Jeff Matthews Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Jeff M. wrote "I think the "re-birth" of Heritage will be short-lived! I would have thought that one line would have wreaked havoc on this entire forum[] Jeff, would you say you might lean a little towards Shaddenfreude? I sure know you love rocking the boat, as I have watched many of the post you instill this thinking on! It's fun to rock the boat a little to see what people have to say. Often times, you get more - and better - feedback and learn a few new things. But on this point, I am serious - as I am on any - unless the sarcasm appears obvious (to me, anyway). Having landed BestBuy (a vastly greater opportunity than the small shops could ever present - i.e. the "Wal-Mart" of electronics), if Klipsch is to make the best of its new relationship, the onesies and twosies days of Heritage should be over - and thus - close to an end. It seems this is only the best business sense there is. Sure, Heritage can be profitable for the right players who want to focus on the onesies and twosies niche, but Klipsch has bigger fish to fry. It's kind of like Trumpism. I am quite sure he passes on $100,000 deals all the time - even though they could be very profitable to a smaller investor. It's all in where you direct your focus. With BestBuy in my pocket, I'd spin off Heritage lickety-split - unless you showed me a strong reason why the mass market approach is not sound. I'd mass market the less expensive lines and aim at volume, volume, volume. Klipsch is poised to make a name for itself like Bose. I'm not talking a "name" as in our little niche who knows Klipsch is better. I'm talking a "household" name in speakers. If we were playing Family Feud, and Richard Dawson said "Name a company who makes great home speakers," what do you think the survey would show is the number 1 answer? Klipsch! "Sorry, but we have some great consolation gifts for you." Bose has been laughing all the way to the bank - so long as they manage their money right. Klipsch now has a turn. It's not a cheap shot at Heritage at all. I'm talking from a financial perspective only. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 On the other hand, Klipsch might be keeping Heritage around because Heritage is what made Klipsch as notorious as it has been able to become. The Heritage that people don't buy at BestBuy might still be the impetus for BestBuy shoppers to buy with more confidence in the "subHeritage" products BestBuy carries. Maybe that's why we have seen (really Forum members say they have seen) an implosion of Heritage displays at the mom-and-pop stores. Klipsch doesn't want to mess around with it, but keeps it around as its flagship so that nobody will get the impression that Klipsch started taking its focus off of quality. This is all just speculation on my part, but I doubt the "revitalization" of Heritage that we are seeing will actually be translated to a serious effort from Klipsch to make sure it remains in all the mom-and-pop stores. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
seti Posted February 23, 2006 Author Share Posted February 23, 2006 Jeff M. wrote "I think the "re-birth" of Heritage will be short-lived! I would have thought that one line would have wreaked havoc on this entire forum[] Jeff, would you say you might lean a little towards Shaddenfreude? I sure know you love rocking the boat, as I have watched many of the post you instill this thinking on! It's fun to rock the boat a little to see what people have to say. Often times, you get more - and better - feedback and learn a few new things. But on this point, I am serious - as I am on any - unless the sarcasm appears obvious (to me, anyway). Having landed BestBuy (a vastly greater opportunity than the small shops could ever present - i.e. the "Wal-Mart" of electronics), if Klipsch is to make the best of its new relationship, the onesies and twosies days of Heritage should be over - and thus - close to an end. It seems this is only the best business sense there is. Sure, Heritage can be profitable for the right players who want to focus on the onesies and twosies niche, but Klipsch has bigger fish to fry. It's kind of like Trumpism. I am quite sure he passes on $100,000 deals all the time - even though they could be very profitable to a smaller investor. It's all in where you direct your focus. With BestBuy in my pocket, I'd spin off Heritage lickety-split - unless you showed me a strong reason why the mass market approach is not sound. I'd mass market the less expensive lines and aim at volume, volume, volume. Klipsch is poised to make a name for itself like Bose. I'm not talking a "name" as in our little niche who knows Klipsch is better. I'm talking a "household" name in speakers. If we were playing Family Feud, and Richard Dawson said "Name a company who makes great home speakers," what do you think the survey would show is the number 1 answer? Klipsch! "Sorry, but we have some great consolation gifts for you." Bose has been laughing all the way to the bank - so long as they manage their money right. Klipsch now has a turn. It's not a cheap shot at Heritage at all. I'm talking from a financial perspective only. OT but I think Klipsch keeping the Heritage line in production is exactly what keeps them from being another Bose. Is Bose making money? Yes. Are the Bose products as good? I don't think so. Does Bose have a KILLER successful profitable Pro Cinema line? Not to my knowledge. I am proud of Klipsch for keeping product integrity over mass producing cheap sounding speakers. Thank god your not calling the shots. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kaiser SET say Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 Start making money and everybody forgets where they came from[] I understand your thinking Jeff from a bottom line financial report but as you say if it were not for the Heritage line the current heads in charge would not be looking as good or not producing the HT line! I'm sure some of the folks in Hope have felt sold down the river on more than one occasion since Indy took over ops but as they say that's just life in the big city except for the fact Hope is not the big city and it is where it all started! Sorry Amy if I may have offended anyone at your end of the company but I have felt this way ever since Indy got involved and Aragon and really anything that did not have to do with Heritage and what got and made Klipsch who they are! Big business has nothing to do with the "Heart and Soul" of a company so rich in Heritage (love that word) as Klipsch[] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I know what you're saying, but with time, all things change. Dad's love for speakers built a business..... for son to learn how to run a business.... Son's love for business built an empire for grandson to wheel and deal in the "big-time." (This is just an example. I have no clue about the Klipsch family). I wouldn't find it odd or out of place if Klipsch's new owners (after inheriting, etc.) are a little more excited about business deals than speakers. The best they can do is set a vision for what they want to achieve for themselves and use the company as a means to get there. If they are indeed as "fascinated" with building a better speaker like PWK, that's fine, too. My belief is that there's always SOMEBODY out there to build the next better speaker. Go for the money - as long as you love what you're doing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted February 23, 2006 Share Posted February 23, 2006 I am proud of Klipsch for keeping product integrity over mass producing cheap sounding speakers. Thank god your not calling the shots. What do you think IS happening? "Cheap sounding" is a relative phrase (not to mention derogatory), but using KHorns as starting points, I think Klipsch has managed in the later years to run the gamut of affordability, which necessarily dictates a trade-off with sound quality. Aren't they even making tiny little speakers, now? Not everyone loves speakers so much they just have to have KHorns. Klipsch has been making efforts for at least 20 years to tap into the mass markets, which are dominated by listeners who demand more of an "average" than do the people in the much smaller list that might consider themselves as enthusiasts or audiophiles. The more people you target, the closer to "average" the product needs to be. The idea is to deliver whatever qualities you hope will give an edge over the competition (like maybe the Synergy series) - not a blow-out (like KHorns). The further you push your product in the superiority range, the more it costs, and the less people you will have in the available target market. I believe during the last 20 years or so, Klipsch has been focusing more and more on directing its products to the masses and not the other way around. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Klipsch was always changing and modding the components in his speakers. I have to disagree with this initial premise. The remarkable thing to me is how *little* PWK changed his initial designs. Yes, he went through numerous different suppliers for assorted reasons, but it wasn't because he was trying to fix something. He was resistant to change and considered most alterations to fall under the category: Not a dime's worth of difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Deang Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Which is about what you get when you spend a dime. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 We should get a LaScala pinata for the Texas Klipsch gathering. The next question is what to fill it with.....? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Hey, Oldie! Where ya been? You should be tearing it up in Name that Tune. Fill the Scalas with assorted tubes... [] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 I had missed this thread when it had started. Jubilee is a thoughtful response on what "new thing" had Mr. Paul's interest. It is an interesting thought to wonder if Mr. Paul would have gotten interested in replacing the K401 with a tractix mid horn. From an engineering standpoint, I would suppose a tractix horn could be produced for about the same cost as the K401. Somebody like Roy DelGado would be one of a short list of persons who could speculate about that in a thoughtful way. No telling how many different filters and fields of consideration that Mr. Paul would be considering regarding such a change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Jeff, regarding your comment on Trumpism, keep in mind that Klipsch has not gone bankrupt like the multiple times Trump has. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Matthews Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Yes, Oldie, that is true re: Trump. There always seems to be a prevailing force that drives businesses to grow until they die. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Parrot Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Yeah, I sure don't understand the fascination with this Trump guy. He's someone to admire when he's cheated numerous creditors out of hundreds of millions of dollars? I think he should be in debtors' prison. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 You're a softie parrot. I'm sure the creditors (investors) would prefer keelhauling. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oldtimer Posted March 16, 2006 Share Posted March 16, 2006 Hey, Oldie! Where ya been? You should be tearing it up in Name that Tune. Fill the Scalas with assorted tubes... [] I was thinking that or Boxcar Willy lp's. I've been trying to avoid the name that tune addiction. Oh the angst of having to come up with lyrics. I admit to intentionally not jumping in on New Frontier by Steely Dan.....Edit: Oops, that is still the current challenge, I guess my hand is forced... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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