# Help with new sub line?



## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

I sell Memphis, arc audio, Db drive, and digital designs subwoofers. Digital designs is my favorite sub line by far. However in the past year or so I've done less and less with them because of their rising prices and new dealer tier programs. It's just extremely hard to make any kind of profit and still be competitive with other subwoofers.
We've been dealers for a long time now but I'm really considering a change. I hate to do it because we've built up the brand locally and I've got some customers that recognize the product right away and know its good stuff... They just don't buy it. 
My problem is I don't know of another good line to replace it with. I was looking at another company because I had a rep bring it to my attentions year or two ago. I called him about it a couple of days ago and he said they still haven't released product so he's not selling for them anymore. 
My question is; Is there a line comparable to DD that's still protected?
A US company would be great, and something that uses the Ti basket would be a bonus. I really don't need a company that makes everything either, just subwoofers. 

Thanks for any advice. I look forward to hearing your suggestions.


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## takeabao (Jul 18, 2005)

Sundown comes to mind.


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

What are you looking for exactly other than price VS performance? 
A good sub line with ... 

Kelvin


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## AAAAAAA (Oct 5, 2007)

subwoofery said:


> What are you looking for exactly other than price VS performance?
> A good sub line with ...
> 
> Kelvin


Good profit margins, no online sales


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

AAAAAAA said:


> Good profit margins, no online sales


Ohh I see... Can't help you there buddy... 

Kelvin


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## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

Sundown or DC Audio
Jacob and Rusty are both GREAT guys who are passionate about audio and have EXCELLENT products. They both support the industry on the competitive side and are VERY involved with the organizations and their team members. Give them a try, you wont be disappointed in either of them


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

I might look into DC but sundown wouldn't be practical for me. I'm not sure of the whole story but I guess there's a guy locally that's a competitor/dealer/rep for them that sells their equipment from his house or something.


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

Just to clarify, I'm not really looking for a good "bang for the buck line" I'm looking for more of a no compromise line that builds very high quality equipment. Profit margin is important but it's not gonna take a lot to beat the profit margin I'm at now because of the "pricing tier" I'm in.


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## chefhow (Apr 29, 2007)

I would look into both just to see what Sundown has to offer, especially since you are a brick and mortar.


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

chefhow said:


> I would look into both just to see what Sundown has to offer, especially since you are a brick and mortar.


I'll look into both but I seriously doubt sundown is gonna be a possibility for us because of what I talked about earlier.

Can anyone think of any other lines? DC seems like good stuff but I'd like to have a few options to compare.


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## rugdnit (Dec 24, 2007)

poweraudio said:


> I might look into DC but sundown wouldn't be practical for me. I'm not sure of the whole story but I guess there's a guy locally that's a competitor/dealer/rep for them that sells their equipment from his house or something.


Is the guy a master installer? If not I would have a hard time letting any guy sell product from his garage. With the exception of a few guys that do incredible work it does not make sense to allow this.


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

rugdnit said:


> Is the guy a master installer? If not I would have a hard time letting any guy sell product from his garage. With the exception of a few guys that do incredible work it does not make sense to allow this.


No, he's not.


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

Acoustic Elegance and TC Sounds - not really car audio but VERY VERY good nonetheless  

Kelvin


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

subwoofery said:


> Acoustic Elegance and TC Sounds - not really car audio but VERY VERY good nonetheless
> 
> Kelvin



I'd love to deal TC sounds but they're distributor only and parts express is their only distributor.... 

Acoustic Elegance stuff looks SEXY


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## jowens500 (Sep 5, 2008)

RD Audio? Ty and Joel are great guys and are able and willing to build whatever you need.


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

jowens500 said:


> RD Audio? Ty and Joel are great guys and are able and willing to build whatever you need.


That's an idea.


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## rugdnit (Dec 24, 2007)

subwoofery said:


> Acoustic Elegance and TC Sounds - not really car audio but VERY VERY good nonetheless
> 
> Kelvin


I was thinking the same thing Kelvin. Good call!


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## 58458 (Apr 30, 2012)

Well if its worth anything to add to this post but I run ascendant audio and I know Shawn and Scott personally and have nothing but great things to say that and they machine and build ever sub by hand in Las Vegas! I would be more than happy to get you In contact with Shawn and let you talk to him!


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

supertrav2 said:


> Well if its worth anything to add to this post but I run ascendant audio and I know Shawn and Scott personally and have nothing but great things to say that and they machine and build ever sub by hand in Las Vegas! I would be more than happy to get you In contact with Shawn and let you talk to him!


I actually have a friend locally that has pitched ascendant audio to us. I haven't looked at their equipment very hard yet but I will. Thank you for reminding me.

edit: it was actually addictive audio. I'll have to look at ascendant for sure.


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## 58458 (Apr 30, 2012)

The product is bullet proof! Massively over built and under rated power wise. I have been a Scott Atwell follower for about 10 years now since the early days of re audio to ascendant/ Fi audio and I've never had a problem and I abuse my audio and never a problem!!


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

Keep the ideas coming guys. Thanks for any suggestions. I'm still trying to figure this out.


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## edzyy (Aug 18, 2011)

incriminator?


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

Orca is bringing _Audiomobile_ to life - first review in Pasmag 

Might look @_ Illusion Audio_ too since they have heavy hitting and shallow subs (front motor topology)

Kelvin


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## DAT (Oct 8, 2006)

Love the new Illusion
Subs


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

subwoofery said:


> Orca is bringing _Audiomobile_ to life - first review in Pasmag
> 
> Might look @_ Illusion Audio_ too since they have heavy hitting and shallow subs (front motor topology)
> 
> Kelvin


Funny you mention audiomobile. That's the line I've really been wanting and I've been looking at it for I think 2 years now... But they still haven't released product yet . If they get things going I'd LOVE to pick them up.


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## 58458 (Apr 30, 2012)

I don't think that illusion will fit his needs... He will have to become a full dealer and the Lucent and carbons are out of reach for the average consumer


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## cobb2819 (Jan 13, 2011)

AudioMobile is not an orca brand.

And I agree with Travis, while the illusion product is top notch, it's not a subwoofer line, it's a full speaker line. 


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


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## subwoofery (Nov 9, 2008)

cobb2819 said:


> AudioMobile is not an orca brand.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


My bad... Always thought that it was an Orca brand... Dunno why :blush:

Kelvin


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## takeabao (Jul 18, 2005)

Hmmm... no to Sundown...

Maybe... Fi ? Fi Car Audio, Custom Car Audio, Made in the USA | Join the Revolution!

Their "Q" is a very underrated woofer.


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

Fi seems to make a really good product but they sell direct from their website so no dealers.


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## DAT (Oct 8, 2006)

I don't think Jacob "Sundown" sells to individuals only B&M, also Incriminator Audio is great it's like a $1500 first order...

BTW: What state are you located in?


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

DAT said:


> I don't think Jacob "Sundown" sells to individuals only B&M, also Incriminator Audio is great it's like a $1500 first order...
> 
> BTW: What state are you located in?


I'm in South Carolina. I'm not sure if this guy is still a dealer or not, I just assumed he was. That's good if Jacob has gone to more b&m. I still just don't think anyone here at the shop would really want to bring them in because of some of the past issues. Let me reiterate; the equipment seems to be just great, it's more the business aspect that might present a problem.


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

DAT said:


> I don't think Jacob "Sundown" sells to individuals only B&M, also Incriminator Audio is great it's like a $1500 first order...
> 
> BTW: What state are you located in?


INCRIMINATOR;

Years ago (maybe 5), when I had my first IA20.1 walk into the shop I tried contacting them... Never could get anyone to even pick up the phone. That turned me off from them. From what I understand things have gotten much better now but I haven't even looked at the line since then. I'll do some research on them and see what I can find.


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## squeak9798 (Apr 20, 2005)

takeabao said:


> Hmmm... no to Sundown...
> 
> Maybe... Fi ? Fi Car Audio, Custom Car Audio, Made in the USA | Join the Revolution!
> 
> Their "Q" is a very underrated woofer.


Fi is owned by Scott Atwell and is direct-to-consumer only.

Ascendant, which has already been mentioned, is Scott's dealer-only brand. 

My only concern with Ascendant would be that they are overwhelmed and customer-service issues seem to slip through the cracks, frequently. If you don't like IA because you couldn't get someone to answer the phone.....be prepared for the same from Ascendant.


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## sundownz (Apr 13, 2007)

Based on a Google search I imagine you mean Derrick as the "guy in a garage" in your area -- he is a Team member and a rep for us; if a rep signs on a local dealer they will refer sales there once the dealer has signed on and placed their opening order. The primary job of a rep is to find dealers and sign them on but if there are no dealers in their area they are authorized to make sales to local customers.

If you have other past issues I'd like to hear about them -- [email protected]

We've been dealer based from Day 1 -- we have authorized online dealers but we enforce MAP pricing strictly. If you are looking for a company with NO online sales at all it will be very difficult to do so anymore. You can find those with protected online sales such as IA or us (Sundown) and a few others, though.

IA is a quality company and I am friends with the staff over there; I've known several of them for years longer than I've operated Sundown -- so I wouldn't hesitate to suggest them. As with any small company it's pretty easy to get overwhelmed until you get more staff in; I know IA has a front desk secretary now as well.


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## poweraudio (Aug 7, 2010)

sundownz said:


> Based on a Google search I imagine you mean Derrick as the "guy in a garage" in your area -- he is a Team member and a rep for us; if a rep signs on a local dealer they will refer sales there once the dealer has signed on and placed their opening order. The primary job of a rep is to find dealers and sign them on but if there are no dealers in their area they are authorized to make sales to local customers.
> 
> If you have other past issues I'd like to hear about them -- [email protected]
> 
> ...


Nice to hear from you Jacob, we've met a couple of times at some local shows. I enjoyed talking to you. I have had good experiences with your equipment, limited experience, but good. I have customers that use your subwoofers and they have been very happy with them. All of the local competitors really appreciate all that you do for them. 

I wasn't sure exactly how Sundown was being sold locally, all I knew was it was a guy without a shop. I made sure that's all I said about it because that's all I knew. I looked at that as another dealer that's already established locally, which is why I haven't shown much interest in Sundown. 

I think I've found the line that I'm going to pick up but I'm still not sure that it will be the right fit. Time will tell. If things don't work out with them, I'll be happy to take a closer look at Sundown now that I understand the situation.


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## 700whpfocus (May 10, 2010)

Skar Audio.i believe they are out of Tampa florida. I heard one of their eights......very impressive.

Ma-8D4 Spl subwoofer look at their website.

MA-8 400 Watt RMS 8" Subwoofer | Skar Audio

I am not endoresing this company. just showing you guys. very impressive speakers and amps


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## ATOMICTECH62 (Jan 24, 2009)

You might want to take a look at ATOMIC loudspeakers.
I used to be a dealer about 12 years ago.They were the best company to deal with.
They were dealer direct,no online sales and only sell speakers and amps.


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