The Role of R&D in Product Development

@coppy777 

You are correct. I may have mentioned in this thread that I was employee #3 in a Silicon Valley startup in telecomm when that was hot. 

Yeah, we struggled and took on al lot of tasks. I built the lab, hired people, designed the optics, all the detection, the feedback loop for stability, performed rigorous testing and calibration and had a lot of input on packaging.

There was however, the understanding that as we grew, we would need to put in place teams from each discipline. It was understood that this (along with gobs of startup cash) was the way to grow and prosper.

Small boutique companies are exciting. One may be enticed by their offerings. Sometimes the ones who started the company want it to remain small. This can be a successful way to run a business if it is kept small. There is always the possibility that because many functions are done by one person, something important might be overlooked. The customer should be aware of this from the beginning.

As a hypothetical, imagine that you've developed a gizmo that you think people may value highly. I contend that it is difficult to remain unbiased when someone else in the company or the customer points out a problem or has some constructive criticism.The "Hey, I designed it so there can't be anything wrong with it" attitude. I've been there before myself.

(This last is from my direct experience with a boutique tonearm manufacturer. I purchased an arm from them. After installing the arm and using it and praising its quality, I wrote an email to the inventor indicating certain places where I thought improvements could be made. I heard nothing back. After I made several attempts to get through to him, I realized that he had probably blocked me.) He just couldn't cope with my constructive criticism. I still have the arm, but it sits in box now.

Multiple disciplines in an organization help to prevent this sort of bias affecting goods developed and sold. There are exceptions of course. These systems may break down. But there will always be consequences down the line.

One can accept all I've written and go out and buy that product from a small company despite my warnings.

The sole reason that I wrote this post is to raise the awareness of possible quality and performance problems with a product that comes from a company that does not have the input that different disciplines bring to product development and manufacturing. The old "caveat emptor".

Please step back and look at the big picture.

@kevemaher 

I’m happy to, but respectfully you didn’t paint it very well.

If there is a reverse correlation at all between snake-oilishness and rigorous product development standards, it is tenuous at best.

Further diluting your point, there are one-man shops out there with zero organizational standards that turn out great-sounding, beautiful, valuable gear.

If you wish to denounce the lies and misrepresentations abundant in some companies’ mendacious marketing materials that cynically assume all audiophiles are gullible imbeciles, I’m all in support :)

@devinplombier 

Apologies for not presenting my premise clearly.

Yes, I abhor the companies you describe in your last paragraph.

Please see my latest post from today. That may be difficult to understand also.

It is quite probable that I don't have the vocabulary or writing skills to effectively and clearly make my points. That's on me.

If that's the case, please move on. This thread will wither and die. Most likely we'll all be happier..

Here’s my response to another Audiogon newbie - with a savior complex.

None of his EE101 diatribe addressed the neural/bio-mechanical interface of hearing vis-a-vis high-fidelity sound reproduction.

He was shocked to learn that he was not the smartest guy in the room.

Falso In Uno, Falso In Omnibus.   Finis.

@steakster 

Please further describe your post and feelings. I'm not sure what you are telling me.

If you look at my emails in another thread on Audiogon, I've already addressed the interaction you describe. I agree that it is a field of study that is not yet fully described. In fact, I mused that further understanding of this very human characteristic may help to describe why some hear sonic differences in XXX or YYY and others don't in gear that engineering and science predict can't have sound. 

Your logic at the end makes no sense to me. Are you saying that once someone makes a mistake, they are permanently banned from your consideration? Please clarify.

And finally, this type of email does not help to push the conversation forward. It is a personal attack. You know very little about me (as I you).