the original Karlson enclosure "K15", was developed in the summer of 1951 and made its debut at the Fall1952 Hotel New Yorker "Audio Fair" *. Full construction details appeared in the January 1954 issue of Radio and Television News. That same issue featured a Theremin by Bob Moog.
* LOOK at the attendees and their products for that audio fair
http://www.aes.org/aeshc/pdf/how.the.aes.began/ae_4th-audio-fair-exhibitors.pdf
GregB's Karlsonator12 is tuned ~37Hz. The classic Karlson Ultra-Fidelity lineup: K15 tunes in the high 40's, K12 about 62Hz, and K8 about 95Hz. The front shelf feature only appeared with K15 (and likely Karlson's K18). In the 1954 article, John Karlson mentioned that scaling K15 by 0.8 gave some problems. In practice IIRC, that worked pretty well although the front shelf may segregate some treble from reaching the upper front chamber. In the fall of 1954, the first Karlson 12 was introduced which is known as the "Karlsonette" and that model had a 3-position bar on the back panel to adjust the lowpass choke and tuning.
Around 1956, the distributed 6-slit K12 with split rear shelf/brace replaced the Karlsonette and the second K12 appeared as a construction article in the July 1958 issue of Popular Mechanics. A third K12 became available as a kit and could be purchased with a blank port panel. The 3rd K12 resumed the old 30 degree baffle slant and full width rear shelf.
FWIW I'd take K12 with appropriate coax or woofer + K-tube over a lot of midbass horns. A proper pair of K12 with subwoofer augmentation should have a lot of dynamic range available.
* LOOK at the attendees and their products for that audio fair
http://www.aes.org/aeshc/pdf/how.the.aes.began/ae_4th-audio-fair-exhibitors.pdf
GregB's Karlsonator12 is tuned ~37Hz. The classic Karlson Ultra-Fidelity lineup: K15 tunes in the high 40's, K12 about 62Hz, and K8 about 95Hz. The front shelf feature only appeared with K15 (and likely Karlson's K18). In the 1954 article, John Karlson mentioned that scaling K15 by 0.8 gave some problems. In practice IIRC, that worked pretty well although the front shelf may segregate some treble from reaching the upper front chamber. In the fall of 1954, the first Karlson 12 was introduced which is known as the "Karlsonette" and that model had a 3-position bar on the back panel to adjust the lowpass choke and tuning.
Around 1956, the distributed 6-slit K12 with split rear shelf/brace replaced the Karlsonette and the second K12 appeared as a construction article in the July 1958 issue of Popular Mechanics. A third K12 became available as a kit and could be purchased with a blank port panel. The 3rd K12 resumed the old 30 degree baffle slant and full width rear shelf.
FWIW I'd take K12 with appropriate coax or woofer + K-tube over a lot of midbass horns. A proper pair of K12 with subwoofer augmentation should have a lot of dynamic range available.
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Hello. Thank you for the detailed answer!
I was interested in your claim that the K8 is only set to 95Hz. - If so, then there's no point in building this office.
Why did I want to build a K8? - Because the cabinet "back-loaded horn" (according to the factory drawings) is large in size (as stated by the manufacturer, the setting of the back-load horn at 50Hz).
As well as on page 71, as I understand it, it is said that K8 plays in the area of 45Hz and it is less than "back-loaded horn".
I was interested in your claim that the K8 is only set to 95Hz. - If so, then there's no point in building this office.
Why did I want to build a K8? - Because the cabinet "back-loaded horn" (according to the factory drawings) is large in size (as stated by the manufacturer, the setting of the back-load horn at 50Hz).
As well as on page 71, as I understand it, it is said that K8 plays in the area of 45Hz and it is less than "back-loaded horn".
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a Karlsonator8 is a pretty large cabinet,can play into the 40's and tuned ~41Hz. Karlson's "K8" from 1955 is very small and tuned over an octave higher. In some cases it would be better to seal the Karlson K8's vents (and perhaps apply LF EQ)
Here's a 1960's K8 of mine loaded with FE206EN
KARLSONATOR 8 PLAN
KARLSON K8 FROM THE 1960'S PLAN

Here's a 1960's K8 of mine loaded with FE206EN

KARLSONATOR 8 PLAN

KARLSON K8 FROM THE 1960'S PLAN

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Great K8 plan from the 1960s even smaller. I like the 1960s plan! Thank you so much!
Did you make this project (shown in the photo) yourself? If you still have it, do you have a record of the sound it makes? How much hertz is the cabinet set up for?Here's a 1960's K8 of mine loaded with FE206EN.
![]()
I'm sorry, but English is not my first language. So I don't quite understand some of the words, and I have questions.
I got it right:
1) GregB's Karlsonator 8 plays ~ from 41-45 hertz?
2) KARLSON K8 FROM THE 1960'S plays ~ from 82-95 hertz?
Thank you
I got it right:
1) GregB's Karlsonator 8 plays ~ from 41-45 hertz?
2) KARLSON K8 FROM THE 1960'S plays ~ from 82-95 hertz?
Thank you
yes - and your English is excellent
1) GregB's Karlsonator 8 plays ~ from 41-45 hertz?
2) KARLSON K8 FROM THE 1960'S plays ~ from 82-95 hertz?
Here's an outdoor graph made in a big field of Visaton BG20 in Karlsonator 8 vs Karlsonator 12.
Karlsonator 12 did not have any damping material in its "stub" so was resonant
with several dips in its response. I'm not sure if TheJessMan had much fill in Karlsonator8's "stub"
Response to 50Hz was quite strong for Karlsonator 8:
Jesse's 6th octave smooth graph hides some of the empty Karlsonator 12 dips
1) GregB's Karlsonator 8 plays ~ from 41-45 hertz?
2) KARLSON K8 FROM THE 1960'S plays ~ from 82-95 hertz?
Here's an outdoor graph made in a big field of Visaton BG20 in Karlsonator 8 vs Karlsonator 12.
Karlsonator 12 did not have any damping material in its "stub" so was resonant
with several dips in its response. I'm not sure if TheJessMan had much fill in Karlsonator8's "stub"
Response to 50Hz was quite strong for Karlsonator 8:

Jesse's 6th octave smooth graph hides some of the empty Karlsonator 12 dips

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Thank you so much! You've been a great help to me!
Can I still contact you if there are any questions?
I'm looking for the golden mean as always, between the big drawer and the bottom edge of the bass.
I like the K8 from the '60s for its small size, and I like the K8 from GregB's for the bottom edge of the bass.
Of course, the subwoofer will be bought anyway.
I'm thinking about the K8 from the '60s. But what if the port targets are increased?
I can try to answer. XRK971 has an Akabak routine to run for the Karlsonator and can scale the height, width and depth independently .
If you have the parameters for a driver in mind, then post them and X will be of
great help.
Best Wishes,
Freddy
If you have the parameters for a driver in mind, then post them and X will be of
great help.
Best Wishes,
Freddy
Hello.
There was a question about the impact of cabinet size on the depth of the bass.
I mean...
1) GregB's Karlsonator 8 plays ~ from 41-45 hertz?
2) KARLSON K8 FROM THE 1960'S plays ~ from 82-95 hertz?
What sizes can there be to achieve a depth of bass ~ 60 hertz?
To reduce the bass to 60hz, Or maybe increase the size of the slits in KARLSON K8 FROM THE 1960 's?
hi AlexyP
Look at XRK's "XKi" thread - here's a post with Eminence Beta8cx
XKi - X's ab initio Karlson 6th Order Bandpass
I think later X revised the vent on this drawing
If you decide upon a driver with known Thiele-Small parameters then
XRK971 can run an Akabak simulation for you to get proper chamber sizes and tuning
I tried to simulate that type made with Karlson K8 back and front chamber but don't know if the model makes any sense
Look at XRK's "XKi" thread - here's a post with Eminence Beta8cx
XKi - X's ab initio Karlson 6th Order Bandpass
I think later X revised the vent on this drawing
If you decide upon a driver with known Thiele-Small parameters then
XRK971 can run an Akabak simulation for you to get proper chamber sizes and tuning
I tried to simulate that type made with Karlson K8 back and front chamber but don't know if the model makes any sense

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bass/drum pa cab?
hi freddi, is the original Karlsonator in post 145 for a 15"? And I could scale for 12" (beta12cx) or 10" (beta10cx)? Thank, and welcome back.
hi freddi, is the original Karlsonator in post 145 for a 15"? And I could scale for 12" (beta12cx) or 10" (beta10cx)? Thank, and welcome back.
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GregB's "original" Karlsonator(12) is for 12 inch speakers and its ~13.6" tall baffle can't hold a 15". I ran an Eminence Beta 10CX in Karlsonator12 and it supported F10 or so to tuning (37Hz) - but feel its too large really for a 10 inch speaker. I'd like to see a Karlsonator10 tuned in the mid 40's and sized not much if any bulkier than Karlsonator8.
Beta10cx/ASD1001 lacked the midrange transparency of a good FR - I think
Eminence's 2KCX lowpass filter is partly to blame. Mike Chua probably got more detain and better vocals out of that coax with his "Osprey" lowpass section.
Karlsonator Plan "original"
http://i.imgur.com/9YhM6or.png
Beta10cx/ASD1001 lacked the midrange transparency of a good FR - I think
Eminence's 2KCX lowpass filter is partly to blame. Mike Chua probably got more detain and better vocals out of that coax with his "Osprey" lowpass section.
Karlsonator Plan "original"
http://i.imgur.com/9YhM6or.png
Hi all,
I bought sometime last year a pair of Lii F15, the idea being to place them into a K.
I made it into a Karlsonator.
My idea is to have one single full range and a big box to get big sound at low level.
Once I received the drivers, it was easy to try them into OBs...it was OK but not what I was looking for.
They aren't closed tight for the time being because I wanted to listen and see if it was to expectation....and it is so I'll have to finish them and make them nice.
I chose OSB panel because it is the cheapest thing I could get, plywood here is difficult to obtain and far far out of my budget. But also I wanted OSB because it is heterogeneous which is a simple way to avoid standing inside waves.
I hate damping which I find muffling the sound and here there is none.
Don't ask mesurements, I don't do such thing, I listen then I like or dislike and try various modifications.
All is made with my poor tooling equipment and on my kitchen table for the pleasure of my wife.
I bought sometime last year a pair of Lii F15, the idea being to place them into a K.
I made it into a Karlsonator.
My idea is to have one single full range and a big box to get big sound at low level.
Once I received the drivers, it was easy to try them into OBs...it was OK but not what I was looking for.
They aren't closed tight for the time being because I wanted to listen and see if it was to expectation....and it is so I'll have to finish them and make them nice.
I chose OSB panel because it is the cheapest thing I could get, plywood here is difficult to obtain and far far out of my budget. But also I wanted OSB because it is heterogeneous which is a simple way to avoid standing inside waves.
I hate damping which I find muffling the sound and here there is none.
Don't ask mesurements, I don't do such thing, I listen then I like or dislike and try various modifications.
All is made with my poor tooling equipment and on my kitchen table for the pleasure of my wife.
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It is what I was after, big sound at low level.
But as I have always thought the recordings are essential, much more than anything in the system.
On good recording the thing shine, you have precise sound all over and you can stay there for hours. So I have some music I am not really fond of but it well recorded it become a real pleasure to listen.
But I still have few things to try and of course close it tight once happy and that also could make a slight difference.
But as I have always thought the recordings are essential, much more than anything in the system.
On good recording the thing shine, you have precise sound all over and you can stay there for hours. So I have some music I am not really fond of but it well recorded it become a real pleasure to listen.
But I still have few things to try and of course close it tight once happy and that also could make a slight difference.
I have just picked up a pair of K15's. One had an unwelcome family inside and they messed up the batting.
It looks fluffier than fiberglass.
Any suggestions as what to use ?
Thank You
It looks fluffier than fiberglass.
Any suggestions as what to use ?
Thank You
Melamine scrubber foam pads works great as sound absorber. Doesn’t rot and rodents won’t eat it. Same as BASF Basotect. But a bag of 100 for $7 from China.
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