B & W vs Polk

F1nut

Thanks Sean, that's who it was. I agree that more than a few there would love to see Polk back in the high end game.

Holydoc

F1nut wrote:

I agree that more than a few there would love to see Polk back in the high end game.

Count me as one of them.

Holydoc

Home Theatre wrote:

I was actually suprised how affortable b & W were.

Which B&W speakers are you refering to? For instance the 803D's sell for $8000/pair and the center for about half that. Just wondering where your price range begins.

shack

Holydoc wrote:

Which B&W speakers are you refering to? For instance the 803D's sell for $8000/pair and the center for about half that. Just wondering where your price range begins.

The B&W DM303s sell for $300 /pair.

Still, it is a cautious company that only seems to take protected risks.

Since it is a closely held company (private), Matt and his investors have a lot at stake. If you screw up and need more capital, it either comes out of their pockets or they end up diluting thier ownership.

I for one am a big fan of Polk's business model. As far as the "high-end" of the market my question is ...why go there? Just so they can say they are an "audiophile" speaker maker? I would rather be a profitable speaker maker. The LSi series of speakers is very similar to many of the so called high-end speakers on the market today. The difference is that Polk is able to sell them for less because of their size and structure.

Jessie says it is marketing....I believe it is more of an allocation of resources. I believe that for every $ spent, Polk can make more money with less risks in the mass/HT market. Since Polk has a finite amount of capital it makes the most sense to utilize it where they can generate the greatest return. The "audiophile" market is a true niche market...very small, fickle, not trending upward (how many believe the Ipod/MP3 crowd will become "audiophiles"?). It is a very hard market to get into and stay, AND remain profitable. Since the guys at Polk take pride in what they do, I'm sure they would love to say "we build the BEST SPEAKERS"....but that is not who they are (as a company). IMO they can say "we build great, affordable speakers" and they can be proud of them.