| 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 and binding posts. 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.
Build Options
We offer kits that are professionally assembled by the Ninja and his minions. This way you know every component is correctly installed. These are our easiest to install kits.
If you are even slightly adventurous and can solder (or are willing to learn on YouTube), we recommend our DIY (Do It Yourself) kits. These kits come with all of the parts you need to upgrade your exising crossover networks. For DIY kits, you will need a soldering iron (the solder is included with your kit), heat gun or hair dryer with high setting (optional), needle nose pliers, hot glue gun or Liquid Nails and wire cutters.
If you are not sure, let us build it for you!
Upgrade your Cabinet
Your speaker cabinet should never 'talk' along with the music. NoRez will quiet down your cabinet to wonderful effect. Tighter bass, cleaner mid-bass and midrange.
All of our cabinet upgrade kits come pre-cut with instructions. Simply place each numbered piece into the cabinet as per the diagram and you are set. Price listed 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 and Black Hole 5 as well as find out why your cabinet needs to shut its trap!
Binding Posts
Ditch those brass binding posts or even worse, that binding post cup.
Vampire #BP-1.5 binding posts are gold plated and 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 bypassas 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 the WAF-1, when Vitamin Q or Platinum bypass caps are chosen, the woofer section will still receive Sonicap Gen2's.
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!
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 Stuffsection for more information (link opens in a new window).
Special Customizations
We offer an array of customization services from 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 changes are easily removed if your environment changes.
Simply contact us for more information on any of our customization options. |
