A Karma Indignia build

[engr_dave]

The "Karma Indignia" featured on PE's project gallery seemed like an interesting little 2-way so I built a pair last week. Pretty impressive bass for a low-cost woofer in 0.38cuft. Nice imaging as well, even though they seem to have a touch of midrange coloration that keeps them from truly "disappearing" like higher-end designs. This could be my fault, though. I used large square-ish PE "buyout" terminal cups right behind the woofer with little or no damping material in this area. I plan to pull the woofers out and experiment with better damping. Overall a solid design, especially for $150 total... I'm surprised there is not a single reference to them on this forum.

[---k---]

Those look like they turned out nicely. :thumb: I'm glad you're enjoying them. I hadn't seen the design before, so thanks for sharing.

[engr_dave]

I did some nearfield listening last night with the speakers up against the wall on a computer desk. Bass became quite thick and tubby. The desk is in a corner, and in an alcove adjacent to a closet - so lots of nearby boundary surfaces. Definitely would want to seal the port for this application.

Otherwise the sound was quite nice. I couldn't perceive any integration problems, even at about 3'. Good imaging, smooth and airy highs - although my test gear helped in this regard: Sony 9000ES SACD, custom passive pre, and Parasound HCA-750A. I doubt most people would be driving $150 speakers with $2K+ electronics.

It was amusing to note how nasty the resonance modes were in this [approx 13' square] room. In the center of the room there was almost no bass. In the opposite corner from the desk/speakers, the bass was overwhelming - utterly shocking that all of this bass was coming from a pair of 7" woofers!

[---k---]

Well, any speaker is going to have problems in that type of positioning. I'm guessing you know that. Those drivers, from what I understand, are pretty flexible and easy to work with. It isn't surprising that it sounds good.

If you ever want to try something different, Shawn over at the PE TechTalk did a design using these drivers a long time ago called the Silver Al. Several people built it. He even revised the crossover to the "Ultimate Edition". Not sure how much a difference you'll hear in the two, but could be a fun experiment.

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showthread.php?t=198782&highlight=silver+ultimate+edition

[engr_dave]

Thanks K. I've decided that 0.38 cu ft is too big for a "computer speaker"; I think I'll build some stands for these and use them in the master bedroom. Those TV speakers (42" Philips plasma) absolutely suck.

I have RS180S-8's and RS28A's so I'm building a pair of pseudo-in-wall Modula MT's with Jon's "no BSC" crossover. 0.25 cu ft sealed looks nice and flat to 85 Hz - enough for subwoofer integration. :T