Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

[lightwriter62]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

Jeff, you will be missed, but your health and family come first, you are in our thoughts and prayers, Kent

[bret191]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

I finished the three-way with the SDX10 and Continuum, and Kairos. However, after listening I may try another woofer with the Kairos. The Continuum - SDX10 combo will be posted soon.

I really wanted to do a full write-up for these and explain my logic and where options can be made, but I am not sure how likely it is that this will happen now. I will try though; hopefully, it will work out.

I have been facing some personal challenges lately. I still want to finish what I am working on, but then I think I will take a break from speaker building and from the forum for few months. Hopefully, it won't take me too long to get on top again.

Jeff

Another woofer with the Kairos possibly, sounds very interesting!
I am sure you'll be running smoothly again alot faster than you think. Never underestimate the human will!

[vnowinski]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

I finished the three-way with the SDX10 and Continuum, and Kairos. However, after listening I may try another woofer with the Kairos. The Continuum - SDX10 combo will be posted soon.

I really wanted to do a full write-up for these and explain my logic and where options can be made, but I am not sure how likely it is that this will happen now. I will try though; hopefully, it will work out.

I have been facing some personal challenges lately. I still want to finish what I am working on, but then I think I will take a break from speaker building and from the forum for few months. Hopefully, it won't take me too long to get on top again.

Jeff

Thanks, Jeff-- hopefully it was clear that I was curious rather than impatient. I read some of the earlier posts regarding your health challenges, so it's impressive that you've been able to manage so much progress on these projects!

If you are so inclined, can you comment about your listening impressions with the Kairos and the SDX10? Was the ported version (to get the deeper extension) not a good match?

I am sure the Continuum-SDX10 willl be a hit .

[Jeff B.]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

Thanks, Jeff-- hopefully it was clear that I was curious rather than impatient. I read some of the earlier posts regarding your health challenges, so it's impressive that you've been able to manage so much progress on these projects!

If you are so inclined, can you comment about your listening impressions with the Kairos and the SDX10? Was the ported version (to get the deeper extension) not a good match?

I am sure the Continuum-SDX10 willl be a hit .

The SDX-10 still works with the Kairos, and measurements look real nice and flat, but to my subjective ear I'd like the bass to have a couple more dB in the balance, and since I'm putting my name on this project, I'm going for the tonal balance I like. I am sure a lot people would like the Kairos with the SDX-10 just fine.

The Kairos is a couple dB more sensitive than the Continuum and that's the difference. The SDX-10 mated with the Continuum sounds very nice and will stay together as a kit.

The SDX-10 is a great subwoofer, but when you are looking to match it up passively you have to get picky about sensitivity, something that's not as important when making a subwoofer.

I was going for a universal crossover that could handle a multiple of monitors and that works fine, as the Continuum and Kairos will use the same crossover. This means it should be able to work with a number of other small speakers too.

I am going to test the Kairos with the SB29NRX75, which has a couple dB more sensitivity than the SDX-10 has . This would make the Kairos an all SBA three-way, and maybe give an woofer option for other monitors with a touch higher sensitivity than the Continuum.

[woodsart]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

I finished the three-way with the SDX10 and Continuum, and Kairos. However, after listening I may try another woofer with the Kairos. The Continuum - SDX10 combo will be posted soon.

I really wanted to do a full write-up for these and explain my logic and where options can be made, but I am not sure how likely it is that this will happen now. I will try though; hopefully, it will work out.

I have been facing some personal challenges lately. I still want to finish what I am working on, but then I think I will take a break from speaker building and from the forum for few months. Hopefully, it won't take me too long to get on top again.

Jeff

Hey, Jeff. Sorry, take all the time you need, we are all patient here and can stay busy. Still praying that things will go well and these challenges will be nothing! Blessings! Robert

A question about the quarks....could one be laid on it's side for a center speaker?

[Jeff B.]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

The SDX-10 still works with the Kairos, and measurements look real nice and flat, but to my subjective ear I'd like the bass to have a couple more dB in the balance, and since I'm putting my name on this project, I'm going for the tonal balance I like. I am sure a lot people would like the Kairos with the SDX-10 just fine.

The Kairos is a couple dB more sensitive than the Continuum and that's the difference. The SDX-10 mated with the Continuum sounds very nice and will stay together as a kit.

The SDX-10 is a great subwoofer, but when you are looking to match it up passively you have to get picky about sensitivity, something that's not as important when making a subwoofer.

I was going for a universal crossover that could handle a multiple of monitors and that works fine, as the Continuum and Kairos will use the same crossover. This means it should be able to work with a number of other small speakers too.

I am going to test the Kairos with the SB29NRX75, which has a couple dB more sensitivity than the SDX-10 has . This would make the Kairos an all SBA three-way, and maybe give an woofer option for other monitors with a touch higher sensitivity than the Continuum.

I have completed the design work for the three-way Kairos and three-way Continuum projects. Once I get everything worked-up I will post complete details on the Meniscus Audio forum, and they will put kits together. There will be two woofers to select from, which will undoubtedly cause some gnashing of teeth as people try to decide which way to go. I will lay out the differences this way - With either the Continuum or the Kairos the CSS SDX-10 will be the standard woofer. It results in a near ruler flat transition between the woofer module and the monitor, resulting in a very flat, accurate three-way design.

However, many of us are not really used to flat bass balance. Let's face it, many people with subwoofers who set them by ear have them turned up several dB higher than the main speaker. It's almost like this is expected once a larger woofer is added to a system (look at the Wilson tonal balance, for example). So, for those people who prefer a slightly elevated bass response I will offer the SB29NRX-75 as an option. This woofer turned out to be a bit more efficient below 100 Hz than I expected, as a result it is about 4 dB higher than the SDX-10 in this range, and consequently, about 4 dB higher than flat beginning at about 120 Hz down.

So, which did I prefer? I must admit that when I hooked up the SB29 I was very impressed with the bass power and was enjoying a lot of things I was playing. I quickly felt this was the best option. Then the longer I played the more I began to question if I was just being seduced by an over-emphasis in the midbass. Once I put the mic to it, it confirmed the rise in this region. Next, I switched back to the SDX-10. Bass was tamer, less impressive, but cleaner and more resolving, and I could tell pretty quickly that this was the more honest tonal balance. If musical accuracy is the goal, then this is closer to the truth.

People like their bass different ways, and I won't judge ;). You will just have to decide which tonal balance sound more like you. To add more complexity to the mix, both woofers do very well is sealed alignments too. They sound very clean and well-damped and a lot of people prefer this type of bass response, especially in a room. This should be an acceptable option for anyone. The standard version will be presented as a vented box using a 3" Precision port, that can be made from the standard kit (details will be in the write-up).

Another option for consideration for those choosing the SB29 is the matching passive radiator, which tunes the woofer a bit lower than the vented box, but still has more output than the sealed version. This one could be pretty cool.

Regarding woofer orientation, I will talk about this in the write-up, but I listened and measured with the woofer near the floor, near the monitor, on the side, and on the front. Although the bass measures a bit smoother near the floor, it doesn't look as nice in my opinion, and it is still very flat with the woofer placed near the top of the cabinet. I probably like it higher up due to this. Listening with the woofer mounted on the side or on the front (simply by rotating the box 90 degrees) didn't seem to make much subjective difference at all to me, and I would say go with whichever orientation you prefer on this one.

For Mr. Fishe:

[bigfishe]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

I like it!!!
So which one do you like better the Flat or Elevated Woofer?

[bigfishe]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

My Kairos look different than yours

[Jeff B.]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

I like it!!!
So which one do you like better the Flat or Elevated Woofer?

Hate to say it, but it's hard to walk away from a bit of bass emphasis. I'd probably go with the SB29. I might be interested in using the matching passive radiator too, but the port is very nice for a lot less money. When I do the write up I will post the frequency response for both woofers and you can see exactly what it's doing.

[Jeff B.]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

My Kairos look different than yours [ATTACH=CONFIG]60313[/ATTACH][ATTACH=CONFIG]60313[/ATTACH]

Not much volume there....

[sorue]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

Hey Jeff, it's so great to hear from you, trust that you're healing up well! My prayers are with you and your family. Thank you so much for working on the bass module. Excited to read the full write-up when it's done. It's cool that there are different bass alignment options. Have a feeling i'll prefer the elevated bass option.

You've said it before, but i just want to confirm - the kairos crossover 2-way circuit does not need any modifications right?

[Jeff B.]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

Hey Jeff, it's so great to hear from you, trust that you're healing up well! My prayers are with you and your family. Thank you so much for working on the bass module. Excited to read the full write-up when it's done. It's cool that there are different bass alignment options. Have a feeling i'll prefer the elevated bass option.

You've said it before, but i just want to confirm - the kairos crossover 2-way circuit does not need any modifications right?

Neither the Kairos nor Continuum crossovers change in any way.

[bigfishe]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

That's just the front baffle.

[bigfishe]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

I'm sure you tried these underneath the nice-looking speaker right next to them:-D
Thoughts?

[Jeff B.]

Re: Continuum vs. Kairos vs. Adelphos vs. Solstice

I'm sure you tried these underneath the nice-looking speaker right next to them:-D
Thoughts?

Yes, that would work fine. In fact, my objective was to create something quasi-universal that will work with a large number of stand mounted monitors. That will be explained too.

Actually, I have a pair of Acoustic Elegance 12"s that I plan to put under the SpritWinds sometime down the road.