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RE: REVIEW: Cardersound Madisons Speakers

Posted by CarderSound (M) on December 18, 2008 at 02:02:45

In Reply to: REVIEW: Cardersound Madisons Speakers posted by dcurtis53 on December 17, 2008 at 05:59:40:

Hello to all and Happy Holidays. I am not a regular poster on any forum, really, so please pardon my intrusion on this thread. After being told about this thread, and after carefully reviewing each post, I felt compelled to respond, or simply add my two cents for what it's worth.

First, I would like to thank Dan for his unsolicited positive review of his Madison model speakers. I am thrilled that you are that happy with your purchase. And, also to Tom Scata for chiming in and clearing up a few mis spoken falsehoods concerning the current design of my new version 2 model line. Also, Bob Brines, thank you for the understanding nod concerning the reasoning behind the final retail cost of my speakers. And, a big thank you to John K for complimenting my cabinets. Having once owned a pair of John's speakers and seeing first hand his fit and finish and overall craftsmanship, his opinion carries a lot of weight with me.

I apologize that I am not going to respond in any particular order here, but I'm not of the opinion that it would be that important, anyway.

First, allow me to set the stage as I see it, right or wrong. You have a seasoned audiophile, who was moved enough to spend his time to share an experience or two with some equipment he recently purchased. Enter Dan Curtis. True, he opened himself up to public conjecture the moment he typed the words and posted his experience. I guess what puzzles me, is what happens after that. Instead of people asking questions or offering words of congratulations, or words to that effect, some people feel compelled to offer snyde remarks or sarcasm. I guess I just don't get that. Especially, people who have never even heard the equipment he's talking about.

To automatically assume, that because you've heard one or many BLH designs, does not tell the whole story about the Madison BLH. Does it have limitations? Of course it does. Could the statement or admission that one could possibly perceive zero weaknesses from the design be true? Of course it could. It is relative to their experiences. You should all know better than that, if you've spent any amount of time at all in this hobby. If I may be so bold to offer my personal opinion concerning the Madison v2, and what its sonic capability can offer, it is this. I have yet to hear another speaker design, so fully express the full frequency spectrum with such confidence and stride. Do some speaker designs go higher? Yep. Do some go lower? You bet. But, with regards to a single driver design, I have yet to hear another design that can put out, from top to bottom, a better sonic delivery across the board than the Madison. Why else would I have bothered to start a company around it? Just so I could compete with all the other offerings out there? I think not. It had to be that good. It had to be something I felt was special enough to set itself apart from the rest. And there are a lot of good speakers out there, so this is no small opinion. It is the same opinion I had about the original design, which as Bob Brines points out, were an open source plan available to anyone with the skills, desire, and tools, etc. I am even more confident in that opinion with my newly updated and radically improved proprietary design in the version 2 models. And yes, Scott Lindgren from the UK is also the brains behind the new upgraded cabinets. Am I defending the design here? Of course I am, but not because I manufacture them. I have this opinion because of what I hear eminate from them. There sound is exactly why I got into this hobby to begin with, and all opinions matter not to me in the long run. The double mouth BLH has become my audio truth, and I am comforted and happy that my speaker search is over. Hands down, flat out, final purchase as far as I'm concerned.

How much does it cost to build my cabinets? Certainly, nobody's business but my own, but I will share that it does probably cost me more than most would think. I can build a great, square, and true cabinet. After that, is where my personal skill set starts to fade. I sub out the finish work, so that they have a nice furniture grade look and feel when they're done. In my part of the country(NJ), that kind of work doesn't come cheap. I pay top dollar for my subcontract work, and that is certainly reflected in the price. I guess I don't have to mention things like shop equipment, shop rent, insurances, utilities, accountants, lawyers, advertising, R&D, royalites, license agreements, bank fees, credit fees, office supplies, health insurance, workman's comp, liability insurance, shipping, distribution expenses, dealer mark up, phone bill, point of sale material, supply waste, warranty costs, and of course, least I forget, Uncle Sam's needs? Somewhere, amidst all these expenses, I will include a profit. Yes, a profit. And a well deserved one at that. Believe me. It's not as easy as one would think.

Could a seasoned finish carpenter build a one-off "original version" Madison for less than I charge. Absolutely. Go for it. It is worth your time and effort. You will thank your lucky stars that you had the skill set to make something that is as sonically pleasing as it is beautiful. What you can't have, is the proprietary plans that I paid to own(v2), which bring this design to new heights. But, for sure, you'll have a great sounding speaker anyway, so not all is lost.

Graphs, charts, statistics, Q's, Xmax's, hz, khz, db??? Numbers. All numbers. I have to be honest. I am a subjectivist, so that might upset a few people, but it is a fact. Don't understand 'em. I simply listen. Pure and simple. Don't get me wrong. I respect the numbers, and certainly understand their place, and more importantly understand their place with regards to my speaker line. They are valid in many respects, but when all is said and done, it is my ears that I trust, and the Madison's(original and v2's), have made a believer out of me. To offer a more direct response, I never started out with the intention of manufacturing speakers. I built the first pair, and just sat back and listened. What I heard, changed my audio world forever. I wasn't some speaker guru(not that there's anything wrong with being one), who understood all the mathematical principles and set out to set the speaker world on fire. Fact is, Scott Lindgren is the one who deserves all the well deserved praise for each design in my line. I also should mention that Dave Dlugos of Planet 10 HiFi was the mastermind behind the Morgan subwoofer. I should quickly add that I had an audition at a dealer this evening, and listened to a $25,000 integrated amplifier paired with a $45,000 pair of speakers. Was it good? Yes. Was it worth the money? Hardly. In my opinion, it was simply laughable that someone would pay that much money and still have sound that could arguabley be called "veiled". But to each his own. Who am I to judge? Conversly, we hooked up a pair of my TyBone v2's with a $6000 300B amp through a music server, and both the dealer and I just kept shaking our heads in disbelief. It was the best I have ever heard my TyBone model. I kept giving kudos to the amplifier, and the dealer kept saying, " Jeff, your speakers are no slouch, either." At any rate, it was an incredibly fun evening enjoying music better than I've ever heard it before. Remeber? The music?

Truth is, my venture has been incredibly rewarding, and has been a welcomed developmemt in my audio journey, and a perfect extension of my love and passion for this hobby. True or False, right or wrong, this design has brought some pretty big smiles to the beginner and veteran audio enthusiast, and I couldn't ask for anything more.

I offer these opinions to all of you without anger, hatred, or any malice whatsoever. I guess I do feel slightly protective of my customer base, as most of them have felt compelled to share their excitement with others in a very positive fashion. I feel that's worth protecting.

If you can't relate, or even mildly understand my comments as the constructive opinions they are, then feel free to continue down your path spending 10's of thousands of dollars on speakers and other associated equipment that you pine after. But, I've heard nothing anywhere near $6595 that I could say was even in the same ball park as the Madison. That has been my experience, your opinion could be different.

Understand one plain fact, and that is......no matter what your comment or opinion, you are not going to erase the smiles on the few faces that have stumbled across this design. Especially mine.

Thank you for listening.

Regards,
Jeff Carder
CarderSound
http://CarderSound.com/

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