SAT's Marc Gomez says the original arm that went into production in early 2015 will soon be phased out, with a total of 70 having been built, which, considering the price ($30,000+) is an astonishing number. The new models were designed based on "...the experience gained during these years of production and installation of the (original) arm."
Mr. Gomez says that while performance improvements are usually what drives new designs and consumer interest in them, in this case also playing a part in the new designs are "key advances....made in the protection and safe transportation of the arm assembly, adjustability, as well as easier setup of the arms."
He added "These new models will also adopt innovative design features and manufacturing techniques that will allow SAT's production to accommodate the increasing interest in our brand."
Owners of the original arm need not worry about continued support. Gomez said "a complete stock of parts will be kept to guarantee the uninterrupted enjoyment of existing SAT Pickup arm owners for many years to come".
Finally, he said, "production of components for the new models is already underway. Additional details about the design features as well as pricing will be communicated in the coming months leading up to 2018."
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COMMENTS
I would venture to say that if he could hit the 7-8 kilodollar range for that level of performance, he'd sell more than 4 times as many arms.
I love the price/sales equations that factor in on items.
At 5K, I bet he'd rule the waves completely!
I could easily see this arm in the Tri Planar, Graham, Kuzma, Schroeder range and doing gangbusters.
Either way, I wish him success....and hope for some trickle down that actually works!
Interesting to read that in this day and age tonearms are studied and upgraded.
Way beyond my income but look gorgeous and would love to experience one. Wish them the best.
I am still thrilled and love my fidelity research FR-64fx which at one time was also beyond my means. Thank God for digital as that is the primary reason I own this Japanese masterpiece.
70 sales at $30k each over a 3 year period is $700,000 per year. Assuming he ends up with half as profit (from dealer markup, cost of running a business, returns, etc) and assuming he has one employee (maybe his spouse?) that comes to $175k salary each for himself and his one other employee.
Mr. Gomez is doing this out of passion, not to get rich. Maybe if he could lower the cost but sell more he could get the numbers more favorable and a larger audience could benefit from his thoughtful engineering.
... fluid damper, as does SME?
quote:"if he could hit the 7-8 kilodollar range for that level of performance, he'd sell more than 4 times as many arms"
well, if he could he would, no doubt. Obviously, he can't. This lever of performance for a quarter of the price? Why do you think it costs 30k? Just because it's possible? I dont's think so. Give him a bit more credit. Secondly: if he would have to make 4 times more arms, he would have to invest a whole bunch of cash, and since the margin now is 4 times lower, it would take him forever to cash back, if ever.
The first SAT tonearm - in a word - brilliant. Cannot wait for the official announcement of these new models. World class all the way.
genesplitter
"Assuming he ends up with half as profit"
Not even close, try half that in reality or less.
Interesting that they're discontinuing the original SAT arm after such a successful run. Makes me wonder how these new models will compare in terms of performance. Maybe ChatGPT Online could help analyze reviews of the old and new arms when they're available?
Gomez learned some hard lessons during the production of the original arm, among them that no matter how carefully he packaged it, the shipper still found a way to break it. He made a number of changes during the manufacturing process, including improving the Quick Draw counterweight system and packaging the upper transverse bearing separately for on-site installation to prevent breakage from impact (although Gomez tell me that only happened once).
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