Schiit Happened: The Story of the World's Most Improbable Start-Up

[Astral Abyss]

Wouldn't be surprised if some of them email the magazine complaining that those ads are ghetto-ing up the place.

 

[Billheiser]

I was curious as to what this thing was that cost a quarter of a million $ and so I visited the site to see that these are speakers and that ...... 

'Custom colors are available in every RAL or Porsche and Ferrari color at a 15% surcharge  PRE-ORDER NOW!!!'

.....$33,000 just for a paint job!  What the ##  You gotta be out of your mind!  Disgusting.  So I can only agree....Stick it to them, Schiit.

That's a fair price for a paint job - if it's on top of a free Audi or BMW.

 

[StanD]

 
Actually, I feel sorry for them. Can you imagine the arrogant, entitled dickheads they have to work with every day? And what kind of tantrums they see when there's a nit in the Ferrari Red paint?
 
No thanks. Here's your $249 DAC. No options, no extra power supplies, no fancy feet, no special cables, no color-matched finishes. Don't like it, send it back. There you go. Done.

Well, you could replace those little stick on rubber dimples with something that doesn't shift position when my Asgard 2 gets warm. I replaced them with 3M Bumpon SJ5023. These look like fancy chocolates.

 

[dogbait]

  Well, you could replace those little stick on rubber dimples with something that doesn't shift position when my Asgard 2 gets warm. I replaced them with 3M Bumpon SJ5023. These look like fancy chocolates.
 

Seconded. And whilst on the topic of feet a little perplexed as to why a Mjolnir 2 has 4 feet but a Gungnir MB (far more expensive) has only three...it's annoying because it means the Gungnir rocks and gouges the table top anytime I lean on the back corner whilst plugging a cable into it.

 

[artur9]

 
Actually, I feel sorry for them. Can you imagine the arrogant, entitled dickheads they have to work with every day? And what kind of tantrums they see when there's a nit in the Ferrari Red paint?
 
No thanks. Here's your $249 DAC. No options, no extra power supplies, no fancy feet, no special cables, no color-matched finishes. Don't like it, send it back. There you go. Done.

I've bought custom wood furniture and chatted with the proprietor.  The horror stories of customers that wanted the wood grain to be exactly like the one they saw on display.  This came up because of the disclaimer that, because wood is a natural product, that the grain may be different.  There's nothing like a brew of ignorance and entitlement!
 
In terms of custom paint jobs, you should include a link to Lowe's spray can department with some copy along the lines of "can be customized with an almost infinite number of colors for a small additional fee."

 

[MWSVette]

  Well, you could replace those little stick on rubber dimples with something that doesn't shift position when my Asgard 2 gets warm. I replaced them with 3M Bumpon SJ5023. These look like fancy chocolates.

 
 
I use the same ones on all my Schiit...

 

[Billheiser]

I use the same ones on all my Schiit...

I use little squishy sorbothane stick-on feet. The squishiness helps the component stay in place better when I push buttons, etc.

 

[valiant66]

I use little squishy sorbothane stick-on feet. The squishiness helps the component stay in place better when I push buttons, etc.

Same here. I bought a big sheet at a framing store - I also put them on the back of my hung paintings - the stickiness helps them stay level when set so. I also stuck a couple on the back of my Apple TV 4 remote to (a) let me know which end was which in the dark, and (b) raise it off the surface so I could pick it up easily.
 
Turns out little sticky feet are handy!
.

 

[StanD]

 
Same here. I bought a big sheet at a framing store - I also put them on the back of my hung paintings - the stickiness helps them stay level when set so. I also stuck a couple on the back of my Apple TV 4 remote to (a) let me know which end was which in the dark, and (b) raise it off the surface so I could pick it up easily.
 
Turns out little sticky feet are handy!
.

Feet have fingers/toes.

 

[Billheiser]

Same here. I bought a big sheet at a framing store - I also put them on the back of my hung paintings - the stickiness helps them stay level when set so. I also stuck a couple on the back of my Apple TV 4 remote to (a) let me know which end was which in the dark, and (b) raise it off the surface so I could pick it up easily.

Turns out little sticky feet are handy!
.

Very handy! I have a bunch so I keep finding little reasons to use them, like preventing propped-up pictures from sliding. I also put bigger ones on my Vali, to see if that might help the initial "ringing " when it's first turned on. ( Didn't help that really, but didn't hurt)

 

[Jason Stoddard]

2016, Chapter 12:
Word of Mouth at the Speed of Light
 
So, two weeks after the introduction of Jotunheim, Google is returning 186,000 results for the very specific phrase, “schiit jotunheim.” Note these results aren’t for “schiit” or “jotunheim.” Just the complete phrase “schiit jotunheim.”
 
Why am I belaboring this (seemingly trivial) point? It’s simple: because that’s a hell of a lot of results for an obscure word combination that didn’t exist until two weeks ago.
 
Still not impressed? Cool. Consider also:
 

• Not one of these results is from the traditional audiophile press (aka “big” audiophile press, dominant audiophile press, etc—you know the magazines.)
• Only a few of these results are due to mentions on the large social networks. Again, you know who they are.
• In large social networks like Reddit, the results are due to mentions on specific subreddits—in other words, communities of like-minded people. You know, like people who are into headphones.
• And, by far, the vast majority of results came from focused communities around the world—communities like Head-Fi.

 
Now, to be clear, yes, we had press at the SchiitShow, and we had nice mentions in some of the less well-known press (thank you, HiFi Plus, Positive Feedback, Audio-Head!). And yes, we did have a great intro here at Head-fi, including a video with measurements. This isn’t a screed about how press is now important in this Grand Cyber Age. This is more a look at how the rules have changed in marketing—and what you might want to do about it, if you have a company of your own.
 
Yes, I know, sighs and groans. Another marketing chapter. Sorry about that. But I find it fascinating, especially in light of the Jotunheim results. Which could have been verrrrryyyy different…but I’m getting ahead of myself.
 
And yeah, I know, some of you still aren’t impressed. “Only 186,000 results,” they sniff. “There are, like, 1.75 million results for “beats headphones.”
 
Okay, fine, agreed. We are quite small in the grand scheme of things. Hell, I could go so far as to say that Schiit is a microscopic company. But then again, maybe you should be asking what kind of tiny company you can create, without the participation of the major media, and in-between the margins of the giants.
 
Or, I could note those results are for a whole company versus one product.
 
Something to think about, hmm?
 
 
Old Rules, New Rules—and Early Prescience?
 
If you’ve done product launches back in the dim dark days of the 20^th century, you know all the old rules. The old rules, broken down and snarkified, look something like this:
 

• For the love of God, make sure the biggest press possible pays attention to it. This means one (or all) of three things:
  • Introduce it at a show like CES, where all the press will be
  • Engage a very expensive PR firm to get your story in the best press they can find
  • Plan on leaving your company for a few weeks to do the world’s most tedious dog-and-pony show, AKA a “press tour”
• For the sake of Pete, beg borrow or steal the biggest advertising budget you can get. Because, let’s face it:
  • The first press mentions don’t last long in the magazines
  • Advertising works, because you have a captive audience at the magazines
  • Magazines support those who support them*
• Kill yourself if key reviewers don’t have the product several months before launch. Because:
  • They’re writing for issues that are 2-3 months out (LOL, yep, remember print?)
  • You want those reviews out concurrently with the launch, or you’re gonna be looking at your own ass on a platter when the Powers That Be find out you botched the intro
  • You need the tastemakers to weigh in on your product and (very hopefully) pronounce it All Good
• Make sure the distributors and dealers have stock and sell-sheets, and are constantly fed new salesmaking crap as reviews come out. After all:
  • There ain’t no other channel, they have you by the nuts (and they will never let you forget it)
  • There ain’t no direct sale without ad budgets you can’t imagine

 

---

*Yes, I know, this is a controversial statement, so let me explain a bit. Magazines also support companies that they find interesting, but have no advertising budget at all. It’s not 100% a pay-for-play scenario. Nor do I think that positive reviews have any real correlation to ad spend. Schiit has benefited from attention from the mainstream press, long before we bought a single ad.

---

 
In today’s everyone’s-staring-at-their-friggin-cellphones-at-a-stoplight, Snapchat-obsessed, Pokemon Go-enabled world, you can blow up every single one of those rules, toot-sweet.
 
That is, if you’re operating in certain regimes.
 
If you’re a company trying to sell car-priced DACs and condo-priced speakers, it’s probably best to follow the old rules to a T.
 

---

Aside: or, no. Actually, what I’d do, if I was doing some crazy-priced products, would be to blow up the rules anyway. I wouldn’t go to shows. I wouldn’t get a PR firm. I would spend almost 100% of my marketing budget at flying key press and key dealers out to some very desirable and exotic locations, all expenses paid, about once a year. Much better than sharing a busy show schedule with a bunch of other companies. And, every dealer would get a prepaid, premium “hotline smartphone” to contact us directly for any concerns. Hell, depending on the price of the system, the owners might get the phones, too. (But don’t worry, we have no interest in doing this—we don’t kiss people’s ass very well.)

---

 

But, if you’re selling products that are relatively affordable and reasonably accessible, you can shred the old rules.
 
Why?
 

• The press probably doesn’t care too much. What’s left of the traditional audiophile press seems to be more focused on very expensive stuff. Why bother chasing what you can’t catch?
• Your advertising budget is better spent on measurable venues. I’ve talked about this before, so I won’t belabor it. Think AdWords.
• Key reviewers may not hit your target audience. Or your target audience may simply dismiss them out of hand.
• Distributors and dealers mean you can’t compete on value. If they control your sales channels, you’re not in control of your company.

 
So what do you do? What are the equivalent “new rules?”
 
To figure this out, we have to take a look at why the old rules worked. The old rules were based on a centralized, top-down model where information came from a limited number of trusted sources, and products came from a limited number of vetted retailers. A prospective buyer would first see the product in a PR blurb or show report, then read a review or two, see an ad or four, then decide to go down to the dealer and listen for themselves. If everything went well at the demo, he could go home with the product (or another one—many dealers, like Amazon, aren’t real picky about what they sell, as long as they sell something).
 
So, if you didn’t have the press attention, the reviews, the ads, and stock at the right dealers, you were done.
 
Today, the rules have to be based on a decentralized, bottom-up/top-down/sideways-sideways model where information comes from an unlimited number of forum posters, acquaintances, friends, casual reviewers, serious reviewers, big press, alternative press, wags, shills, and marketers-in-disguise, and products come from Amazon, or an online shop, or an online retailer, or maybe even eBay, Etsy, Rakuten, or a dozen other “click to buy it now” options. And yeah, maybe dealers too.*
 

---

*Let’s be clear. Dealers are great if there’s one nearby and they have the stuff you’re interested in. If that’s the case, by all means get your ass over there. And BUY THE STUFF THERE, not online. Not even if it saves you $17, you cheap person.

---

 

And here’s the thing: in a decentralized model (in terms of popularization, review authority, and channels), there are a lot less opportunities for rules, period.
 
But I may have anticipated a couple of them, way back when. One of the first things I wrote in this book (on page 11 of this mega-thread, to be exact) was:
 
Corollary 5: on the other hand, micro-social almost always works, unless you’re a dick. Finding the small, specific, passionate communities that are interested in your products, whether they are barbecues, espresso machines, audio gear, or high-end bicycle accessories, is almost always worth it. Going out, joining these communities, answering questions that come up, and not selling at all is a wonderful way to get the word out. But don’t think you’re King Salesman of the Universe out to convert the masses, or start attacking other brands, moderators or forum members. One problem: most agencies are too lazy to do this hard work. And it is hard work. Pay lots of attention to micro-social, and be prepared to post, respond, meet new friends, piss some people off, delight some others, and become part of your specific niche.
 
And, perhaps even more importantly, I made this decision before the first Asgard shipped:
 
Ship orders first, reviews can wait.
 
Why is this decision so important? Because it’s so alien to the Old Rules. In the Old Rules, you would never skimp on the review units. You’d always make sure they were out first. Not sending review units was unthinkable.
 
So, you might be asking, how did this decision come about? Actually, it was fairly deliberate. I knew that we’d be selling direct, and that there were communities of people who would talk about the product, and the owners would determine whether we lived or died. Plus, I figured (and maybe this is the real breakthrough), if we can make the owners happy, and they talk about how happy they are, any future reviewers will be less likely to crap on their fun.
 
Now, I know this isn’t universally true, but I do think it’s an important decision, and a correct one.
 

---

Aside: so how did Jude get that first Asgard for review, if we didn’t give out review units? He bought it.

---

 

So, if you tasked me with synthesizing a new set of rules, it might go something like this:
 

• For the love of God, pay attention to micro-social. This is where the action really is, for any niche product. Each community will have its own key commenters, pro reviewers, and opinion leaders. You don’t need to know all of them, but you need to be willing to go in, talk to them, listen to what they have to say, and apply what you learn there.
• Make sure you can sell stuff as soon as you introduce it. Or, at the very least, soon afterwards. Maintaining the excitement for longer than 4 hours is a sign you should see a doctor—no, wait, that’s something else—I mean, keeping everyone interested for months as deadlines slip and slip and slip isn’t gonna win you friends. It matters less where you sell it, just have stuff for sale.
• When the time comes, carefully choose your reviewers. There are gonna be a ton of people who want to review your stuff (usually keeping said stuff for free). But you should be choosing based on the reviewers’ level of trust (in their community, or in their magazine—look at comments on their reviews), not their willingness to review everything.
• When the time comes, start advertising using measurable media first. Yes, we know, a full-page ad looks sexy, but do you know what it’s selling for you? Start with AdWords, track back to sale, learn what works…then go for the magazines when you’re very comfortable with the cost.

 
And, in today’s decentralized world, I’d add a fifth rule, which may be the most important rule of all:
 
If what you do is working, do more of it.
 
Because I don’t think I have all the rules down. Things keep evolving. We keep learning. And, let’s face it, the bottom line is the bottom line.
 
 
The Walls Come Down
 
If you ask a typical tech wag about why things are so different these days, they’ll be quick to state the obvious: the old models of one-to-many broadcast advertising and one-to-one sales are gone. The walls are down. It’s all many-to-many.
 
And yeah, they’re right. That’s the big deal. The key difference between today and All The Ages That Came Before is that everyone can talk to everyone else.
 
Incessantly.
 
And they can post pictures.
 
And videos.
 
And they can all comment on the posts, pictures, and videos.
 
And they can do this in their cars, at stoplights, and forget to actually frigging move when the light turns green, making getting around town a blasted pox…no, wait, I’m ranting, reel it back in there a bit.
 
But the walls coming down and enabling peer-to-peer communications is an easy, facile answer. It’s really only the start. I think there are at least three more reasons things are different these days:
 

• Pricing ghettos are blown up. In the past, magazines tended to compare products of roughly the same price—which meant that nobody would seriously compare, say, an Adcom amp to a Krell amp. In a decentralized, many-to-many world, there’s no such pricing ghettos. Now you can compare a Magni to a $10,000 tube amp if you want to.*
• Opinions are equal if language is equal. If you can express yourself well in written prose (or in video), your content has equal footing with any “professional” review—it can be seen by the same audiences, and judged on the same merits. You don’t need to make it to a rare staff writer position in one of a handful of publications.
• There are exceptional talents and voices who deserve to be heard. Let’s face it. There are a ton of great listeners who either (a) wouldn’t pass the sniff test at a magazine, (b) do not have the time or inclination to devote their lives to audio reviewing, or (c) are interested in stuff so far off the mainstream that the magazines wouldn’t publish them anyway. Now we get to hear from a much wider—and more interesting—range of people.

 
*Why is this important? Because products can overperform their price points. And sometimes comparing a product to one that costs several times as much can result in some interesting inversions. That is, if the reviewer’s own confirmation bias allows it.
 
So, should we all be happily skipping and dancing our way into a brilliant new future where everyone is equal and everyone has a voice and we’re all unique and perfect snowflakes forever and ever?
 
No. Because buttheads and cellphones. And other things.
 
 
The Dark Side
 
All this wonderful many-to-many communications is great, but that doesn’t mean it’s perfect. Not by a long shot. Maybe a hundred years from now we’ll have this all figured out.
 
But for now, word of mouth at the speed of light isn’t perfect. Let’s look at how it breaks down.
 

1. The problem of identity, or the Invisible ******** Syndrome. Let’s face it, when some people can hide in online anonymity, their personality can change—and usually not for the better. It’s easy to snipe, bitch, and carp about everyone and everything when nobody knows who you are, and there are no real repercussions. These people don’t care about contributing, they care about getting a response. I don’t envy the moderators of this site.
2. The problem of agendas, or You Don’t Know Who They Work For. I’m using this category to cover both paid and unpaid shills. Paid shills are pure evil, and they are probably much more prevalent than you think. They’re also becoming automated, and much harder to detect as nonhuman. Welcome to the future. Unpaid shills are people who have decided, for good or bad reasons, that One Brand is the Best Among All. And yes, I know there are (unpaid) Schiit shills out there. We didn’t make them. We don’t encourage them. And yes, they are as misguided as shills for any other single brand.
3. The problem of bias, or My Watch Is More Expensive Than Yours Folk. Frequently seen with people who can afford very pricey gear. To them, obviously an inexpensive component can never approach the performance of the Holy Stack, so don’t even bother comparing them. Or, if you do compare them, know that the outcome has been decided in advance—and that is that the more expensive component is, of course, better.
4. The problem of last comments, or What I Read First is Most Important Disease. Once a thread has run its course, it can devolve into new users asking questions that have been answered two dozen times before, or (worse), users posting something they read in one post elsewhere as The Whole and Gospel Truth. Either has the effect of stirring up the thread to no good effect, and making it impossible to get an idea about the product or topic from reading the last page of comments (which is where many people start—to “cut to the chase.”)
5. The problem of buried content, or Low Signal To Noise Ratio. Due to all of the above, our wonderful disintermediated many-to-many culture results in a lot of noise…which then buries the important content (how does this perform, does it work with the THX-1138, how do you install the new firmware, etc) under tons of posts about dogs, computer interfaces, lawnmowers, “did you have this problem…oh, I forgot to plug it in” and other cruft and nonsense.

 
So should we go back to the old days? Not a chance. I believe that a start-up company has a much better chance of success (and a much, much higher chance of staying sane) than in the “good old days.” Yes, the magazines (at their best), were a potent source of distilled information, and dealers (at their best) were a great place to try our gear. But note the caveats. And ask yourself: How often were they at their best?
 
No system is perfect. This is what we have now. There’s no going back.
 
So, how do you make the most of it?
 
 
Making Connections
 
First, a comment: the subhead above isn’t a throwaway phrase. I mean it, in all senses of the term. Your mission is to make connections. Lots of them. On every level.
 
Because, in a many-to-many communications environment, getting to the Most Important Person In The Room isn’t the end-game. There are lots of important people. And you probably don’t know a hundredth of them.
 
So, setting up for success starts with planning to reach as many people as possible, on as broad a swath as possible. In the case of the Jotunheim introduction, we used our most potent vehicle for this: the SchiitShow. This once-a-year event invites regular folks from communities like Head-Fi—and press—to come out and see what we have in store. We don’t say what they’re gonna see beforehand, but you can be assured we save it for important announcements.
 
Now, we didn’t have to do a SchiitShow. We announced the Modi Multibit with no show at all (not even TheShow), just a press release and done. And Modi Multibit is an important product, too. It’s selling very well.
 
But, in the case of the SchiitShow, we had an opportunity to build interest—about a month’s worth of run-up where people could wonder what we had to show. This is more powerful than simply announcing.
 
Why? Because it’s mysterious.
 
And people like mystery. Or they don’t. The important thing is, they have an emotional connection to it. And emotional connection is absolutely important. Although I’m gonna hear some howling about this, I think that people don’t care very much about equations and specifications. Not really. Not when it comes down to it.
 
But people do like companies that do things for a reason—as long it’s a reason they can connect to on a visceral level. Like our manifesto about blowing up the high prices in high end, a few chapters back. Have you wondered why it’s gotten more likes than any other chapter? Because it’s written from the gut, emotionally, it has a cause that many people agree with, and can connect to on an emotional level.
 
Still don’t believe me that equations are bunk and emotion is all? Consider that we would sell exactly zero hybrid cars based on economic analysis. Throw in saving the planet (or, better, some cute seals or penguins) and suddenly you can’t make them fast enough.
 
Cynical? Perhaps. But if you’re planning on making your company succeed on the back of cold equations and stainless specs, you’re probably gonna be in for a big surprise.
 
So, setting up for success also includes an emotional hook. For the product. For the company. For the launch. Don’t miss that.
 
And what happened with the launch? We had some great press. We had a wonderful video intro here on Head-fi. And we also had one of the busiest threads here and on the headphone subreddit.
 
And we had…some not so thrilling comments. Boiled down, they said, “Well, yeah, it’s pretty good, but it’s not gonna scare any of the Big Expensive Iron.” There was also some grousing about only having Jotunheim at the show. And there was grumbling about how I’d oversold the revolutionary nature of Jotunheim.
 
Not so hot, huh? Well, that’s when you have to remember the third part of setting up for success in a disintermediated age: step back, don’t overreact, wait and see, and respond only when it’s appropriate.
 
Note that doesn’t mean “ignore it.” It means pay attention, take notes, and learn.
 
One of the things we learned is, while the press totally got the revolutionary aspect of Jotunheim (its upgradability), they’d been primed. They got an introduction to the product, courtesy me. So, the next SchiitShow, everyone gets the same intro.
 
The other thing we learned is that, well, I’m an engineer, and engineers sometimes get excited about things normal humans don’t. Jotunheim’s new topology was a big deal to me, both due to the gestation and development, and how it performed. Some early commenters didn’t really see this as significant. And yes, I totally understand that. Sound is what matters, 100%, to the end.
 

---

Aside: for the record, I think Jotunheim is our most character-free amplifier. I mean this not as an insult, but as perhaps the highest compliment. I happen to like the slightly warmer, richer presentation of the Mjolnir 2, but I don’t think it’s necessarily more accurate than Jotunheim.

---

 

But, as the less-than-thrilled comments continued, I forced myself to sit on my hands. I knew we were right—I knew this was a revolutionary product, and that sonically it could stand up to some very end-game gear.
 
Eventually, I got a chance to comment. And I didn’t say what a lot of people probably thought I was thinking. Instead, I encouraged everyone to listen for themselves, rather than deciding based on a quick listen or two under show conditions.
 
What happened after that? Well, once people started receiving their Jotunheims, the comments quickly turned around. Suddenly the amp was a top performer, and even the DAC was pretty good (it’s hard to follow the Modi Multibit with a delta-sigma DAC, even though I think Jotunheim’s DAC is quite good…ah well.)
 
And that brings us up to present day, where Jotunheim is selling strongly…and causing me to wonder about how it affects our other products.
 
Maybe I’ll ask you a few questions about that next…

 

[Letmebefrank]

Great chapter Jason. I was probably one of the first batch of folks to get the Jody, since I purchased it that Saturday with 2 day shipping.

The idea of that much power for my hd650s in balanced was the selling point I needed. I'm a big fan of power, as I think transducers sound best when easily controlled by the magnet, which requires power to do so.

I've given my impressions in the Jotunheim thread that Jude started, so I won't repeat them in detail here. I will say that Jotunheim is the end game amp for me. I can't even imagine something sounding better for even close to that price. I'm looking forward to future expansion cards as well.

 

[FrivolsListener]

Oh, so many quotes!

 The problem of identity, or the Invisible ******** Syndrome. Let’s face it, when some people can hide in online anonymity, their personality can change

 
Me, in a sentence.  (I behave here because the rules are strict!)
 

 Dealers are great if there’s one nearby and they have the stuff you’re interested in. If that’s the case, by all means get your ass over there. And BUY THE STUFF THERE, not online. Not even if it saves you $17, you cheap person.

 
Yes.  Dealers perform a service.  I consider it personally unethical to use the resources of a dealer (showroom, stock, maybe a person or two who knows the product) and then penny-pinch.
 
Quote:

 The problem of buried content, or Low Signal To Noise Ratio.

 
This is a big problem.  I bought a Brand X amp because of some things said about it here and other venues.  Turned out that the people reviewing it had lower standards than I do, but I didn't know that.  Some money got wasted there.
 
Quote:

 And we had…some not so thrilling comments.

 
That is something I try to restrain myself from doing here.  I'm a noob to head-fi, and this is your thread.  I really like the gear you sell.  But I don't find it perfect.  I don't consider this thread as an appropriate place to bring up my beefs/suggestions/differences of opinion/call it what you will, because this is your thread.
 

 But people do like companies that do things for a reason—as long it’s a reason they can connect to on a visceral level.

 
There is truth to that.  I concur with your vision.  But I wouldn't completely discount the technogeeks among us.  For your (EDIT: hybrid car) example, it was always clear to me that electric motors with their tendon-ripping torque, would appeal to me, but they'd need things like regenerative breaking and better batteries than the once-dominant lead-acid wet cells.  All that said, I didn't have the capital or the knowledge to build one.  I'm not an EE. I did have to wait for someone else to do it.
 

 Note that doesn’t mean “ignore it.” It means pay attention, take notes, and learn.

 
I'd certainly like to give constructive criticism of, but I still don't think this is the thread for it.  (And these are your babies.  You sometimes do react strongly to stuff said.  And I still will buy your stuff as long as it stays good.)
 
 
 
I liked this chapter.  I'm waiting for more reviews before I decide to upgrade, but I'm thinking about it.
 
I hope to see you at RMAF soon.  There are questions I can't ask here (not bad ones) and I want to listen to all that gear you have: Would I truly hear the difference?

 

[madwolfa]

  For your electric car example, it was always clear to me that electric motors with their tendon-ripping torque, would appeal to me, but they'd need things like regenerative breaking and better batteries than the once-dominant lead-acid wet cells.

 
He said hybrids, not electric cars.... 

 

[FrivolsListener]

   
He said hybrids, not electric cars.... 

 
Mea culpa.  Still, the same argument applies.  Grab an electric motor's shaft at 0 RPM and hold on when someone starts it.  You'll get a visceral lesson about torque.
 
(I shouldn't attempt to multitask when I write comments.)