July 1st 2025: "I'm excited to share that the Viper project is finalized. After moving to a 3rd-order filter on the AMT—the Dayton remains on a 2nd-order—I've settled on the final crossover execution. Viper is officially ready. Listening to it has been an absolute pleasure. I actually prefer the soundstage, holography and vocals from Viper over the Qualio IQ which has been my daily speaker for over two years. When paired with a powerful amp, this little speaker creates an enormous, natural, immersive sound. I love it so much that in my mind it has evolved from an ultimate desktop/work speaker to something more."

Viper on hallucinogenic curry?

"Since I listen to Viper at concert levels in a 40m² room and as Sheldon Cooper famously said, "Physics is a heartless bitch," this mini monitor is sadly subject to the same laws. Yes, my SPL can still drive it and a 150wpc class AB amp to their limits. I was trying to do the impossible. Then I remembered that you use a mini monitor and subwoofer combo with an outboard crossover to filter the minis. Some high-end subwoofers even have a built-in high-pass filter that can route the speaker signal to reduce excursion-related distortion and increase maximum output. This sounds like a perfect solution. But what about those with more common subwoofers without such filtering or very poor implementations?

"There's an option very few manufacturers implement: a low high-pass filter built directly into the speakers. Why is this so uncommon? It requires a large capacitor. For Viper I use a Mundorf Evo Oil 220µF. The quality of this part is crucial because the entire mid/bass signal passes through it. Here electrolytic caps would be a major limitation. So it's rarely done. Such a capacitor could cost more than the other parts used in many mainstream speakers. However, it's worth it. This single addition allows the speakers to play very loud in a large room when paired with a subwoofer. While I can still push the Vipers to their limit with certain tracks, given my concert-level SPL I consider this a perfect solution for most. I should have backplates with crossovers done by the end of the week. If all the stars or moons align, I should be able to send your samples sometime next week."

Things had gotten even more interesting. My two subs certainly had their woofers tremble in anticipation and my desktop stands were ready for a Polish solo landing.

Grzegorz's studio with Qualio IQ, IQ Ultra, Viper, two different SVS subs and various electronics.

"About the high pass, it has no sound-degrading switch. Instead I use three WBT silver posts, one for the '-' terminal, two for the '+' where one is raw signal, the other filtered. For the tuning of this filter I used two SVS SB-2000 Pro subs crossed in at 80Hz/2nd-order. With the Mundorf 220 µF cap, Viper theoretically starts to roll off at ~80Hz. However, due to the design's natural kick-drum hump, this isn't very noticeable. Some listeners might even prefer the filtered version without a subwoofer if they have it very close to their front wall. I'm currently awaiting final wholesale quotes for all the parts to determine Viper's official retail price. You're right, the component costs are quite close to Qualio's IQ."

In numerous industries, shrinking things is actually costlier than leaving them big. If Viper could compete with IQ minus 10-or-so cycles and ultimate SPL, we'd not expect massive savings when those already factor large in physical miniaturization. As a Qualio owner who knows how his IQ would never fit the office but who'd still love their performance there, those at least were my sentiments. Should we call them insider spin?

I'd find out soon enough. Simon Lee's 50wpc class AB integrated on my desktop should make an excellent mate. For more which I didn't expect my nearfield ears to need, I had 250W nCore monos by Nord Acoustics. In my two regular systems it's DC-coupled ultra-bandwidth 250 watts of class AB either stereo or mono. And of course my last concert levels date back to when I still played in an actual orchestra. My domestic needs today are far less grand.

Given Greg's yellow sample, I asked how much control his 3D printing process affords over colour matching. Must the raw PET-G get mixed with a powdered or liquid pigment? Will buyers be able to specify a RAL colour then net a close approximation, even precise match? Is this level of personalization beyond the project's pale? How deep down the rabbit hole of custom was Greg happy to push? To be sure, the above versions are just my Photoshopped candy colours to brighten what was a rainy Irish afternoon. This and the next two snakes are from PixaBay.