# Problems With Kepler Build



## Dark Regent (May 24, 2009)

So far this project has been somewhat of a nightmare, mostly because of Parts-Express. 
Today marked the first day of my Thanksgiving Break, I was anxious to get started on the build. So far I've got the counter sinks routed in the two front panels for the tweeters and 6.5's. I did that in the afternoon and started arranging and assembling crossover components. I got the first network arranged and glued to the board and moved on to the second only to find that PE had sent me a damaged inductor. Sadly when I received these parts a month ago, and was checking them out, I only unwrapped one of the big inductors and of course it wasn't the one that was damaged, instead I discover the problem mid-build.

Pic of the broken inductor:









The other assembled network:









I can't believe the damage occured during shipping as there were no other big items shipped with inductor other than an identical counterpart which is in perfect condition. Looks like it must have been dropped from a nice height before even being shipped to me.

This is in the same order that I purchased a pair of the Dayton 24" speaker stands only to be shocked by the quality of garbage that is supposedly worth $100. The material used in the stands was some of the cheapest Chinese steel you've seen. They failed to paint one of the posts completely and that was followed by several poorly tapped holes and very poor tolerances. I couldn't believe the amount of rust coming out of the posts. You could hear it rattling around when you shook them. Along with that there were red streaks on the bubble wrap they were wrapped in. Basically, stay away from the Dayton 24" speaker stands.

Pics:



















Needless to say I returned those stands immediately for a refund. After that I ordered a set of VTI DF speaker stands ($109 shipped) which have much better quality. Sadly someone didn't drill one of the wholes in one of the base plates in the correct spot and I ended up having to take a Dremel to it and widened the whole. However, they are together now and are much more stable than the Dayton's were and look much nicer.

At this point it looks like I'll have to two day another inductor, save that for last in the build, and pray that nothing else goes wrong.


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## Kevin Haskins (Nov 14, 2007)

Well... .sometimes things don't go as planned. I've never yet done a DIY project that has gone off without a hitch. It is part of the process so don't let it get to you.

Kevin Haskins
Exodus Audio


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## ironglen (Mar 4, 2009)

I concur; seems a 'long weekend project' typically becomes a 'several weekends project' :dumbcrazy: But worth it when it is all said and done:T


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## critofur (Aug 25, 2009)

How's your project going? I was just out in my garage today building some clones of the P.E. .5 ft^3 enclosures (starting with three pairs today) to build both some "Kepler inspired" speakers and some similar (same enclosure, vent, tweeter) speakers with a different woofer - Peerless HDS Nomex 6.5" 830875.

Instead of the Peerless HDS tweeter though, I will use the Dayton RS28F tweeters. 

So far, I've got the boards cut and one pair glued. Will need to measure and design my own crossover as I'm using the different tweeter, but I may look to the one Kevin designed for the Kepler and see how it works / if I like it, before doing my own from scratch.

EDIT: Did you fix your broken inductor? Could probably use Super Glue and a vice... I wind my own inductors myself.


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## Dark Regent (May 24, 2009)

I got the new inductor in and the Kepler's have been up and running for a good three weeks now. I've been meaning to upload some pictures of them but right now I am working on a Tempest build to go with them in a 2.1 configuration so I'll probably just set them all up together and take some photos, in another week or two. I am very happy with them. I really like the Peerless HDS tweeter (it was my main reason for picking the Kepler as a project in the first place), very crisp SQ. Kevin did a great job with the crossover.

I thought about gluing the inductor back together but I was afraid that since it was a ferrite core, that might change the characteristics of the inductor. I figured better safe than sorry. Someday I will learn how to wind my own inductors but I'm still very new to this hobby.

Currently I have 1 Anarchy woofer on order and hopefully I will be getting 1 free Anarchy woofer when I complete and post my Tempest build. I'm planning on experimenting with them and 2 of the Seas 27TDFC tweeters. I've been messing with LspCad, which is giving me some problems, and Speaker Workshop, which seems to be working correctly, trying to figure out the crossover design. It's hard as I have no way to test the drivers themselves so I'm using the frequency response measurements supplied by the manufacturer and SPL Trace to input the data into the different programs. I've been trying to use the Kepler crossover design as a model in both programs to see if the simulated response is close to what Kevin actually measured. I'm afraid the way I'm attempting it is no where near accurate enough and if I do design my own crossovers, they could be hit or miss. I also downloaded Basta! but haven't played with it much yet.


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## critofur (Aug 25, 2009)

If you're not working from your own measurements then you'll want to read Jay Kim's web page about simulation using "traced" measurements here: http://www.geocities.com/woove99/Spkrbldg/DesigningXO.htm

I plan on ordering some Anarchy woofers and I do have some 27TDFC tweeters. I will measure the woofer - I could measure the tweeter, but I might not have time to make a baffle with a cutout for the 27TDFC (wife complains a lot when I try to go to the garage to work on speakers :blink: :hissyfit: ) I will be making baffles with cutouts for the RS28, off hand, I don't recall how close of a fit the 27TDFC is in an RS28 cutout...

Would you build your own cabinets? What size baffle? (The .5 cu foot cabinets from Parts Express that Kevin uses have 8.5" x 14" baffles).

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=302-720










Ah, cool to see that he's taking orders for the woofers now!


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## Dark Regent (May 24, 2009)

I'd probably just buy the enclosures from PE again. It's hard to beat the $79 price tag on those 0.5ft^3 when you include paint, wood, and labor.

Thanks for the web link.


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## Kevin Haskins (Nov 14, 2007)

Dark Regent said:


> I'd probably just buy the enclosures from PE again. It's hard to beat the $79 price tag on those 0.5ft^3 when you include paint, wood, and labor.
> 
> Thanks for the web link.


Once you have a cabinet, you quickly see that it is impossible to beat them for the price. You have to build a couple speakers the old way to appreciate how much labor you save. Of course they are far beyond what most DIYers can build because most of us don't have a professional paint shop nor can we build grills and such that are anywhere near as nice as the PE ones. 

They are a no-brainer.

Kevin Haskins
Exodus Audio


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