Next run

[FS]

Hi there,
While I would be interested, I would need some more info before taking the leap...
The kit panels come veneered and I would only need to glue this together, correct? Is it reasonable to expect that these panels make it across the country in a pristine state, with no dents and nicks and scratches? What treatment goes on the veneer? A clearcoat or some form of wax or polish?
Most importantly, how do these speakers perform when hooked up to a first generation Stereomour? I understand that people with a Kaiju are very happy with these, but that puts out three to four times the wattage of the Stereomour. Well, the name of the speakers tells me what amplifier they are meant for...I am asking because I have Blumenstein Orcas with subwoofers, which sound really good with the Stereomour. I would need a substantial increase in quality of sound over that to justify new speakers. And I would not want to run these under-powered or beneath their actual potential...
Has anybody tried those with a Smash/Seductor combo? How would that compare to the setup with a Kaiju versus a setup with Stereomour? Would be nice to have two Seductors to bi-amp these speakers...which brings me back to my question from a few months ago: Will there be Seductor replacement in the near future?...
Thanks in advance for sharing your experience and insight.
Cheers,
FS

[oguinn]

I’ll tell you my experience and Doc can weigh in.

You’ll need to screw some hardware into pre-drilled holes, then glue it, then tighten some locks onto the hardware. It’s a lot like building IKEA furniture but with higher quality parts. You’ll also need to solder the crossovers.

The packing job on the panels I received was really incredibly done. I live in Kansas City, so there were a few hops for UPS, and even with their manhandling the contents of the box were perfect. I was astounded by how well packed the kits were.

For walnut veneer I’m planning to rub in a coat or two of Odie’s oil. No stain or anything.

I can’t comment on your equipment combos. I am biamping with a Kaiju and a Stereomour II and am happy with the combo. 

Let the others weigh in on the equipment, but building the kit was fun and easy enough, and they sound great to me.

[Paul Birkeland]

I understand that people with a Kaiju are very happy with these, but that puts out three to four times the wattage of the Stereomour.

The Stereomour is 3.5 watts per channel, the Kaiju is about 8 watts per channel.  If the Orcas play loudly enough for you with the Stereomour, the Jager will play more loudly.  If the Jagers are placed relatively close to your back wall, I do not imagine that you'll need a subwoofer.

[Rocketman248]

I can speak to packaging.  I'm in the military, stationed in Japan.  Military mail is slow, and each and every package gets a good drag down teh road by tanks or something.  My set took almost a month to make the journey overseas, and the outer packaging took a rather decent beating, along with one of them being soaked in what smelled like fabric softener.  I feared for the worst when I opened the boxes, but everything inside was in perfect shape.  Everything was very carefully wrapped, and then firmly secured in custom foam inserts that isolate the panels from the outside packaging. 

Over the years, I've ordered 10 different amp/preamp/headphone amp kits, the Jagers, and various upgrade kits.  All shipped overseas with military mail, and I've never had anything damaged in shipping.

[Doc B.]

One of the biggest issues for me was that the expensive CNC'd panels had to arrive at the customer's house in perfect condition. Consequently we hired a company that specializes in custom packaging and we invested a small fortune in custom cut foam inserts and custom shipping boxes. When Josh was with us he worked out a very precise method of stacking the panels and wrapping them in plastic so they are protected from the environment as well as impacts.

Not to discount the Orcas at all - I own three pairs of Orcas, an Orca center channel and two Dungeness woofers and love them - but we are talking apples and oranges vs. the Jagers. The tiny Orcas with their 3" drivers are absolutely great for a small room, a near field setup on a computer desk, and as surround speakers. The Jagers have the equivalent of a 12" woofer in each cabinet, can get into the mid 30Hz range and can fill even a large room with a couple of watts. Jager sensitivity is quite a bit higher than the Orca. Going by the driver manufacturer ratings it is at least 6dB more sensitive.

[Doc B.]

OK, it's been just about a month since I announced the pricing and a few weeks that we've had the order button up for the walnut limited edition. Unfortunately we haven't had anyone opt in for a full kit and just two bottleheads requested cabinets only. The cost of the walnut panels is high enough that I am not willing to carry the expense of the other 16 cabinets we would need to order for a minimum run. I just had a request for two Jager kits in birch today and so I am going to cancel the limited walnut run. I will be ordering another ten pair of birch cabinet kits instead, as we have a large number of names on the Jager wait list. Sorry folks, I really wish it had worked out.

[oguinn]

That's disappointing to hear but I understand. Thanks for the update.

If this gets revived in the future, you know who to email first!

[caffeinator]

Thank you for working so hard to try to bring this together, Doc.

[FS]

Hey guys,
I was pretty sure I had posted a response here a day or two ago, saying that I had been ready to pull the trigger on this, only to find out that this deals is not real anymore...:-( Now that post seems to have vanished...WTH? Do posts disappear in this forum?
Cheers,
FS

[oguinn]

I didn't see it, but ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[Doc B.]

Not sure what happened to it - I did not remove it - but I did see it. I believe your response was that you had interest in placing an order after the election. It was probably removed simply because we're trying to stay as far away as possible from politics on the forum right now. Sorry for that.

Unfortunately we have to stick to either birch or walnut. The timing was just off a bit as your post hit after I had to make a decision, and I had already switched gears on our cabinet maker to go with another run of birch since we had about 20 people on the wait list for birch kits. Believe me when I say I am as disappointed as anyone that there wasn't enough interest to make the walnut run happen. I can't justify floating the cost of the extra 6 or 7 pairs of cabinets I would have to order, that no one seems interested in buying. The limited edition Kaiju and BeePre kits in walnut that we sold a few years ago sold excruciatingly slowly, and that has made me very cautious. If we can get more firm commitments in future we can try again.

[Paul Birkeland]

Now that post seems to have vanished...WTH? Do posts disappear in this forum?

I deleted your post.  Please refrain from posting about politics on this forum.