| Customizations
We don't stop with crossover network upgrades. A speaker's final sound quality is very much a sum of its parts. The crossover network design, the crossover network parts quality, the cabinet, internal wiring, drive units, binding posts and more. All of these items contribute to the end product - of which the goal is to simulate a live event with as close to perfect accuracy as possible.
Special Customizations
We offer an array of customization services from tweaking your outboard networks to tailoring your new networks to fit you and your room. For example, if your room has a lot of glass and is sparsely furnished, you may find your speakers to be ' bright ' - we can alter the response to compensate for this. Any custom sonic changes are easily removed or updated if your environment changes.
Simply contact us for more information on any of our customization options.
Build Options
We offer kits that are professionally built by the Ninja and his minions. This way you know every connection is correct and tested. These are our easiest to install kits.
If you are adventurous, we offer DIY (Do It Yourself) kits. These kits come with all of the parts of our professionally built units but you assemble the network yourself. A diagram, photos and schematic are included so you don't have to figure out the layout. The ability to read a basic electronic circuit schematic is not required for a DIY build but it is very helpful!
A basic list of tools needed for DIY kits are: Soldering iron (solder is included with your kit), heat gun, needle nose pliers, screw driver, hot glue gun & glue or Liquid Nails™, and wire cutters.
If you are not sure, let us build it for you!
Upgrade your CabinetYour speaker cabinet should never 'talk' along with the music!
All speaker cabinets are transducers of minimal excursion. This means that the walls of the cabinet flex (minimally) with the movement of the drive units. Unfortunately this leads to a smearing of the sound you hear. This greatly reduces the accuracy of the playback and consequently, the 'live' feel.
NoRez will quiet down your cabinet to wonderful effect. Tighter bass, cleaner mid-bass and midrange.
NoRez is a product exclusive to Skiing Ninja and GR Research. Its proprietary construction consists of a heavy damping layer and an open cell foam layer.
Installing our pre-cut kits are easy. Simply place each numbered piece into the cabinet as per the included diagram and you are set. Price listed in the options menu above is for one pair of speakers (unless it is a center channel speaker).
Read all about the benefits of upgrading your speaker cabinet with NoRez as well as find out why your cabinet needs to shut its trap!
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Binding Posts
Ditch those brass binding posts!
Vampire #BP-1.5 binding posts are made from one piece of hard brass, including the top nut. They are then copper plated , silver plated , and finally gold plated . This 1/4” post includes all mounting hardware and is priced per set. If you want a bi-amp or tri-amp option, be sure to order 2 sets for bi-amp and 3 sets for tri-amp.
Binding Post Plates
A Binding Post Plate adds some serious bling to your speakers as well as enabling speakers with 'binding post cups' to accept the Vampire post upgrade.
Binding Post Plates are available in single (correct option for most speakers), bi-amp and tri-amp configurations.
For bi and tri amp plates, we include custom jumpers so you can run single connections if so desired .
A note regarding speakers with separate posts :
Not all speakers utilize the same hole spacing and thus some drilling or adjustment by us may be required. If you are unsure about your own speakers, you can order this item and we will contact you if any adjustment is needed. If so and you do not wish to perform the adjustment, we will credit your card and cancel this portion of your order. Alternatively, simply contact us for more information.
All configurations are available in all colors shown...
Bypass Capacitors
Why use a 'by-pass cap'? Think of a capacitor as an energy storage device. Capacitors will store and release energy and are often used for that very reason.
In loudspeaker applications we use them for the capacitive effects and not their energy storage capabilities. The larger the cap the more energy it can store. Also larger caps take longer to charge and to discharge this stored energy. Different types of caps store and release energy at different rates too.
For a wealth of information on the usage of bypass capacitors in loudspeakers, click here.
Our networks typically come with the Sonicap Gen II bypass as standard (check the options above to confirm as this is on a per-network basis). We also offer additional types of bypass caps to suit your taste and budget:
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Sonicap Gen II :
The Gen II has a nice midrange bloom that produces a wonderful combination when bypassing larger values of Gen I with smaller values of Gen II.
This excellent capacitor is standard on most networks. |
Genuine Sprague VitaminQ P96:
Slightly more expensive than the Sonicap Gen II, the Vitamin Q's provide a very lush sound, one that allows you to get lost in the music.
If you're looking for the last bits of detail, you're better off sticking with the Sonicap Gen2 or looking at the Sonicap Platinum.
Pairs excellently when powered by mid-fi receivers. |
Sonicap Platinum:
The Platinum posses the best combination of sonic characteristics available in a capacitor today. It is very fast, but full and rich. The presentation is ultra smooth without loss of detail, focus, or dynamics.
The Platinum is the best bypass cap we offer and is ideal for high resolution systems. |
Additional Thoughts on bypass capacitors...
If you are running your system with a mid-fi or lower receiver, you may want to try the VitaminQ's as that can tame the sometimes strident sound some receivers produce.
Sonicap Platinums are Teflon based whereas VitaminQ's are paper in oil. PIO is considered less accurate but many people love the sound.
For this speaker, when Vitamin Q or Platinum bypass caps are chosen, the woofer section will still receive Sonicap Gen2's as those drivers see 200Hz and down only.
Diffraction Be Gone
Sound waveforms from your tweeters are shorter in length than the width of your speaker cabinets. These waveforms are being randomly reflected by your speaker baffles and edges to your listening position slightly out of time with the original event. Not a good thing!
These waveforms carry the first arrival and higher harmonics of your midrange along with all things high frequency.
Diffraction Be Gone removes this almost as if you had taken the boxes away. We had custom cut high density real wool felt (accept no substitute) tweeter surrounds or fascias made for these speakers that absorb and quiet this interaction. What you will get when this is removed is a clearer view into your stage and recordings. What the microphone captured is revealed in your room without the distortion to time (body) and phase (space) caused by early reflection. Space opens up, deepens. Vocals and instruments appear more truthfully in that space, rounder and more physically right.
The tweeter surrounds attach with Velcro tabs (included) and also eliminate the issues caused by grills - yes you can now run your grills installed!
Internal Wiring
We offer several options to fit your skill/comfort level.
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Mid-level performance: |
Solderless option: |
Solderless option: |
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Ninja SSC
Full internal wire replacement with black Tech Flex open baffle upgrade
The cabling is 15 guage high purity oxygen free solid core copper with a polyethylene jacket. This polyethylene (PE) jacket is superior to polyvinyl chloride (PVC - which is what you will find in 99% of speakers sold) by way of its dialectric constant (2.2-2.4 for PE versus 3.4 for PVC) and preserving qualities. We include Cardas Quad Eutectic solder for all connections. |
Ninja SSC with pigtails, Cardas Solder and Heat Shrink
Your networks will be wired with 10" leads so you can tie into the existing wires coming from the drivers and binding posts. Simply solder the two wires together using the supplied silver solder and heat the shrink tubing (included) for a professional finish. |
Ninja SSC with pigtails and copper connectors
Your networks will be wired with 10" leads so you can tie into the existing wires coming from the drivers and binding posts. Simply crimp the copper connectors over the wires and heat the shrink tubing (included) for a professional finish. |
Ninja SSC with pigtails and wire nuts
Our easiest solution - your networks will be wired with 10" leads so you can tie into the existing wires coming from the drivers and binding posts. Screw the wire nut over the connection and you are done. |
Difference between Copper Connectors and Wire Nuts:
Is there a sonic difference between the two? Technically yes however is it audible? Not likely. Our recommendations are listed left to right with full wire replacement being our #1 recommendation. If you can't solder, our solderless options are a very good alternative.
Fun Stuff
We've got a bunch of fun stuff for you to pimp out your music or theater room. T-Shirts, Limited Edition Pint Glasses and Limited Edition Posters. Click to go to our Skiing Ninja Fun Stuff section for more information (link opens in a new window). |
