Ray Garrison Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 Too bad we haven't gotten an official comment. There used to be a picture in the Press Releases section of this website of PWK standing next to and leaning on the prototype Jubilee. I just poked aroung in there, and unless I can't figure out the proper search context to find it, it is gone. Deleted. That would seem to bode poorly for her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 The EAR... The bass bin is not huge. You can still place your coffee cup on it with out reaching up too far. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted November 3, 2003 Share Posted November 3, 2003 You can order the AES paper here: http://www.aes.org/journal/search.html Just search on Klipsch it is the last paper that comes up. The '79 paper might be handy to have too. Out of curiosity I ordered both. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Reed Posted November 4, 2003 Author Share Posted November 4, 2003 Surely someone from Klipsch will be good enough to update us. Anyone... Anyone at all? Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
m00n Posted November 4, 2003 Share Posted November 4, 2003 Maybe the moderators don't come into the forums any longer because we have been so well behaved lately. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ZAKO Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 WE can change that. Any one want to start a fire under their chair? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted November 5, 2003 Share Posted November 5, 2003 The easiest thing to do is email BobG direct. What do you think Bob, is there a clue above? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Reed Posted November 5, 2003 Author Share Posted November 5, 2003 Klipsch Promotes 31-year Industry Veteran Bob Gassel To Business Team Manager of International Operations Perhaps Bob is a bit busy with his new position. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BobG Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 OK, OK, so I'm busy trying to do my job, I admit it. LOL. Here's the scoop and you already know this. We cannot figure out a workable method of selling our Heritage models. Our typical dealers do not have the sales environment necessary to sell Heritage speakers and they also lact the associated components to make them sound their best. Like trying to sell Ferraris at a Chevy store. This is not a condemnation of our dealers, but rather the reality of the market. The Jubilee is indeed a finished, or very nearly finished design. Just a few minor cosmetic tweeks would be left to complete IF we had a channel through which to sell them. Now you might say, "Hey Klipsch, why not just take the Heritage series to the network of high end dealers in the US?" We'd love to, but it seems that those dealers are looking for brands that bring them added panache' and credibility among the ultra high end audience and that Klipsch is not such a brand. For one thing, our products are not expensive enough. It might be better if we made them much more expensive and more exotic. You can think of numerous brands that take this approach successfully. However, it just isn't our style. You may not be aware, but we did issue a limited series of 50th anniversary Khorns and even those beauties were not that enthusiastically received in the U.S. So where does that leave us? We continue to build the Heritage series. We sell most of them outside the US (and guess who is responsible for those markets?) We have not gone into production with the Jubilee, cause if we can't sell it we can't build it. We DO however continue to dream. We are working on some designs that are definitely in the performance league of Jubilee/Heritage and beyond. If we can ever figure out how to sell them, we will have some really desirable models ready to roll. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tony Reed Posted November 7, 2003 Author Share Posted November 7, 2003 BobG, Thank You for the response. Still, I find it hard to believe there's no way to sell such products here in the U.S. that have such a loyal following. Tony Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eq_shadimar Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 ---------------- On 11/7/2003 11:58:42 AM BobG wrote: OK, OK, so I'm busy trying to do my job, I admit it. LOL. Here's the scoop and you already know this. We cannot figure out a workable method of selling our Heritage models. Our typical dealers do not have the sales environment necessary to sell Heritage speakers and they also lact the associated components to make them sound their best. Like trying to sell Ferraris at a Chevy store. This is not a condemnation of our dealers, but rather the reality of the market. The Jubilee is indeed a finished, or very nearly finished design. Just a few minor cosmetic tweeks would be left to complete IF we had a channel through which to sell them. Now you might say, "Hey Klipsch, why not just take the Heritage series to the network of high end dealers in the US?" We'd love to, but it seems that those dealers are looking for brands that bring them added panache' and credibility among the ultra high end audience and that Klipsch is not such a brand. For one thing, our products are not expensive enough. It might be better if we made them much more expensive and more exotic. You can think of numerous brands that take this approach successfully. However, it just isn't our style. You may not be aware, but we did issue a limited series of 50th anniversary Khorns and even those beauties were not that enthusiastically received in the U.S. So where does that leave us? We continue to build the Heritage series. We sell most of them outside the US (and guess who is responsible for those markets?) We have not gone into production with the Jubilee, cause if we can't sell it we can't build it. We DO however continue to dream. We are working on some designs that are definitely in the performance league of Jubilee/Heritage and beyond. If we can ever figure out how to sell them, we will have some really desirable models ready to roll. ---------------- Hey Bob here is an idea for ya. How about selling them online only direct from Klipsch? Sure the shipping would be costly but not impossilbe. You could follow the SVS model and setup a network of home users willing to do in house demos of them and other products. Nothing would sell more Klipsch speakers then a Klipsch owner with the proper setup speaking about how awesome they are. I am not sure how Klipsch works these days but perhaps they can be a build to order only product. Just some thoughts. Laters, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kev313 Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 Agreed. This model seems low cost and low risk from Klipsch's perspective. And then there is the fact that doing something (anything) tops nothing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 " You could follow the SVS model and setup a network of home users willing to do in house demos of them and other products. " Companies like ACI have been doing this for 25 years so it is a very valid approach. Legacy does something very similar with also having a few dealer/demonstration points around the country. Both also have a demonstration room at their headquarters where prospective customers can go to listen to their systems and so on. Without the traditional distribution network both can offer higher quality products at lower costs while still making a nice profit. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sfogg Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 The other option is to use your pro sound side to sell the Heritage/Jubilee products. Triad and Servo-Drive/Sound Physics Labs sell heavily through their network of custom theater installers. This also assures the installation would fit the product for better end results. Shawn Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tom Adams Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 Oh gawd...I can already feel a negative post coming from my fingers. I can't believe what I just read from BobG. What in Blue Blazes has the audio industry come to that if you build some cutesy speaker with lame (at best) performance and hype & promote the bejeesus outta it, it sells. And if you build an ok speaker with ok components and give it some exotic name and sell it for 100 times more than it's worth through some nose-in-the-air audio dealers, it becomes an icon to the rich & famous. But build a true performance speaker using real world engineering, give it a tasteful enclosure, and price it fairly and no one wants it?? ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Am I the only one here that sees the sadness in this? This scares me folks 'cause I see the rest of the Heritage line close to being on the chopping block. Ok - my Dad always told me not to complain if I wasn't able to offer a solution so here goes. I propose that Klipsch rename it the Paul Klipsch Signature Jubilee 1.0. Advertise that Klipsch commisioned Hughes Aerospace to fabricate its internal wiring and Thomasville to do the cabinetry. Also let it be known that "key people" from Bose & JBL were hired away from those companies to work on this project. Then price them at $10k a piece but give current and previous Klipsch owners a 80% discount. Tom Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Professor.Ham.Slap Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 ---------------- On 11/7/2003 2:43:00 PM Tom Adams wrote: Oh gawd...I can already feel a negative post coming from my fingers. I can't believe what I just read from BobG. What in Blue Blazes has the audio industry come to that if you build some cutesy speaker with lame (at best) performance and hype & promote the bejeesus outta it, it sells. And if you build an ok speaker with ok components and give it some exotic name and sell it for 100 times more than it's worth through some nose-in-the-air audio dealers, it becomes an icon to the rich & famous. But build a true performance speaker using real world engineering, give it a tasteful enclosure, and price it fairly and no one wants it?? ARGHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!! Am I the only one here that sees the sadness in this? This scares me folks 'cause I see the rest of the Heritage line close to being on the chopping block. Ok - my Dad always told me not to complain if I wasn't able to offer a solution so here goes. I propose that Klipsch rename it the Paul Klipsch Signature Jubilee 1.0. Advertise that Klipsch commisioned Hughes Aerospace to fabricate its internal wiring and Thomasville to do the cabinetry. Also let it be known that "key people" from Bose & JBL were hired away from those companies to work on this project. Then price them at $10k a piece but give current and previous Klipsch owners a 80% discount. Tom ---------------- I agree. Ever since a bunch of pencil-pushing ***holes became the ones who could say whether or not something gets made, the audio industry has slowly begun to go to hell. Unfortunately, this seems to include Klipsch. The RSW-18 never saw the light of day (save one prototype), the Cornwall no longer exists and probably the Jubilee never will... thanks to these people. I'm sorry, but that needed to be said P.S. A note to the pencil-pushers: Nobody would ever buy anything as large as an RSW-18, eh? What are you, blind? If nobody could justify that then who in their right mind would be ever be able to fit a K-horn into their room or an SVS cylinder sub?! Common sense is the word of the day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BobG Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 Your's truly worked pretty hard on a direct distribution model which would include our local dealers as a delivery location and consumer assistance contact. Got pretty complex and is so very far afield from our normal business model that we did not implement. One of the realities of manufacturing and sales is that it is difficult to do too many different things well. The world is changing rapidly and I think that retail is in a state of flux. Companies such as SVS and Outlaw appear to be successful using a very non-traditional approach. At Klipsch we recognize that we have to be an agent of change, a promoter of change or the world will pass us by. I wish we had a real measure of the opportunity for products like Jubilee because only that would allow us to invest a lot of time and energy in solving the distribution problems we face. I know that a number of people on this forum have expressed support for these products. While that input is extremely valuable, it may amount to what, a couple of hundred potential sales? I don't mean to enflame but compared to the amount of time and effort required, that is just not a large enough opportunity to be viable. I expect this is why companies choose to charge ten times as much and doll up the product. The number of sales does not diminish much but the return is geometrically greater. I am happy to see how active this thread is and how rapidly people read and responded to my post above. Keep it coming. Bottom line is, we really would like to sell Heritage, Jubilee and the products on the drawing board here. We really are a group of fanatics and are quite frustrated that we can't seem to find an outlet for our coolest designs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 Bob G., how many Jubilees do you have to be able to sell to make it worthwhile? I know Best Buy would not be the place to show off a Klipschorn. And a snotty high-end dealer wouldn't be a good choice either. But there should be another choice out there in the big world of choices. Why does Heritage sell better overseas? Who handles the line overseas as far as what kind of dealers are they? Demoing in real life people's homes sounds neat, but I do think that would be darn difficult to manage. You've got accounting issues, theft, damage, insurance, liability, etc etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
michael hurd Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 The jubilee would be a great offering for sure, even if in limited build form. If companies like Legacy can sell expensive speakers, for the most part, with potential customers demoing the products in other people's houses, I can see no reason why this can't work. I'm sure that the market is out there, and just not in this niche (forum). I'm sure people that frequent the high efficiency speaker asylum, would be interested, as well as overseas demand for klipsch. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JohnA Posted November 7, 2003 Share Posted November 7, 2003 It sounds like the market demand thing happened to the rumoured "horn amp" from Aragon. That's too bad. I was hoping to be forced to start an amp fund for it. I don't have any bright ideas for marketing the Heritage stuff. As for the electronics, you'd have to "lease" some Aragon equipment to them to be sure they were demo'd well. You might even have to set up the systems. When I win the lottery, ....... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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