Forums - Changes to Caintuck Audio product line

Randy in Caintuck

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Changes to Caintuck Audio product line
05/27/20 at 08:00:17

As many of the forum readers and posters are aware, Caintuck Audio was "born" in 2015 when I retired from the IT industry .....

Since then, I have been building open baffle loudspeakers and having more success (and fun) than I really expected from a "retirement hobby / business".

As with all businesses, there has been a learning curve ..... and sometimes I have been flying "by the seat of my pants" .....

One of my original "mission statements" was to provide a musical loudspeaker at a reasonable price, allowing some of my fellow music lovers to enjoy their home audio systems without having to take out a second mortgage on their home.

The original Betsy baffles were available in various plywood finishes and a few genuine hardwoods and the biggest percentage of customers purchased the less expensive plywood versions.

However, over the past few years, the quality of the plywood has deteriorated (even the expensive stuff) and I have been having greater difficulty making the baffles to a standard that I was happy with.
The grain patterns were often a little "wonky" and the top veneer layer was often so thin that it was impossible to sand out even shallow scratches without ruining the piece .....

So ..... I have made an "executive decision" and will no longer be offering the plywood baffles after June 1st, 2020.
All future baffles will be made from hardwoods ..... either single species or the "two-tone" baffles that I have been offering for the past few years.

Truthfully, the price of the hardwood baffles has only been slightly higher than the plywood ..... and the finished product is certainly nicer. All of the plywood baffles that I have made and sold up to this point in time have been attractive ..... but I can't guarantee that future plywood baffles will be so.

I have already changed a few things on the website and am in the process of making a revised product / pricing list.
The current prices for all of the hardwood baffles will not change and the new list will be greatly simplified .....

In addition ..... there are a few new things on the horizon.
Some of them will be pretty exciting .....
Stay tuned ......

Happy listening,
Randy

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Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer
Schiit Audio Saga+ preamplifier
Decware SE84UFO amplifier
Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Magnum Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii W-15 Magnum Open Bass Baffle

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HockessinKid Seasoned Member Posts: 1154	Re: Changes to Caintuck Audio product line Reply #1 - 05/27/20 at 13:10:44 Loving my two-tone hardwood Lii 15 baffles. I think this is a smart business decision. No sense building an interior product these days. HK
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lobo Verified Member Posts: 46	Re: Changes to Caintuck Audio product line Reply #2 - 05/28/20 at 05:01:11 I'm very happy with my two tone, LII15 baffles from caintuck audio. Still in awe at the sound, Se84UFO and Caintuck speakers hell of a combo. Now waiting on SE84UFO25 to be built, what a fun hobby. Thanks to Mr. Steve and Mr. Randy, for all you do.
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Steve Deckert

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Re: Changes to Caintuck Audio product line
Reply #3 - 05/28/20 at 05:55:02

Having had the privilege to hear many of your baffles, both plywood and various hardwoods, I have some thoughts.

First the plywood baffles for the price had a sound that so far outpaced the cost that even if they cost twice as much they would be a steal.

Second the hardwood baffles add a level of refinement that not only makes owning one more rewarding, but I hear a difference as well. I hear the higher mass hardwoods having better clarity in the upper midrange and a more solid bass.

Plus, speaker boxes are seldom if ever made from solid hardwood because it can spit and crack trying to shrink and expand against 6 planes. This is why the industry uses MDF, Particle board, or Plywood that is then veneered with hardwood veneer. That way you get a speaker that looks like hardwood and doesn't split. It's great, unless the speaker gets wet. Or unless you move the speaker and hit it on the door jamb. Or unless you bump into it with vacuum cleaner. Or unless you have kids... they always find a way. Trust me, I've dinged and dented more veneered speakers then most people here in the Decware showroom, and there is no recovery from that. It becomes B stock. A solid hardwood speaker is a game changer. You can't hurt it. And since a flat baffle can be made from it without the cracking issues of a 6 sided box, you can smash it into the concrete porch on your way up to the house and it just adds character. Solid hardwood in a loudspeaker is so rare is it probably less than 1%.

On another note, or from another perspective, I know that working with solid hardwood in the shop is nearly a spiritual experience, where comparatively speaking working with plywood is more like an exorcism... so if you factor this in a speaker built from solid hardwood will have a lot better karma because the mood of the builder was better/deeper.

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Randy in Caintuck

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Tube be ... or not
tube be ... it's a
no-brainer.

Posts: 975

Re: Changes to Caintuck Audio product line
Reply #4 - 05/28/20 at 07:30:55

Steve wrote .....

Quote:

On another note, or from another perspective, I know that working with solid hardwood in the shop is nearly a spiritual experience, where comparatively speaking working with plywood is more like an exorcism... so if you factor this in a speaker built from solid hardwood will have a lot better karma because the mood of the builder was better/deeper.

I couldn't have said it better myself .....

Happy listening,
Randy

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Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer
Schiit Audio Saga+ preamplifier
Decware SE84UFO amplifier
Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Magnum Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii W-15 Magnum Open Bass Baffle

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lazb Seasoned Member Posts: 374	Re: Changes to Caintuck Audio product line Reply #5 - 05/28/20 at 22:41:51 Hey lobo, fair warning! You are hooked so hang on for a wonderful and, hopefully, long musical ride!!!!!
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Randy in Caintuck

Seasoned Member

Tube be ... or not
tube be ... it's a
no-brainer.

Posts: 975

Re: Changes to Caintuck Audio product line
Reply #6 - 05/29/20 at 16:29:24

*** Update ***

I just completed the new price list for the various baffle options .....

The goal was to make it as simple as possible ... hopefully I succeeded ...

There is a link to the list on the home page of my website.

It can be found here.

There are a couple of new things that will be added in the near future as they become available ..... stay tuned.

I am always happy to answer specific questions via email.

Happy listening,
Randy

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Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer
Schiit Audio Saga+ preamplifier
Decware SE84UFO amplifier
Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Magnum Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii W-15 Magnum Open Bass Baffle

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