Thanks Dan!
Yeah, after selling several "beta" sets, I'll be putting together the first "alpha" pairs of them for a local climbing gym in a few weeks. The middle of this week I'll be going on my honeymoon then by the end of the month I'll be back, in my new shop (already as of this week), and looking to crank out my orders along side everything else that I make like "gang-busters."
The Thrashers are a whopping 90 liters internal volume and are meant to be a no hold barred introduction to the large ported box designs that give my Oniyanmas and Josephines and such great sound. I've used this box type for years along side other cabinet styles as test cabinets for various drivers. A "Large Ported Box" (LPB) is a very old speaker design type, just like the SETs they were meant to be paired with back in the day (for the most part). LPBs have well known virtues and few but well understood compromises. There are many iterarions of them, some audio designers dedicate their lives to the tabulating and classification "taxonomy" of this living history, but in the end, its all about building, listening and adjusting what you've got. By keeping the port slightly mobile (user tunable), a variety of sound qualities can be achieved for different circumstances (for parties all the way to critical listening and also to be able to account for various room positionings).
The two versions are:
V.1 - Pioneer BoFu with a tweeter - OSB and a more minimal design to keep costs down These are meant for louder, bassier music in a typical younger person's living room or a shop or dance club environment. At 89db, a solid state receiver with 50-100wpc is perfect and the drivers are near impossible to blow. These are the true "Thrashers."
V. 2 - Fostex FE166En with the nicer "ACX" fir plywood and with a solid wood internal and external bracing lattice - something you just flat can't do unless the speaker looks weird and ugly but man does the bracing calm things down! (without the use of damping). They are 95db sensitive - opening up the ability for a truly affordable and truly HE speaker to be used with the lower power SET amps in larger living rooms. I use my pair of Thrashers at home with the same SEX amp that is just as happy to power Orcas in small-medium sized rooms or at my computer desk. The Thrashers' large, open, dynamic sound is a gas. They remind me alot of the C&C Abby, but with a slightly larger and more open sound (double the internal volume) however their design philosophy is totally different - Each speaker has a whole square foot that you can use to set your drink or potted plant down on without a care in the world!
They are ugly but with great personality. You might not be able to pinpoint exactly why, but you really want to spend alot of time listening to them speak...
For now, because the price is so cheap (~$500 or ~$300), and their size so large, they are direct sale, factory pick up only. For me to ship them is available, but at an understood "pretty penny" (probably 3-400 dollars within the states) and a bit of a wait - I have to build crates for them like my other large speakers.
I've had to do some rearranging of my shop and life this summer (esp. revolving around getting married). There is an update coming to my website in the next month or so detailing the developments that have taken place in the mean time. Like a 4000 watt, 4-15", 4-12" in OB and 2- supertweeter PA system I built last year for the Etsy.com headquarters. The new and gobstoppingly awesome BUF Subwoofer model. There are new wood offerings for the Nagas, Orcas, Subs, and cloth grills for the Orcas. Matching bases offered for Bottlehead amps. Discounts offered for feats of athleticism. New Oniyanma offerings, customization options and my new status as a retailer of the Feastrex drivers (a great honor). Oh, and the Thrashers being formally released. A lot of everything for everybody.
But first, I've got to go on my honeymoon clear headed - A happy wife is a happy life
Expect to see alot coming out of my shop in early Oct.
Best,
Clark
P.S. It would have been nice to be at the DIY fest at Dave's place this year but I was off getting hitched that weekend. So it will just have to be a sure thing next year...