[Kevin P]

Well... it's been a long time coming but we are finally making progress on the Exodus Line of speakers.  Dan Wiggins & Dr. David Hyre started development on the motor design for the Extremis 6.8 over a year and a half ago.  Bob Reimer of CSS & I both requested a design for a 6"-7" driver using the XBL^2 motor technology.  After hearing the A/B comparison of the Eminence beta 10CX with & without XBL^2 we just knew how significant XBL^2 could be, not just for a large format driver (subwoofer) but also in the critical midrange.  

With large groups of people in blind A/B testing the XBL^2 driver was chosen over the non-XBL^2 driver (same T/S parameters and same frequency response) by at least 95% of participants.  For anyone with experience on subjective blind test, this figure is almost unheard of.

After months of  FEA design and optimizing the motor we had our first samples built.   We cut apart, measured and rejected multiple samples working with at least two build-houses to find someone who could build it right.    We had the final Extremis design late last year and since it's arrival we have been doing design work and listening evaluations for several speaker designs utilizing these new drivers.  

The results of all this work is the new Exodus Audio speaker line.   I’ll outline some of the first models hitting the market within the next couple weeks.   All are kits... we didn't have the resources and distribution network to do a finished speaker design.   I'm a kit kind of guy anyway and the cost/performance can be kept extremely high by offering our designs as kits.

KIT61:   This version is shipping.   It is the simplest design with the Extremis 6.8 in an MT configuration.  I've posted information on another thread showing some more of the details so I'll keep details here brief.   Monitor speaker in 0.75 ft^3 cabinet that offers full-range performance.   Expect in-room output well into the 20s.  

KIT261:   This is a tower version with two Extremis 6.8s.   FULL range speaker using the Usher 9950-15C tweeter.   No sub needed for even the craziest bass freaks.

LCR:   Left/Center/Right     This is our take on the ultimate front stage for a HT system.   Each speaker uses two Extremis 6.8s, a single WR-125 midrange and the Usher 9950-15C.   The design is made so that your front stage (right, center, left) are all perfectly matching speakers.   Home theater systems have to have lots of dynamic range and carefully designed dispersion.   The LCR doesn't disappoint.   A single LCR is capable of 111db @ 8ft before significant compression.   These a true full range designs with STRONG output down in the 20s.   Low distortion, incredibly dynamics, controlled dispersion with very even off-axis power response are the hallmarks of this design.

We have some more designs coming but I thought I'd drop this little tidbit since these designs will be released over the next week or so.

Ohh... Prices.   These are tentative but they should come out within $20-$30 of this price.

KIT61:   $219/ea includes everything but the wood.

KIT261:  approx.  $325/ea  everything but the wood.

KITLCR:  approx.  $415/ea   everything but the wood.

All kits use high quality air core inductors, ICW polypropylene caps and low-noise non-inductive Link resistors in the crossover.   We didn’t skimp to save pennies because it didn’t make sense in this quality of a speaker.   Ports are all Precision Sound dual flared units of the highest quality.   All connectors, wire & parts where personally sourced by yours truly.   We have a WBT copy for speaker post that are of excellent quality and compatible with spades, bananas & bare wire.   I had these specially made along with matching spades & bananas so that I could offer people complete packages with cable for the perfect fit and compatibility.   I’ll have pictures of all these parts soon.  

We are working on completed cabinets to have available also.   No details yet but assembly with the completed cabinets would include bolting the drivers in place and wiring up the crossover.   Simple enough that if you can assemble your kids toys (a challenge I admit) you should be able to build a speaker.  

[Kramer]

We have some more designs coming but I thought I'd drop this little tidbit since these designs will be released over the next week or so

The new designs wil be released in a week or two, or the current designs (61,261,LCR) will be on the market in a week or two? I think I know what you meant, but im just checking because I really want that "other" design.

[Kevin P]

The LCR, KIT61, & KIT261 will be released in the next week or two.  

Other designs in the works include:

#1.  An MTM with the WR-125 & the Usher.   This will work as both a center channel speaker for HT or as a monitor.  

#2.  An MT with the WR-125 & the Usher.   Smaller than the KIT41 which is in a 0.25ft^3 cabinet.     The combination of this and the MTM will allow for a high quality yet small & affordable HT system.

#3.  An MTM with the Extremis & the Usher.   This once again could be a center channel or a monitor.   It will be much smaller than the LCR and cheaper because it won't be a three way design.

These three designs are going to be a couple months as I've only just started taking measurements and design work.

Hope this clears things up for you.  

[skrivis]

Well... it's been a long time coming but we are finally making progress on the Exodus Line of speakers.  Dan Wiggins & Dr. David Hyre started development on the motor design for the Extremis 6.8 over a year and a half ago.  Bob Reimer of CSS & I both requested a design for a 6"-7" driver using the XBL^2 motor technology.  After hearing the A/B comparison of the Eminence beta 10CX with & without XBL^2 we just knew how significant XBL^2 could be, not just for a large format driver (subwoofer) but also in the  ...

Just curious....

I looked at the web site at the KIT41. Since the tweeter does so little, why not use a 1st-order crossover?

[RAW]

Hope this gives you all a idea of the size of the finished designs you are seeing on line.
The 261 are finished in Tigerwood and the 261 MDF and Black we did the Tiger for Dan as well as the Black LCR's for the Demo room at Adire.
Want a to sample one unreal HT set up 3 LCRs across the front with 261 as rears

Enjoy

Al

[Kevin P]

Just curious....

I looked at the web site at the KIT41. Since the tweeter does so little, why not use a 1st-order crossover?

Initially that was my plan.  A 1st order didn't kill the tweeter output quick enough though and there was significant comb filtering.   It sounded like crap too.

The 2nd order was blind tested against a higher order more complex crossover and it was a virtual tie between the two in blind testing.   Measurement wise the complex crossover looked better on-axis but the improvements in FR were all up over 10K and subjectively it didn't make much difference.

[klh]

Very impressive . What is the minimum and ideal (or as ideal as one can predict) distance the back of each speaker should be out into the room?

[Kevin P]

The KIT41 is has a rear port which can be a problem if you push it too close to the wall.   There is nothing to stop you from relocating the port to the front and helping with locations closer to room boundries.   I'd do this if you were closer than let's say 8"-12" to a wall.   As you imply... it's going to vary with every room and installation though.

I've been using a pair at home with the rear vent over the last 2-3 months.   I have them about 15" from the wall and it's not a problem at all.   If I had the freedom (wife, kids, dog etc...) I'd pull them out some more to get better imaging.   Since this is my living room, not my listening room, I leave them up against the wall with good results.  

[klh]

Can the port on the 261 be put in the front if the speakers are used as surrounds? Besides appearance and possible port noise, are there any acoustical drawbacks?

[Kevin P]

There is no problem with any of the designs using the port to the front.  In some cases it is an advantage due to the proximity to room boundries.   Just beware... the KIT261 has scary amounts of low frequency output.   Each Extremis 6.8 is equal more than two Scan Speak 18S-8535s (@$163 each).  

Most people are not used to this level of output.  You don't need to fill your room with massive speakers to get into the bottom octave with authority.  In fact... if your not careful you can create some real room problems with all that low frequency capability.  I'm doing a series of articles on room treatments over the next 6 weeks or so.... mainly because they become more important with the output of any of the Extremis based products.

Just finished the preliminary web work on the KIT61s.

http://www.diycable.com/main/product_info.php?products_id=539

[Kramer]

Your going to get a WR125+Usher combo in a smaller-than-0.25cu cabinet? Must be a sealed design, right   Looking forward to that one.

The design I had on my mind was the Extr+Wr125+Usher combo (the 2 Extr version is just a little too much for my small room). Im not sure where that fits in your descriptions. I hope its still on your plate.

[Kevin P]

Yes... that is the three way KIT641.   We already built a proto box, measured and have done some preliminary design work.   I've got to build the crossover and listen and perhaps tweak a little.   It will probably be one of the more popular models.

[Kramer]

Yes... that is the three way KIT641.

Super!  What size box are you looking at? Both the 261 and the LCRs look [are] huge.

I bought a pair of WR125s just to play around with (Im going to retro-fit an old JBL bookshelf). I think Im really going to like these designs.

[Kevin P]

Yes... that is the three way KIT641.

Super!  What size box are you looking at? Both the 261 and the LCRs look [are] huge.

I bought a pair of WR125s just to play around with (Im going to retro-fit an old JBL bookshelf). I think Im really going to like these designs.

No doubt.... the LCR is huge for a center channel.   I'm going to be using it behind a projector screen so space isn't as much of an issue for me but the size is certainly going to limit it's use.

The KIT261 doesn't need to be made as large as Al has done.  The first set of plans will be for the large boys but I'm going to build a smaller set for myself and probably publish the plans.   Like anything... you give up a little extension with the smaller cabinet but that's a tradeoff I'm willing to make.    

The Extremis is optimal in about a 0.5 ft^3 -- 0.75 ft^3 enclosure (per driver).   The LCR has two seperate chambers, one for the midrange/tweet and the other for the woofers.   The KIT641 is the same.  It uses a slightly larger cabinet than the KIT61 with a seperate midrange chamber.   Total cabinet size is about 1 ft^3 or 22" x 9" x 13.5".

[Kramer]

Looking at the internal bracing of the 1cu PE box (22 x 9 x 13.5), I think it would be relative easy to section off 1/4 ~ 1/3 of the volume for the mid/tweet, leaving the rest for the Extremis.

Of course, the mid/tweet would be sealed (Extremis would be vented though). Actually, now that Im thinking about it, I could probably vent both chambers without too much effort.  

Im just trying to avoid working with raw MDF (Im slightly allergic).

[Kevin P]

Actually we are running the WR-125 sealed in both the LCR and the KIT641.   Venting in the two-way allows for extended bass response but in a midrange application doesn't give us anything since the Extremis has that department covered.

I don't blame you on the MDF.  I hate cutting large amounts of the stuff.   I always feel like I inhaled a bottle of glue after cutting up a few 4'x8' sheets.   Now days I prefer to work with void-free ply whenever possible.

[klh]

I noticed that one pics shows an LCR vertically oriented. How do they image when placed that way and used for serious two channel audio listening? How about when the L&R LCRs are horizontal? Have you considered a WWMT arrangement for the vertically oriented pair? If so, do they image better that way? Thanks.

[Kevin P]

Imaging is a subjective term and quantifying it is difficult to say the least.   Speakers that tend to image best are those that are the smallest.   Part of the reason may have to do with early reflections.   Early reflections tend to be perceived as a smearing of the sound.   Our ear/brain system has difficulty separating the original wave front from those early reflections.    Reflections that occur after a longer period of time can be beneficial in that they increase ambience and the sense of space.   With these late arriving reflections, keeping a good balance between reflected/direct sound is part of the art of setting up a room.   You can also get a good portion of the early reflections from your room.   The walls, furniture, ceilings and floors all contribute.   Some are more important than others.   We seem to have evolved with hearing that is more or less sensitive to certain types of reflections.   Humans are very much used to hearing a floor slap early reflection and it tends to be less important than taming the early reflection from both walls.   Many recording studios use a hardwood floor and damp the ceiling, which makes sense.   Early man didn't spend a lot of time in rooms and the reflections from ceilings weren’t the norm.  

Another aspect of proper imaging is good off-axis power response.  Most people are used to seeing an on-axis picture of the frequency response.   Power response is just combining that on-axis measurement with all the off-axis measurements to get a good idea of how linear the frequency response is at all reasonable angles (let's say 45 degrees and forward).  The reason this is important is because we hear a combination of the direct wave front, which hits us first and then all the reflected energy.  If you have large holes in the frequency response, the off-axis energy the reflected sound will be out of balance.   This can be more or less important depending upon the room.   Obviously, the room plays a large roll and it's worth putting some serious thought into it if you’re going to build a high quality 2-channel system.

So why do listeners tend to associate better imaging with smaller speakers?   Well.... I don't think we have a definitive answer but I'll venture a couple guesses.  

#1.   The first edge refractions are at smaller dimensions (smaller baffle) and occur closer in time to the original wavefront.

#2.  People are used to hearing reviewers say that monitor speakers image better and their perceptions are skewed to accept that "common knowledge".

I'm not making fun of reviewers or others in the second suggestion.   Psychoacoustics is VERY important in what we perceive.   Human perception is easily influenced and there is TONS of research fully supporting that fact.   If you don't take it into effect when trying to evaluate the truth you are not going to get anywhere.

So.... where does all this take us for the answer to your question?      

The LCRs where designed to be used setting up or lying down.   The only difference is that there is a small dip in the off-axis response more than 30 degrees off-axis in the direction of the 4" midrange.   This is just a result of the physics involved and it's small and narrow but unavoidable.   Pointing it in the direction of either a wall or the floor would be our suggestion.   That way you will get the most even in-room response and the best imaging.  

We do have some three way designs we are working on but the idea behind a LCR is that all three front channel speakers have very similiar sonic character.  Changing the driver arrangement would interfere with that design goal and you get uneven off-axis performance on the horizontal plane if you orient the center channel with the WWMT all on the horizontal plane.

Other suggestions would be to make some efforts to acoustically treat your room.   The LCR is +-1.5db from about 200HZ --- 20K but that doesn't mean a lot when you have huge 15db swings due to the room.  Try to position speakers in your room such that they are out away from other objects.   Treat the first wall & ceiling reflection points and you will help a great deal with the imaging characteristics of any speaker.

[klh]

Thanks... that was thorough  , and greatly appreciated! I plan on heavily treating the room, and have been following the acoustics circle (as well as Ethan Winer's forum), so these puppies should shine. I'll have extensive corner trapping as well as absorbers at all first reflection points. As for your products, I'm debating whether the Kit 261 or Kit 641 would be better as surrounds if the LCRs are used up front. Thanks again.

[Kevin P]

I'm building a HT room over the next 12 months and I plan on using the KIT61s for the surrounds and LRCs across the front.   We have two sets of plans for the KIT261.   One large and one super-size!      Really though... we have another set of plans which allow you to make them smaller than the cabinets that Al Wooley posted.  

Ethan is the man.  I'd follow his advice to the word and you cannot go wrong.   The Real Traps are the real thing.   I've talked with him about carrying them for sale with our speakers as I think that acoustical room materials go hand-in-hand with loudspeakers.   It's impossible to ignore the room in your system planning because it plays such a HUGE roll.