a different speaker question

mule
mule Posts: 282
edited July 2008 in Speakers
Something I was thinking of for no special reason.

How many speaker companies manufacture their own speakers?

Wait that sounds like a dumb question, I will rephrase, How many companies manufacture enclosures and outsource speakers and how many manufacture everything?

Is there only a couple companies that manufacture the actual speaker and then all the other "speaker" companies buy them and manufacture enclosures and x-overs to get what they believe is the best performance?

Do you have any examples of two companies that use the same speakers but due to better enclosures or better x-over one is far superior to another?
Post edited by mule on
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Comments

  • VSchneider
    VSchneider Posts: 443
    edited July 2008
    AV123 Rockets and Polk LSi are two very different speaker lines built around the same Vifa tweeter, for example. People who heard both can comment on the sound.
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  • jkaechler
    jkaechler Posts: 15
    edited July 2008
    Thats a good kind of "food for thought" question.
    How many speakers have you opened up and found that the drivers inside are tiny shallow things that you wouldnt think could put out good sound at all? And yet, when you power up the complete unit, it rocks out pretty well.
    I think that given the relative importance of custom enclosures and crossover, vs. drivers and tweeters it is completely normal for a trustworthy manufacturing company to purchase their drivers, and build a box and circuit around it to get the best sound from it.

    Just my two cents worth.......
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited July 2008
    Tannoy builds their own proprietary drivers. As for their enclosures, over the years they've used facilities all over the world.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 34,018
    edited July 2008
    very few produce their own drivers, although many have drivers built to their specification by large component manufacturers. This can be misleading, as the driver in the big, expensive speaker system may look identical to one you can buy for $50 from PartsExpress, but the T/S parameters might not match at all (or there may be a proprietary coating on the dome or cone, etc.).
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  • Ricardo
    Ricardo Posts: 10,636
    edited July 2008
    Thiel manufactures everything, right here in Kentucky.

    http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=57145&highlight=company
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  • MADGSF
    MADGSF Posts: 603
    edited July 2008
    I think Dynaudio also makes all their components.
    AVR: Elite VSX-21TXH
    Amplifier: B&K 7250 Series ii
    Misc: Velodyne SMS-1
    Mains: RTi-10
    Center: CSi-5
    Rear: Boston DSi460
    Sub: SVS PC-Ultra
    TV: Panasonic TC-P58V10
    DVD: Panasonic DMP-BD60K
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