Aspen

The last 4 digits of the serial number tell you the month and year of it's production; so Run #10 made in October of last year will read '1016'.

Ain't that the truth! Aspen, we all look froward to the results of YOUR experiment. Ok, bad news guys; the ASD doen't fit in the SS3...the torodial xfmr interfers w/ the deeper and wider HF driver...so no room 'as is' to screw the larger ASD in....ooops! The new SS3 'Lite' with a DSPU has even a wider footprint, so no way on that one either...shucks, I was looking forward to reporting back. I think if i redrilled the mounting nut up and raised the Torodial Xfmr 'up', maybe 2", then it may work. Some day I will get around to trying it (love a challenge), but that is alot more work and I haven't have ANY spare time for that adventure lately. Hang in there and I'll report back shortly!

Ain't that the truth! Aspen, we all look froward to the results of YOUR experiment.\ OK, her's my first report back to you on possible upgrade from Eminence SS3 APT coax HF driver to new SXL ASD: 1000 HF driver; . ooops, she no fits! While the male/female parts do fit....the increased sized of the ASD (width/height) conflicts with the SS3 troidal Xfmr, and even moreso with the new SS3 'Lite' because it's lightweight DSPU box has an even larger footprint in that tiny cab and the ASD driver simply does mot fit! Oh well, good thought while it lasted! I believe I could relocate the torodial Xfmr upward inside the SS3 cab...but I'd have to see if that had any negative consequence for Hum in that very small space. But even IF I could move the xfmr and squeeze a ASD in there...I would still need to change 4 resisters and capacitors to lower the x-over from 15KHz to around 12,5 KHD Hz. More when I Have more to report...meanwhile enjoy your SS3 'as is'...you really can't go wrong!

That's an interesting point. With a more efficient main woofer, it sounds like your starting point would have to include boosting the MF/HF level on the box for the highs, and the Width which (I think) is essentially a volume level for the side speaker, to get the components back into balance (and hopefully none were already pushed so much that you can't bring them up further by enough to get them where you want). But that should be about the extent of the "rebalancing" required, with the other variable being to "undo" any of the EQ you specifically did to get the original sounding the way you wanted, and get back to a flat input starting point. Time to Chime! I have been following the 'Italian Job' adventures with interest. It seems we are batting 500 (one hit, and one miss)...and agree with many of the observations such as this one from Scott here....'some re assembly required'. (side note; I am 40 minutes late to work this morning after watching/listening to that AMAZING work from Heresy Scott linked us too in his comments...wow, what a beautiful production!) Back to the other Italian job (from 'women talking of Michaelangelo'). I thought there could very likely be some changes required to adapt the new coax in both levels, EQ and stereo tweaks with your patches. The SS3 was near flat...and changing the main Front speaker will throw all that off...for certain. When we first 'tuned' the SS3 around the Eminence USA CX2008 and it's USA mid driver the APT, the filter curves were tailored for that pairing and the 'loading' of it tiny cabinet. So probably this could be done again for the Italian Job to optimize everything for the new Italian coax. But that is a long labor intensive science project to make new curves and then design the filters around those measurements. And of coarse, there is the added cost of those imported drivers. Then, in the end sound is so subjective I doubt everyone would agree we had accomplished much improvement. Eminence has very good USA made sounding drivers, and at a reasonable cost for OEM manufactures large and small (like me). So I think we hit the sweet spot for both price and performance with the original design on the SS v.3. I can confirm that the USA drivers for the v.3 Front systems were WAY better sounding than the early Spacestion/SFX 100, and the following SS MK2 which were all using Chinese made drivers. Many of you have upgraded your MK2 and can conform these USA drivers DO Make a big difference. But there is always 'the law of diminishing returns' when designing any product. I looked at more expensive drivers when designing the SS3, but I had to balance price and performance to be sure I made a box most could afford at the end of the process. As I have mentioned before, but is good to review; as a rule you can multiply the raw component cost to the manufacturer by 5x to get the end cost for you...the end user. So a $30 mid driver (my cost) will translate to around $150 of the total cost of a speaker at your cost! Try that formula with your Italian job and you can see why I picked the CX2008 and APT coax from USA Eminence. Great 'boom for the buck'! I mention all this with a purpose in mind, and a possible suggestion forming for the more adventurous among you. I had a thought today while reading about cdom's experience, and his ultimate return to the original CX2008; there may be a much easier way to upgrade his SS3 for about $35, which could be accomplished in less than 10 minutes. But I emphasize 'may'. When developing the SXL I went thru a bunch of samples for the Front speaker coax, I also looked at 15" versions but decided the weight vs: performance was not worth the small improvement in bass, and anyway were were going to a full DSP design so tweaking the filters would allow us to match a 15" anyway. This is SOP for me; try everything, but think lke you, the end user...price and size DOES matter! So I settled on a woofer which was a custom design made for me that is essentially a bigger version of the custom made 8" woofer in the SS3; w/ a poly cone and foam surround. (BTW, someone here asked why a 3 Ohm voice coil, and while we started with a 4 Ohm sample we later specified a 3 Ohm to get more energy from the Class D amp. This Class D can actually drive as low as 2 Ohms..and you do get significantly more power the lower you drive it. And, when designing a self powered cab we are not limited to standard 2/4/8 Ohm impedance loads because we are designing an integrated system with no 'extension speaker outputs'....so you cannot mis match the impedances. However, for the MId driver (and tweeter) of the SXL Front system I chose an Eminence catalog Titanium mid driver to complete the coax package. Their USA Made ASD:1001, see: http://www.eminence.com/speakers/driver-detail/?model=ASD1001S This driver has an extended HF response (so that is why we could eliminate the super tweeter in the SXL) and also it has lower crossover (2.5K vs. 3.5K). So it 'goes lower' and is punchier than the APT, which may (or may not) make some of your piano patches sound nicer too. BTW, this was something several of our NAMM listeners told us they liked about the new SXL. Here's my thought; the ASD and APT are interchangeable...that is they have the same thread pattern and so the ASD could easily screw into the CX208 woofer in your SS3. However, the SS3 crossover is still set for 3.5K, and I am not sure how much work would be required to lower that for the ASD. But for sure, it will sound different. Whether that is better is subjective, as always when listening to speakers. I'll have to try this myself later today in the studio and see what happens. If I like it, I will report back. Then I will also need to explore if the crossover can easily be lowered to 2.5K to allow the ASD to work in that area. It should work (in therory), but I will not know until I try it myself...I encourage you all to WAIT! BUt if it does work (and by that I mean noticibly improve), then this DYI adventure may be MUCH easier and cheaper for you to try as compared to another 'Italian Job'. BTW, currently I notice Eminence has the normally $35 ASD:1000 on sale for $30 with free shipping! (just a bit less than cdom paid :>) However guys, and as most of you know...so I stress this point; the SS3 is a near perfect design for it's application. It has has made 1,000s of you very happy 'as it is'. So frankly spoken I do not consider it 'broken', by any means. And I have NO intention of redesigning a 'winner' product. However some of you are DIY'ers and love to 'tinker'...so for you this may be a fun and cheap way to modify your SS3..which is easily reversible. But whether this is an 'up grade' remains to be seen...I will try it and get back to you, give me a week or so to do all the cross over research too.

Hi all, forgive the late reply but I'm still recharging my batteries from a 2+ week non stop NAMM adventure. Understood about the double weight issue...I also wish I could lose 15 pounds (I mean the SXL...too), and I did my best to keep it down! FYI, the first few prototypes were about 15 lbs MORE, and it was during that effort in weight reduction for the SXL, while trying plywood and a new DSPU to go transformerless, that I decided to visit those ideas to the SS3 'Lite' that rduce it by about 10 lbs to 32 pounds! However our custom made 3 Ohm 12" USA Coax Eminence woofer in the SXL is double the weight of our CX2008 SS3 wooffer. I considered Neo magnets, but Neos are almost double the cost with no sonic benefit. It also has more double the wood because we have a cab inside a cab with our PAF Digital Alignment Transducer technology that allows us to build a second internal cab for the Side system, which now also uses double the 6.5" speakers! And of coarse we doubled the channels, the control panels and more than doubled the power. So all that 'doubling' considered, you can appreciate it was nearly impossible NOT to double the weight too! I like several of the comments above here that adding a sub to the SS3 splits the weight into 2 packages, which is easier to handle. I do think the SS3 w/ a sub may be a better solution than stepping up to a SXL for many of you. But for those with a dolly and an extra pair of hands, playing in a band with a double bass drummer and Marshall half stacks...the SXL may have some advantages.

Sorry for the late chime guys, but I've been really busy as you may have noticed. Being a NAMM exhibitor is VERY thrilling, but also exhausting. This is well over 100 NAMM shows for me, and they are not getting any easier! So now, finally a chance to briefly reply to some of your comments and questions; Tri-amping was not necessary for he SXL as the Titanium USA Eminence mid driver component we chose is flat to 20KHz+, and yes, it is a regular catalog item in their USA offerings (with just a slight modification). The USA Eminence 12" woofer part of the coax is a totally new design, and custom made for us with a poly cone, foam surround and we wound ut with a 3 Ohm VC. We went thru 3 versions and the folks at Eminence did a great job. Then our design team (headed by Dr. Marshall Buck) tuned it with our built in DSP component to be virtually flat...it's actually as smooth (or smother) than the SS3. And yes, it is flat to 50 HZ, so no sub required. And at 116db SPL, it measures about 10 dB louder than the SS3. Finally got a chance to demo it to a dozen or more SS3 owners today, including some of our KC guys. I'll let them post their 1st impressions for themselves, but I had a pretty good first day!

From talking Sticks....veering back to barking about wood: Yes Zaphod; plywood vs: MDF has always been a controvery for cabinet builders, with fans on both sides. The density of MDF (also called particle board, basically made from sawdust and glue) makes for a good sounding cabinet...with a lower bass resonance, especially @ 50Hz....or in simplier speak; it vibrates 'less'. Probably why most subs are made from MDF (and also to lower cost). But that density also means it is much heavier than plywood (sometimes twice as heavy!). On the down side (pun intended), MDF doesn't do as well in 'drop tests' (don't try this at home kids!). We've had to replace at least one SS3 cab for Sweetwater that had broken apart from a bad fall...as there is no way to repair it. The strength of Plywood is a big plus, and also as Zaphod mentioned, the screws can be easily removed and tightened more often without 'stripping', as compared to MDF. Some of you had mentioned that experience when changing your grills to be covered in Black cloth back in Season 2 of this thread. (NOTE: if/when that ever happens to you just use a toothpick and a drop of glue in the hole, that usually allows the screw to tighten) Plywood will also do much better in the 'drop tests' of gig life. I can't remember ever seeing a plywood cab breaking apart...it even does better than solid wood because of it's layered cross grain construction. And, because of plywood's strength, you can usually use a thinner board for the same job. That benefit, plus it's reduced weight as compared to MDF, will mean a cab from Plywood will be stronger and MUCH lighter. I should also mention that many amp companies over the years have used both; MDF for the baffle board (that holds the speakers) and plywood for the sides and back. This allows for a stronger cab but an acoustically lower resonance baffle board (so it is more linear and won't have a 'peak' tone). But in the end, many cab builders are designing for the lowest possible price point to be competitive, and plywood is about twice the price of particle board...check out your local Home Depot. In our case the SS3 cab doesn't use THAT much wood because it is fairly small, and since we were in the process of standardizing the AC power supply to be world wide compatible with the new lighter DPSU, we decided to also change over to plywood and get the maximum weight reduction possible.

Dan, string players who use stereo FX and/or the new modeling amps are just recently waking up to the 3D soundscape of the SS3 so maybe you can join the party soon! And if so, I doubt you'd need a sub! In fact, and regarding the sub discussions here, while I like a sub in some applications I really would not consider one is really 'needed' in many (if not most) situations, especially if there is a bass player in the band. As has been mentioned here repeatedly during the first season, many SS3 early adopters who have bought a sub leave it home (or in the car) for some gigs as the SS3 can hold it's own nicely in those smaller venues.

Great Boogie there Junkcar, love that groove and it was a nice recording too. Thanks for sharing! But just to restate, the SS3 'Lite' is probably only 7 pounds lighter if you bought yours within the last 18 months or so (32lbs vs. 39lbs.)

That probably will not happen folks, sorry to say. The cabs and electronics are made in Don Guang China, near Hong Kong, while the primary speakers are made in Kentucky USA. So just removing these USA made speakers from the SS3 package probably wouldn't reduce the end price that much. So probably it would be impractical (and very expensive) to just import these partial components. Also, I have to plan runs 4+ months in advance so even if I could run extra cabs and power supplies...these would still be 6 months away and after importation (the DIM weight would make them the same cost) these would still be vey expensive, maybe 75% or more of current brand new SS3 prices. Then also consider what an adventure you are asking for; you would have to remove all components from the old SS3 amps and then reinstall these into the new one...you would essentially be building an entire amp w/ these new components (handles, four speakers, 4 speaker wiring looms, 4 feet, grill...etc.) So...it would probably be wiser to sell your SS3 and buy a new one...that would probably cost less $ (net) and save a bunch of time (many hours) and lots of effort! And remember, the most important thing to most of us is sound quality...and that would remain unchanged.

Good catch Dave, but of coarse that is because I always make these important CPS announcements here on KC first! Then also, I think the team at SW is a touch busy a few days before Christmas...but they know about it. I expect they will make those changes in due time.

I have a 'Lite Christmas' announcement for you about our latest run of SS3 amps; we've lost some weight! I had been making 3 different AC powered versions of the SS3 since the reintroduction of the Spacestation v.3 about 2 years ago. One version for Japan (100vac), one for Europe and Australia (230-240vac), and the original version for North America (120vac). This makes more work and complicates planning each time I do a new run. So I've been working on a new 'universal' DSPU (Digital Switching Power Supply) that auto ranges from 90vac to 250vac...no special rewiring or custom AC transformers needed. It also eliminates the heavy toroidal power transformer used in the old power supply. Another benefit is that digital switching power supplies are far more efficient and so use less energy...not a bad thing in today's green conscious world! So finally the design phase was completed and we have now incorporated the new DSPU into the latest run #9, which BTW is our largest run ever..thank you KC guys for spreading the word! These Run #9 amps are now in stock at all our Dealer Partners around the world. This was an expensive 6 month design adventure followed by an even more expensive all new certification process (just this was about $25K out of pocket!) but which also now added the TVA Canadian approval label to our back panel. So now we can finally find a Canadian Dealer Partner who can import and supply our CPS fans up North! ((Note; I will continue to supply and support Canadian musicians directly from my shop here in SoCal w/ subsidized shipping until we have finalized a Canadian Dealer Partner...which I am working hard to find). Additionally for Run #9, and while we were at it, I decided to switch over from MDF board to solid plywood for the SS3 cabinet. This also increased my cost of material but it reduced weight plus makes our SS3 cab even stronger....and no more stripped screws in case you want to 'Go Black' on your grill cloth material! Neither of these 'in line' changes will make any change to the appearance, power or audio performance as compared to the previous versions of the SS3. However eliminating the power supply transformer, plus the lighter plywood material, means we 'lost some weight"! How much? Well, the first SS3 version in Run #1 weighed 42 lbs, then some minor changes in Run #2 brought us down to 39 lbs, which is what the vast number of SS3 amps out there have weighed. So now the latest Run #9 SS3 amps weigh just 32 lbs., down between 7 and 9 lbs just depending to which version you compare. Not drastic, but a 25% reduction is noticible! Guys, this was an expensive adventure for me, but I think it will be worth it in the long run. It means some savings on shipping for my Dealer Partners (and you too), streamlines production planning for me as we expand into new world markets, and will also save a few old backs schlepping their SS3 to gigs! Also, now when SS3 users travel abroad they will just need to change power cords (or convert their AC plug) for use anywhere in the world, or on those cruise ship gigs! So I believe this was a good investment for the future of the SS3, especially as I have no plans to either replace or discontinue the SS3 in the foreseeable future. On the contrary, this little amp has been a God send for me and my most successful and rewarding product ever (on many levels) over my 40+ years of product introductions. Lastly, and in case I do not get another chance to say this to you before Sunday; Merry Christmas and Happy 'Holy Days' to all of my friends here on KC, and THANK YOU for your many kind words and support over the last year. Wishing you the best year ever in 2017!

Great video on the Chapman stick played thru the SS3, I really enjoyed it! Thanks for sharing! I also like my mini Tremor, it is also a good fit to the SS3. BTW, I will have a few SS3 surprises to share in the upcoming weeks...so stay tuned!

Thanks for the comments guys. Believe it or not we not have at least two SS3 adopters using it for composition in their home studios (synth and KB), and it never leaves their work space. One CPS family member I am in touch with is even using it for mixing in his project studio, albeit as an alternate speaker system and for listening at a distance. I actually cautioned him against it for that application, so as not to get his expectations up, but he likes the 'perspective' it gives him...go figure. We also have several installs where the SS3 is mounted (upside down) in the ceiling of small bar/clubs where foot print is an issue. It's used as full time background music system and sometimes PA on week ends. I helped install one at a local micro brewery here in SoCal (I loved helping with that install!), and they seem to like it and we used a small cheap HiFi sub w/ a 10" and 100 which works great). As I have always maintained, the SS3 LF response is fine for most applications all by itself. And 'when/if' you need to fill in b/w 30-80Hz...it doesn't take much. Remember our max SPL is around 106db, so a sub around 110dB is well suited for the task (f you can believe he stats). So finding a small decent sounding studio studio SUB for around $220 is interesting to me. Actually, I may have already talked myself into trying one out as I have yet another micro brewery install in 'Gentrified' downtown LA on the radar soon, so I may try it out there. Boom for buck I remain a big fan of the B1200. But I caution that it may be overkill...too much sub sucks the air out of the room so watch our for dagger stares from your bass player. Then again, when they ask you to turn down...that is what I call a premium problem.

Bach to another SUBject; Has anyone bought and/or tried this $220 powered SUB from Monoprice? http://www.monoprice.com/Product?p_id=605999&utm_source=criteo&utm_medium=retargetting&utm_content=2x2&utm_campaign=q2_2016_test I like the 1/4 TRS or TS in/outs (which are balanced, or not) so no special (read: expensive) 1/4" to XLR cables needed for use with the SS3. I also like the compact size and power...200RMS w/ a 10" is more than enough LF for the SS3 package (on paper anyway). They say it does 110Spl from 20-150Hz...that's also very good (on paper). And as a pro audio studio design for serious monitoring I suppose it sounds good (which of coarse, is SUBjective) It's smaller than either the B1200 or Mini Tremor and the SS3 should fit nicely atop it's platform. But also I like what says about the Low Pass Filter design passing thru the cutoff point to the following L&R outputs (NOTE: the Behringer B1200 has the same 'speak' but in practice it sucked gain from the system chain if you place it before the SS3, so I usually suggest using it post SS3): (from the manual) "This (low pass filter) knob will determine which frequencies are sent to the subwoofer and which are cutoff and sent to the outputs. Rotate the knob clockwise to increase the cutoff frequency to a maximum of 150Hz. Rotate the knob counterclockwise to decrease the cutoff frequency to a minimum of 50Hz." One more thing I noticed that I have never seen on any SUB; a foot switch that turns it (and the low pass filter) off on demand, again via a common 1/4" common jack. Useful in case the Bass player starts complaining you are stealing his space..." So I am just curious if anyone here has tried it, and has an opinion. If not, I may get one and see if it delivers as promised...right after the other two dozen things on my 'to do' list are crossed off! (Christmas around the corner and then NAMM show a few weeks later!)