[Kevin Haskins]

I've spent some time this weekend working on the Kepler documentation.   Here is some eye-candy on the parts included in the kit.

[poseidonsvoice]

Kevin,

Bunch of questions, so I figured I should resurrect this thread!

1) When will the Kepler kit be available?
2) Possible to try Sonic Caps instead of Erse caps? Seems quite inexpensive to try.
3) Can you provide the Cardas Patended Binding post (just one per speaker) as an option? Its a great post.
4) I'm building the U-frame sub based on the XJ-12 driver, as you know. Do you recommend sealing the port of the Kepler, not building it with the port at all or building it with the port? I can set the active crossover to any frequency I want, its 4th order L-R at 100 Hz for now.

Nice design by the way. Excellent measurements. I was a little surprised that you didn't go for the BG Neo3 for this design as well.

Or should I wait for your dipole design?  The Kepler is very appealing at its price range though.

Anand 

[Carl V]

Nice design by the way. Excellent measurements. I was a little surprised that you didn't go for the BG Neo3 for this design as well.

Or should I wait for your dipole design?    The Kepler is very appealing at its price range though.

Anand 

yes, it does look to be a helluva design.

And I too am curious about your goals for the OB/dipole desgin

[Kevin Haskins]

Kevin,

Bunch of questions, so I figured I should resurrect this thread!


Nice design by the way. Excellent measurements. I was a little surprised that you didn't go for the BG Neo3 for this design as well.

Or should I wait for your dipole design?  The Kepler is very appealing at its price range though.

Anand 

Let me answer one by one.

1) When will the Kepler kit be available?

Pretty soon....  I'm still working on documentation and waiting on my inductor order to arrive.   There are a couple other little-bits that I need for packaging and such that are holding up progress.    I should have them ready to roll before December though.

2) Possible to try Sonic Caps instead of Erse caps? Seems quite inexpensive to try.

Not at this point, I'm going to order some from Danny to give them a try but they are missing a couple values.    I may leave it to the customer if they want to tweak around with parts.   I just don't have time to try everything. 

3) Can you provide the Cardas Patended Binding post (just one per speaker) as an option? Its a great post.

Parts I stock are easy to substitute but I'm not going to make it an option on the web site.   I've found that if I give people too many options they become frozen in their tracks.    They start emailing me asking which sounds better and it just creates more friction and anxiety for the average guy buying a kit.   I'd rather keep it simple and not give people the impression that I'm trying to scalp them on the upgrades and that there is somehow a magic bullet that they can buy to make the loudspeaker better.

4) I'm building the U-frame sub based on the XJ-12 driver, as you know. Do you recommend sealing the port of the Kepler, not building it with the port at all or building it with the port? I can set the active crossover to any frequency I want, its 4th order L-R at 100 Hz for now.

Yikes.... that's a loaded question.  I don't recommend either.   The best way to get it to match up with something that high is to get measurements.  To be honest your just better with a solution that is designed to work together.   Crossing over to a sub below 70-80Hz is less of an issue.

5)Or should I wait for your dipole design?

I'd feel more comfortable selling you a completely engineered design.   I'm cutting wood on the bass section this week.   I don't have an  exact date but I'm still hoping to keep the kit around $1000/pr for all the parts, including a completely passive crossover.   That is the goal but I don't have any idea what the final crossover is going to cost at this point.    I'll know more in about a month.

The dipole will use the BG because making it into a dipole is easy and it works well down to the crossover point.    I like domes though, guess I'm old fashion.     

   

[Kevin Haskins]

Nice design by the way. Excellent measurements. I was a little surprised that you didn't go for the BG Neo3 for this design as well.

Or should I wait for your dipole design?    The Kepler is very appealing at its price range though.

Anand 

yes, it does look to be a helluva design.

And I too am curious about your goals for the OB/dipole desgin

I want it to sound REALLY good.   Better than my capacitors.     

Really the goal is a full range dipole loudspeaker that is easy to build, drive and afford.    It should be usable with any amplifier capable of 150W into 4 Ohms, it should have a baffle width of no more than 12", and be no deeper than 18" (the bass sub-section).    The crossover will be assembled (it will be done on a PCB) and the assembly consist of simple square cuts so there isn't anything too intricate to build.

[Carl V]

Ok thanks....
so dipole from bass up thru the treble...

awhile back on the HTT site or possibly HTL
you threw out an OB concept with higher efficiency/sensitivity
as something you were working on....is that what this is? or
is that a back burner project to be done when you get an 8 day
week or you clone yourself

I know you had a Bastanis at one time & perhaps have heard
a Basszilla design...is this an extension of the DDR concept?

[Kevin Haskins]

Ok thanks....
so dipole from bass up thru the treble...

awhile back on the HTT site or possibly HTL
you threw out an OB concept with higher efficiency/sensitivity
as something you were working on....is that what this is? or
is that a back burner project to be done when you get an 8 day
week or you clone yourself

I know you had a Bastanis at one time & perhaps have heard
a Basszilla design...is this an extension of the DDR concept?

It will probably take a 10 day week.     

Seriously though, I'm in no hurry.   It stresses me out too much to rush the design stuff.   I prefer to work on it at an enjoyable pace.   I like to have plenty of time to listen to the design and experiment with the voicing.    I could crap it out in a week but it would probably end up sounding like it.

This is an extension of the DDR.    Its essentially the EX-6.5 in an MTM configuration on an open baffle with a pair of DPL-10s in a 'W' baffle down below.   I've done a crossover for the top part but it really needs the DPL-10s to complete it.    The pair of 6.5"s just are not enough driver to give meaningful response down low. 

[TerryO]

Ok thanks....
so dipole from bass up thru the treble...

awhile back on the HTT site or possibly HTL
you threw out an OB concept with higher efficiency/sensitivity
as something you were working on....is that what this is? or
is that a back burner project to be done when you get an 8 day
week or you clone yourself

I know you had a Bastanis at one time & perhaps have heard
a Basszilla design...is this an extension of the DDR concept?

It will probably take a 10 day week.     

Seriously though, I'm in no hurry.   It stresses me out too much to rush the design stuff.   I prefer to work on it at an enjoyable pace.   I like to have plenty of time to listen to the design and experiment with the voicing.    I could crap it out in a week but it would probably end up sounding like it.

This is an extension of the DDR.    Its essentially the EX-6.5 in an MTM configuration on an open baffle with a pair of DPL-10s in a 'W' baffle down below.   I've done a crossover for the top part but it really needs the DPL-10s to complete it.    The pair of 6.5"s just are not enough driver to give meaningful response down low. 

I guess that I'll have to set the record straight here.

The DDR was merely Wan Diggin's rather pathetic attempt to duplicate the "Hydro Klammodynes" that he heard during their World Premier at VSAC. He was so taken with them, that they were installed in his Demo room on the second floor.

Sharing that room with Wan, was another exhibitor (who shall remain anonymous), that also had the privilege to hear the Klammodynes for an extended length of time. The results were, predictably, much the same as a novice fly-fisherman that lands a Winter Steelhead for the first time. He will spend the remainder of his days in the attempt of reliving, or recreating, the intensity of the stupendous emotional impact experienced in that single, defining moment in the time/space continuum.

Would anyone be so bold as to deny that this experience would set in motion events destined to change mankind, and everything in the World, forever? Imagine actually standing there as Moses carried the stone tablets down from the mountain, or listening to Marc Antony deliver the funeral oration for Caesar and you begin to understand this unrelenting pursuit of the ineffable.

Best Regards,
Terry

[klh]

huh?

[Kevin Haskins]

huh?

Terry often has that response on people.     

Ok Terry, I'll admit it.   The entire reason I got into this business was because of the Klammodynes.   Ever since that day I've been trying different cables, capacitors and I've even frozen my inductors in liquid nitrogen trying to recreate that experience.   

One day, I'm going to break into your house, steal the Super Tweeters, the Klammodynes, pick up a couple good books, and I'll figure out all your secrets. 

 

[TerryO]

huh?

Terry often has that response on people.   

Ok Terry, I'll admit it.   The entire reason I got into this business was because of the Klammodynes.   Ever since that day I've been trying different cables, capacitors and I've even frozen my inductors in liquid nitrogen trying to recreate that experience.   

One day, I'm going to break into your house, steal the Super Tweeters, the Klammodynes, pick up a couple good books, and I'll figure out all your secrets. 

Mr. Haskins,

I have recently completed a new "fence" around my house. It cost more than I expected, as the cost of Razor Wire has gone up drastically. If you do come over, use your cell phone to let me know you've arrived and I'll come up and tie up the dogs before you pass through the metal detector.

BTW: Wave to "The Girls" up in the Guard Towers to let them know you're friendly. They're expert shots with both the M1 and the AR15 and finish fairly high in the standings at the Hi-Power meets they've competed in at the local gun club :^)

The "super tweeters" are yours, as I mentioned last Summer, although I retain the rights to the design and will require that you sign my standard nondisclosure form.

Best Regards,
TerryO

[Kevin Haskins]

huh?

Terry often has that response on people.   

Ok Terry, I'll admit it.   The entire reason I got into this business was because of the Klammodynes.   Ever since that day I've been trying different cables, capacitors and I've even frozen my inductors in liquid nitrogen trying to recreate that experience.   

One day, I'm going to break into your house, steal the Super Tweeters, the Klammodynes, pick up a couple good books, and I'll figure outall your secrets. 

Mr. Haskins,

I have recently completed a new "fence" around my house. It cost more than I expected, as the cost of Razor Wire has gone up drastically. If you do come over, use your cell phone to let me know you've arrived and I'll come up and tie up the dogs before you pass through the metal detector.

BTW: Wave to "The Girls" up in the Guard Towers to let them know you're friendly. They're expert shots with both the M1 and the AR15 and finish fairly high in the standings at the Hi-Power meets they've competed in at the local gun club :^)

The "super tweeters" are yours, as I mentioned last Summer, although I retain the rights to the design and will require that you sign my standard nondisclosure form.

Best Regards,
TerryO

How clever of you to hire "Girls" for the guard tower.   Everyone knows that the gentler sex is really pretty ruthless.

I've had my share of experience dealing with high security installations though so I wouldn't rest comfortably in your little "ivory tower" of protection.   

 

[TerryO]

How clever of you to hire "Girls" for the guard tower.   Everyone knows that the gentler sex is really pretty ruthless.

I've had my share of experience dealing with high security installations though so I wouldn't rest comfortably in your little "ivory tower" of protection.   
[/quote]

Mr. Haskins,
I believe that your experiences are perhaps more recent than mine, but "Hard learned is well earned" and we "worked" with experts whose experience went back to 1954. It took a while and a lot of problems had to be solved, but in the end we evolved effective solutions for the problems. I'll have to show you the pictures someday of our "Chinese New Year Surprise Party".

As you well know, the "Girls" aren't paid, they do it for the love of killin..., uh... I mean... for the love of their Dad.

Finally, in a serious vein, let me extend to everyone a Happy Thanksgiving.

Best Regards,
TerryO