Speedster Speaker Kit

Product Description

The Speedster Speaker Kit by Paul Carmody   Improved, CD1.0 version

These speakers are like roadsters, Spyders, speedsters, and Barchettas.  They are meant to be small, cool, and fun to listen to.  They’re for private listening, and enjoying the music, and leaving your cares someplace else, miles away.  They are not the cheapest speakers on the block. But you get what you pay for: a well-engineered woofer with a massive underhung motor and a true ribbon tweeter.  The result is a speaker that provides plenty of detail and dynamics but in a very small cabinet.  Depending on how you finish them, they can disappear into the decor of a room, or be showcased like the little luxury item they are.

How Do They Sound?

Like a high-performance roadster, this speaker is meant to be fun to listen to and to make you want to keep listening for hours and hours.  It’s an escape from the stresses of life.  One of the most striking things about this speaker is the bass delivered by the Tang Band W4-1720.  This driver has some serious full bass for a small driver.  When I brought this speaker to InDIYana 2011, a lot of people were asking where the subwoofer was hidden.  The midrange is very pleasant like a paper cone should be, and the ribbon tweeter delivers clear treble but never gets overly splashy.  There are a lot of ribbon fans out there who enjoy their “sparkly,” quality, and while I’m not that great at coming up with flowery descriptions of speakers, I could probably agree that this tweeter does have that trademark ribbon sparkle.

The speaker would work on a desk, although I might advise raising it a bit off the surface of the desk to keep the bass response in check.  It would also kick ass as a stand-mounted satellite or bookshelf speaker in a small or medium-sized room.  As I said about the Overnight Sensations, the big advantage of these types of small speakers is that they can allow for full-sounding listening sessions into the wee hours of the night and won’t rattle the walls or wake the neighbors.

What do I Get?

Included in this kit is the full build plans.  You can purchase it in two forms, depending on your resources:

The Bare Bones Version:

• 2 x NeoCD-1 Ribbon Tweeters
• 2 x Tang Band, W4-1720 Woofers
• . 2 x Crossover components featuring Audyn Q4 capacitors and sand cast resistors. Upgrades for caps and resistors.  Specified, Air-Core Inductors.

Need all the goodies?

The Full Kit Package:

• 2 x Choice of Input Terminals
• 2 x Port Tubes
• All mounting hard hardware (screws) Upgrade available too.
• Internal damping material
• Color-coded hookup wire
• Optional push-on connectors
• Gasket sealing tape
• MDF boards for mounting the crossover parts.

Have trouble soldering or reading a crossover diagram?  We can assemble them for you at a nominal charge.

Upgrades – Have a favorite input terminal or preferred capacitor brand?  Feel free to call or email me with your request.  We are happy to accommodate you.

Speedster Write up