How about this I can send you a demo preamp and mics to check out you tell me what you think maybe we can end this once and for all.
Honestly, I don't have much interest in testing out your gear - nothing personal, and it's not a judgement on your gear's quality. It's just that my interest in trying out gear stops with gear I have run in the past, currently use, or plan to run. But perhaps you can persuade another TS member to try out your gear and provide feedback, maybe even perform a blind comparison.
And there's nothing to put an end to once and for all - there's no fundamental disagreement here, and I've not passed judgement on the quality of your gear. You stated, effectively, good specs = good sound. I qualified your statement, and you agreed with my qualification. There's no disagreement or issue to "end" or resolve.
I use my ears as well as all my test equipment to determine if a product is good enough to have my name on it
A fine practice, using your ears.
Also I feel strongly that some of the other folks that make this stuff have been over charging for years. I am pricing my equipment at a good price not over inflated ( some people translate that into it being not as good )
Cost/value is a matter of perspective, which in turn is impacted, at least in part - and especially by those who have not personally run your gear - by marketing, reputation, and service. A quality product itself (usually) isn't always enough. Perhaps one reason the "over-charging" folks of whom you speak seem quite popular (and it's quite easy to determine exactly who you're referencing) have simply proven more effective at marketing, servicing their current or potential customers, and building their reputation.
I don't mean the following comments as insulting or overly critical, just as honest feedback that you hopefully find useful. Examples of two issues (and there are others) that may impact the above marketing, service, and reputation factors so important in a buyer's decision (all IMO, of course)...
Web PresenceAudio recordists, especially those new to the hobby, are more likely to feel comfortable with an organization that creates and maintains a professional looking web presence, as opposed to eBay listings or an eBay storefront. Professional web presences are characterized by easy navigation and a wealth of detailed information - provided in a way that makes it easy for newbies to understand - about the issues impacting their gear selection. Experienced consumers are not impacted as heavily, but for newbies - the primary market segment to which your gear appeals, IMO - web presence has a significant impact on the buying process. Improving CA's web presence will help business significantly, I think.
CommunicationEffective and clear communication content and style is essential to any business, especially when dealing with customers. The content and style of an organization's communication defines the organization, impacts marketing efforts, suggests (or doesn't) a willingness and/or ability to provide service, and helps establish reputation. Two primary arenas come to mind immediately: CA's TS postings, and the eBay storefront and listings. Minimal or incorrect punctuation and run-on sentences makes effective communication incredibly difficult, the message gets lost. Disjointed or unclear structuring of the message(s) makes comprehension more difficult. And especially at TS, a sometimes combative or abrasive communication style turns off a lot of people, especially newbies. If one is combative or abrasive in TS (less so now than in the past, but still an issue, IMO), what faith may potential customers have that CA will provide quality service? Little, I suggest. Personally, I find the eBay listings in the CA storefront difficult to follow due to SCREAMING ALLCAPS, color scheme, organization, and layout. Just think how a newbie feels! Overwhelmed and frustrated, probably - two feelings a sales organization does not want to instill in their potential customers.
I say to these people that you have never tryied my mics and preamps.
It's true, I've not tried your mics. Again, perhaps you can persuade another TS member to try out your gear and provide feedback, maybe even perform a blind comparison between your gear and Brand X.
I go way beyond ordering capsules and soldering wires onto them I get into all kinds of things to make a mic sound better.
This is a good example of one small part of the communication issue I mentioned above. "All kinds of things" is not a very persuasive, and provides the user with, effectively, no actual information. But they may be persuaded by more detailed information, and that information doesn't necessarily have to be proprietary - it may be presented in a way that is informative without revealing trade secrets.
we build the mic housing so that it will be better for sound. We use a baffle around our capsule to help with directionality.
This starts to move in a better direction, providing more detail to customers. But even more information is better - maybe explain how the baffling helps with directionality, why it's desirable, and address potential critiques of this baffling to head off potential criticism (for example, does the baffling block vents that contribute to the mic's polar pattern?).
We feel strongly that for the money our products are the best value. That is why we would like you to test some of them out.
Just had a thought - maybe one way to find someone to use your gear and provide feedback to the community, and maybe even inspire someone to do some side-by-side testing with competitors: provide a set of mics / battery box / preamp to the TS Gear Loaner program, free of charge. Others have done the same with new products they've offered to the TS community (I'm thinking Leegeddy and Todd R's cables, for starters) and it's proven quite effective. Not saying it will prove effective for you - time will tell - but I think it's worth consideration. And I'm
not simply trying to pad the TS Loaner Program with more gear, I genuinely believe this option's worthy of consideration.
Give your users of this site an unbiased review.
Not my job. The suggestion here is that I've provided a biased review. I've presented no review of any kind regarding your product. Besides, *every* review is biased, there's no such thing as an unbiased gear review. Though it does help for reviewers to identify their biases up front. I've simply qualified some of the discussion points, nothing more.
Oh, and no charge for the free consulting services.