FYI on an amazing deal on speaker kit.

JoshK · « **on:** 22 Aug 2009, 01:06 am »

Just in case you guys haven't seen this, here is an amazing deal on a speaker kit.

RBR-Kit on Madisound

The woofers alone cost as much as the kit price. The complete speaker gets a lot of accolades from those who've tried it so far.

I first read about it here...
http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=34373

The size of the box isn't quite the same as the pre-fab partsexpress boxes, apparently on purpose (kit is sold by competitor), but you can probably use one anyway, they are close. Or you can get someone like John Bateman of diyspeakercabinets.com to make you some. He made my Modula MTM cabs and did a great job.

Of course, you can always make your own cabinets too.

For <$400 for the kit, say $250ish for the cabs, they are a killer deal on such a high end two way.

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #1 on:** 22 Aug 2009, 03:36 am »

Josh,

Thanks for the update. Looks like Jed of Clearwave is one of the those up and comer designers that we need to look out for. He's been sprucing out some really cool kits in the past year for rock bottom prices. I would like to call this kit a North Creek Kitty Kat on a serious budget!

Here is the link to it fully built and more info on the Clear wave site. The only problem is of course the incredibly low sensitivity (82dB), but I think Jed is a lot more honest than some audiophile manufacturers and of course that's with a speaker that hits into the mid 30's using a 5.5 inch driver (which that Scan Speak driver is known to do).

Anand.

TomW16 · « **Reply #2 on:** 22 Aug 2009, 04:00 am »

I need another speaker kit like a hole in the head but it sounds like a great deal. Thanks for sharing!

Christof · « **Reply #3 on:** 22 Aug 2009, 11:37 am »

Looks like a great deal....I will build someone a pair of nice cabs in trade for a kit.

Steidl Guitars · « **Reply #4 on:** 22 Aug 2009, 03:47 pm »

Josh, thanks for pointing this out. I've been wanting to build my first speaker and I am a fan of this woofer, so I might spring for this.

I have two questions.

Should I order with the substituted crossover parts (Solen) or wait until the parts spec'd originally are back in stock (Clarity)? Here's what Madisound says:

* We are now on back-order for some of the Clarity Caps used in the crossover. The Clarity PX 9 mfd pictured in the woofer circuit will use a Solen Poly FastCap 9 mfd cap instead.*

Similarly, they are offering two options for backorder substitutions in the tweeter circuit:

* The Clarity SA 6.8 mfd used in the tweeter circuit for the standard crossover is also on back-order. We are offering two options in the meantime.

Option 1 is an upgrade to a Clarity ESA 6.8 mfd cap in combination with the Clarity SA 12 mfd cap in the series tweeter circuit.

Option 2 is to use Clarity PX 6.8 mfd & Clarity PX 12 mfd in this circuit. Price has been adjusted accordingly, select from Crossover drop down menu above when placing your order. *

Any advice on these options would be most helpful to this newbie!

jtwrace · « **Reply #5 on:** 22 Aug 2009, 03:59 pm »

are you the maker of Greg Brown's guitars?

JoshK · « **Reply #6 on:** 22 Aug 2009, 04:06 pm »

I am not a big fan of Solen caps in crossovers, although my comparison wasn't very clinical. I'd probably opt to upgrade to the Clarity upgrade or wait if that blows the budget for you.

I'm a fan of SS drivers too, despite their low sensitivity. There is always a trade off for low bass in a small size, and sensitivity is it. I like how they are clear without being in your face or fatiguing.

Steidl Guitars · « **Reply #7 on:** 22 Aug 2009, 04:21 pm »

Thanks Josh, I appreciate the input. I can spring for the upgrade if you'd recommend it as being worthwhile.

Quote from: JoshK on 22 Aug 2009, 04:06 pm

I like how they are clear without being in your face or fatiguing.

Exactly. Nicely detailed, but not forward. I got the same impression when I first heard Acoustic Zen ICs.

Hi jtwrace. No, I've not made a guitar for Greg, but there was a time when I sorted out a bunch of the guitar parts on his songs.

rahimlee54 · « **Reply #8 on:** 23 Aug 2009, 10:24 pm »

We have any idea how long they will be at this price thinking about getting a pair for the living room.

JoshK · « **Reply #9 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 01:53 am »

No idea, you might call Madisound, they might give you a heads up. I really wanted to buy a kit myself for the bedroom but I promised myself I will complete more projects before collecting others. Its my cross to bear.

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #10 on:** 24 Aug 2009, 08:58 pm »

Quote from: JoshK on 24 Aug 2009, 01:53 am

No idea, you might call Madisound, they might give you a heads up. I really wanted to buy a kit myself for the bedroom but I promised myself I will complete more projects before collecting others. Its my cross to bear.

Amen to that. That has been my single biggest problem this year. Way too many projects. Enough to keep me busy until next summer! We should start a thread on this one. There was a time when I would work on just one project at a time. Now I'm multitasking and working on 4 projects at a time and still have 4 more. I have wierd dreams like which Plitron toroidal I'm going to get or which shunt regulator to fool around with, or which O-Netics transformer .......

Anand.

rahimlee54 · « **Reply #11 on:** 31 Aug 2009, 11:48 pm »

I am planning on getting the ported kits if these can hold out til end of September at that price. Then comes the table saw and router and the obsession grows. Would there be any advantage to building these in Plywood as opposed to MDF or would that just add extra to the cost?

Thanks
Jared

richidoo · « **Reply #12 on:** 10 Sep 2009, 01:55 pm »

Designer's webpage with more info

http://www.clearwaveloudspeaker.com/RBR/infoRBR.html

Steidl Guitars · « **Reply #13 on:** 29 Nov 2009, 03:00 am »

Although the deal from Madisound is over, I thought I'd follow up as I finished up a pair of these a few days ago.

If anyone is interested, I've uploaded photos of the build here:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/steidlguitars/sets/72157622881464898/

They sound crazy good for the price; the bass produced by that little 5.5" woofer is nothing short of remarkable.

Thanks Josh for posting the original link.

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #14 on:** 29 Nov 2009, 04:05 am »

Stunning. Absolutely gorgeous Tiger Maple.

Anand.

satfrat · « **Reply #15 on:** 29 Nov 2009, 04:34 am »

That picture deserves to be blowed up.

jimdgoulding · « **Reply #16 on:** 29 Nov 2009, 05:18 am »

Holy smokes! Nice work!

Cacophonix · « **Reply #17 on:** 29 Nov 2009, 03:02 pm »

astounding!!!

I love the fact that the port is bottom firing. Did Jed do a custom crossover for this floorstanding design, or did u use the standard madisound XO?

richidoo · « **Reply #18 on:** 29 Nov 2009, 03:04 pm »

Wow Bob those are beautiful!

Steidl Guitars · « **Reply #19 on:** 29 Nov 2009, 04:13 pm »

You guys are very kind, thank you.

Cacophonix, by keeping the baffle width, driver locations, and box volume the same as in the original design (a stand mount), I was able to use the original crossover.

Rich, in the photo you can see a portion of your former preamp now inhabiting the second shelf on the rack.