Mini-Case Study
John Kalinowski of KCS Loudspeakers
By Joshua Biernbaum
KCS Loudspeakers
Source: 6moons.com
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One may be surprised to learn that some of the best loudspeakers in the world are
made not by engineers in sterile white laboratory coats, but rather by a fellow in a
mustard-stained undershirt, with waist-length hair, drawing designs on napkins as heavy
metal blasts in the background. Meet John Kalinowski of KSC Loudspeakers, audiophile
and loudspeaker designer. According to Wikipedia, the term audiophile has its roots in
the Latin audire "to hear" and Greek philos "loving," and is defined as someone
“dedicated to achieving high fidelity in the recording and playback of music…. people
who seek to listen to music at a level of quality as close to the original performance as
possible… [they] use high-fidelity components to try and attain these goals…most are
music lovers who are passionate about high-quality music reproduction…enthusiasts
[that] build their own equipment, especially loudspeakers.”
Tucked away in an unassuming homestead in southern Wisconsin, secured behind
a sturdy chain-link fence, Kalinowski creates his sonic dreamstuff and travels the
unknown realms of possibility that lie outside of mainstream audio. When not taking care
of his eight year-old autistic son Joe, John builds anywhere from 10 to 30+ finished
loudspeaker systems a year out of his home workshop, ranging from "giant" to more
"affordable" models. These are not your little desktop or I-pod speakers. Think more
along the lines of old PA speakers like you had in your school auditorium. We are talking
big stuff. Room-sized, in many cases. Enough to easily bleed the ears out of one’s skull,
should one misjudge the volume control. Kalinowski’s audio systems have been met with
great praise, due to his ability to combine exciting designs with a high degree of technical
knowledge and precise build quality. Upon entering the Kalinowski abode one is
immediately impressed by a certain ordered chaos. Empty cardboard boxes spilling
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across the floor… a large tank of tropical fish…a toy drumset…what looks like it might
be play-dough…and random bits of electronics, all competing for attention. Kalinowski’s
energetic year-old Blue Heeler puppy greets visitors with a series of sharp barks, tail
wags, and a mouthful of warm drool. Photographs of old motorcycles adorn the walls,
partially obscured by crates filled with vintage record albums and stacks of compact
discs. Yet the entire montage is dominated by the nearly ceiling-high, cavernous wooden
horn-loaded loudspeakers. No doubt about, Kalinowski takes his music seriously.
Growing up in Beaver Dam, Wisconsin, 1970’s, Kalinowski’s grandfather did TV
installs and gave him his first stereo, not much more than a boom box.. The family had an
early giant console stereo, one of the wall-sized ones. When John was twelve years old,
his father built him a pair of loudspeakers using old car drivers (individual loudspeaker
elements). They didn’t sound so good, so Kalinowski started tinkering with them. John
grew up on Radio Shack… though considered “junky” by today’s standards, he can still
name every speaker they sold and he listened to all of them! He speaks fondly of a “3”
dome midrange” they used to carry. He and his brothers would often go out looking for
discarded speakers or stereo junk. John would often buy “broken speakers, sale stuff,
cracked frames” and fix them up. Eventually moving to Madison, John began doing
sound and lighting for bands, making enough money to feed his audio habit. He fondly
recalls the huge PA speakers they used for clubs back then, “monsters” with six 18”
speakers in each. These early experiences formed the foundation of his deep passion for
audio.
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Kalinowski describes some of his early experiences: “Heck, I just wanted great
sound. The only loudspeaker systems I heard that were good were over $20,000. So I
bought used pairs.” The best was the Avantgarde Duo 2.2. This speaker was a real eye
(ear?) opener but suffered from bass and driver integration problems. This was the sound
he had been looking for, but could never get the bass to integrate, no matter what he tried,
amps, cables, different rooms, etc. Kalinowski eventually started looking into other horns
and decided on an Oris 150 horn with Lowther PM4A drivers, Cabasse bass and the
Welborne Labs Crossover. The results were better bass integration though less bass
output. Great midrange but no high frequencies. Next he tried the Raven R1 tweeter and
tri-amplification. Wow(!), much better but a real mess (so much gear), and the integration
still needed to be improved. The Tri-horn frame, pictured below, is made fully adjustable
and 3" x 1" glossy black powder coated steal as woofer stands. The bass enclosures are
finished with Italian laminate and built from 2" MDF. Kalinowski stresses “the angle is
really important and has to be just right, or it will sound like a bunch of drivers and not a
seamless whole.” These early designs were born out of frustration with the status quo.
Kalinowski speaks passionately about his design perspective: “To me, high-efficiency
designs or limited xover designs with robust drivers are one key to great sound. Dynamic
range is one big benefit but a musical, detailed and natural sound is more what I am after.
I try to get as much performance as I can out of a given design and design for the owners
a system pretty much built for them. I can tell what most folks need system-wise and can
adapt or design a loudspeaker unique to the owner.” Kalinowski would go on to build no
less than eleven Oris-based systems. To him, all these were much better as well as to
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others who heard them and preferred them over the Duo, Avalons or electrostatic. So
folks approached him to purchase his loudspeakers. “Even though I was enjoying them, I
couldn't stop designing and construction. I was eager to sell existing systems to develop
new ones," notes Kalinowski. The tri-horn woofer towers pictured are 2 in thick MDF
steel braced, covered in Italian laminate, with steel frame for the back and stand. Woofer
is FW405 16in Fostex, in a hybrid enclosure featuring "air suspension with a steel
resonator that helps the driver feel it has a wee bit of a port so deeper bass". The rest of
the range is covered by the pair of FE208Esigma drivers operating in DB-Designs Oris
horns. The highest frequencies are reproduced by the T90 super-tweeter crossed over
using Hovland music capacitor and a Fostex step-down transformer. John did the design,
prototyping and assembly of these systems. The frames are built and powder-coated all at
the same shop thanks to a good friend who is also teaching John to weld. Projects such as
this tend to expand skill sets and abilities. That and great music when completed.
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Oris Tri-Horn with Fostex Drivers
Oris array using Fostex FE208E Sigma, T900A tweeters and Eminence Sigma Pro 18" woofers in Imperial backloaded
horns.
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Kalinowski donates part of each sale to autism programs, citing the 1-in-166
children born today that suffer autism. Though humble in demeanor, John is clearly
proud of his “converging horn array” design and “bass horns” and with good reason. He
has applied for a patent for this concept which involves configuring a loudspeaker array
in such a way as to maximize dispersion for better frequency response. He cautions new
builders about common errors that can be costly, like accidentally running a tweeter
unprotected by a high-pass capacitor, or smashing one’s fingers mounting heavy drivers!
John takes great care in designing speakers and never makes a loudspeaker that he has
not listened to and tuned carefully by ear in a real environment, not by test CD’s in a
sterile laboratory.
John considers some of the most interesting trends in audio today to include
“front-loaded horns, compression drivers, open baffles…some of the better ribbon
tweeters…” he replied, referring to “non-conventional” audio technologies, what many
would consider exotic. “I ended up in the high-efficiency loudspeaker camp because I
was sick of the many electrostatic, planar, and conventional- type loudspeakers that seem
designed just as much by bean-counters as for real sound” says John. His systems are
designed to appeal to many and still maintain a high WAF, or Wife Approval Factor.
Kalinowski typically changes out his components frequently, preferring to always try
something new rather than the tried-and-true. John has been an audiophile for some thirty
years now and through it all has kept upgrading equipment in an attempt to find the right
balance of sound, never quite achieving it, but coming closer with each new prototype. “I
am interested in all loudspeakers and all quality transducers. I don't limit myself to any
one style of design. If it's cool and quality, I am interested."
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What does John consider makes a given loudspeaker driver “good” or “better”
than another? Good drivers have “better-made, more powerful magnets, large cone or
ribbon area, minimalist crossovers, and good natural acoustics” he replied. John notes
that almost all new drivers are “new versions of old stuff.” Classic technologies like
horn-loaded systems make use of limited power to fill large spaces with sound. For
example, old movie theaters may have had only a very weak power amplifier and had to
fill a lot of space, that is to produce sufficient sound pressure levels. By using a horn, the
sound pressure of a small loudspeaker element is concentrated and increased. John
prefers to keep the crossover very minimal and simple. The less electrical filtering needed
to achieve a good response the better. John feels that computer software and associated
technology is a mixed blessing when it comes to audio. To some extent he feels that
computers have resulted in a lot of recordings that sound the same. Perhaps stifling
inspiration? If computer-assisted, he wants to know “who is really designing? The
program?” Perhaps he has seen too many old Twilight Zone/ Star Trek episodes, but it is
a valid point I think.
John represents a strange juxtaposition of the old school/ purist/ Luddite with an
open-mindedness to new technologies. Maybe that is one of the secrets of his innovation/
inspiration. In any case, John prefers vinyl LP’s to most CD recordings. Nothing sounds
as good as vinyl or analog tape. John’s advice is “keep it simple” and “buy good
transducers. Don’t expect little cubes to move enough air.” He notes the physical and
mechanical limits of mini-monitors, adding “don’t fear big speakers.” A large amount of
cone and ribbon area is needed to accurately reproduce orchestral dynamics that have a
large stereo image. “To make a big audio wave, you need a big speaker” says
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Kalinowski. Many manufacturers mass-produce small, cheap products overseas—but
from a purist’s perspective, these devices tend to reproduce sounds very poorly. Today,
Kalinowski still builds speakers to order, specializing in high-efficiency horn and hybrid
horn designs. And fun. "As far as KCS is concerned, it will stay small time and fun
because when the fun is gone, how can one design fun loudspeakers? And isn't the hobby
all about relaxing and having a bit of fun, not worrying whether your system is approved
by other audio types? After all, you listen to it. It should be right for you and yours."
Special order speakers take roughly six weeks depending mostly on the availability of the
desired drivers. For John's favorite projects, the giant custom front horn systems, it's best
to give John a call to discuss specifics. "And if you want a giant horn system... well, that's
something I need to talk over with the future owner since there's so many options."
Innovation seems to me as much a matter of will and dedication to see a project
through, as it is to simply conjecture or design. That is, being empowered to fully nurture
an idea through conception to fruition. Kalinowski is one of those restless individuals
who must work in accordance with their own inner vision, to face their fears and demons
and conquer them, often bearing steep financial or physical burdens. It is die Arbeit, “The
Work” itself that is important, and which separates the craftsman from artist.
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