Every product is the culmination of many things: design, concept, engineering, aesthetics, committees, regulatory requirements, and not to forget, budget constraints.
Indeed, while we may not want to think that every product, from the over-the-top piece to the bottom-of-the-barrel product had a budget, in the end, a finite amount of money was apportioned. That's building within financial constraints (i.e. a budget).
And where designers place their dollars has a lot to do with both the philosophical views of the company as well as performance. Take, for example, a loudspeaker. On one end of the spectrum really expensive loudspeakers typically put more money into the cabinet than the drivers and crossover, and the opposite is true on the other end (ignoring the really inexpensive).
Think of the most expensive loudspeaker you can and envision what it must cost to craft a massive and heavy aluminum sculpture, or an exotic multi-layer laminate, or cast concrete. Even the most expensive drivers and crossovers rarely approach that of these monolith boxes that grace our living rooms.
And, to be clear, I am not being critical—not in the least. Design philosophies are as varied as the imagination that crafts them—so to are the results.
I have had many a spirited conversation with loudspeaker designers who place the greatest importance on the rigidity and deadness of the cabinet first, driver and crossover performance second. And they may not be wrong.
What's truly inspiring about our craft is the very word I use to describe it.
Craft.
