Jeff Bagby's Kairos 3 way project completed

[mikebarney]

I recently completed building a pair for Jeff Bagby's Kairos speakers along with the associated woofers.
The project is documented here:
Kairos 3 ways
Thanks to Jeff and Meniscus!
Mike

[Bill Schneider]

That was a good read, Mike. I see lots of care being taken in the construction of your Kairos. 

Great job!

[speekerbldr]

Very well documented and great work Mike!!

[pgroben]

Being a woodworker myself, all I can say is WOW!! I'm impressed and inspired. I've been wanting to build a pair of Kairos speakers for a long time and plan to get started next month. Your design for the enclosure very much appeals to my sense of asthetics and makes me more anxious to get started. Thank you for making the effort to document your work.

[pgroben]

Just got my Kairos kit and am getting ready to build the enclosures. I have a question regarding through trim on your Kairos unit... how did you do the round over on the top, given the angle of the baffle?

[mikebarney]

Good question! I played around with that for a while, and made a couple test pieces to see what worked best.  When I cut the 1/2" roundovers for the sides from solid stock, I also cut similar pieces for the top.  That left a rounded raised lip on the top front edge of the cabinet that stood proud above the top of the cabinet.  After gluing those 1/2" roundovers in place I simply hand sanded the top portion flush with the top of the cabinets and sanded a smooth transition to meet the machined roundover.  I think they came out very nice.  If you veneer the tops, be extra careful not to sand thru the veneer as you sand the roundover flat on the top.  I use a pencil mark on the veneer, when the marks start to be sanded off, I stop sanding.
Hope that helps.

[pgroben]

Perfect. I kind of thought that would be your answer.  I will be using a thicker veneer that I will resaw from a very nice piece of canarywood that I've had kicking around for a couple of years. It will be close to 1/16" thick, so I will have less danger of sanding through. Thank you very much for your quick response. 

[pgroben]

I've completed my Kairos speakers and I'm very pleased with how they sound and am now thinking about adding the woofer to them. I'm curious about how that worked out for you. Specifically,  can you say something about the sound?

[mikebarney]

Pgroben-
I was looking for a full range speaker from the start, and although the Kairos caught my eye years ago when first designed, I was waiting for the woofer to make a full-range system.  So when Jeff published the woofer design, I got serious.  I've never listened to the Kairos alone (as the crossover rolls off the lows at 200Hz), but as a three way system, they sound great - well balanced, lots of detail but not bright, plenty of tight clean bass to match the rest of the spectrum.   I'd build them again.
Mike

[pgroben]

Encouraging,  depending on what Mark at Meniscus tells me about price and availability, I'm inclined to go that route. I love the detail and clarity of the Kairos speakers, but I then having a woofer will add a dimension of depth and fullness that I  miss.