Several retailers have entered the subwoofer enclosure market in recent years, but few have been as successful as Mobile Toys, TX, which helped carve out a new niche in the subwoofer market–high end custom enclosures.
Mobile Toys owner Chris Pate, launched the enclosure division six years ago as MTI Acoustics. It now brings in more revenue than the high end Mobile Toys store itself, said Pate.
Now the company is expanding again into custom A-Pillar speaker pods. While offered in the past, they are now being 3D printed on a wider scale. The A-pillars have openings for component speakers (almost all 3-way). Truck specific models include Ford, Chevy, Ram and Toyota enclosures. They go mainly to consumers, as retailers typically want them shipped in a week and the turnaround time right now, due to a the large order load, is 8 weeks. “There’s been a massive amount of orders off of our website,” said Pate. As they grow in popularity, Pate is looking at adding more 3D printers and exploring other manufacturing processes including injection molding and roto forming to speed up production. The price of the A-Pillar speaker pods start at $1,300.
In subwoofer boxes, MTI produces 300 to 400 units a month using three commercial grade CNC machines from CAMaster. Pate says he has no plans to become a general enclosure supplier. “Nothing is pre-fab. There’s nothing sitting on the shelf. We build everything to order.”
The enclosures range from “basic” carpeted, car specific, form fit boxes at $500 each and can range up to $6,000 for special designs and features. They are acoustically tuned to the vehicle and can offer details such as leatherette stitching, laser etching, programmable LED lighting, and plexiglass windows. Basically, Pate says he can include just about any feature “as long as you are willing to wait for it.”
Most of the orders are delivered in three weeks.
The company sells to about 225 audio shops. The return on investment for the shop is time savings–it spares a day or two in building a premium quality box. Shops are usually able to charge an extra 35 to 50 points.
If you ask how MTI has been able to achieve its success, Pate, a man of few words says, “To be honest, it’s not too easy.” The bottom line he said, is “We’re filling a need where something didn’t exist.”
Mobile Toys also recently announced it will open the first “Focal Powered by Naim Store” in the US to include a car showroom.
Photo: Chris and Samantha Pate
Congratulations Chris! I met Chris well over a decade ago back when I worked at JL Audio at some of the events I used to attend in Texas. He was always looking to learn more and grow. It’s awesome to see what he and his team have done.
Chris and Samantha Pate are incredible entrepreneurs and we have visited College Station, TX to see the operation before and look forward to our next trip to visit in July 2022. It’s really quite something to see in person!
Congrats to Chris and the entire MTI team for all of the success, It’s well deserved!