at times threatened to cut exports of the materials, leading to fear that the prices of electronic devices could soar.

Now, China's near monopoly is threatened as scientists say that ocean bed extraction from this particular region should be relatively simple using acid leaching techniques.

“The deposits have a heavy concentration of rare earths. Just one sq km (0.4 sq mile) of deposits will be able to provide one-fifth of the current global annual consumption," Yasuhiro Kato, an associate professor of earth science at the University of Tokyo, said in a Guardian.co.uk interview.

Great. Now we just need to dredge a P bass along the ocean floor, and collect all of the neo magnets that stick to it.

[Bassist30]

Originally Posted by billoetjen

I won't miss'em.

I agree.

[s_mcsleazy]

for all the people complaining can i just say they havent had time to come down in price in the uk AT ALL. so stop complaining you may have to pay more when we have had to pay more since 2008

[RaginRog]

Thanks for the responses guys.

[bassplayer8953]

Originally Posted by billoetjen

I won't miss'em.

The last cabs I bought were just before neo's became the "in" thing. So all (7) of my cabs have old conventional magnet drivers.

I won't miss 'em, cuz I have never had them.

[kesslari]

[RaginRog]

Originally Posted by kesslari

haha...when I worked as a Union rep/assembler at a GM plant years ago, there was this one guy who always believed "plant" rumors. Guess what his nickname was!

AND...in an act of "Chicken Little-ism" I just got a great deal of 15% off a new Markbass 104HR 4x10 cab, which will replace the 151HR (1x15) cab I'm selling. It works better as a stand alone for the band I'm in, and makes it easier to travel when we pile everything into 2 cars.