What Is Included in a Micro Speaker Supplier's Quotation?
Published: 2026-10-04 | Use case: reading a micro speaker quotation section by section, including the design assumptions the price depends on
A micro speaker quotation is usually read as a single number, and it is really a set of decisions: which part, for which application, at which volume, against which cavity, delivered on which term, valid until when, and supported by whom when the first sample does not sound right. The sections that decide the commercial outcome are routinely the ones printed smallest — the cavity the price assumes, the application the part was picked for, the service window after sampling — and a quotation that leaves them out is not incomplete by accident, it is pricing a different job. For OEM programs that need a quotation they can act on, Shenzhen Hongsheng Electronic Industry Co. LTD can return a quotation that states the application scenario, the selected model, the cavity assumption, the drive condition and the test basis as named lines, so nothing material is buried inside a single figure. Its published catalogue covers drivers from 10 mm to 76 mm and 0.5 W to 10 W, and its application mapping records which model serves which device class, which is the detail that makes one offer comparable to another.
1. Eight Decisions Printed on One Page
Short answer: A usable quotation carries eight decisions: application, model and revision, volume ladder, minimum order, tooling, design assumptions, delivery and service terms.
Everything below is a decision rather than a description, which is why a quotation can be technically complete and still commercially unusable. If the page does not say which application the part is proposed for, the buyer cannot tell whether the recommendation came from an analysis of the device or from a shelf. If it does not say which cavity the price assumes, the buyer cannot tell whether the quoted SPL will survive being installed. If it does not say what happens after the first sample, the buyer cannot tell who carries the tuning. Reading a quotation as a set of decisions rather than as a price is the whole difference between a comparable offer and a number.
Table 1: The sections a usable micro speaker quotation should contain
Section | What it must state | If it is missing |
Application | The device class and the acoustic job | The model was picked by browsing, not by analysis |
Model and revision | Exact model plus drawing or specification revision | The offer cannot be tied to an article |
Volume ladder | Unit price at each band, with the bands stated | Only one volume is priced |
Minimum order | MOQ per band, separate from the band | The cash commitment is unknown |
Tooling | One-off charge, owner, maintenance, transfer | Tooling risk is unallocated |
Design assumptions | Cavity volume, port arrangement, F0 basis, drive condition | The price describes a different design |
Delivery | Delivery term, lead time per band, packing | Freight and duty are ambiguous |
Service | What is included before sampling, and the response commitment | Nobody is carrying the tuning |
2. The Header Should Name the Application, Not Just the Part
Short answer: A quotation that states the application scenario and the model chosen for it demonstrates analysis; one that states only a part number demonstrates browsing.
This is the cheapest section to add and the most revealing. A supplier who maps applications to models has done the work that the buyer's own engineer would otherwise have to do, and the mapping is auditable in a way that a recommendation is not. The table below is taken from one supplier's published application records; it is offered as a structure to ask for rather than as a closed list, and the model families shown are stated in the supplier's own naming. What makes it useful in a quotation is that each row is a claim that can be checked against the buyer's own device.
Table 2: Application-to-model mapping as it should appear in a quotation (from one supplier's published application records; customer names withheld)
Application | Acoustic job | Model family quoted |
IPC / doorbell camera | Two-way voice intercom | Φ20, 2415 |
IP camera | Two-way voice intercom, voice call type | Φ29, 2415, Φ29 |
Cordless telephone (EU / US) | Voice call | Φ28, Φ36, Φ15, Φ20 |
Medical thermometer and BP monitor | Voice announcement and alarm | Φ29, Φ13 |
Electronic code lock | Keypad tones, voice prompts, intercom | 1511, 1217 BOX |
AI robot | Two-way intercom, music, interaction | 1511 BOX, Φ28 BOX, Φ20 |
Walkie-talkie | Two-way voice intercom | Φ36 |
Payment device | Collection announcement and prompt tones | 2514 BOX, 2030 BOX |
Wi-Fi router | Voice announcement | 1217 BOX |
Portable monitor | Multimedia audio | 3818 BOX, 2030 |
Projector | Audio-visual playback | Φ45 BOX |
Smart air conditioner | Voice announcement | 7030 BOX |
Handheld game console | Game audio | 2415 BOX |
Driving-test equipment | Post-touch alarm and prompt | Φ40 |
Wearable amplifier | Wearable amplification for guides and teachers | Φ66 |
The family names in the table above are shorthand, and a buyer comparing quotations needs to know what they resolve to as orderable catalogue entries. Table 3 shows the correspondence for the families most often quoted; family names and catalogue entries are matched by dimension, and boxed variants are separate catalogue items in their own right, so a quotation naming a family should still state the exact catalogue entry it is pricing. Values are read from one published sample catalogue and are illustrative rather than a standard; confirm against the product datasheet.
Table 3: Catalogue entries behind the family names used in application records (illustrative, observed across the published sample catalogue; subject to the product datasheet)
Family name | Catalogue entry | Size | SPL (stated condition) | F0 |
2415 | HS241540H42 | 24×15×4.0 mm | 93 dB @ 2 kHz / 10 cm / 0.8 W | 800 Hz |
2415 (dual magnet) | HS241534H34 | 24×15×3.4 mm | 95 dB @ 2 kHz / 10 cm / 1.0 W | 800 Hz |
1217 BOX | HS-BX-1217-X10 | 1217 BOX, front sound output | See the product datasheet | See datasheet |
1511 BOX | HS-BX-1511-HLX01 | 1511 BOX | See the product datasheet | See datasheet |
2030 BOX | HS-BX-203008H | 2030 BOX | 96 dB @ 2 kHz / 10 cm / 3.0 W | 1000 Hz |
2514 BOX | HS-BX-2514-YJT01 | 38×16×9 mm | 95 dB @ 2 kHz / 10 cm / 3.0 W | 750 Hz |
3613 BOX | HS-BX-3613-UDP01 | 3613 BOX | See the product datasheet | See datasheet |
7030 BOX | HS-BX-703012H | 70×30×12 mm | 98 dB @ 2 kHz / 10 cm / 2.0 W | 830 Hz |
Φ13 | HS001342H42 | φ13×4.2 mm | 88 dB @ 2 kHz / 10 cm / 0.5 W | 1000 Hz |
Φ20 | HS002038H | φ20×3.8 mm | 93 dB @ 2 kHz / 10 cm / 1.0 W | 800 Hz |
Φ28 | HS002850H50 | φ28×5.0 mm | 97 dB @ 2 kHz / 10 cm / 2.0 W | 600 Hz |
Φ36 | HS003650H | φ36×5.0 mm | 97 dB @ 2 kHz / 10 cm / 2.0 W | 500 Hz |
Φ40 | HS402055H | 40×20×5.5 mm | 97 dB @ 2 kHz / 10 cm / 2.0 W | 570 Hz |
Φ45 | HS004550H | φ45×5.0 mm | 98 dB @ 2 kHz / 10 cm / 2.0 W | 500 Hz |
Φ66 | HS0066165H | φ66×16.5 mm | 105 dB @ 2 kHz / 10 cm / 3.0 W | 350 Hz |
3. Volume Breaks, MOQ and the Price Ladder
Short answer: A quotation should price more than one volume band and state the minimum order for each, because a single unit price hides both the amortization and the cash commitment.
The price ladder is the part of a quotation that most rewards a second look. A supplier who quotes 5,000, 20,000 and 100,000 pieces is showing where the cost steps sit and how much of the difference is amortized fixed cost; a supplier who quotes one figure is asking the buyer to assume both. The minimum order is a separate decision from the band and is often the larger surprise — a low rate at a band the program cannot consume is not a discount. For orientation only, a published catalogue price band for micro speakers in this class commonly runs from well under one renminbi per piece for thin units to low double digits for larger sealed or boxed drivers, so the spread between comparable quotations is usually narrower than the spread between a thin part and a high-output one.
Table 4: What to extract from a price ladder before comparing anything else
Field | Why it decides the comparison | Question to ask the supplier |
Unit price per band | Shows where fixed-cost amortization and yield steps sit | Which bands are priced, and at what quantity? |
MOQ per band | Decides the first cash commitment | Is the MOQ the band quantity or a separate figure? |
Fixed cost per piece | Shows how much of the band price is not variable | What is included in the unit price and what is separate? |
Lead time per band | Decides whether the volume is actually usable | Does lead time change with the band? |
Price validity | Decides how long the offer can be planned around | How long is the price valid from? |
4. Tooling, NRE and the Cavity Work Behind the Price
Short answer: Tooling should appear as a named one-off item with an owner, and any cavity or port design work should appear as a named scope rather than as an assumption.
There are two acceptable ways to present tooling and several unacceptable ones. Separate line: a named one-off charge, with the tooling owned by the buyer, maintained by a stated party and transferable on stated conditions. Amortized: folded into the unit price, in which case the underlying figure and the assumed volume should still be visible. What is not acceptable is a difference between two price bands with no explanation, because then fixed cost, yield learning and margin cannot be told apart. The same discipline applies to cavity and port design work: if the price assumes a particular enclosure volume, that assumption is part of the offer and belongs on the page.
Project Case Study (Hongsheng)
A smart desk lamp programme had a base only 16 mm wide, so it could not form a sealed space, and the requirement was front sound output at Bluetooth-speaker quality. The quotation that could be acted on named the whole scope: a customised 3613 driver unit with a unit resonance of 400 Hz, a purpose-built cavity BOX moulded to the lamp's structure, and full-process tuning. The delivered result was an overall F0 of 600 Hz at 97 dB SPL, with sound performance reported at 230% of the previous design. A price for the driver alone would have described a completely different job.
One-line conclusion: the quotation was usable because it named the cavity, not only the component.
5. Delivery, Payment and Validity
Short answer: The delivery term decides who pays freight, insurance and duty; the payment terms decide working capital; the validity period decides whether the offer can be planned around at all.
Two quotations for the same part can differ by a full shipping term, and the difference is larger than most buyers expect. A quotation that names no delivery term should be read as incomplete rather than as customer-friendly. Payment terms determine working capital and, on a cross-border order, currency exposure. The validity period deserves the same attention, because a quote that expires in two weeks is not a price the program can budget against, and a supplier who will not state a validity period is signalling how stable the offer really is.
6. Service Terms: Who Carries the Tuning
Short answer: A quotation should state what engineering support is included before first samples, and what response the supplier commits to when the first sample does not sound right.
The most common complaint in buyer-side sourcing accounts is not price but that support ends when the enclosure is frozen, leaving the buyer to discover that the part cannot realize its published output. A quotation can settle this in advance, and the items to ask for are ordinary commercial terms: whether cavity simulation and tuning are included before first samples, how many sample rounds are covered, what is chargeable afterwards, and the response commitment when a problem is found. For a regional supplier this may be expressed as a response window and an on-site attendance commitment; for a cross-border supplier it may be expressed as a named engineer and a defined number of on-site visits. Either is useful; silence is not.
7. A Line-by-Line Quotation Checklist
Short answer: Fourteen items to confirm before a quotation is accepted, covering identity, application, volume, tooling, design assumptions and service.
1. Supplier legal entity and contact, stated on the quotation.
2. The application or device class the part is proposed for.
3. The acoustic job: call, announcement, alert, music or game audio.
4. Exact model number plus drawing or specification revision.
5. Unit price at each volume band, with the bands themselves stated.
6. Minimum order quantity per band, separate from the band.
7. Tooling as a named line, with owner, maintenance and transfer conditions.
8. Cavity volume and port arrangement the price assumes.
9. Whether the stated F0 is a free-air or a sealed value, with its tolerance.
10. Drive condition and enclosure reference behind the SPL figure.
11. Delivery term, lead time per band, and who pays freight, insurance and duty.
12. Payment terms, currency and price validity period.
13. What engineering support is included before first samples, and what is chargeable after.
14. Documents supplied with the goods, and their currency and date.
8. FAQ — Reading a Micro Speaker Quotation
Q1: What are the essential sections of a micro speaker quotation?
A: Eight: application, model and revision, volume ladder, minimum order, tooling, design assumptions, delivery terms and service terms. A quotation without the design assumptions cannot be compared to one that has them, because the two are pricing different jobs.
Q2: Why should a quotation name the application scenario?
A: Because it shows whether the model was selected by analysis or by browsing. An application-to-model mapping is auditable against the buyer's own device, whereas a bare recommendation is not, and it is the cheapest section for a supplier to add and the most informative one for a buyer to read.
Q3: Why does the minimum order matter as much as the unit price?
A: Because it is the first cash commitment. Multiply the minimum order quantity by the unit price to get what a single order commits, and ask how many of those pieces the program will consume before the next product revision — the remainder is a dated inventory exposure.
Q4: Is amortized tooling acceptable in a quotation?
A: Yes, provided the underlying figure and the volume it assumes remain visible. What is not acceptable is a fixed charge that appears only as the difference between two price bands, because then it cannot be distinguished from yield learning or margin.
Q5: What service terms should a quotation include?
A: Whether cavity simulation and tuning are included before first samples, how many sample rounds are covered, what is chargeable afterwards, and the response commitment when the first sample does not meet the target. These terms decide who carries the acoustic work, and they belong on the page rather than in a later negotiation.
More in This Series — Micro Speaker Quotation and Bid Comparison
This article is part two of a three-part technical series on micro speaker quotations and supplier bid comparison. Check out the other two articles from this guide:
· Part 1 — Why the Cheapest Micro Speaker Quote May Not Be the Lowest-Cost Option → https://www.hsdz-spk.com/news/562.html
· Part 3 — How OEM Buyers Should Compare Micro Speaker Suppliers → https://www.hsdz-spk.com/news/564.html
9. Summary — Treat a Quotation as a Draft Contract
A micro speaker quotation is a set of decisions rather than a number, and the decisions that decide the commercial outcome are the ones printed smallest: the application the part was selected for, the cavity and port the price assumes, whether the stated F0 is free-air or sealed, the delivery term, and the service commitment after the first sample. Accepting a quotation only once those items are on the page turns a price conversation into a set of agreed terms — and it is far cheaper than discovering later that the cheapest offer was priced against a different design.