[wilbur_the_goose]

Big thank you to Musicar NW and Mobile Edge.

I purchased the Musicar Stage2 upgrade for my '10 E92 and at Ken's (Musicar) suggestion it was installed by the pros at Mobile Edge in Lehighton, PA. Leighton is about 70 miles from home up into the Pennsylvania mountains, but it was certainly worth it.

I had the base package, and the difference in audio quality is stunning. The bass is now well defined and tight and the new tweeters give wonderful clarity to acoustic music.

It wasn't cheap, but it was definitely worth it.

Thanks the Ken at Musicar and Mitch and his amazing team at Mobile Edge!

URLs:
Mobile Edge: http://www.mobileedgeonline.com/
Musicar NW: http://www.musicarnw.com/

[VP Electricity]

Happy to help, thanks for the kind words!

[joec500]

Originally Posted by wilbur_the_goose

Big thank you to Musicar NW and Mobile Edge.

I purchased the Musicar Stage2 upgrade for my '10 E92 and at Ken's (Musicar) suggestion it was installed by the pros at Mobile Edge in Lehighton, PA. Leighton is about 70 miles from home up into the Pennsylvania mountains, but it was certainly worth it.

I had the base package, and the difference in audio quality is stunning. The bass is now well defined and tight and the new tweeters give wonderful clarity to acoustic music.

It wasn't cheap, but it was definitely worth it.

Thanks the Ken at Musicar and Mitch and his amazing team at Mobile Edge!

URLs:
Mobile Edge: http://www.mobileedgeonline.com/
Musicar NW: http://www.musicarnw.com/

I have the same kit with the Subwoofer, once the drivers break in a bit, they start sounding better.

Sounds is amazing in my car and the kit is SUPER high quality.

[mythek]

musiccar is ridiculously expensive. if they price their customer trunk enclosure a little better, they would make so much more money.

[kaigoss69]

Originally Posted by mythek

musiccar is ridiculously expensive. if they price their customer trunk enclosure a little better, they would make so much more money.

If their backlog is full, then the price is just right. Basic economics!

[taibanl]

Originally Posted by mythek

musiccar is ridiculously expensive. if they price their customer trunk enclosure a little better, they would make so much more money.

You get what you pay for, seriously. No unhappy musicar customers on this entire board.

[wilbur_the_goose]

taibanl - well said.

Great customer service, and it's sounding better each and every day (as the speakers break in).

The gentlemen at Mobile Edge who installed the system were also very happy with the install - no surprises and everything worked great together.

Tough to beat!

[mythek]

for all the cost you guys are paying, I'm glad that you guys like the system. At least they're able to somewhat justify the premium price. I'm a DIY guy and I can't accept getting charged up where the sun can't shine like that, i'm gunna make my own corner trunk enclosure :P

to each and his own, but like I said, they would make more money if they sell the enclosure a little cheaper. just simple economics.

[Bicax]

Originally Posted by mythek

they would make more money if they sell the enclosure a little cheaper

And you know that how? Unless you have inside information on their numbers and can foresee what the reduction in demand would be at a given price range (not everyone thinks/reacts like you), your guess is about as good as none.

For those of us that do not have the will/time/knowledge/ability to install/build our own system, there aren't a lot of cheap solutions. And as taibanl said, you get what you pay for. Also, keep in mind that for some people it turns out to be cheaper to pay a few grand to get this installed than spend countless days/hours figuring out how to do it, getting the material, and installing/configuring it.

I guess that what I'm trying to say is that if you can do it yourself for a fraction of the cost, good for you. Granted that this is a discussion forum and everyone can provide their contribution, but I see little to no use to come in here and criticize the price of a product which you haven't tried just because you would have no use for it.

You don't see me roaming around Pfizer forums telling everyone how expensive Viagra is and bragging about how "I can do it myself at no cost", do you?

[mythek]

Originally Posted by Bicax

And you know that how? Unless you have inside information on their numbers and can foresee what the reduction in demand would be at a given price range (not everyone thinks/reacts like you), your guess is about as good as none.

For those of us that do not have the will/time/knowledge/ability to install/build our own system, there aren't a lot of cheap solutions. And as taibanl said, you get what you pay for. Also, keep in mind that for some people it turns out to be cheaper to pay a few grand to get this installed than spend countless days/hours figuring out how to do it, getting the material, and installing/configuring it.

I guess that what I'm trying to say is that if you can do it yourself for a fraction of the cost, good for you. Granted that this is a discussion forum and everyone can provide their contribution, but I see little to no use to come in here and criticize the price of a product which you haven't tried just because you would have no use for it.

You don't see me roaming around Pfizer forums telling everyone how expensive Viagra is and bragging about how "I can do it myself at no cost", do you?

you got a little over your head there buddy, no need to be all defensive like you own musicarnw or something LOL. My statement simply says "that if they price their custom enclosure a little more reasonable, they would get more sales". I never said that they're business is doing bad or their sales are dropping. The percentage of people who paid for musicarnw is quite low compared to the number of bmw drivers. Dropping the price to drive more sales would yield higher revenue for the company. The same secret why Walmat, Amazon, and Costco are doing so well. Need I explain more?


Instead of creating a new thread to draw attention and be a__hole to a sponsor, I thought it's better to pitch in my 2cents about the price in this thread since there's a musicarnw employee replying here. I certainly hope that he read my comment and possibly do something about it. If not, no biggie for me, since ima create my own anyway. Just trying to help others who are less DIY-capable.

[D's Bimmer]

I am a DIY guy and have done most of my audio system myself as well. But when it came to the subject in the trunk, the fact is Ken's custom corner sub enclosure is very well priced relatively to the other options. It is built to spec with a slight audio improvement, the mold has been refined to fit perfectly and the finishing touches are spot on. For these reasons and the simple fact that his price is relatively cheaper than the other custom audio shops I went to about the enclosure is why the demand for his box makes the price spot on.

Thanks Ken!

[Bicax]

Originally Posted by mythek

you got a little over your head there buddy, no need to be all defensive like you own musicarnw or something LOL.

Not at all I'm an European living in Europe, so whether you're talking about musicarnw or any other company I don't have access to doesn't really make or break my day.

It's just that if someone comes searching about "plug & play" trunk enclosures like I was a while ago, I wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea from this thread.

My statement simply says "that if they price their custom enclosure a little more reasonable, they would get more sales".

Well, you also said (in bold): "if they price their customer trunk enclosure a little better, they would make so much more money". And I'm simply telling you that unless you know something that I don't, your guess is as good as mine. For example what if (as someone implied) their production is limited, they don't plan to grow, and they're already selling/installing everything they can produce/install each month? Lowering the price wouldn't increase their sales, and they would be making less money at the end of the month.

Economics can be simple, yes, but it's not all about "lower your price and you'll sell more and make more money". Actually, contrary to what you're saying dropping the price to get more sales does not always yield a higher revenue, let alone providing a higher profit. Not that many people feel the need to spend money on an aftermarket audio system, you and I don't know what impact it would have on sales to lower the cost of the trunk enclosure (if any) nor by how much you would need to lower the price to increase profit instead of losing money, etc. Unless you know a lot more than you seem to know about their company and the market in general, you're taking shots in the dark (and at the same time misleading people when you say that this is a "ridiculously expensive" alternative).

And comparing a specialized car audio shop to Amazon or Walmart is like comparing apples to elephants and flamingos.

Instead of creating a new thread to draw attention and be a__hole to a sponsor, I thought it's better to pitch in my 2cents about the price in this thread since there's a musicarnw employee replying here. I certainly hope that he read my comment and possibly do something about it. If not, no biggie for me, since ima create my own anyway. Just trying to help others who are less DIY-capable.

So somehow you think that jumping into a thread where someone is describing their positive experience with a "plug & play" product and corresponding service of that same sponsor you don't want to be an "a_hole" to, writing that these products are "ridiculously expensive", suggesting a price reduction just because you think that you know how to manage their company better than them, and implying that one would be better off building/installing it themselves... Somehow that was you trying to help "others who are less DYI-capable"?

If you really wanted to help people that are less DYI-capable, you would have opened a new topic of discussion with a list of companies that provide a similar "plug & play" service/product for a cheaper price (or even offering your services for a cost, if forum rules allow), and then if you really felt the need you would have provided your insight on business administration to VP by PM. Now that would have been more helpful/constructive don't you think?

Anyways, whether or not I got my point across this is enough off-topic for me.

[mythek]

Originally Posted by Bicax

Not at all I'm an European living in Europe, so whether you're talking about musicarnw or any other company I don't have access to doesn't really make or break my day.

It's just that if someone comes searching about "plug & play" trunk enclosures like I was a while ago, I wouldn't want them to get the wrong idea from this thread.



Well, you also said (in bold): "if they price their customer trunk enclosure a little better, they would make so much more money". And I'm simply telling you that unless you know something that I don't, your guess is as good as mine. For example what if (as someone implied) their production is limited, they don't plan to grow, and they're already selling/installing everything they can produce/install each month? Lowering the price wouldn't increase their sales, and they would be making less money at the end of the month.

Economics can be simple, yes, but it's not all about "lower your price and you'll sell more and make more money". Actually, contrary to what you're saying dropping the price to get more sales does not always yield a higher revenue, let alone providing a higher profit. Not that many people feel the need to spend money on an aftermarket audio system, you and I don't know what impact it would have on sales to lower the cost of the trunk enclosure (if any) nor by how much you would need to lower the price to increase profit instead of losing money, etc. Unless you know a lot more than you seem to know about their company and the market in general, you're taking shots in the dark (and at the same time misleading people when you say that this is a "ridiculously expensive" alternative).

And comparing a specialized car audio shop to Amazon or Walmart is like comparing apples to elephants and flamingos.



So somehow you think that jumping into a thread where someone is describing their positive experience with a "plug & play" product and corresponding service of that same sponsor you don't want to be an "a_hole" to, writing that these products are "ridiculously expensive", suggesting a price reduction just because you think that you know how to manage their company better than them, and implying that one would be better off building/installing it themselves... Somehow that was you trying to help "others who are less DYI-capable"?

If you really wanted to help people that are less DYI-capable, you would have opened a new topic of discussion with a list of companies that provide a similar "plug & play" service/product for a cheaper price (or even offering your services for a cost, if forum rules allow), and then if you really felt the need you would have provided your insight on business administration to VP by PM. Now that would have been more helpful/constructive don't you think?

Anyways, whether or not I got my point across this is enough off-topic for me.

you did bring up some valid points, however you're saying that because you are clueless to the market for corner sub enclosure. If you search on this forums and other forums, you will see how much interest people have on these corner sub enclosures. You will also see how fast they sell for under $300 (used). I didn't make my statements off some wild guess in the dark, I've done tons of research on these enclosures myself. One point that I completely agree with you is that it's true, your guesses are just guesses.

the reason I used amazon and walmart as references because it's simple for average joes to understand (no pun intended to you). I understand that for certain items lowering the price would have a negative impact on the company. Things like designer clothes for example, would have a negative impact if the prices are lowered. Things like enclosures are different, lowering the prices would not negatively affect the brand's image. MusicarNW and WickedCAS charge people premium prices mainly because it's an almost-monopolized market. There aren't any other competitors.

although these companies make really good money off people who are just willing to drop money, they certainly are missing out on a bigger market of people who want to upgrade their sound, but can't justify paying premium prices.

my sincere apology to OP for the threadjack. I didn't intend it to be this elaborated. But I guess some people like to argue about something they know nothing about.

[VP Electricity]

Originally Posted by mythek

My statement simply says "that if they price their custom enclosure a little more reasonable, they would get more sales". .

Yes, we would, but they would be unsustainable sales, because we would not make enough money for it to be a business - it would be a hobby that we would have to do in our garage after hours, after we shut down our business.

We don't have any attainable economy of scale on making these in low volumes in the US. In order to have any economy of scale, we would need to have multiple molds and make a number at one time.

Making them overseas is cheaper because there aren't labor laws or environmental regulations. Working with fiberglass in the US in a legal and proper manner is not cheap or simple, and that's why we have a fiberglass pro shop do the molds off of our designs, and then we finish them here in our shop. There's an hour of finishing in each one after we get it from the fiberglass shop. I really am thinking of raising our prices on the enclosures, because I recently saw a Wicked CAS unit, and there's no way ours shouldn't cost more. Our pricing is in line with the Stealthbox prices, as well.

Our prices are reasonable. I think maybe you're looking for "cheap".

[VP Electricity]

Originally Posted by mythek

although these companies make really good money off people who are just willing to drop money, they certainly are missing out on a bigger market of people who want to upgrade their sound, but can't justify paying premium prices.

You don't have any idea how much money we're making.

Musicar systems aren't for everyone. We charge retail plus the prep involved in making the system ready to bolt and plug in. Some people don't want to use us, and that's fine.

[mythek]

Originally Posted by VP Electricity

Yes, we would, but they would be unsustainable sales, because we would not make enough money for it to be a business - it would be a hobby that we would have to do in our garage after hours, after we shut down our business.

We don't have any attainable economy of scale on making these in low volumes in the US. In order to have any economy of scale, we would need to have multiple molds and make a number at one time.

Making them overseas is cheaper because there aren't labor laws or environmental regulations. Working with fiberglass in the US in a legal and proper manner is not cheap or simple, and that's why we have a fiberglass pro shop do the molds off of our designs, and then we finish them here in our shop. There's an hour of finishing in each one after we get it from the fiberglass shop. I really am thinking of raising our prices on the enclosures, because I recently saw a Wicked CAS unit, and there's no way ours shouldn't cost more. Our pricing is in line with the Stealthbox prices, as well.

Our prices are reasonable. I think maybe you're looking for "cheap".

Sounds like your company has a production problem. Something that can be rectified with a good management. Cutting off the "fiberglass pro shop" and do it yourself would be a good start. Now that I have a better idea of how much it cost you to produce one enclosure, I can understand why you're charging what you're charging.

[kaigoss69]

Originally Posted by mythek

Sounds like your company has a production problem. Something that can be rectified with a good management.

[VP Electricity]

Thanks for the free advice. I completey agree - if we just fired me, I'm sure the company would be a lot better!

To recap for people without axes to grind - we offer great-sounding systems validated in cars just like yours, without any drilling of holes or cutting of panels. The OP really liked his. Some people want to do it a different way. That's fine (that's what Technic and 808 and I and others did back before any of this was available - we would be hypocritical to criticize those who want to do it now the way we had to back then). Some folks really like our solutions. We have this policy in place so that our clients can be confident that they will like their system - the Musicar Performance Guarantee.

Our goal is a win-win transaction - you're going to get great performance, and we're going to make enough profit to make this a sustainable business. We all have to win, or there's no deal.

But we're not for everyone. We're not Amazon (Wall Street won't loan us money with no return expectation, for example - Amazon's returns are horrible compared to sales). We aren't Wal-Mart. We don't do audio because we are going to get rich or get huge, but because we love it. We specialize in BMWs because they present a specific set of problems which aren't soluble by the average stereo shop, and because BMW owners as a group have many members who value the kind of approach that we employ.

That said, we still try to provide advice and post information on this forum (which we also pay to support as a vendor) which doesn't have anything to do with our business, just for the benefit of the members of the forum. I'm not on here as often as I used to be, but we still contribute. Hopefully even if you don't buy something from us, you folks get some benefit from information we've provided the community at some point in time.

[Bicax]

Originally Posted by mythek

But I guess some people like to argue about something they know nothing about.

Originally Posted by mythek

Now that I have a better idea of how much it cost you to produce one enclosure, I can understand why you're charging what you're charging.

As I said initially, you don't know the numbers, so don't try to give advice on something if your "extensive" knowledge is limited to "a lot of people buy these second hand for 1/3 the price". Glad you finally got (part of) it

[wilbur_the_goose]

All I can tell you is that I was listening to The Goat Radio Sessions CD yesterday, and it NEVER sounded as good as it did last night. (Won Grammys for for Best Folk Album, and Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical)

The .fun CD also sounded amazing.

And, the SiriusXM play by play of the Rams/49ers game also sounded a million times better than the original BMW crap that was in there.