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Flat pack options

As CSS rolls out more kits, our plan is to offer MDF flat packs for every kit including driver and port cutouts/recesses and fully rabbeted edges for easy alignment during assembly. 

Then it occurred to us that without much effort, we could offer these flat packs with blank front/rear baffles so they could be used for any design they fit.

Then it occurred to us that with a little forethought, and another bit of effort, panels from one kit could be reappropriated for another, for example, 4 side panels from our P215 kit could be combined with a new top/bottom to make a 12" x 12" x 11.25" subwoofer enclosure.  We would only have to stock 1 extra panel size and you guys would get another option.  If we did this with multiple designs, we could have many options available without a warehouse full of MDF.

If this plan works, we would want to design many of these enclosures simultaneously so we get as much good overlap as possible.  So with this in mind, we're looking for some feedback.  Most if not all of what we're considering right now will be simple rectangular prisms to maximize value.

What sizes would you like to see - both in volume and dimensional ratios?

What types of bracing options would you like to see to maximize stability, but minimize potential interference with drivers?

Is there any interest in plate amp sub-enclosures built into subwoofer cabinets?

What price points will make these flat packs viable options for you guys?

Anything else you'd like to see incorporated?

Thanks for the feedback guys, and a Happy New Year to all!

Dan
PWRRYDkennykJavadS
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Comments

  • Great idea Dan!
  • I think a series approximating the PE pre-finished would go over well. Their current selection of flat packs is very weird. 
    I have a signature.
  • I'd like to see flat packs that had 45 degree edges.  Assuming that's not possible, maybe 3/8 inch rabbeted joints with the cut ends showing on the sides and back.

    Currently there are no 3, 5, or 10 liter flat packs from PE or Denovo.  

    The golden rectangle ratio for the front baffle height and width would be good.  I don't care to much about the depth.

    I prefer post braces so a dado in the across the center of the small cabinet sides would be good.

    If you can be competitive with PE that would be good.  I'd pay more for baltic birch, which might be lighter and less costly to ship.
     John H, btw forum has decided I don't get emails
  • I'd like to see flat packs that had 45 degree edges.  Assuming that's not possible, maybe 3/8 inch rabbeted joints with the cut ends showing on the sides and back.

    Currently there are no 3, 5, or 10 liter flat packs from PE or Denovo.  

    The golden rectangle ratio for the front baffle height and width would be good.  I don't care to much about the depth.

    I prefer post braces so a dado in the across the center of the small cabinet sides would be good.

    If you can be competitive with PE that would be good.  I'd pay more for baltic birch, which might be lighter and less costly to ship.
    45s are costly to produce and ship without damage, so for the P215 we went with the 3/8" rabbets with cut ends on the sides and top/bottom, very much like you described.  Pricing will likely be a little higher than PE as the rabbeting on every piece adds machine time, but we thought it was worth it for the alignment and aesthetic benefits.

    What do you mean by post brace?  Just a small piece tying the two sides together as opposed to a shelf brace?

    Dan
  • cssaudio1 said:

    What do you mean by post brace?  Just a small piece tying the two sides together as opposed to a shelf brace?

    Dan
    Yes. As long as there are dados in the sides the post brace can go any where 
     John H, btw forum has decided I don't get emails
  • cssaudio1 said:

    What do you mean by post brace?  Just a small piece tying the two sides together as opposed to a shelf brace?

    Dan
    Yes. As long as there are dados in the sides the post brace can go any where 
    Gotcha.  I like that idea. 

    Golden ratio on the baffle works well for speakers less than 15" tall, but they start to get really wide after that.  I'll see if I can make JR's suggestion of the PE finished cab sizes work.

    Any other ideas guys?

    Dan
  • Driver holes always took me the longest aside from finishing. If you make a cut sheet and plan out your cuts you can knock out a cabinet really fast. 
  • My experience says the most demand will be for small flat packs.  PE has the approximately 1 liter flat pack, but a couple of somewhat larger options like 3 and 5 liters as John suggested would make sense.  Maybe a micro MTM around 3 liters would also fill a need.
    Turn2
    Keep an open mind, but don't let your brain fall out.

    Sehlin Sound Solutions
  • 0.04 cubic feet?
  • Are these sizes approximately what people are looking for? Each has a shelf brace and just over the 3 and 5 liter marks to account for some driver displacement. 
  • Those are some strange looking tiny MTM cabinets.  Not what I would be looking for. 
  • They look pretty reasonable to me.  Depending on driver choice, one could use the wide or thin side to mount the drivers.  The wide baffle, shallow profile orientation could be good for wall mounting around a big screen.
    Keep an open mind, but don't let your brain fall out.

    Sehlin Sound Solutions
  • It could be a good idea to make one side approx 1-2" wider so you can flip it. Its funny i didn't realize you could shoe horn a 5" mtm into a 5 liter 3/4" thick panel cabinet lol. 
  • Ok, so here's what made sense and what should all be available in February.  The Criton 1TD and P215 flat packs come standard with front and rear baffles cut for their drivers, PE 2" adjustable port and PE 1/4" binding posts.  They will available with blank front and/or rear baffles and include simple bracing.  The rest of the enclosures come standard with blank baffles (a Criton 1TD or P215 front or rear baffle could be substituted if appropriate) and no internal bracing.  It just got too weird with this baffle becoming this side and this side becoming this top, etc., so brace dadoes were eliminated.  Only the 0.39 cu ft enclosure needs bracing and doesn't have it, so I may go back and cut a simple press fit side-to-side brace for this flat pack, to be used anywhere by the builder.  All 3/4" MDF, with full 3/8' rabbets on every panel, every edge.

    0.53 cu ft (15L) - 8.5"W x 14"H x 12"D     (Criton 1TD)
    0.39 cu ft (11L) - 8.5"W x 14"H x 9.25"D
    0.32 cu ft (9L) - 6.5"W x 12"H x 12"D       (P215)
    0.23 cu ft (6.7L) - 6.5"W x 12"H x 9.25"D
    0.17 cu ft (5L) - 6.5"W x 12"H x 7.25"D
    0.16 cu ft (4.5L) - 6.5"W x 11.25"H x 7.25"D
    0.12 cu ft (3.3L) - 6.5"W x 8.5"H x 7.25"D

    In addition, we'll have a 1 cu ft 14" cube subwoofer enclosure available, with double thick front baffle, excellent bracing and again, rabbeted on every panel for minimal edge exposure and easy assembly.  Blank baffles will be available as well as pre-cut for SDX10 flush mount, SDX12 flush mount and SDX12 surface mount if you prefer a little more meat on your baffle at the expense of  a proud subwoofer frame.

    More options to come in the future, but those will have to wait a while.

    Dan

    dcibeljhollanderkennykD1PP1N
  • edited January 2018
    CSS Is still Canadian, right? If so I'm excited to see the pricing on the 9L and 11L cabinets. I'll have to double check my design, but I think the 9L might fit perfect for what I have in mind, and if the price is right saves me from cutting a bunch of boards in the cold. Cost of shipping to order a flat pack from the US made it not worthwhile for me in the past.

    No internal bracing is fine on the smaller cabinets, it's easy enough to wedge a dowel or three in there myself during construction. 
    I'm not deaf, I'm just not listening.
  • Yeah, sorry dcibel, Wolf is correct.  We moved the operation to southeast Michigan last summer.  We're working on getting approved to accept GST/HST over our website so our Canadian customers won't have to deal with it on their end.  This will make the shipping process more convenient, but unfortunately, no less expensive.

    Dan
  • That's a ton of different size flat packs! Nice work. 
  • Nice to have multiple options under 0.25 ft3.  Looking forward to these.
  • Less excited.
    I'm not deaf, I'm just not listening.
  • Still excited.  When can we order?  Group buy? Bring to Fort Wayne?
     John H, btw forum has decided I don't get emails
  • Still excited.  When can we order?  Group buy? Bring to Fort Wayne?
    Me too!
  • Still excited.  When can we order?  Group buy? Bring to Fort Wayne?
    P215 flat packs are available now, but they're only listed as an add-on to the kit.  Email us if you can't wait for this one, but everything should be up on the website in February.  We can bring stuff to InDIYana in April to save on shipping costs.

    Speaking of group buys, we found a solid CNC supplier that offers good quality at reasonable prices on smallish quantities.  I was thinking today that for large or unusual cabinets we wouldn't otherwise carry, it could still be possible to get flat packs made if 5 - 6 people could agree on a design.  I could generate the CAD models, verify the prototype and order the small production run.  This would be a slightly more expensive option as the prototype cost and CAD/programming cost would be amortized among the orderers, but it would be a semi-custom flat pack, which could be cool option.  

    Dan
    kennykjhollanderrjj45
  • I could very well be nuts, and maybe this isn't in your firm's wheelhouse, but I believe you probably could sell a fair number of TABAQ quarter wave flat packs. I would give it a try.




  • Blank flat packs are now available - https://www.css-audio.com/product-page/blank-flat-pack-cabinets

    Pics to come on the website, but all have the same rabbeted edges that you can see in the P215 or Criton kit photos.  Dimensions of the various volumes are listed on the description page.  Choose the volume from the drop down menu to see pricing.  As predicted, the rabbeting drives the cost and they are a little more expensive than the PE cabs.  They go together like a dream though, and if you have enough clamps, you can glue all panels together simultaneously.  You can literally be prepping for paint/veneer an hour after UPS shows up.  I know for me, I always spend a lot of time ensuring square cuts and a square glue-up, so hopefully these offer a substantial time save for folks over the existing offerings.

    Dan
    Turn2
  • Bit of a downer for Canadians...

    I'm not deaf, I'm just not listening.
  • dcibel said:
    Bit of a downer for Canadians...

    Lol, sorry dcibel, that message is a little harsh!  Didn't realize it said that and we will change it. 

    Short story long, we had settled on using USPS for Canadian shipments because brokerage fees are included in their rates.  This made Canadian shipments easy to predict and therefore automate through the website.  Recently, those rates went through the roof, forcing us to switch to UPS, which charges brokerage fees after the shipment is complete, making the shipping cost difficult to estimate.

    We are trying to work out a cost effective, predictable shipping method to Canada, but until we get it straightened out, we are asking that our Canadian partons email us at info@css-audio.com for a shipping quote.  Guess we need to get that info on the website.

    Dan
    dcibel
  • cssaudio1 said:
    dcibel said:
    Bit of a downer for Canadians...

    Lol, sorry dcibel, that message is a little harsh!  Didn't realize it said that and we will change it. 

    Short story long, we had settled on using USPS for Canadian shipments because brokerage fees are included in their rates.  This made Canadian shipments easy to predict and therefore automate through the website.  Recently, those rates went through the roof, forcing us to switch to UPS, which charges brokerage fees after the shipment is complete, making the shipping cost difficult to estimate.

    We are trying to work out a cost effective, predictable shipping method to Canada, but until we get it straightened out, we are asking that our Canadian partons email us at info@css-audio.com for a shipping quote.  Guess we need to get that info on the website.

    Dan
    I will not get anything shipped up here with UPS - they totally screw us over with their ridiculous brokerage fees. 
  • cssaudio1 said:
    dcibel said:
    Bit of a downer for Canadians...

    Lol, sorry dcibel, that message is a little harsh!  Didn't realize it said that and we will change it. 

    Short story long, we had settled on using USPS for Canadian shipments because brokerage fees are included in their rates.  This made Canadian shipments easy to predict and therefore automate through the website.  Recently, those rates went through the roof, forcing us to switch to UPS, which charges brokerage fees after the shipment is complete, making the shipping cost difficult to estimate.

    We are trying to work out a cost effective, predictable shipping method to Canada, but until we get it straightened out, we are asking that our Canadian partons email us at info@css-audio.com for a shipping quote.  Guess we need to get that info on the website.

    Dan
    I will not get anything shipped up here with UPS - they totally screw us over with their ridiculous brokerage fees. 

    I totally get where you're coming from and Kerry and I have been banging our head against the wall trying to figure this out, but USPS now bakes the same brokerage fees that UPS is charging right into their shipping cost, making it at least as expensive as UPS all inclusive. 

    The best option we've found involves a little work on the recipient's part.  With a visit to a local CBSA office, you can completely avoid the UPS brokerage fees by following the steps at  https://www.cbsa-asfc.gc.ca/import/courier/lvs-efv/prsn-eng.html under "Accounting For Your Own Shipment".  This takes advantage of UPS' reasonable shipping rates without getting bit by their unreasonable brokerage fees.  Depending on the cost of the order, this could be a substantial savings.  Unfortunately, USPS is now the worst option.

    No matter how it shakes out, we'll always do our best to work with folks, so please shoot us an email and we'll try to find a solution that works for everyone.

    Dan
  • That's too bad USPS charges so much now. It was always a good inexpensive way to get stuff across the border. If I really need something that I can't buy here in Canada I will get it shipped to my mailbox in WA and go pick it up when we go down to the city for a Costco run.
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