Hello all! Backstory here, review below. Also, this is a mirror of my review posted on another forum. I thought it might help more people here. :)
Quite a long time ago, I bought some Wild Burro Audio Betsy drivers. Unfortunately they sat in a corner collecting dust for some time as I couldn't come up with a design that would in theory give "good enough" bass response but still are small enough to not be ridiculous.
About a year ago I started researching heavily into amplifier design, and ended up buying a Decware SE84UFO amplifier. Quite honestly, it's one of my most prized possessions and will never be replaced, but that's a whole different story and a different debate.
I noticed a new speaker on Decware's website- with a particular name- "model Betsy". Steve's website gave credit to Randy over at Caintuck Audio.
Randy has an excellent sister website which imho does an excellent job showing his various DIY efforts, biases, and beliefs. Randy's story really resonated with me- a man who always wanted to open up an business dear to his love and hobbies; selling excellent designs at prices anybody can afford. I've exchanged a few emails with Randy and can indeed say with certainty that he is a man of excellent character (and customer service!) and isn't in the business to make a buck- he truely loves this Hobby.
Luckily for me, Randy not only sells completed speakers in various Ply, Hardwoods, and finishes, but also sells flat pack kits!
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__________________________Packaging & Material:
Receiving the $125 flat-pack "enclosure" kit, packaging was the best I've had from any business for any product. Randy creates his own packaging foam to hold the wood in place during shipment, and unless your package fell off a truck down a highway, or someone dropped it from the roof of a building, I'm sure it'll be delivered in perfect condition. Attention to detail to make sure the wood isn't damaged in shipment was beyond excellent.
Wood quality was spectacular. I wasn't expecting much for $125, but the plywood was flawless and cuts were perfect. The baffle face and thick wooden plinth was pre-drilled for an easy install, and the drilled pilot holes were not too large to provide the screws with an extremely tight install. The screws in the front baffle are covered up by wooden "buttons" that are press-fit into pre-countersunk holes for an extremely clean look.
All screws provided were of excellent quality and correct in number. I believe Randy actually provided a few extra screws for the speaker driver just in case someone dropped and lost a few. Call me impressed.
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__________________________Audio Review: The Meat and Potatos
Equipment: Schiit Audio Modi Multi-Bit DAC, Decware SE84 UFO SET Amplifier, Caintuck Audio Betsy Flat Pack Kit in 3/4" Baltic Birch Ply w/o binding posts, binding post boxes, or convenience handle (speaker wires directly soldered), w/ Wild Burro Audio Betsy drivers (obviously).
Now first and foremost, let me get something out of the way. We all have our biases and to be honest- I bought these more to support good people and satisfy a curiosity of "open baffle" sound more than anything. Flat out, I have a bias for speakers that measure "flat and smooth" from reading too much Harman research online. The Betsy's published FR isn't exactly the flattest known to man. I was expecting a very good speaker- not excellent, and
boy was I wrong.
These "cheap" speakers blew my expectations out of the water. Is it because: it's fullrange, open baffle, paper drivers, driven by a SET? Honestly, I have no idea- but what I do know is that I'm keeping these around.
Looking at the published FR of the Wild Burro Audio's Betsy drivers, I thought these would lean towards sounding bright, thin, and ultimately fatiguing. I also thought that with such a small (open) baffle, bass would be completely lost. I can report that all of these expections are false.
If anything, these speakers in my experience are smooth, full-bodied; fatigue-free, not leaning towards bright nor boomy. What's odd is that everything seems balanced- but not dry nor analytical. It's an incredibly musical speaker that makes you stop "analyzing" the characteristics of the speakers, as you bask and relax to the lovely tunes. It's a speaker that makes you want to crack open some booze, light up a cigar, and unwind. Bass is present enough to not absolutely need a subwoofer, but adding a subwoofer to these speakers would be a match made in heaven if sub-bass is your thing. I feel like the natural bass roll off would allow you to leave the speakers full-range, and not utilize a high-pass filter if you added a subwoofer. Additionally, bass is extremely tight and different from anything else I've experienced- I'm guessing this is the "open baffle" bass experience.
The rest of the frequency range just sounds "right". Again this speaker is incredibly musical. Nowhere can I find fatigue in the presentation. No sibilance, nor does anything sound too emphasized or missing. Honestly this speaker really racks my brain because the drivers on-axis isn't exactly perfect. If I had to guess the rear output of the driver must have just the right frequency response to make the total response at the listening position more even.
Where this speaker also shines is in the soundstage and imaging department. To be quite honest my listening room is far from ideal- so this will only improve. The music "floats" above the speakers and isn't stuck to the loudspeaker drivers. The resulting sound doesn't sound "low" like you think it would be. Center image is exact and strong. The speakers throw a beautiful wide soundstage. Imaging in my room isn't "pin point" precise but I feel like a great balance between precision and width for musicality. The imaging isn't so intense and precise that it distracts you from the overall music, but you can very easily get a sense of where instruments are. One of my favorite test tracks for this is "Kusanagi by Odesza".
Really I can't think of a better way to summerize this than the following. I've listened to many speakers and headphones in my life. Even with very well reviewed items I usually come away with dissappointment, expecting more than the product had to offer. The Caintuck Betsy's are the exact opposite- and honestly I can't really believe how good these are, especially given the price! These aren't just some "budget value" speakers either, they are truly something special. I never thought I would find a speaker under $1,500 that I could honestly say I could be satisfied living with the rest of my life. I could happily live with these the rest of my life. Ofcourse, your results may vary, but I would be shocked by anyone
not loving these speakers.
A short little tidbit- these speakers have excellent efficiency. My Decware SE84UFO has a published 2.3W RMS output. At 1/4 (9 O'Clock) on the volume dial I'm already at "loud". Atleast for me in my small room. These speakers just keep surprising.
Build Album:
http://imgur.com/a/7AAAFNo affiliation to Decware or Caintuck Audio. Review not paid for, and represents my honest opinions.
http://www.caintuckaudio.comhttps://www.decware.com/newsite/Caintuck.htmlhttp://www.wildburroaudio.com/speakers.php