alanhyatt
PMI Audio Group
DJL said:
Bye!!!!!!!
Bye!!!!!!!
D
DJL
Self Banned
Alan, I don't care how much you're being charged or paying... Vikki's question was... "So How Much Are These Chinese Mics Costing To Make?" My guess, is it cost about $2 to $5 to make a mic like the B1 in China. How much do you think it cost the factory to make a mic like the B1?
Gidge
Lapdance Test Dummy
Alan, your participation in a thread was never more appreciated! 
you know what fellas, i could care less where a mic was made and how much it cost to make.......all i do is consider what its gonna cost me, and if its worth that price.....if someone is making money off of it, so be it.....
if Alan Hyatt is making good money off of Studio Projects mics Id say he damn well deserves it.....
remember a few years back when the NT1 at $199 was about your best option?.......
you know what fellas, i could care less where a mic was made and how much it cost to make.......all i do is consider what its gonna cost me, and if its worth that price.....if someone is making money off of it, so be it.....
if Alan Hyatt is making good money off of Studio Projects mics Id say he damn well deserves it.....
remember a few years back when the NT1 at $199 was about your best option?.......
K
krs
New member
Funny you should mention that. The NT1 just SMOKED a C1 AND a C3 in that mic test on a male vocal.
I think it's still looking like a pretty good option.
I think it's still looking like a pretty good option.
Gidge
Lapdance Test Dummy
what mic test?
crazydoc
Master Baiter
Hedging your bets now?DJL said:
So you mean DJL is not from the US?TeyshaBlue said:
DJL - try to think. The Chinese have to build a factory, equip it with at least the rudiments of equipment, hire, train and pay their workers and middle management. Even if the pay is minimal it must be better than many jobs in China if 450 people are in line for work. I don't think they're assembling these in rice fields.
Then you have the cost of the parts for the mics - capsule, case, grill, pc board, connectors, caps, resitors, fet's/transistors, wire, solder, screws. Much of this has to be manufactured and shipped from other locations, probably non-Chinese in some cases, so you will have mark-ups and shipping charges for this.
$2 is an asisnine, ignorant guess for the cost to the factory of making the B1 -whether Behringer or Studio Projects.
DJL said:
A-fuckin'-menalanhyatt said:
S
sdelsolray
Active member
I'll say it again...Vicki starts some of the best threads on this site. Way to go!
H
Han
New member
Some eight years ago I was stupid enough to buy a Neumann M149 brand new for some $4500.
It has payed for itself a couple of times since, brought me many clients and wonderful sound.
There's a tread at Gearslutz about SP mics where you can find a shootout between the T3, the ADK A48 and the Neumann M149.
http://gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=21166&perpage=15&pagenumber=3
Don, IMHO nobody can make a mic like the B1 for $2. At least add an extra zero.
It has payed for itself a couple of times since, brought me many clients and wonderful sound.
There's a tread at Gearslutz about SP mics where you can find a shootout between the T3, the ADK A48 and the Neumann M149.
http://gearslutz.com/board/showthread.php3?s=&threadid=21166&perpage=15&pagenumber=3
Don, IMHO nobody can make a mic like the B1 for $2. At least add an extra zero.
alanhyatt
PMI Audio Group
DJL said:
Well then, you would be wrong.
H2oskiphil
It needs more cowbell!
Is that $2-$5 in dog years?
mshilarious
Banned
alanhyatt said:
If you haven't already, please feel free to delete that part of your post. Enough of us saw it so you won't have to suffer fools claiming otherwise.
If any dealer gripes, I have to say, they aren't very bright. Manufacturing/Wholesale/Retail margins are no big secret. I'm an accountant who has had several manufacturing clients in my day, not microphones but I did have a couple of defense manufacturers and an aircraft parts manufacturer. This stuff just doesn't vary that much, and it shouldn't surprise anybody that the cost of parts is 25% of the retail value. That's a small part of the final value of the item, and like I said, anybody is free to pick up the Mouser catalog & build their own from parts. I build & mod lots of small stuff, but not yet a mic, because let's face it the commercial ones are pretty good values.
When I was in HS I worked at a pizza restaurant. Food cost was 18% of final price. I can make my own pies from scratch, but I still order out all the time.
JohnnyMan
New member
alanhyatt said:
Alan,
Thank you for your insight. Don’t forget to include the R&D expenses you must recover and then reinvest into newer products when discussing costs.
Mostly, IMHO, people are most concerned with the value a mic provides not what the costs of building and marketing the mic were.
If I purchase a B1 for $99 retail and I enjoy using that mic and I think “wow, what a bargain” then I am happy with the value I have received from that mic. I hope the manufacturer was able to turn a profit from me purchasing that mic at that cost ($99) but it is not my first concern whether I decide to purchase a mic or not. I have never wondered, “If I buy this mic, I wonder how much company X will make off me.” My first thoughts are, “How much better will this mic sound compared to my current mics?” Or “Can the sound of this mic justify me spending $99?”
John
K
krs
New member
JohnnyMan said:
I'm sure the only R&D that goes into this stuff is having a guy open a box of samples from Beijing and try them out, if they're good, put in an order. Maybe you haven't noticed but a lot these mics look the same - I'm sure most come form the same factories.
Not that I'm dissing them by any means. It's just rebranding - much like how it works in the Chinese violin business. (The problem invariably comes when the delivered goods don't match the quality of the samples....)
I still say DJL isn't far off *when you're talking about parts alone*
Did I mention I like SP mics?
JohnnyMan
New member
krs said:
I have never used one but I am intrigued after reading this thread. I have read in other threads in HR.com and HC.com that SP mics are worth investing in (specially for someone like me whose is starting a hobby studio).
Marik
Pro Microphone Design
DJL said:
To me it shows whether you:
1) Have no idea what it involves and how to make a microphone, or
2) You want to cheaply pock SP and Alan, again.
Most likely both.
K
krs
New member
chill Marik.
He's talking about parts alone, and he's not that far off, trust me.
He's talking about parts alone, and he's not that far off, trust me.
H
Harvey Gerst
New member
Sorry, but I don't trust you on this one. Make up a bill of materials and go try to get it even down to $10; never mind the $2 figure that DJL suggests. The B1 has new castings - who pays for that? Is the mold Alan's property or 797's?krs said:
Are the castings coming in for under $1, which leaves $1 for the board, capsule, components, plug, assembly, and boxing and packing? Is there ANY QC done by the factory? Who pays for that? Tools? Are those factored into the cost? Parts are just a part of the "making" cost. Investment in tools and equipment have to be factored in and amortized over time. But the "$2 to make it" claim is just plain wrong, IMHO.
crazydoc
Master Baiter
Why???????krs said:
F
Flatpicker
...
The generic Shanghai mics (similar to the MXL2001) used to be somewhere around $20. Don't know about the SP "B" series (I assume you are talking about SP, as B'ger has a "B" series too), but I doubt it could be much cheaper in parts alone.
But then again I could be wrong.
Keep in mind, though, that quantities play a massive, massive part in this. An inexpensive mic many times just means that a company was willing to gamble and foot a way huge bill up front, hoping to make it up in the end. Until after they break even (if they ever do...) they are giving them away!
Bet you never thought about that, did you?
But then again I could be wrong.
Keep in mind, though, that quantities play a massive, massive part in this. An inexpensive mic many times just means that a company was willing to gamble and foot a way huge bill up front, hoping to make it up in the end. Until after they break even (if they ever do...) they are giving them away!
Bet you never thought about that, did you?
C
chessparov
New member
KRS, as you may know, basing a judgement on only one vocalist regarding the NT1 (or any other mic) isn't reliable as far as a larger pool of potential singers.
When recording "learning tapes" for a local barbershop harmony chapter,
a Sennheiser e835 sounded amazingly good on a certain bass singer.
It just smoked other mics, including the Sennheiser 421 on him.
And just because a Shure Unidyne III mic is better on me than many expensive condensers doesn't mean that they can't sound great on someone else.
Hmm...
That makes me wonder how much the Mexican factory workers at Shure are making.
Chris
When recording "learning tapes" for a local barbershop harmony chapter,
a Sennheiser e835 sounded amazingly good on a certain bass singer.
It just smoked other mics, including the Sennheiser 421 on him.
And just because a Shure Unidyne III mic is better on me than many expensive condensers doesn't mean that they can't sound great on someone else.
Hmm...
That makes me wonder how much the Mexican factory workers at Shure are making.
Chris