Well ..... as of yesterday the Caintuck Audio storefront is history .....

The landlord asked if I could have everything cleared out by today so that new flooring could be installed for the incoming tenant and it seemed like the neighborly thing to do.

There are a few things left in inventory that I would like to sell.
The list of items can be found here and discounts are available.
If anyone is interested, email me at the address found on my website and I can provide details.

On a happier note, a friend who happens to be a professional photographer snapped some pics of the Betsy baffles I have in stock and the photos give a much better indication of what the speakers actually look like .....

The photos can be found here and most of the photos are ones taken by the pro.

If someone would like to purchase any of these speakers, please mention in your email that you first learned of the speakers from the Decware website or forum .....

Now that the storefront is not eating up my time, it will be a lot easier keeping a variety of Betsy baffles in stock and working on new versions in different finishes.

Happy listening,

Randy

Howdy geezerrocket,

Yep ..... I knew going in that the chances of a brick and mortar audio store in a small community was probably not going to set the world on fire .....

Thanks goodness for the internet .....

I love open baffle bass almost as much as I love the Betsy baffles.
If you haven't already tried it, a plate amplifier is a quick and easy way to power your bass drivers. If you want stereo bass you can use two plate amps ..... one for each channel or get a Crown power amp.

My preference is to mount the bass drivers in separate baffles to minimize vibration on the main drivers and keep the baffles for the main drivers small. However, I know that many people have built larger baffles and mounted both drivers on the same baffle.
YMMV .....

Sadly, Hawthorne Audio has ceased operations ..... at least for now.
I emailed Darrel and he responded letting me know that he and Diana have a couple of other businesses that are keeping them very busy at this time. He hasn't totally ruled out a reboot of Hawthorne Audio at some future date, but both the website and forum are currently offline.

I wish them nothing but the best.
They have been a huge help and encouragement to me, as have the folks at Decware ....

Best wishes,

Randy

Hi Steve,

Thanks for the clarification .....

After I went back and read my original post, I can see where it might be misconstrued that Caintuck Audio had gone away .....

As you stated ..... that is not the case.

With the extra time on my hands, I can now spend it building up an inventory and adding new varieties of finishes to the Betsy baffle line.

In addition to the nice Sapele hardwood available through the Decware online store, some recent additions have been cabinet grade plywood versions in cherry, walnut, Baltic birch, zebrawood, rift sawn red oak,  birds eye maple, and lacewood ..... all with veneer edging to give the speakers a more "finished" appearance.

There are a few more things on the drawing board that I hope to have available soon .....

Best wishes to the Decware team and forum readers for a prosperous and musical 2017,

Randy

Hi Brian,

Good to hear from you .....

You are correct in presuming that the shape of the baffle makes very little difference for the bass drivers. I have found that rounding the edges (and the overall shape) of the baffle for the full range drivers does have an effect on the sound, but at the lower frequencies it doesn't seem to make much of a difference.

While we're on the subject of open baffle bass, there are a few things I would like to mention .....

1 - In the past, I have strongly recommended the Hawthorne Audio Augie drivers to supplement the lower frequencies of the Betsy baffles.
Since Hawthorne Audio has ceased operation (at least for now), I have been offering the Eminence Alpha drivers in my bass baffles as a replacement. It's a slightly different sound than the Augie, but still very good and very cost effective. A plate amplifier or Crown pro amp drives them very well and by using a pair of them and two plate amps, stereo bass can be added to the system to good effect.

2 - The Alpha bass baffles are available in either a 15" or 12" model.
Both sound good ..... the 15" goes deeper and the 12" is tighter and faster. It's a matter of preference and in my home system I prefer the 12" drivers. The pricing is the same for both bass baffles.

3 - At the 2016 Decware Zen Fest, Steve introduced the attendees to something that I consider a flash of brilliance. He ran his pair of SO Imperial bass speakers in parallel with the ZOB open baffle speakers using a low pass filter on the Imperials ..... everything being driven by the Decware SE84UFO3 mono blocks.
The effect was nothing short of incredible and it blew a few minds hearing how much deep and tuneful bass could be produced by 3 watts per channel.

Of course, not everyone has a pair of SO Imperials in their listening room .....

When I returned home, I tried the same thing with a pair of the Alpha open baffle drivers. Obviously, the sound is not the same as with the SO Imperials, but is still very good and cost effective.
The low pass filters used at the Zen Fest were 80 HZ units and the ones I think work best for the Alpha baffles are 100 HZ units.

There is not as much flexibility with this setup as there is with a plate or Crown amp, since there are no variable crossover and volume controls ..... but the bass integrates very well with the main speakers and the effect is that "everything sounds like it is cut from the same cloth".

My Decware SE84UFO has no problem driving this setup and the sound is pretty amazing and very natural sounding.

The Alpha baffles and plate amps are available on my website and I will be adding the "passive" option with the low pass filters in the near future.

As always, for anyone interested in purchasing any of these items, please mention that you saw them on the Decware website or forum when emailing me.

Best wishes,

Randy

Howdy 4krow,

Since I build the Betsy baffles, it's not appropriate for me to comment on a comparison of the sound between them and the ZOB speakers ...

However, I can say this much ..... Bob (ZYGI) is a first rate craftsman and the speakers you own are musical art of the highest degree.

While not being in the same class in craftsmanship, my Betsy baffles punch way above their price point sonically ..... and the ZOBs are worth every penny you paid for them ..... a combination of excellent sound and custom built furniture.

Since I am a huge fan of open baffle speakers, both speakers rate high on my list of good sounding audio components.

If anyone who attended Decware Fest 2016 cares to comment on the sound of both speakers, I would be curious to hear their thoughts as well and will not be offended if the Betsy baffles don't come out on top .....

Happy listening,

Randy