PS Audio "Sprout" - audiophile HW for millenials?

[christopher3393]

Examples? The only one I can think of off the top of my head is Lavardin.

 

Actually, it is my impression that there are quite a few without remotes: LFD, Shindo, Leben come to mind but I think one could compile a fairly impressive list.

[christopher3393]

Interesting comparative review: PS Audio Sprout and Teac AI-301DA Integrated AmpDACs Review Page 2 | Sound & Vision

 

Conclusion of review:

"The value equation is no easier between these two. Teac’s AI-301AD provides remote control, more digital inputs, and a lower price, while PS Audio’s Sprout offers more analog I/O, plus a phono input—and quite a nice-sounding one at that. In my view, shoppers could simply choose the one whose features best meet their needs, or whose ethos answers their aspirations, and not put a foot far wrong."

 

p.s.: Although this review is dated prior to the Sprout price change, the TEAC unit is now available for $400 or less if you shop around.

[Lighthouse]

$250 is just absurd number. I mean it has bluetooth, phono, DAC, speaker AND headphone amp. Even kickstarter price was 445 bucks as far as I remember. Considering dealers, I can only imagine that the margin will be razor-sharp.

 

And 'no remote' is one of the things truly valid in both sonic and economical perspectives. I mean, my Schiit Rag is 1.7K USD integrated amplifier and they did not put remote because it has to be motorized (volume control via relays), which would bring some price increase.

 

 

However, Bill, it is all about the lack of trust toward this industry, and it will surely kill a lot of companies and loss of jobs as soon as baby-boomers are all dead (which is happening.) Each time I go to any audio shows, there is a huge chance I am the only one who is under age of 40 unless there are some headphone companies involved.

 

I am sorry Bill, but people don't and probably won't trust you, your company and others for a long time. It is not because you guys did anything bad or something fishy. Being an audiophile company alone does bring a lot of skepticism.

 

After we witnessed stuffs like an Oppo player hidden inside of expensive casework and debacles regarding quality of sources sold in HDtracks, and overall greedy practices in both record companies and audio companies... there are very few reasons that people should trust 'audiophile' companies these days.

 

Go to real millenials' communities such as reddit headphone or audiophile.... People will chew off your company and bury into ground. Because, for them, selling 1K USD+ DACs is nothing more than snake-oil... regardless they are right or wrong.

 

Some companies are tricky enough to use this mentality (good example is Schiit) while others are not.

 

Some communities such as Head-Fi really heavily moderate their forums to protect vendors and manufacturers from 'false' accusations (swift deletes and bans), but in exchange those communities also lost trust in process.

 

That said, you will have better time posting stuffs regarding your company in Head-Fi than here, which Chris takes hands-off approach.

 

 

 

Last but not least, I think Sprout itself has identify issues like others said. My thought is, take off phono-amp and speaker amp.. reinforce headphone amp section (like balanced out, something not many stuffs have that) and add varied pre-out, decrease price to $400, then 'millenials' would actually buy this. Young people lack money and space to put speakers, and have no time to configure vinyl setup.

 

Currently, it is more of a nice office setup for existing rich audiophiles.

[bluesman]

Currently, it is more of a nice office setup for existing rich audiophiles.

.........or a perfect solution for a young single who wants a good basic system with a small footprint for his or her dorm room or apartment, or an inexpensive way to find out if your infatuation with vinyl will blossom into love, or a reward to yourself for your first promotion & raise, or........

 

I don't understand why so many here are picking apart what seems to me to be a seriously thought-out product with great utility. If you're concerned about uneven track volumes on digital files, use a player with auto-leveling.

 

The argument that there's evil intent in the industry is kinda hollow - if that bothers anyone enough to back off, you can never buy food, clothes, a house, a car, or a puppy again.

 

That new Yamaha looks like a contender for sure, but it's $300+ more expensive now, which will limit its appeal to the market I define above. However, there will be more if sales of these are at all solid.

 

Lastly, as a pioneering boomer, I can promise you youngsters that you'll see things differently over time - but if you truly love music & audio, you'll adopt change that enhances that love. Without unlimited resources, we downsize to functional parity with millenials as we face 25+ years in apartments & retirement communities with no earned income. That's how we lived as newly married medical students, and life was good (even though my tube amps, homebuilt speakers, records, tapes & transports took up room my wife wanted for lesser use).

[MikeJazz]

Currently, it is more of a nice office setup for existing rich audiophiles.

Which is not such a bad idea in itself, or for people with small rooms that can have the amp close by...

I wonder, what is the biggest segment, millenials who disire something like this or "rich audiophiles who want a secondary system at the office"?

[Lighthouse]

.........or a perfect solution for a young single who wants a good basic system with a small footprint for his or her dorm room or apartment, or an inexpensive way to find out if your infatuation with vinyl will blossom into love, or a reward to yourself for your first promotion & raise, or........

 

I don't understand why so many here are picking apart what seems to me to be a seriously thought-out product with great utility. If you're concerned about uneven track volumes on digital files, use a player with auto-leveling.

 

The argument that there's evil intent in the industry is kinda hollow - if that bothers anyone enough to back off, you can never buy food, clothes, a house, a car, or a puppy again.

 

That new Yamaha looks like a contender for sure, but it's $300+ more expensive now, which will limit its appeal to the market I define above. However, there will be more if sales of these are at all solid.

 

Lastly, as a pioneering boomer, I can promise you youngsters that you'll see things differently over time - but if you truly love music & audio, you'll adopt change that enhances that love. Without unlimited resources, we downsize to functional parity with millenials as we face 25+ years in apartments & retirement communities with no earned income. That's how we lived as newly married medical students, and life was good (even though my tube amps, homebuilt speakers, records, tapes & transports took up room my wife wanted for lesser use).

 

Those 'young single' do not buy products like Sprout. They buy 70 bucks AmazonBasics bluetooth speakers, or overpriced 300 bucks Bose Soundlink for their favorite NFL team's logo. For them, they sound good enough AND loud enough to fill their small rooms.

 

Or they buy some cheap Fiio with bassy Audio-Technica ATH-M50 headphones.

 

Or they are more than happy with that stock apple earbuds.

 

I am not a millenial so this is really an observation, but no young people have any thought about getting a real stereo system (receiver, speakers)..... and let's not even talk about a vinyl setup which is about 100 times harder to get into.

 

And no, unlike food, clothes, a house and a car (except a puppy), audio equipment is not something absolutely needed. It's a hobby. This lack of trust problem is far more severe than many people think.

[bluesman]

I am not a millenial so this is really an observation, but no young people have any thought about getting a real stereo system (receiver, speakers)..... and let's not even talk about a vinyl setup which is about 100 times harder to get into.

With two children in their 30s, many cousins' children, nieces & nephews from late teens to upper 20s, and a lifetime work environment full of medical & other health professions students, I seem to be more in touch with this group than you are. Many have & more aspire to their concept of a "stereo system" - they just want the electronics in a single small box that will support their entertainment needs along with their lifestyle needs. Add a good computer & display (or even a large phone or tablet) to a Sprout with a pair of good but inexpensive small monitors, and you have a great "stereo" AV system that won't break the bank or the lease. And you can add vinyl for about $300 if so inclined. They spend more than that on lousy latte over 3 months.

 

And I'm asked about getting into vinyl at least once a week by someone half my age, often after they see the huge display in our remaining Barnes & Noble where they go to study & drink espresso. Yes, the espresso' s mediocre - but they'll learn about that too as they buy machines & make their own.

[Paul R]

With two children in their 30s, many cousins' children, nieces & nephews from late teens to upper 20s, and a lifetime work environment full of medical & other health professions students, I seem to be more in touch with this group than you are. Many have & more aspire to their concept of a "stereo system" - they just want the electronics in a single small box that will support their entertainment needs along with their lifestyle needs. Add a good computer & display (or even a large phone or tablet) to a Sprout with a pair of good but inexpensive small monitors, and you have a great "stereo" AV system that won't break the bank or the lease. And you can add vinyl for about $300 if so inclined. They spend more than that on lousy latte over 3 months.

 

And I'm asked about getting into vinyl at least once a week by someone half my age, often after they see the huge display in our remaining Barnes & Noble where they go to study & drink espresso. Yes, the espresso' s mediocre - but they'll learn about that too as they buy machines & make their own.

 

I get asked that quite often, but not usually by the professional kids. Mostly they have their Dac, headphone amp, storage, streamer, player, video player, and telephone all in one bundle... And they tend to stream to things like Sonos.

 

Honestly? Kids today are *smart* - probably every bit as smart as we were with our integrated amp, Advents, Koss Pro-4s, and turntable in 1976.

 

-Paul

[bluesman]

Honestly? Kids today are *smart* - probably every bit as smart as we were with our integrated amp, Advents, Koss Pro-4s, and turntable in 1976.

 

-Paul

Tell 'em the truth, Paul - the mold broke soon after we were born, and it's been downhill for the species ever since. Heeheeheeheeheehee................

 

David

[Audio_ELF]

And I'm asked about getting into vinyl at least once a week by someone half my age, often after they see the huge display in our remaining Barnes & Noble where they go to study & drink espresso. Yes, the espresso' s mediocre - but they'll learn about that too as they buy machines & make their own.

Except for the lack of remote control, I have no problem with the concept of the Sprout nor its cost (though is it reduced in UK too or just US price?) ... I'm just not sure PS Audio have thought out the marketing if they are wanting to tempt those who are starting to "get into" HiFi (which I suggest is more 30 year olds than 20 years olds to be honest).

 

I would imagine (and I'm not in marketing, etc.) that you would need to get department stores interested in stocking this if you want to make a effort in getting "new" sales rather than just selling to the same old people who are already buying HiFi. For that I would imagine you would need more of a package than just the amplifier section.

 

To Bill Leebens ... I'm sorry if you feel I'm being overly critical, if anything I'm more speaking in the abstract rather than trying to tell PS Audio what they should or shouldn't be doing. This thread has become an extension of previous discussions "how do you interest new people in HiFi" as much as about the Sprout itself.

[Bill Leebens]

 

To Bill Leebens ... I'm sorry if you feel I'm being overly critical, if anything I'm more speaking in the abstract rather than trying to tell PS Audio what they should or shouldn't be doing. This thread has become an extension of previous discussions "how do you interest new people in HiFi" as much as about the Sprout itself.

 

Understood, Eloise--pish tush, no worries. I appreciate the input. I really do have a thicker skin than this thread may have indicated.

 

Those who know me would say that my skull is very thick, as well. ;->

[senorx]

I was tempted by the Sprout when I was looking for an integrated amp about 9 months ago, at its original $800 price. Love the concept, looks, and form factor, and in general like PS Audio's products. In the end though, since I have no need of a phono stage (and if I decided I wanted to un-store my TT-not likely- I have a NAD PP2 some where) but at that time the discontinued Peachtree decco65 was on offer for $600, and I thought that was a better fit for me, and probably would have bought it even if the Sprout had been at $500. I'm very happy with the Peachtree.

[mistersprinkles]

Im late to the conversation and sure to say redundant things- I will say this, you're not going to convince anybody to get into HIFI (more like Mid-Fi with this sprout) who isn't already pre-disposed to becoming interested in HI (erm mid) FI in the first place.

 

Most people these days who are my age (32) and under are not interested in dynamics, fidelity, resolution, or overall audio quality. Look at young people you know. What are they listening on? Most of them are listening on a smartphone with cheap ($50 or less) earbuds. Those who are a step up from there are making hugely misguided headphone purchases (look how popular Beats are). These same people get home and listen to their music, which is usually a collection of not-even-320kbps MP3s they stole online on their computer, which has a perhaps $50, or in rare cases, $200 powered speaker system hooked up to it.

 

People from my generation think that things like the Corsair SP2500, a (rather terrible IMO) 2.1 system, sound fantastic. Going from taking something you already own (PC) and adding an "expensive" powered speaker system to it for $200.... going from there to spending $800 on an integrated amp and another $700-1500 on speakers.... I mean, come on... who's going to do it? Nobody. Why? Are they stupid? No. They just don't know what they're missing. I grew up around HIFI. My father had a top of the line Technics system from the 70s with some fantastic large floorstanders and my uncle had a spectacular setup with some standmounters and Denon gear. I remember being mesmerized at a young age with the soundstage and fidelity and faithful reproduction of music from these systems.

 

Now I have my own (super entry level) system. My amp cost me $650+tax and my speakers cost me $800+ tax and my (admittedly overkill for this system) DAC was $600. By no means high end, but definitely an improvement over the soundcard+powered computer speakers I've been using my whole life.

 

Sadly those systems I grew up listening to, those nice HIFIs, neither was passed down to me, so I had to buy my own entry level setup... but the point is, and forgive my rambling, that I was pre-destined to get into higher end sound because I grew up around it and I knew perfectly well what was achievable if one went past Low-Fi.

 

These kids, these 20-35 year olds. Some of them can afford mid fi. Some of them can afford HiFi. Hell, my 26 year old cousin makes enough to afford a $40000 system after saving up for a year if he wanted to. The point is, these kids aren't going to buy into something they don't understand. They look at a $40000 HIFI and they think its wasteful. Stupid. As ridiculous as buying a 600BHP car in a country where the speed limits max out at 60MPH. It just isn't going to happen.

 

What would bring these kids into HIFI? Experience. There is no magic product that is going to attract them, and certainly it's not going to be a tiny little integrated with a DAC from a company that most people have never heard of. Not at $800 USD. It's not happening.

 

The sprout, if it sounds good, will sell, but it'll sell to audiophiles who want a little system for desktop or for a bedroom. That's the audience.

[james45974]

This discussion could form the basis for a business school case study. I think PS Audio should be commended for trying to go after a market that is frankly ignored by the vast majority of audio companies. The fact that they seem to have misjudged their initially intended market in terms of demographics, price, feature set, appearance, availability is something I chalk up to a learning experience. I would think that a Sprout 2.0 would be better honed in. If a Sprout 2.0 is planned, it should be a hip looking design, scaled back in features, cheaper, and in peoples face (sell it at Best Buy, Costco, Target for crying out loud). I wish more companies would take this chance, how are people going to be brought in to the world of audio beyond their phones if few products offer that step beyond minimum entry. It seems that more audiophile companies take the Rolls Royce tact, only building high end - very high end - extreme high end products when they need to take the GM or Toyota tact, moving from a low end Toyota when you first learn to drive up towards a Lexus as you mature.

[livelistenlearn]

imo, nothing much wrong with this sprout:

> has all the inputs to hook up to a PC, cellphone or tablet. stuff most young people have. and already use to listen.

> simple concept, simple to operate.

> looks cool, imo.

> does not take up too much real estate, semi-portable.

> supports vinyl playback.

not heard it. but certainly would, if opportunity arises.

as one reads it: for too many years, people who attend high-end audio are mostly mature guys who are getting more mature with passing years. the market, as some have surmised, might be dying. literally. hence, chest-beating along the lines of how to drag more, and younger inmates into the audio asylum.

so, this product, perhaps PS Audio’s take on "hi-fi lite”, may get them interested.

them could be head-fiers. who are into "better sound”, and they are many. except they have been listening with headphones or earphones, instead of speakers. who knows, some of them might eventually develop an interest in “real world” audio.

and, enter the sprout (which, incidentally, has a headphone out). might turn them on, might not.

if it does, chances are there may be more audiophiles, like us, in the future. and, the suitably obsessed ones will inevitably long to sample higher-end, tastier offerings.

^ is a good thing, no?

p.s. every good marketeer should be duly proud/protective of his/her products. but, always challenging to try and sell anything when one is perceived to be swinging a cudgel.

[Paul R]

This discussion could form the basis for a business school case study. I think PS Audio should be commended for trying to go after a market that is frankly ignored by the vast majority of audio companies. The fact that they seem to have misjudged their initially intended market in terms of demographics, price, feature set, appearance, availability is something I chalk up to a learning experience. I would think that a Sprout 2.0 would be better honed in. If a Sprout 2.0 is planned, it should be a hip looking design, scaled back in features, cheaper, and in peoples face (sell it at Best Buy, Costco, Target for crying out loud). I wish more companies would take this chance, how are people going to be brought in to the world of audio beyond their phones if few products offer that step beyond minimum entry. It seems that more audiophile companies take the Rolls Royce tact, only building high end - very high end - extreme high end products when they need to take the GM or Toyota tact, moving from a low end Toyota when you first learn to drive up towards a Lexus as you mature.

 

 

Just my opinion, but very well said indeed!

[james45974]

Just my opinion, but very well said indeed!

 

Thanks Paul. My car company analogy might not be the best! I see reports that the younger generation is not as interested in cars and driving, some not even getting drivers licenses It appears that the car companies might have the same problem as audio companies, getting the younger, new market on the first rung of the steps.

[bluesman]

This discussion could form the basis for a business school case study. it should be a hip looking design, scaled back in features, cheaper, and in peoples face (sell it at Best Buy, Costco, Target for crying out loud). I wish more companies would take this chance

Yes it's a good business school case, but not as you see it. You can't hit the market with a new product like this and expect to sell sufficient volume to vend through big box stores. First, you need demand. Then you need supply chain capacity to meet that demand, which requires major capital investment for production facilities (or contracting - the "make or buy" decision is also critical) plus delivery to their distribution centers. They'll demand a production volume far greater than PS can probably supply of the current incarnation of the Sprout.

 

These big retailers will define the target market, dictate the price, and squeeze the manufacturer down to a slim margin on the price they set, further compromising design for cost.

 

Building a product line like this requires a proper business plan and adequate resources to follow it. It's just not that easy. I suspect that PSA planned to do exactly what they did, and it appears that they hit a major milestone by recovering their R&D costs. Let's see what's next.

[Paul R]

Yes it's a good business school case, but not as you see it. You can't hit the market with a new product like this and expect to sell sufficient volume to vend through big box stores. First, you need demand. Then you need supply chain capacity to meet that demand, which requires major capital investment for production facilities (or contracting - the "make or buy" decision is also critical) plus delivery to their distribution centers. They'll demand a production volume far greater than PS can probably supply of the current incarnation of the Sprout.

 

These big retailers will define the target market, dictate the price, and squeeze the manufacturer down to a slim margin on the price they set, further compromising design for cost.

 

Building a product line like this requires a proper business plan and adequate resources to follow it. It's just not that easy. I suspect that PSA planned to do exactly what they did, and it appears that they hit a major milestone by recovering their R&D costs. Let's see what's next.

 

If I am not mistaken, wasn't this a very successful Kickstarter campaign? That rather sidesteps a great deal of the cos and risk of a startup.

 

-Paul

[bluesman]

If I am not mistaken, wasn't this a very successful Kickstarter campaign? That rather sidesteps a great deal of the cos and risk of a startup.

 

-Paul

But that's just the early phase. It takes a lot more $ to finance the design, production and delivery of large volumes at prices acceptable to the big box guys than it does to sell hundreds of units at a price acceptable to upscale millenials looking to break into vinyl. You don't simply call Best Buy and arrange to sell your stuff there because you want to.

 

The questions of greatest importance to potential investors are whether the product fills an existing need and has a well defined target market. For a crowd-funded item like the current Sprout, the answers are yes x 2. For a mass merchandised version that could sell at $300 retail, the answers depend on how close to the current version one could come if the cost of goods sold were reduced to $100 or less through reductions in features, functionality and quality. The only way to get more features into it at that price is to guarantee large volume orders.

 

Making a go of it would take bigger bucks up front than crowd-funding would provide. And at $300 in Target, it'd be competing against Bose wave radios and glorified boomboxes, not serious audio equipment.

 

David

[Paul R]

But that's just the early phase. It takes a lot more $ to finance the design, production and delivery of large volumes at prices acceptable to the big box guys than it does to sell hundreds of units at a price acceptable to upscale millenials looking to break into vinyl. You don't simply call Best Buy and arrange to sell your stuff there because you want to.

 

The questions of greatest importance to potential investors are whether the product fills an existing need and has a well defined target market. For a crowd-funded item like the current Sprout, the answers are yes x 2. For a mass merchandised version that could sell at $300 retail, the answers depend on how close to the current version one could come if the cost of goods sold were reduced to $100 or less through reductions in features, functionality and quality. The only way to get more features into it at that price is to guarantee large volume orders.

 

Making a go of it would take bigger bucks up front than crowd-funding would provide. And at $300 in Target, it'd be competing against Bose wave radios and glorified boomboxes, not serious audio equipment.

 

David

 

Excellent thinking, however - the designs are in essence, complete and require no further costing. The manufacturing is - apparently - already setup for offshore work, quantity discounting can be negotiated. The product is already a success making the risk very low, unless he market for it is saturated. Many retailers now stock limited shelf space, and depend upon ordering as needed from a distribution center, meaning the negotiations would be easier with the retailers and more intense with the distribution center.

 

It gets way more complex than that, but basically, it is far easier today to get a product into the retail chain than it has ever been before.

 

-Paul

[bluesman]

Excellent thinking, however - the designs are in essence, complete and require no further costing. The manufacturing is - apparently - already setup for offshore work, quantity discounting can be negotiated.

Obviously, none of us has seen PSA' s business plan, pro formas and income statements on this, so we don't know the actual numbers. But it'd be quite uncommon for a product whose original sales target was in the hundreds or low thousands to survive a major ramp-up in volume at a 50+% retail price cut without redesign and a change in manufacturing & supply chain. Components available in the hundreds may not be so at ten+ times the quantity. Manufacturing methods behind an $800 product intended for low volume sales may not be suitable for higher volume at lower cost. Etc etc etc.

 

My point isn't that this can't be done - it's that there's much more to making it happen than many posters here seem to believe. I'd be very surprised if they could simply ramp up production of the existing design, halve the price, get Target to carry it, meet sales and service demands, and generate an operating margin sufficient to sustain it.

 

I'd love to be wrong because I'd buy one for my office and one for my son's. But I've built, operated and sold products & businesses (admittedly all healthcare-related) both before & after my MBA, and I know how hard it is to pull off this kind of metamorphosis. My father invented the little cups your dental hygienist uses to hold cleaning paste, and I worked with him to develop both the original designs and the evolution over years into what you see today. Going from individually machined holders and small volume extrusion of the disposable cups to meeting the demand when they took off (originally through SS White, the Amazon of dental supply houses in the '50s & '60s) required a series of major changes none of which was visible and all of which required significant working capital to implement.

 

I hope we see a successful $300 Sprout, but I'm skeptical.

 

D

[Paul R]

Obviously, none of us has seen PSA' s business plan, pro formas and income statements on this, so we don't know the actual numbers. But it'd be quite uncommon for a product whose original sales target was in the hundreds or low thousands to survive a major ramp-up in volume at a 50+% retail price cut without redesign and a change in manufacturing & supply chain. Components available in the hundreds may not be so at ten+ times the quantity. Manufacturing methods behind an $800 product intended for low volume sales may not be suitable for higher volume at lower cost. Etc etc etc.

 

My point isn't that this can't be done - it's that there's much more to making it happen than many posters here seem to believe. I'd be very surprised if they could simply ramp up production of the existing design, halve the price, get Target to carry it, meet sales and service demands, and generate an operating margin sufficient to sustain it.

 

I'd love to be wrong because I'd buy one for my office and one for my son's. But I've built, operated and sold products & businesses (admittedly all healthcare-related) both before & after my MBA, and I know how hard it is to pull off this kind of metamorphosis. My father invented the little cups your dental hygienist uses to hold cleaning paste, and I worked with him to develop both the original designs and the evolution over years into what you see today. Going from individually machined holders and small volume extrusion of the disposable cups to meeting the demand when they took off (originally through SS White, the Amazon of dental supply houses in the '50s & '60s) required a series of major changes none of which was visible and all of which required significant working capital to implement.

 

I hope we see a successful $300 Sprout, but I'm skeptical.

 

D

 

Yes, you are quite right in everything you point out. Still, I would like to see someone come in and save the hobby a bit more. Companies like Sonos, iFi, and even that mad Scotsman, what's his name? (grin)

 

-Paul

[Bill Leebens]

This discussion could form the basis for a business school case study. I think PS Audio should be commended for trying to go after a market that is frankly ignored by the vast majority of audio companies. The fact that they seem to have misjudged their initially intended market in terms of demographics, price, feature set, appearance, availability is something I chalk up to a learning experience. I would think that a Sprout 2.0 would be better honed in. If a Sprout 2.0 is planned, it should be a hip looking design, scaled back in features, cheaper, and in peoples face (sell it at Best Buy, Costco, Target for crying out loud). I wish more companies would take this chance, how are people going to be brought in to the world of audio beyond their phones if few products offer that step beyond minimum entry. It seems that more audiophile companies take the Rolls Royce tact, only building high end - very high end - extreme high end products when they need to take the GM or Toyota tact, moving from a low end Toyota when you first learn to drive up towards a Lexus as you mature.

 

 

I appreciate the props. It is hugely challenging to launch a product to a mainstream market-- the costs of marketing/advertising are staggering, far beyond the reach of almost any company that hasn't received a fat war chest from vulture capitalists. We've done all manner of things to give us a leg up, starting with crowdfunding--but it's a mixed bag. Would it have been easier with a marketing budget 10 times what we have? Well, HELL yes. Of course it would. But that would also blend into higher cost per unit, and then where would we be?

 

As I guess is obvious at this point, we're well aware of the issue of income limitations of much of our chosen market. Some years back, I wrote a piece about the audio world for Gizmodo (before it became completely dismissive of and snarky towards the biz). Close to 67,000 folks read it, and over 400 left comments. The vast majority of the comments were angry, and said in essence that "anybody who spends more than $300 on this stuff is insane, and it's all bullshit/snakeoil/highway/robbery."

 

In Defense of Audiophilia

 

So--the other poster's comments about reddit, et al, hit home, and reminded me of the early wild west days of other audio forums. That's what there is to build upon, like it or not.

 

If one were to look at the bigger picture--as I am about to--one could see this contempt/distrust as reflective of the larger distrust of science/authority/capitalism in general. Obviously, such viewpoints are self-contradictory, if not hypocritical: how can you use a technologically-dense device such as a computer to rail against the corruption of technology?

 

But I digress, bigtime.

 

I admit to being perplexed by the level of hostility we have encountered in online discussions of Sprout. Many comments are totally off the mark, based upon a fragmentary understanding of what features are included, or what Sprout will do. One whole thread dismissed it as being grossly overpriced for a small DAC, seemingly unaware of the zillion other features. Other comments say, " there's no point in this product, there's (Brand X)."

 

Okay: is the market so small that a variety of products with different styles and feature-sets can't coexist? I certainly don't think so. We didn't expect Sprout to be for everyone, and have said so repeatedly. The company has been around for over 40 years, and is not naive enough to think that the "better mousetrap" model exists. We have a long history, our own viewpoints, our own style, and do our best to stay true to those.

 

If you don't agree with them, or like them--fine. It's a big freaking world. There's room for all of us.

[Bill Leebens]

(originally through SS White, the Amazon of dental supply houses in the '50s & '60s) required a series of major changes none of which was visible and all of which required significant working capital to implement.

 

I hope we see a successful $300 Sprout, but I'm skeptical.

 

D

 

As the son of a dentist, I'm very familiar with SS White. I imagine my dad used those little cups.

 

I welcome anyone to try to build something Sproutish that could be profitably sold for $250 or $300. Like you, I'm skeptical. HUGELY skeptical.