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Chapter 1 · The Case for Audio

What Audio Really Costs

  • Lesson
  • 8 min

When you quote audio, the customer sees the hardware price. But hardware is only one part of the project cost. Cabling, space in the distribution board and hours on site can cost more than the devices themselves. When you know the full cost, you can recommend the right system with confidence and explain why the better system is worth its price.

By the end of this lesson you will be able to:

  • Compare the full project cost of a passive system and a Master/Client active system
  • Explain to a customer why the cheapest hardware is not always the cheapest project
  • Show a customer that the better system can cost the same or less overall

The situation

You are quoting audio for a multi-room project. You can build it with passive speakers, with Master/Client, or with a mix of both. The passive option has the lowest hardware price. The customer points at this lower number and asks why they should pay more.

The answer is not found in just the visible hardware. It is in everything around it: the cabling, the distribution board and the hours on site installing and commissioning.

Information

Three costs decide the real price of an audio project: hardware, cabling and labor. Passive often wins on hardware but loses on cabling and labor.

Hardware price is not project price

Passive audio can make sense in small installations. But to give your customer honest advice, compare the cost of the whole installation, not only the price of the components.

In a Passive system each speaker has its own cable back to the panel. This is called a star topology. So a passive system needs a lot of speaker cable. It also needs multi-channel amplifiers and space for them in the distribution board. And it needs many hours of labor to pull all that cable.

In a Master/Client system the speakers connect along one bus cable, with up to 80% less cabling. The amplifier is inside each speaker, so the distribution board stays almost empty. The installation takes far fewer hours.

Passive audio uses a separate cable from the panel to every speaker. Master/Client uses one bus cable that connects the speakers in a line.

Why the "more expensive" option often wins

On the hardware side, Master/Client can look like the most expensive choice. But when you look at the finished project, the difference becomes small, or Master/Client can even be cheaper. This is for three reasons.

  1. Almost nothing in the distribution board

    Apart from the Miniserver, there is no rack of amplifiers, no extra terminals and very little panel work, because the amplifier is inside each speaker.

  2. Only bus topology, not star topology

    There is no thick, expensive audio cable to every single speaker. This saves material cost and labor hours.

  3. Simpler, faster wiring

    Fewer hours on site means lower labor cost, and you finish the job sooner.

When you add these costs together, the savings in cable and labor often cover the higher hardware price before the job is finished. And the customer gets a better system: easier to use, Bluetooth in every room, higher performance and lower operating costs.

Tip

When a customer compares only hardware prices, guide the conversation to the cost of the finished project. This is the number that the customer actually pays, and it is where Master/Client is strongest.

Where each system fits

Passive is not always wrong. The goal is to match the system to the job.

  • Passive suits small installations, or projects where the speakers are already specified and the cable runs are short.
  • Master/Client suits almost all other projects. It is especially strong in larger multi-room projects, because the savings in cable and labor grow with every room.
  • A mixed system is also a good option. Use Master/Client where it saves the most and passive where it is simplest.
Tip

Audio also gives you margin, through the partner discount on LOXONE and Quadral speakers. The right system is good for your customer and good for your business.

Takeaway

Hardware price is not project price. Passive often wins on hardware but loses on cable and labor, while Master/Client often wins on the finished project cost and gives the customer a better system. Always advise on the whole installation, and help the customer see the cost that really matters.

Apply What You've Learned

Quick self-check — ungraded. Just to be sure everything sticks.
Task

Compare the full cost of an audio project.

  1. Choose a multi-room project with audio in several rooms. It can be a real project or an example.
  2. Write down the three cost areas of an audio system: hardware, cabling and labor.
  3. For a passive system and for a Master/Client system, note which of the three cost areas each one wins on.
  4. Write one or two sentences you could say to a customer who looks only at the hardware price, to guide them to the full project cost.
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