November 5th. "Tonight the final version of the cabinets with five-step AMT regulation will be ready. I was very pleased with the sound Cobra produced at the Audio Show in Warsaw and many visitors shared positive feedback as well. Now I will populate the cabs, conduct a photoshoot and send you additional pictures. The speakers will then ship and be with you next week. Thank you for your patience." The pink posse of HifiPig had left one of their signature piglets in Greg's exhibit, denoting a room they enjoyed in particular. From their report: "This company make a range of audio tweaks including op-amps, isolation feet, cables and speakers made with 3D printed parts – a nerd's dream. They showcased two new models, the Mini Monitor Viper and Monitor Cobra. These are really cool looking speakers, we heard the Monitor Cobra and they sound great – big, deep bass, crisp highs and just a fun sound. The 3D-printed feet look great too and they have some on a pair of SolidSteel stands. These speakers put a smile on my face, it may have helped that they were playing some pretty heavy techno music."
Speakers made with 3D-printed parts? Don't 3D-printed cabinets count for more than parts? Of course reporters covering every single room of an enormous event for mile-deep show reportage must be in a constant rush. There isn't enough time to process the lot at great depth. Hence the ongoing relevance of reviews to dig deeper.
Warsaw contributor Dawid Grzyb of HifiKnights too checked into Greg's room and left seriously impressed; and with a promise of a pair of Viper to test in his own system. I doubt he was the only reviewer to secure commitments. Snakes on a plane Part III? My Danish tripods were prepped for an Irish landing.
[At right also from the show, Mark Levinson's €25K/pr 2-way Chiara monitor for his Daniel Hertz brand which likewise uses a tall albeit monopole Mohawk AMT on top.]
By November 13th, Grzegorz had the final update.
"I'm currently assembling your samples and taking photos simultaneously. I've decreased total wall thickness to 10mm. This consists of a 5mm solid external wall plus 3mm outside pattern. On the internal side you can see 5mm high internal bracing.
"After printing I filled the cabinets with my custom compound of a very thick elastomer syrup and stainless steel micro particles. Once settled this mix provides incredible damping capabilities and the mass of stainless steel further lowers wall resonance. The stiffness comes not just from the speakers' compact size but also the rigidity of the aluminium driver and passive radiator frames which firmly screw to the cabinet. This creates an acoustic deadness when you knock on the speakers in stark contrast to the ringing sound often heard from typical MDF cabinets. The small internal volume also necessitates maximizing every possible litre.
"The crossovers integrate with a 3D-printed cartridge to add more internal bracing by connecting two side walls. This clever placement situated between the lateral radiators further increases overall cab stiffness. I utilize only Mundorf Supreme resistors in the crossovers. I believe that fine-tuning the AMT's high/mid-frequency balance primarily through the five regulation points provides a more open soundstage and greater detail than relying on the sonic character of the Path Audio resistors.
