A year ago, when Gaidelis was introducing the AudioSolutions Figaro mk2 speakers and we were talking about when the test pair would be ready, he mentioned how much he likes different colors in speakers and how the finish can drastically change the look of speakers with different combinations of parts.
We also talked about how difficult it is to set up a speaker in a traditional living room and struggle with the reality of finding the proper aesthetic cue that would meet all the criteria meeting the acceptance factor.
Gaidelis jokingly replied that he lives at home without speakers for this very reason and that he is determined to change that.
With a big smile on his face, he told me that he was working on a speaker configurator that would work like a car configurator, and that was that.
I kept everything under the radar until I recently received a message from him saying simply: “I’ve finally made it! Would you like to try it out exclusively before the launch?
Knowing Gaidelis’ determination to make things happen in a certain way, beyond the usual norms, he didn’t need to ask me twice.
I had a video call with Gaidelis to get basic information and the idea for his new tool. He couldn’t contain his enthusiasm, and an interesting Q&A about the AudioSolutions speaker configurator ensued.
Tell me about the idea with which you teased me a little not so long ago. What is the exact story behind this configurator?
Well, this idea has deep roots and there is so many different things and events that influenced me and lead me to where I am now, I simply can’t tell you in few sentences because most of my decisions come from me as from a creator, rather than a business men and I do not have marketing speech prepared for that, but I will try to express some of the process that got me here. You know me for quite some time, and you know that I usually offer quite a bunch of colors to our products. I was always a fan of colors, having just plain black is not for me, I want speakers to be seen, and I know from the previous experiences that there is a lot of people who thinks like me. That is why I always tried to offer at least 8 different colors. I immediately realized that this is hard to do, you have to have quite some stock so mostly what others offer is three to at best – six colors simply because stocking all of them is nearly impossible. We can do simple calculation – 6 colors, and 7 speakers in a range give us 42 different variants of each speaker. Now bring that to at least 50 pairs per piece as stock and you will get 2100 speaker pairs or 4200 single cabinets. And since most companies have 4-6 ranges….. Crazy huh? Ant this is just 6 colors ☺ I had to rethink all the manufacturing process and change all our future models to be able to offer bigger count of colors. And I did that and I offered to all surprise a lot of colors on all my models. The most color options available was for Figaro MK1 speaker and if I remember correctly it was 18 different finishes. Everyone was in shock how that is possible. And this is why it is good to have ALL manufacturing in your control and under your roof and not outsourced. It enables me to be extremely flexible and react fast to any of my ideas or customer’s demands.
And how do you do that? In the configurator there are 34 different colors to choose from and you have the PTS (paint to sample) option. That’s not exactly a small challenge to tackle. How is that possible and what is the secret behind it?
Well, that is a good question. You know that my company is more like artisan’s workshop requiring a lot of hand-labor, we are not manufacturing speakers like cookies on the conveyor and we have limited space and manpower, so yes, your question is very insightful – we can’t offer such count of color without some clever changes in the process. I am a car guy and engineer at heart. It always amazed me how Porsche can assemble very different cars on the same conveyor belt. They did some very clever engineering and adaptation that allows them to do so. I followed them and I made whole process to mimic car’s manufacturing process. We manufacture on demand. We have only preassembled cabinets as stock. We apply all the colors and all other options that people configured on the very last step. Since our speakers consist not only of six walls like usual cabinets and actually have hundreds of parts, we can customize each part before the final assembly. It’s like old cars’ construction where you had a frame holding all the essential structural parts together and outer shell where placed on top of the frame separately. Now, if you remember one of our essential technologies – “Box in a Box”…. Ha ha now you understand aren’t you ☺ ☺ The options we can offer actually are limitless. I have much more options than you see in pre-launch edition. But it is more than enough for a start, I still don’t know how people will react, maybe they will be overwhelmed, because it might be that this market is not ready yet to go fully custom. Although most of other markets gone full custom long time ago, I can customize my own burger darn it….So why not speakers?
How many different configurations are currently possible?
6120 combinations if we count only visual changes, 36720 different combination is we count all available options. My goal is to reach more or less of 100.000 different visual combos, which will give approx. 500.000 different overall combos. I want my product to be really bespoke. I want bring customer experience to whole new level where you not only can configure color, but to actually have a unique product with features YOU like. In the process of creating this configurator I was haunted by one phrase in my mind which kept pushing me forward – “time came for customers tell us what they want to buy and not us manufacturers tell customers what they have to buy”.
You mentioned a funny story about your wife, speakers, and the living room.
Ah yes. The infamous WAF factor. Yes that is true, I still don’t have speakers at my home. I was living without speaker in my living room for quite some time, I believe it is around 4 years now and back when we talked I had an argument with wife about that and she put here foot down – “you will NOT bring some boxes here”. I am stubborn person – I told her – I WILL trust me, but I will do it so you wouldn’t mind me bringing them here! So guess who is now playing with my configurator as we speak and choosing what will match the living room’s interior 😀 😀 😀 Don’t get me wrong my wife loves music and what I do, she supports me, but when it comes to living room, she is the judging voice. I really hope that my tool will allow to people who admire my products place my speakers in their living rooms. In a way I am on “Don Quixote’s” mission ☺ ☺
What about delivery times? I assume that you have to wait considerably longer if you order a fully customized product?
No, not at all. As I mentioned we have preassembled cabinets. Lead time does not change due to different trims, or colors. Usually it is one month from order to delivery. It may vary a bit due to shipping procedures, custom office procedures but that’s it.
Most people want to hear, see, and touch the product before they buy it. What if a rendered image is not enough?
You are right. I see several steps here. First people want to listen, then to see different colors and then take speaker out of the store. So my solution to that is people will be always able to listen to demo speaker at the dealer, our plan is to have standard least customized version of speaker in the stores to listen to the quality of sound and see fit and finish. Then dealers will have sample boxes with all available finish samples, metalized trim samples and other options we will add later. So customers will be able to see, touch and feel the textures, colors, again just like ordering a customized car at the dealership. Then the fun part begins – the waiting of your unique product. And I can say from my own experience – waiting is the hardest part but it gives most pleasure. Because the moment you get what you paid for – fun is over, you got it, you paid and you got it. Now you own it that it, story ends. While our customer will wait for his bespoke speaker pair, he will receive several pictures of his speaker being manufactured at pre-defined manufacturing stages. So customer will actually track it’s speaker life-time from the very first steps. This IMO is very intimate, and user experience is like no other. At the very last step customer will receive final picture of his pair moving out of our workshop and a tracking number.
Sum Up
The brief questions give a nice insight into Gaidelis’ world of thought and the complexity of this new venture. It is clear that this was no easy task and required intensive preparation. The AudioSolutions online loudspeaker configurator will go online soon, probably in the coming week. Overall, it offers a variety of choices, such as selecting the main color, speaker covers, secondary colors, etc. Even the speaker cables.
If you have ever tried the superbly executed car configurator, AudioSolutions delivers the same quality, with a quick, instant response. Everything is displayed, with special info boxes providing more information about each choice, and prices are calculated instantly.
This will undoubtedly take the brand further and make buying speakers a different kind of experience that can actively involve partners and family.
Some brands have already tried or done something along these lines, but nowhere near the level of what AudioSolutions has done with its online speaker configurator.
There is no doubt that speakers are part of the living space and that they often do not match due to color, finish, or even shape, so acceptance is often very low, if not close to zero.
A customized speaker shopping experience is an added value. A visit to the dealer/distributor’s showroom is not out of the question, but the final part of the interaction can be stress-free, convenient, and with the time needed to explore all the options.
Nonetheless, buying a speaker is a big investment that needs to be considered calmly, and esthetics are an important part of the decision, as in most cases the speakers will not be placed in a dedicated listening room, but will be considered part of the living room.
Why is this so important for our industry?
We have all forgotten that among the three basic luxuries of the second half of the 20th century, next to a house and a car, a quality home audio system was in third place.
The AudioSolutions configurator introduces something available to car, watch, and furniture lovers for a while, and as our industry evolves and we look to reach new customer bases, a smart move like this is positive momentum that is both exemplary and worth highlighting.
There are more interesting things to come from AudioSolutions. It’s the brand to keep an eye on! ❖
