Metal cabinet parts rolling in

Just a quick note to show off a picture. Metal cabinet part samples are rolling in. We got a very nice SCS4 baffle in today. It's a die-cast aluminum baffle that's powder coated black, then part of it (the silver part) is brushed silver, then the whole thing is clear coated. You can see some long, slots around the edges of the back side of the baffle. These hold some small neodymium magnets which will hold a metal-mesh grille in place. Cool huh?

In both new speakers, using aluminum baffles holds the drivers very rigidly in place. Any movement of the driver that the baffle allows is bad news, it obscures details since these small movements were meant for the driver diaphragm, not the driver basket Using very heavy MDF baffles like in every other speaker smaller than a CS5 we've ever built really works pretty well, but it doesn't have the compressive strength of aluminum. We figured this out years ago when Jim decided to cast the baffle of the CS5 out of a mineral composite. These composites work really well, but there are 2 problems. The problem that isn't immediately apparent to you is that the stuff is a real pain in the butt to work with. The second problem manifests itself in your lower back after a day of trying to move the speakers around.

Aluminum is good stuff. Listen closely, you'll like it too.

Rigidly held in place at his desk all day,
--Gary