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View Full Version : cheap in-ceilings?



vette84
05-15-2006, 09:56 PM
OK, so we're finally getting into some builders eyes and we have one that actually want's to build in dist audio into every home. (in the 150-400k range).

What in ceilings are you using to fill the ultra low end entry level kinda stuff. Something we can spec in every home and build on from there. I hate cheap crap, but this would at least get us in the door to have a basic audio package as a starting point. I'd still prefer to have something that sounds halfway decent, though.

Since the alarm guy, electrician, plumber, roofer, pool guy, and cleaning crew are all installing $50/pr speakers, I'd like to stay somewhat competitive. I'm thinking in the neighborhood of $100 - $150/pr retail.

lowvoltguy
05-15-2006, 10:16 PM
Lots of choices in that range ... Boston DSi255 $150 MSRP is my go to ... Might want to post this in the verified section for more suggestions ....

tomciara
05-15-2006, 10:17 PM
For budget systems I've used BIC MSR5 and MSR6s for several years now. I think they sound very good and especially for the price. D?L has them.

Just checked and we first sold them in 1997. Only one has ever failed, ever.

ATOH
05-15-2006, 10:20 PM
TruAudio has some in that range I believe, and they're an integrator's type of manufacturer. They have the LC-6 at $150 retail. Cheaper than that? Uhm... NXG from DBL?

Greg_C
05-15-2006, 10:20 PM
RBH A-505R are about $ 140.00 a pair retail. Not available at places like ADI, and don't sound bad for what they are.

mattwhitehcha
05-17-2006, 08:43 PM
We use Jamo 6.5CS Inceilings. about 150 a pair. great budget speakers

BrianC
05-18-2006, 02:46 PM
I use Parasound C-65's quite a bit.

BlakeAV
05-18-2006, 05:59 PM
If you are going down the production route (high volume and low margin) then its time to sign up direct with a speaker company.
SoNiles could work, they have some low price speakers and a good little distributed audio system. Also plates, parts and such.

Monster Cable has just about everything you need from speakers to panals to of course wire. And its an easy brand to sell, like Coke or Pepsi.

Niles, Speaker Craft or who ever make a deal and get as much from that source as you can in order to get the best price.

Take a big picture approach and get all you can from as few sources as possible. This will in turn provide you with a little more margin, a more realiable source for gear going direct and make your life allot easier.

It does not pay to be a tweak in that market so

vette84
05-18-2006, 08:34 PM
The trick is, we aren't pricing ourselves to go into every house this builder does. We still plan on making money. What we plan to do is offer levels, so the customer still gets a semi-custom setup, while we get repeatable packages. I want el-cheapos to start out with without sounding like a cup and string. I want to try and get like four levels... roughly $100/pr, $225-250/pr, $350-400/pr, and maybe $500-600/pr.

I would like to look at Triad to fill maybe the upper two tiers. Anyone here give me an idea what Triad in-ceilings fit this bill? I really want to have a speaker in a backbox for the upper two, and I don't want to have to fabricate boxes every time.

We are dealers for Focal (though not direct), and like their range of products (plus they're protected), but to get anything with a backbox, you have to get into the $800/pr range... not a sale to any kind of production builder.


And how dare you say the M word. Your mom should wash your mouth out with soap... no way, no how.

flcusat
05-19-2006, 05:38 AM
I would like to look at Triad to fill maybe the upper two tiers. Anyone here give me an idea what Triad in-ceilings fit this bill? I really want to have a speaker in a backbox for the upper two, and I don't want to have to fabricate boxes every time.


I guest you are talking Triad's Omniround. The retail price for the Omniround8 is $300/each and $250/ea for the Omniround6

Fastfred
05-19-2006, 07:34 AM
Since I sell several brands of commodity speakers, I'm biased.

I agree with Blake; set a relationship up with a supplier that can deliver multiple things on a single po. Speakers, volume controls, wall plates, punch downs, wire, black boxes, plus stuff that you do on occasion, but not every day. Get a good line of speakers that differentiates yourself from the other shmos for the upscale line. Find someone who is competent, can deliver on a consistent basis. Somebody who understands the market place.

Hm. Sounds like an ad for a distributor, doesn't it?

AudibleSolutions
05-28-2006, 08:39 PM
I am less sure that distribution is the answer but I sure understand why Fred might think it is. I think that going direct is a much better solution than distribution and RBH is a supurb speaker company that you ought to look at. Their 509 series is cheap. Their 615D is is relatively cheap. Their A615 is cheap. Yet you can upgrade to their MC series when necessary. They make on walls that are......(realtively) cheap. They have Bose killers that are ...............cheap. They have a powered sub that is 350 MSRP. They have 88.1 sub that is a recessed in wall sub for 325 each and for the price of an amp it can become a powered sub.

The point is you need to choose your lines so that they fill needs. I like Bay Audio but they will not make a speaker inexpensive enough for a Builder project. Triad makes a great speaker but it is pricy. A 300-400k home will not support 700/800 per pair background music speakers ( I think ).

Now for my anti distribution rant. Find a group of local small CI businesses in your area and team up. Perhaps you have speaker A while they have Triad. They may have an electronics line or an automation line. Band together and purchase as a local buying group. Become the distributor without paying the extra tarrif. Small guys unite. If you cannot get the line you want see if you cannot find it via a local company with whom you team up. Team up is the key. Cross polination is the key. If you stay isolated and small the reps and distrubtors will eat you alive. They have a vested interest in keeping each of us separate and unequal. No one said that we cannot change the rules as the rules continually change.

Triad is a very good speaker. Just not the best option for a price sensitive job. Nor is giving away 10% or more to the distributor on price sensitive jobs.

Alan

tomciara
05-29-2006, 12:44 AM
Alan, you can be the president. Call your buying group AVAS (Audio/Video Added Solutionnnns). The start of a new and highly rewarding career.

Matt
05-29-2006, 01:49 AM
Solutionnnns I don't think he has lost his password quite that many times;)

TedW
05-30-2006, 03:55 PM
Now for my anti distribution rant. Find a group of local small CI businesses in your area and team up. Perhaps you have speaker A while they have Triad. They may have an electronics line or an automation line. Band together and purchase as a local buying group. Become the distributor without paying the extra tarrif. Small guys unite. If you cannot get the line you want see if you cannot find it via a local company with whom you team up. Team up is the key. Cross polination is the key. If you stay isolated and small the reps and distrubtors will eat you alive. They have a vested interest in keeping each of us separate and unequal. No one said that we cannot change the rules as the rules continually change.

Alan

Intersting idea. It's something I've thought about before, although not quite on that scale. But I just couldn't see it working. For starters it could be construed as hard core cross shipping. Also, which company places the order? what happens if someone in your group doesn't pay? Things like that could become a nightmare. As a one and a quarter person operation I would certainly like to improve my buying power but the shops near me are big enough that they have no problem buying in the quantity they need to for good pricing.

CCD
05-30-2006, 11:19 PM
Paradigm expressly forbids this practice, I asked. I am in a market that is a whoppin 30k strong. I am 15 miles from a market that has 300k and a couple of my competitors have proposed this concept. The rep says no-go. I completely understand since they have the CLEANEST dist. around and they give me a 90mile buffer. I did not think I could do the numbers but so far I am smokin it. You can sell the other guys client the product and pay him a commission. What a PIA!

Gary
05-30-2006, 11:34 PM
I don't think he has lost his password quite that many times;)

He's not as bad as Blake, I get a monthly "forgot password" email from him. After the fourth I added it to his signature.

ejfiii
05-31-2006, 06:15 AM
LMAO Gary.

Hey CCD, Bill Richardson, the national sales manager lives 5 minutes from our store and is always hanging out with us. He's a great guy and knows his stuff. He tried to get me up to the factory next month but I can't do it.