ENGINEERED
SONIC
INVESTMENTS
Modular Speakers MK1 - Patent Pending
In collaboration with Julius Beberman
What We Stand For:
After taking a look around the current market, we realized that there’s no affordable solution to a multi-genre Hi-Fi listening experience.
We now target the approximate $2.7 Billion Hi-Fi market.
Context:
In order to arrive at a perfect audio solution that can be used for any genre, the user will have to spend thousands of dollars — making it impossible to enter this market as a post college graduate.
The Competition
We looked into the Hi-Fi market to find what products exist and what people thought about them from a performance to price standpoint. We graphed them to make it easier to show potential investors rather than trying to explain the nuances of each product.
Our Position
We want to hit the highest perceived audio quality while maintaining a consumer-friendly price. This can only be achieved if multiple sets of drivers can be used in different scenarios due to the limitations of a speaker driver.
The Target User
25 ~ 35 years old
Beginner audiophile
Mostly listens to records
Young professional with disposable income
Lives alone in a studio apartment
Looking for upgrades in the future
The Interviews
Our users complain that existing products are
Inaccessible: Most systems are outside the price range of our users
Not versatile: System inside the price range often optimized for specific genres
An eyesore: High end units often have loud design elements that don’t fit the home
Confusing: There is a lot of snake oil floating around about what quality means
We also asked them how they connected to existing hardware to listen to their tunes.
The Opportunity:
To create an accessible Hi-Fi speaker system that allows users to easily swap sound profiles.
PRESENTING
MK1 OPEN
Walnut Veneer Option with Aluminum Knobs
Closeup of Walnut Veneer Option with Aluminum Knobs
Painted Black Base Option with Aluminum Knobs
Modularity Demo
Modularity
Speaker Box
The component our user is likely to keep for the useful life of this product. CMF can be customized to their liking with offerings such as wood or paint.
Driver Cartridge
The heart of our product: the ultimate change to a sound profile that the user may desire. Want bass for your EDM? No problem!
Amp Cartridge
The power unit with new age digital features such as Bluetooth connection and USB. Knobs also have customizable CMF.
Manufacturing
CNC Router:
Since many of our components need a precise fit, we imagine we would have to use a similar machine to make all the MDF parts. My teammate and I tested the feasibility of such a manufacturing method.
CNC Lathe with Live Tooling:
We have some metal components that would likely need to be mass manufactured on a lathe. Using this machine, we made CMF studies to understand the processes.
In Context
Our version 1 prototype proved that modularity is possible. It was given to one of our interviewees for a week where he gave us some great feedback on the sound profile. Photos are taken during that testing period.
Financial Plan
Due to the nature of our potential business, there will be a huge loss in projected earnings due to MOQs and initial R&D madness. Experts in our field will also have to be brought on in order to better facilitate our vision and future products. A huge marketing push will also have to be made to get our product onto the market, leading to much better profits the following year. All of this is speculation and might not reflect real world data.
Pricing
To reflect the modularity and novelty of our product, we expect to charge a premium to our customers even for the base models. During our interviews, we learned that people are willing to pay a little more for something that gives them versatility.
Base unit will start at $799, giving us a 69% margin. Cost of Goods sold sits at an estimated $247.84.
Prototype V2
Future Plans
Julius Beberman and I (Mike W) are what you call very persistent people. As the semester was coming to an end, we knew that this is not the final evolution of our vision. We are now working with Professor Lee Zamir at MIT and Paul Osimo at RISD to bring the final version of our product to market. We also plan on patenting our designs and technology in the future.