I’m beginning to hear back from manufacturers on the costs of building the conch. Prices are pretty much what I expected (approximately 100.000 NOK for the 3 editions), which means that building is out of the question without external funding. The good news is that most manufacturers will deliver the whole conch, in carbon fibre or plastic, all painted with a slick finish. All I have to do is slide my electronics in through the main hole and wire it up. I also heard back from Eminence (one of the speaker manufacturers I contacted) about providing me with some free samples of their speaker drivers for my prototype.