First I was considering the Fusion-8 alchemy then I noticed it was out of stock. Then I considered the Cinema-8 with the dual 16 ohm woofers then noticed that too was out of stock. Then noticed the Fusion-8 towers are NLA. Is this line coming back into stock or being phased out? I then decided on the Fusion-10 Pure and was about to purchase then noticed that the flatpacks are out of stock too. Any ETA on the flatpacks? Do the flatpacks have a shipping charge? If purchased with the kit is shipping still charged? Thanks
I too made choices around out of stock items. Also, I paid shipping for the flat packs. Even though it doesn't say "free shipping" under those, I just assumed it was part of the kit option. Still not a bad deal, but it would be nice to know without doubt. It was a few days before I figured out that I wasn't accidentally overcharged, or that the initial shipping charge wasn't just some carrier formality. The shipping for the flat packs for the Tempest was about $40. Another option you may consider is, considering a sheet of 3/4 MDF is about $30, the shipping $40, there may be a local lumber/millwright/cabinet shop close to you that will cut and dado the parts you need for about the same, or even less, if you don't feel like cutting your own. That never occurred to me until I went to pick up the veneer for my cabinets and the guy there told me he could have cut those parts for me relatively cheaply.
All of those speakers use the same compression driver which is currently out of stock. The manufacturer that makes the DNA-205 could no longer get a small piece that was used inside, so we had to get one custom tooled late last year. They're now complete and I'll have all the speakers back in stock in about 30-35 days. The flat packs for the Fusion-10 are in stock and I will probably be putting 6 of those kits up next week. Kits have "free shipping" because I get a discount from the manufacturers and use that discount to cover the shipping. But flat packs are custom made and priced just a bit over their cost from the cabinet company so there's no way to ship them for free. The MDF used on the kits is a much higher grade MDF than you get from Home Depot or Lowes. I've seen the wholesale price of the MDF and it's about $42 per sheet. For example, the cabinet company charges $58 for each CNC cut Fusion-12 flat pack using the highly refined MDF. Packaging material is about $5. That takes it to $63. Paypal fees are about $2. That takes it to $65. They were priced at $69, but I lowered them down to cost, which is $65. That flat pack is sold at cost.
Just so I'm clear, I'm not complaining about the shipping or the price of the kit or what the flat packs cost because it is actually a good deal. I could not gather all the materials, break out all my machines, including what my time is worth to do it much more economically and would be doing well to break even comparatively. The shipping misunderstanding was on my part, I just didn't notice it for a few days. I didn't think the shipping charge was out of line either. I honestly don't see how you all make any real money on this. It seems as if you would have to sell hundreds of kits. I only mention the millwright or cabinet shop option in the event flat packs are not available, or do not exist, and someone doesn't want to totally DIY that part of it. I just built a copy of the 2.0 sealed sub box for the ultimax 12 from scratch. It took me all afternoon to get set up, cut all the parts and dry assemble it.