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oxric wrote:

Romy's comments, not coming from someone who has insider knowledge as to the manufacturing of these drivers, must be taken with a healthy pinch of salt. Why he seems so opposed to these drivers which are not even that expensive in the grand scheme of things (my 115Hz horns will cost me many many times the price of these drivers), when they are the best chance of obtaining the performance of the drivers that he currently enjoys in his upperbass horns (which he is the first to admit is quite remarkable) is slightly puzzling to say the least.

I do not see myself being “opposed to these drivers”. I just rise some points that I think are overlooked in here. The specifications of the old or new Fane drivers are irrelevant. It is my strong and many time expressed opinion that a driver being load into a horn, particularly in a random horn, begin to exhibit absolutely unpredictable behavior.  There is absolutely nothing in Fane 8M specifications that is responsible for the diver sound. So, what is the purpose to ask about the new specifications?

One might think that someone can use “specifications” as an assurance that the new drivers will be up to the standards of the old one.  It might be the case but are you truly feel that somebody in Fane would care, measure or to confirm the specification of the new drivers? I do not know if the old Fane is the same Fane as we have today or just somebody bought out their name and product line. As I understand since 2007 Eminence own Fane, how do you know what changes was made with Fane. If you call today to Tannoy or JBL  that any of their “production manager” will assure you that whatever they do today is the very same as what they did 30 or 40 years back – they juts will not know the difference.

I do not question the Fane new production however, I have no business to do it but I do want to point out that Fane do take advantage of you and your personal enthusiasm to have the drivers, furthermore they made you to run around the word like wounded in ass antelope to sell drivers for them. This is ridicules. For the company like Fane to make a production run of 50 drivers is as much efforts as for you to eat a hot dog. Still, they do not produce the Studio drivers and if someone asks them to do a few drivers for them than they set price that equitable to sending a person to hell.  12 years back what I asked Fane to make my own customized drivers for me (16R version) then they did one single pair for me, with any objection, and they did not even charge extra. Agreeing to pay 260£ for new production of Fane is embracing the extortion from Fane. Yes, we pay much more for other drivers and Fane Studio 8M is very much worth those 260£ (in my view). However, we shall not apply the marker price of unique vintage or specially selected drivers to the mass produced Fane drivers. For the contemporary corporate Fane it is absolutely irrelevant what to produce – Studio 8M , or Studio 5, or Colossus, or Sovereign. Still, look at the current pricese:

Fane Sovereign 8” - £25.89
Fane Studio 5”FRK - £28.89
Fane Sovereign Pro 12” - £67.39

Even the huge and very expensive 18” Colossus driver they sell for £235.55 but they for some reasons they charge even more money for the Studio 8M then for18” Colossus .  Does it strike you as no justifiable particular considering that for Fane it is absolutely irrelevant what to produce and that they will be producing pre-sold order? They must not set retail price if you sell drivers for them and they must not change for Studio 8M 5 times more just because you want to have the drivers. This behavior never was in the picture before, at the time when I dealt with Fane. Because of this I feel that Fane is changed and therefore I ask “what else changes”? Let agree that my questions are not unreasonable.

Fane, if it is the same Fane as use to be shall not behave like  this and someday bring in their house a party of 50 pre-sold divers then they need to sell them as their regular price an do not take advantage of the fact that hey themselves create a stupid deficit of the drivers.

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