[EdRo]

Okay guys...here it is. I've put tons of work in this set hammering out the changes to incorporate some of the advances of the latest Joules and Storms, and I've finished what I'm calling the Perfect Nimbus. It has components from the Joule and Storm (larger Joule mid, Storm 15") wrapped up in the Nimbus form. I know some people really like the Nimbus shape, some not so much. That's the beauty of Vapor. We try to cover more bases with our creations. Sorry for the destroyed shop in the pics; hogging out that thick a baffle threw pounds of dust everywhere. Now I'm loading up for St. Louis to have a Vapor convention. Bob, fire up the smoker, amigo!!!

[Peter J]

Count me as one who thinks the shape of these is flat out gorgeous. As a woodworker, I marvel at the compound curves and unusual shapes. I may never hear or much less own these beauties, but maybe someday...

It's kind of a paradox about MDF, isn't it? Good from a sonic and finishing standpoint, but just not so much fun to machine and sand...yuk.

[Chu Gai]

Is this a simplified cabinet construction without the stacking of plywood?

[DaveC113]

Is this a simplified cabinet construction without the stacking of plywood?

Nimbus were never stacked ply.

Nice work Ed! 

[pdj]

Beautiful Ed.  Love how Vapor innovates.  Will it also use the Joule's larger RAAL tweeter?  Looks like it.

[Folsom]

The face and bracing are MDF I believe. The sides and rear are Ed's own proprietary laminated structure I believe. I assume they will look great. The new mid should elevate the speaker's performance a lot. Price difference? Maybe it won't be too too much going from two drivers to one?

[Tomy2Tone]

Your the man Ed!

That Raal opening is huge, is the mid below it to be an 8" or 7"?

[dex67]

of course the Nimbus are beautiful!!!

[rajacat]

Ahh, Nimbus, my favorite Vapor design.

I've always liked the  Aurora too.

[EdRo]

These cabs do indeed use the larger 140 RAAL. Sorry I forgot to mention that. Chu, I don't know what you mean by "simple cab construction". I bend the side panels over internal bracing. I then add my "magic sauce" as a friend calls it to the inside of the cabs. The Nimbus panels are huge, but the curve with my "magic sauce" help to eliminate panel vibration. They are heavy. The baffles are a combination of super refined Plum Creek MDF and Baltic birch. Around the RAAL, where the baffle is at its narrowest,  (is that a word?) It's 1.5" thick. From just below the RAAL down to the port shelf it's 2.25" thick. Internal bracing is 2.5" thick. With the compound ed curves and angles, I wouldn't call this an "easy build". Chu, I'll be starting my set of Perfects when I get back home; you're more than welcome to visit. I could always use more help!

[EdRo]

Hey dexter, your "carbon fiber edition" Nimbus sure look sweet! Didn't your cabs have an accident while unloading? Your Nimbus held together pretty well, if I remember the story. 
     I've been going back and forth over the 1 mid vs. 2. Some folks claim that one mid is most accurate. The mid in the Perfect will be great, but what do you guys think of the one mid vs. 2 debate? I like how the baffle looks with the bigger RAAL, too. Maybe this set will make RMAF this year? The customer has waited a long time for these, but some kudos from one of this country's best audio shows would be nice.

[Chu Gai]

These cabs do indeed use the larger 140 RAAL. Sorry I forgot to mention that. Chu, I don't know what you mean by "simple cab construction". I bend the side panels over internal bracing. I then add my "magic sauce" as a friend calls it to the inside of the cabs. The Nimbus panels are huge, but the curve with my "magic sauce" help to eliminate panel vibration. They are heavy. The baffles are a combination of super refined Plum Creek MDF and Baltic birch. Around the RAAL, where the baffle is at its narrowest,  (is that a word?) It's 1.5" thick. From just below the RAAL down to the port shelf it's 2.25" thick. Internal bracing is 2.5" thick. With the compound ed curves and angles, I wouldn't call this an "easy build". Chu, I'll be starting my set of Perfects when I get back home; you're more than welcome to visit. I could always use more help!

Since you'd coined this design the Perfect Nimbus, I was unclear if it also meant it shared construction aspects of the Perfect Storms. I take it your magic sauce is some kind of material that you apply to the inside of the panels to mass load them. I can see why that can attenuate the magnitude of the vibrations but eliminate, meaning zero, seems speculative without supporting measurements such as from an accelerometer attached to the panels much like what Atkinson does at StereoPhile. One could also measure the impedance of the speaker and look for wrinkles or aberrations. Is that something that's going to be done?

Very attractive design though. How many hours did you put into this?

[EdRo]

Again, Chu, you of course are right. The forces needed to constrain that powerful 15" woofer from vibrating a cabinet would be herculean,  to say the least. I haven't done measurements for vibration. My "magic sauce"(my friends description when I wouldn't tell him it's exact composition and ratios) does seem to consume vibration. But my observations must be colored, since I'm selling these cabs. Any Aurora or Nimbus owners out there are welcome to add their personal experiences. I tried the vibration reducing products available on my Aurora, and I wasn't satisfied. The cabs vibrated. I then tried a material used in my power plant, mixed with another composite, and it worked.

[Chu Gai]

Again, Chu, you of course are right. The forces needed to constrain that powerful 15" woofer from vibrating a cabinet would be herculean,  to say the least. I haven't done measurements for vibration. My "magic sauce"(my friends description when I wouldn't tell him it's exact composition and ratios) does seem to consume vibration. But my observations must be colored, since I'm selling these cabs. Any Aurora or Nimbus owners out there are welcome to add their personal experiences. I tried the vibration reducing products available on my Aurora, and I wasn't satisfied. The cabs vibrated. I then tried a material used in my power plant, mixed with another composite, and it worked.

Well, it's not just the speaker that is attached that does the vibrating but the internal sound waves that bounce around. Totem acoustics, up in Canada, puts a coating on the inside of their cabinets that they claim mitigates vibrations but based on measurements, it's a speculative claim. In fact, if you remove a driver and peek inside the cabinet you'll find the material they used to also be laying on the bottom. I think it's a boric acid based material. Probably good with fire retardency and killing roaches.

As I understand it from Toole and other readings, whether the vibrations have an audible effect depends on their frequency, magnitude, and how long it's sustained in terms of cycles. Higher frequencies are less audible so that's why you find people cross bracing their sheetrock to present a smaller vibrating surface which is not excited by the lower frequencies. I think you can find plans for accelerometers online that are fairly inexpensive.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Now I'm loading up for St. Louis to have a Vapor convention. Bob, fire up the smoker, amigo!!!

Sounds like a great idea! 
Is that your U-Haul I saw in Ryans driveway this morning?

[EdRo]

Yup. Sho-nuff!!! I've heard your smoker produces pork perfection. Since it's Ryans B-day today, we'll, do we really need an excuse for good brisket, ribs or pulled pork? Let me know what you need, and I'll help get it going! Oh, and here are a Line-o-Nimbus, ready for finishing, delivered 589 miles from Michigan. We have 2 Whites and the Brand New Perfect prototype!!! WHOOT-WHOOT-WHOOT!!! I've been wanting to build this since Ryan and Pete started talking about the Perfect Storm!!!

[EdRo]

Thanks, btw Chu, for the compliment. To answer your question, I don't really know how many hours I put in these. I managed to mangle a knee in the middle of the build, right after the listening session, so it seemed way longer than usual. These just take time to put together.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Yup. Sho-nuff!!! I've heard your smoker produces pork perfection. Since it's Ryans B-day today, we'll, do we really need an excuse for good brisket, ribs or pulled pork? Let me know what you need, and I'll help get it going!

Tell ya what Ed, I've got tomorrow off, I'll cook whatever you want. If it's brisket, it'll need to be started crazy early (5:00am ish?) pork butts can be started mid morning-ish. Ribs we can start whenever (nearly).
You have my number, right?

[Gopher]

Wow, Ed.   Cool to see all those Nimbus cabs lined up like that! 

I have a feeling that Perfect Nimbus is going to be really special...    Hey is it shorter in height then the regular nimbus or is it just the furniture dollies under the primed pair making them look like that?

[fex02]

SO NICE TO HEAR VAPOR NEWS. thanks ED!