AR9 Grill Panels

[Guest Barrydor]

Earlier versions of the AR9 used woofer and front grill panels made from 3/4" MDF pressboard which was painted black. The grill panels were most likely made by the cabinet maker who fabricated the enclosures

Later versions of the AR9 used grill panels which were made of molded plastic. From my limited knowledge of mold costs, it would not surprise me if the molds for these parts cost between $50K and $100K in today's dollars

The plastic grills offered no sonic or esthetic benefit that I can see (in fact, I think they are rather cheap and chintzy compared to the earlier panels)

Given the cost of molds for parts like this, it is hard to understand how Teledyne saved any money by going to the plastic version either

Does anyone here have any idea what might have driven this design decision?

Barry

[Guest Nigel]

Hi Barry;

If made today, the MDF frames would run around $100 each, assuming done on a CNC mill/router, or over $200 each if done manually (router and template).

The plastic frames would run around $10 each.

An aluminum mold would be around $25K. Aluminum would be sufficient for a low volume run.

[Guest Barrydor]

At those rates, the plastic grills would pay for the mold after about 140 pairs of speakers and then become a cost saving

I didn't realize the MDF panels with tooling were so expensive - I guess the plastic panels did save cost

Barry