Quote Originally Posted by RGA
Sure YOU and ME may buy a speaker on sound and not care about looks and size and we even may be willing to pay $3-5k on a speaker. But the masses simply are not audiophiles - and there is absolutely nothing wrong with that.
Yes, I realize the masses aren't buying $3-5K speakers and that they aren't audiophiles. But read what I'm saying here - For a company like B&W or BA or whoever, there is still that very small niche market of people (internationally it's probably significantly large actually) who are looking for those speakers that they could cater too. Furthermore, niche markets are by nature more profitable than the mass market, because there's less competition eating away profit margins. My experience with "audiophiles" is that they don't give a rat's ass about looks. Tube amps or stacks of mono blocks with messes of cables ain't pretty, except to other audiophiles. But large, well finished wood cabinets aren't sore to look at excactly. I think simple is better, very classic looking. But looks AREN'T important to the people that would want these speakers. I suspect if the majority of people who are in the market for good sound with no compromise for looks, do hear something of value in AN, there will emerge some copycat, knock-off companies - especially from China, who are making some damn good knock-off speakers these days.
Or it could be to many people, they just don't sound as good as some competitors. Which is fine too. Let me invoke my "shape of the ear" argument...we don't all hear the same way, not even close.


It is precisely that AN will never "catch on" as mass speaker like a Bose Acoustimass or B&W because they simply are out of fashion - even moreso when there are no grill covers.
You're missing the point though...99% of all speakers won't catch on like Bose or B&W - they don't have to. The best speakers I've heard in recent months have been small, one or two man operations that aren't selling world wide. Instead, a bunch of carved out, but profitable, niche markets. I don't think most speaker designers or companies even judge success by the sheer size their company grows to. I can think of one designer in fact who really doesn't have much desire to expand at all, except he needs the new market opportunities to fund his research.

Interestingly your point about space I will go you one better. Let's say that the slim line model X is the same exact internal volume and same footprint of the AN E. Chances are slim line X to sound it's best is 3-4 feet from the back wall and at least 2 feet from the side wall. The entire area behind the speaker and to the side of the speaker is completely wasted. The AN E would actually take up far less actuall living space because you could shove them out of the way into the corners. To me IF you have corners then these speakers are a benefit because you get more of your living room to live in.
There ya go...I think AN's look very nice and classy myself. I'm sure someone could jazz them up to be even prettier.

AN speakers and really all their products are not supposed to "Blow You Away." If it does that then I'd be worried. I would also recommend you not evaluate the E from what you're hearing on the Kit. The Kit is based off the E/D. I've heard only one Kit E and perhaps not all kits are built equally but the E/LX is playing at a whole other level than what I heard from the Kit construction (which is a shame because the Kit had a way cooler colour finish). The biggest issue for me with the Kit E was that it had a rather dead quality to midrange sounded rather shut in and didn't have the bang on cohesiveness.
I have never heard the AN E kit, I've heard the AN E'spe. I think that's the standard base AN, maybe one step up? The same guy owns the K's and built the AN E's. He was very impressed with the kit, more so than the K's for the money, but he thinks that AN isn't selling the same drivers or design as the real E.


I'd be curious to hear your thoughts on Focus Audio...which are the best commercial speaker in the $3-7 K range I've heard...see if you can find'em, they aren't big at all.