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Fi Car Audio

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Posts posted by Fi Car Audio

  2. Posted

    Thanks to all that have chimed in on this one.  I agree that our lead times have been excessive and are truly sorry for the delays.  Just when we dig out of one delay we get right back into another.  The current issues are multiple and are being worked through as rapidly as possible.  Customers are currently being contacted about delays via phone (or email if messages are left).

     

    Now to address the overall issues:  

    Adding employees... 2 new ones over the past month.  Neither of which are office staff and are not currently building drivers.  It is impossible to find skilled staff that can simply sit down and a build table and go.  New staff is handling other aspects of production besides building drivers.  They are already alleviating some back up.

     

    Need more machines... we just purchased another hydrolathe and will be receiving it later next week.  While not an instant cure, it will go onto the shop floor and help our other massively overburdened hydrolathe once it is set up and dialed in.  (These are the task specific lathes that run the profiles of all back plates and top plates)  Our current one runs non-stop and is backed up.

     

    Need more customer service...  Again, not the easiest of tasks.  We have people tell us simply to hire teens to handle email and phones.  Having this approach in the past set us up for significant issues.  Only some of the emails are straight forward and can be handled by a tracking number or simple confirmation.  Most emails entail something tech related as well and then need to be sent to someone that can handle them.  The overall customer service need is for skilled audio industry individuals and not just a warm body.  We are working on this one as well. Implementing a new email system will help keep track of emails/tasks that will let everyone quickly know if it can be answered by anyone or if it needs staff with a specific skill set.

     

    Seasonal... for us this is normally a busy time, but internationally as well as domestically we have be hit by massive orders.  It seems that distributors have really upped the orders and we didn't see this coming.  As Fi customers, distributors get put into line with everyone else, but when there turn comes... its a big turn.

     

    OEM... while most do not know, we do manufacturing for other companies as well.  This normally isnt as big of an issue as we schedule most OEM runs ahead of time and can shuffle them around some when needed.  But, OEM has exploded for some of our companies as well and when their turn comes, it takes a toll on the scheduling board.  We have seen this coming and are working with our customers on long term solutions for their needs.  This will greatly ease the increasing demand from our long term OEM customers keeping the Fi customers rolling along smoothly.

     

    And there are other issues that add up...

     

    I truly appreciate our customers patience for a quality US manufactured sub.  It would be a simple solution to get speakers made in China or to have steel made overseas, but it truly goes against what I believe in (in doing as much work in house and supporting the US economy through manufacturing).  In spite of this we are doing everything we physically can to up our efficiency and lower our lead times.

     

    I am disappointed too... but look at this as an opportunity to dial in our processes and streamline things for the long term.  We are working hard in the meantime to get things back to our normal 10-15 business day lead time (and then back to the older 7-10 day time).  

     

    Again, I do share your frustration, but thank you whole heartedly for putting your faith in us and our products.

     

    Thanks,

    Scott

    15

  3. Posted

    Invoice number: I-18240/00

    That is your order number and was emailed to you immediately after your order was placed. If your email in our system was typed incorrectly when you placed the order, then emails would be sent to the incorrect address. We have had customers emails sent to their spam folder as well. But it is not something that is manually done by us. If it was never received, then I am definitely sorry for that.

    I will send an email with the details to the address you provided when it was ordered (both the order and FedEx tracking for when the sub ships). The sub was finished Friday, but will not ship until Tuesday due to the holiday and still needing to be tested. As outlined on the site we are at 10-15 business days for orders right now and should fall well within that range for your sub to be shipped.

    Thanks,

    Scott

    2

  6. Posted

    Proper set up is key to a subs longevity. A sub has no protection circuit or fuse to limit problems... it simply does what its told. A solid setup with correctly set filter and gains with respect to enclosure and tuning will drastically help.

    RMS is there for a reason and is more thermal related. As mentioned above you absolutely can kill a sub mechanically below RMS. "Peak" ratings are gimmicky marketing hype.

    Thanks,

    Scott

    0

  7. Posted

    Lol... there is a break in period before the subs settle into spec and "sound". While most just hammer away on them right out of the box, letting things crack their knuckles and stretch a little is never a bad idea before turning the knob to 11.

    Settings will change as they break in too. Too often people set the subsonic for a fresh "stiff" speaker thinking that it looks like itll take more power and when it breaks in do not reset when the mechanical portion settles into spec.

    0

  9. Posted

    Couple of weeks. As mentioned in other posts, we normally dont say anything about products until parts are machined and ready to go. In this case, the parts have been sitting for months, but we have had far too many other OEM obligations to make the push (not too mention it was slated to be released with a new site and other items several months back).

    We will have it up shortly. Thanks for your patience!

    Scott

    0

  10. Posted

    Problem is frame geometry on the 10". We can fit the motor, use the same 8" spider, but given the power handling and overall linearity of the N2 the rock ratio/geometry simply isnt optimal. We have been asked many times, but we simply do not want to put out something we feel isnt "right" just to sell a sub.

    Thanks,

    Scott

    1

  11. Posted

    Working through the bugs with changing to FedEx. For the first month it wasnt sending out trackers even though the emails and proper boxes were checked. Finally seems all in order and is working proper for past couple of weeks for all newer orders.

    Thanks for your patience.

    Scott

    0

  13. Posted

    Thanks for getting this up. Mark has had most of it ready for some time, but with our OEM schedule we have had to put most things Fi on the back burner. With the site having increasing issues on multiple browsers something had to be done.... and fast.

    We will get images going shortly and add quite a bit more overall content. But so happy its just up. Mark was right, blessing in disguise with things going down.

    Thanks,

    Scott

    2

  14. Posted

    I have had to many things go awry over the years in setting dates for products.

    We simply drop product when we have parts machined and are ready to go.... but this one has been ready for several months and we were wanting to release it with a new site, new clothing, and other announcements. Problem is we became swamped with OEM work and had no time to do any of the above for ourselves. Since the site started having issues with multiple browsers the past couple of weeks, it needed a rush and a push to get "finished" even without the X and some polish to things (which is definitely not a fault of the we designer). We will get the X up in the next 2-3 weeks when I can find time to finally get proper photos taken.

    Pricing will be good and the drivers are definitely solid. I have been very happy with them.

    Thanks for your patience....

    2

  15. Posted

    We have been getting more and more requests for PRs. I have always been a big fan of them and have used them on many of my own applications for past 20 years. We do OEM PRs for home applications and will be offering them for BPD shortly. But, it seems we might need to make a tutorial for them and offer them for Fi too.

    As mentioned, it is twice volumetric displacement. Just having twice cone area isnt enough if they dont move as far. So... for a single Q 12 you would need either a 15" that moves as far as the Q12" or a pair of 12" PRs that move as far as the Q12. Some of the cheaper PRs out there simply are not up to the task... volumetric displacement and not just surface area.

    Thanks,

    Scott

    0

  16. Posted

    14k... Definitely not a mix of subs. There are really only so many magnets and combinations available to work with. This one only having a gasket, dustcap, and terminals in common with the first gen BTL series. Cone, coil, magnet, steel, fact that its 4", basket, spiders, leadwire .... not much in common :)

    Unless you really work outside the box like with the N2, things can have similar appearances but be vastly different.

    0

  17. Posted

    12" is being finished up. We were going to release the line with 12-18 at the first of the year, but got tired of sitting on it waiting for 12" tooling to be finished so figured we would put it up on Black Friday. Might as well start moving 15s and 18s as they are bigger sellers for us than 12s.

    0

  18. Posted

    SP4 Heavier

    SP4 More mounting depth

    SP4 4" coil vs 3" on N2

    SP4 10" spider and higher mechanical linearity than N2

    SP4 More long term thermal stability

    SP4 Sealed capable vs N2 ported only

    N2 More motor force

    N2 Inductance ring that balances the inductance swing better

    SP4 Slightly lower overall inductance than N2

    N2 Well... its cool because its Neo

    N2 It's expensive because its Neo (and constantly increasing in cost)

    SP4 Slightly higher Xmax (coil limited)

    SP4 Lower FS for those that think it matters

    In general we created the N2 as the replacement for the older generation BTLs. We have seen the direction people are going with the BTLs and arranged the N2 specs to be closer to intended applications (huge, deep hitting, daily setups). Then creating the N3 to fill the void for the high motor force applications like extreme SPL or simply those that like that "sound".

    The SP4 pushes things a little further in the daily driver direction. While the N2s have proven to work well in 4th orders, they simply don't in sealed. The SP4 does just that, and a little better than the N2 in 4ths. It still works great in ported, with the ability to have a heavier peak down low as well.

    In testing it is a very solid sub that can take quite a bit of abuse. While not needed (none of the original test drivers we built had it) we do have the option for spaced spiders (2 on the top and 3 on the bottom) with a 1" ring between. In this configuration we have hand sewn on leads in between the spiders. In its standard configuration with 5 spiders and the gapped cone, it is a very stable platform (not a triple jointed sub. The cone is spaced about 1.125" from the top of the spiders. This stabilizes the coil better than the standard triple joint and is what we are doing on the standard versions of the SSD, Q, and BL drivers now).

    So which is better? I dont know...lol If you need every bit of weight savings you can find, then the N2. If you are tech oriented and have to have innovation, then the N2. If you need an even more abuse tolerant speaker then the SP4 is for you. If you want big, SP4. Sealed, SP4. Even more thermal stability, SP4. They each have their merits. Choosing the "better" driver is up to your application.

    I think the SP4 is in keeping with the times and applications people are heading towards. High excursion, stability, and thermal power handling... albeit at a cost of weight and depth over the N2 series.

    1

  19. Posted

    Ill post it here as well as get a specific N2 vs SP4 thread going. Already emails about it...lol

    SP4 Heavier

    SP4 More mounting depth

    SP4 4" coil vs 3" on N2

    SP4 10" spider and higher mechanical linearity than N2

    SP4 More long term thermal stability

    SP4 Sealed capable vs N2 ported only

    N2 More motor force

    N2 Inductance ring that balances the inductance swing better

    SP4 Slightly lower overall inductance than N2

    N2 Well... its cool because its Neo

    N2 It's expensive because its Neo (and constantly increasing in cost)

    SP4 Slightly higher Xmax (coil limited)

    SP4 Lower FS for those that think it matters

    In general we created the N2 as the replacement for the older generation BTLs. We have seen the direction people are going with the BTLs and arranged the N2 specs to be closer to intended applications (huge, deep hitting, daily setups). Then creating the N3 to fill the void for the high motor force applications like extreme SPL or simply those that like that "sound".

    The SP4 pushes things a little further in the daily driver direction. While the N2s have proven to work well in 4th orders, they simply don't in sealed. The SP4 does just that, and a little better than the N2 in 4ths. It still works great in ported, with the ability to have a heavier peak down low as well.

    In testing it is a very solid sub that can take quite a bit of abuse. While not needed (none of the original test drivers we built had it) we do have the option for spaced spiders (2 on the top and 3 on the bottom) with a 1" ring between. In this configuration we have hand sewn on leads in between the spiders. In its standard configuration with 5 spiders and the gapped cone, it is a very stable platform (not a triple jointed sub. The cone is spaced about 1.125" from the top of the spiders. This stabilizes the coil better than the standard triple joint and is what we are doing on the standard versions of the SSD, Q, and BL drivers now).

    I think the SP4 is in keeping with the times and applications people are heading towards. High excursion, stability, and thermal power handling... albeit at a cost of weight and depth over the N2 series.

    0

  20. Posted

    I think I will have to get an "SP4 vs ...insert Fi sub here..." post going, but Ill summarize here too.

    SP4 Heavier

    SP4 More mounting depth

    SP4 4" coil vs 3" on N2

    SP4 10" spider and higher mechanical linearity than N2

    SP4 More long term thermal stability

    SP4 Sealed capable vs N2 ported only

    N2 More motor force

    N2 Inductance ring that balances the inductance swing better

    SP4 Slightly lower overall inductance than N2

    N2 Well... its cool because its Neo

    N2 It's expensive because its Neo (and constantly increasing in cost)

    SP4 Slightly higher Xmax (coil limited)

    SP4 Lower FS for those that think it matters

    In general we created the N2 as the replacement for the older generation BTLs. We have seen the direction people are going with the BTLs and arranged the N2 specs to be closer to intended applications (huge, deep hitting, daily setups). Then creating the N3 to fill the void for the high motor force applications like extreme SPL or simply those that like that "sound".

    The SP4 pushes things a little further in the daily driver direction. While the N2s have proven to work well in 4th orders, they simply don't in sealed. The SP4 does just that, and a little better than the N2 in 4ths. It still works great in ported, with the ability to have a heavier peak down low as well.

    In testing it is a very solid sub that can take quite a bit of abuse. While not needed (none of the original test drivers we built had it) we do have the option for spaced spiders (2 on the top and 3 on the bottom) with a 1" ring between. In this configuration we have hand sewn on leads in between the spiders. In its standard configuration with 5 spiders and the gapped cone, it is a very stable platform (not a triple jointed sub. The cone is spaced about 1.125" from the top of the spiders. This stabilizes the coil better than the standard triple joint and is what we are doing on the standard versions of the SSD, Q, and BL drivers now).

    I think the SP4 is in keeping with the times and applications people are heading towards. High excursion, stability, and thermal power handling... albeit at a cost of weight and depth over the N2 series.

    1

  21. Posted

    jappleseed... I have had the X15 recones up on the site for a while now. Please check the X series recones. You might have to refresh the site as it may be storing an older cached version of things.

    Thanks,

    Scott

    0

  22. Posted

    Didn't know we had a secret going on. Or am I just that good at keeping them that I failed to let myself know there is one?

    Anyway... SP4s are up. TEAM subs to come :)

    Thanks,

    Scott

    0

  23. Posted

    Black Friday sale is up on the site.

    N3, N2, BL, Q, and SSD options are free. Save up to $85 per sub in option/upgrades.

    We will have a few other short sales on items through out Friday that wont specifically be announced.

    Thanks!

    0
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