Meridian Unplugged - Powered by MrTechGuy.co.uk Forums Discussion Meridian - Systems Huge Meridian News today - Acquisition of Sooloos!

That's not the point though, is it?

$11,000 for the software interface? It's not like an equivalently priced G68 which contains customized and proprietary hardware in addition to proprietary firmware. The Sooloos hardware could easily be made using ordinary off-the-shelf parts you can buy at your local computer shop and assemble in an afternoon. I acknowledge that I'm not a member of the target audience, but it does sharpen the focus on exactly what you are paying for. Where Meridian can really help out here is substituting its phenomenal digital expertise for the admittedly excellent RME soundcard and bringing some real high-end value to the Sooloos interface.

One of my pet peeves, and I'm not picking on you specifically Frank, is that there is a lot of work involved beyond the raw parts cost. This involves many man-hours that have to be amortized across all the units. I don't work for free and neither do the people that developed the product.

Comparing raw hardware costs with a product with substantial R&D costs is a bit like saying you can buy all the components for a house for $25000. Sure, but what about everything else that goes into taking it from a collection of components to a finished product?

Intel is charging $1000+ for the latest and greatest Nehalem processors. What's the parts cost there, $15?

I apologize if I came off as offended or strident. I guess I am just saying that now that I know what is inside a Sooloss, the Sooloos software interface is not worth $11,000 to me, although it may be well worth it to others. Were I to spend that, I would rather spend it professionally revamping my listening room for better acoustics or upgrading my Meridian speakers. Everyone has different means, ends, and priorities.

Frank:

I understand your point, I don't think it's being made very well.

The market will determine whether the price is too high or not.

I'll do my best to be more thoughtful with my posts in the future.

@Frank,
I agree with you 100%, even the way you made your point. Years ago, before the SqueezeBox etc., I made my own musicserver based on a fanless barebone (the AluBox) and a RME soundcard. I wrote my own player and had an interface trough bluetooth on a Nokia symbian phone. I wrote the whole thing in a few weeks time ... no big deal. That is also why I do not understand why M does (did) not make their own musicserver and in my opinion wastes money on buying Sooloos.

I'm sure Meridian bought them for their name, goodwill and software interface, the later of which Meridian did not want to develop from scratch. I'm also sure Meridian has some special sauce in mind for their hardware. Based on the Stereophile article, it looks like they need at least a new power supply, proper grounding and some quality control, all of which should be easy enough to take care of.

Sooloos are not making there own parts, I'm sure if they were the bits would be more like $50 not a $1000, and I guess half of that $11000 is going to the dealer who does all the work of selling the item!

Regards

How many hours of labor? How much per hour for the labor? How many units are out in the field to support?

There's usually a huge difference between code you write that you're going to support yourself in an in-house system and code that goes out into the open.

Most of the cost in these units is in up-front cost, i.e. it might have cost Sooloos $5 million up front to make the first production unit and that has to be amortized across the entire sales of the product.

Is it the right price? I don't know. I'm not involved in the marketing end of anything and I leave it to people quite a bit more knowledgable than me in this arena.

None in the field, only one prototype at home ... which worked without a hitch as long as I have used it. It was more like a proof of concept, but since I am no hardware manufacturer, it ended there.

I do not like to brag, but I am sure I have more experience with code into the open than anyone else on this forum ...

I just want to put things into perspective: you do not need millions to develop a music server system. However you do need motivation and enthousiasm ... maybe M lacks this? They seem to hold firm on to CD and DVD.

I think it is extremely overpriced, but this is clearly my personal opinion. Don't get me wrong, I love their DSP speakers and surround processor ("Digital Theater" philosophy), but I have nothing with the stuff they bought.