Anyone else order Caladans from Clayton Shaw?

THE CALADAN PRODUCTION RAMP UP HAS BEEN QUITE A JOURNEY, AS MOST OF YOU KNOW. HERE IS AN OVERVIEW:

• OCTOBER 2023 - THE NEW RECORD DAY VIDEO WENT LIVE NEAR THE END OCTOBER. RON'S INITIAL IMPRESSIONS WERE VERY STRONG AND HE ANNOUNCED THAT THE CALADAN WOULD BECOME HIS REFERENCE SPEAKER, REPLACING THE SPATIAL M3 SAPPHIRE AFTER 4 YEARS AT THE HELM.

• NOVEMBER 2023 - CALADAN ORDERS SKYROCKETED, SIGNALING THAT OPEN-BAFFLE SPEAKER DESIGN HAD FINALLY GONE MAINSTREAM. THE CALADAN PROTOTYPE WAS EXHIBITED AT CAPITOL AUDIOFEST (CAF) IN WASHINGTON DC MID-NOVEMBER TO UNIVERSAL ACCLAIM, FUTHER INDICATING THE MARKET WAS READY FOR AN AFFORDABLE, PROPERLY ENGINEERED OB SPEAKER, LEADING TO SALES OF OVER 100 PAIR OF CALADAN BY THE END OF NOVEMBER.

• DECEMBER 2023 - OVER 1000 COMPONENT PARTS ARRIVED TO PREPARE FOR PRODUCTION. SUPPLY CHAIN ISSUES REGARDING THE BAFFLES BECAME EVIDENT FROM THE START. OUR LONG-STANDING COLLABORATION WITH TRIM ART IN KAYSVILLE UTAH LOOKED TO BE A GREAT PARTNERSHIP WITH THEIR LARGE FACILITY AND 6 CNC MILLING MACHINES. HOWEVER, THEY STRUGGLED TO MEET OUR DELIVERY REQUIREMENTS, CONSIDERING THE LARGE NUMBER OF ORDERS WE HAD IN-HOUSE.

• JANUARY / FEBRUARY 2024 - TRIM ART CONTINUED TO STRUGGLE WITH

DELIVERIES, BUT INCREMENTALY PRODUCED MORE BAFFLES PER WEEK DURING THIS TIME. DURING THE PERIOD OF DECEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY, WE SHIPPED ALL ORDERS THAT WE HAD BAFFLES FOR.

• MARCH 2024 - SUPPLY OF BAFFLES INCREASED TO REASONABLE QUANTITIES, PARTIALLY DUE TO TRIM ART INSTALLING A 5 AXIS CNC, DEDICATED TO CALADAN AND ZU SPEAKERS. THIS ALLOWED US TO PRODUCE 25 TO 40 PAIR OF CALADANS PER MONTH AND START TO CATCH UP ON BACKORDERS.

• APRIL / MAY - THE CURRENT SITUATION CONTINUES WITH STRONG PRODUCTION OUTPUT. THE BAFFLE SUPPLY ISSUE IS NO LONGER A BOTTLENECK.

WE APPRECIATE EVERYONES PATIENCE AND WE REMAIN DEDICATED TO PRODUCING THE FINEST PRODUCT POSSIBLE, WITH HIGH QUALITY STANDARDS AND BUILD BY OUR ASSEMBLY TECHNICIANS. 100% OF SPEAKERS ARE TESTED AND LISTENED TO PRIOR TO SHIPPING. OUR PACKAGING WAS CUSTOM DESIGNED TO WITHSTAND THE RIGORS OF UPS HANDLING, SO THANKFULLY, WE ARE NOT HAVING SHIPPING DAMAGE ISSUES.

• SOLID WOOD VS MDF -  RECENTLY DANNY AT GR RESEARCH POSTED A VIDEO TEARDOWN OF A SONUS FABER AMITOR SPEAKER, WHICH USES SOLID WOOD CONSTRUCTION. HIS CONTENTION WAS THAT MDF IS BETTER FOR SPEAKER CABINETS. MDF IS CERTAINLY BETTER THAN PARTICLE BOARD, BUT OUR LISTENING TESTS SHOWED THAT SOLID WOOD, IF OF SUFFICIENT THICKNESS, SOUNDS MUCH MORE CONGRUENT WITH MUSIC THAN MDF, WHICH GENERATES A NASTY, SHOUTING SOUND THAT I DON'T CARE FOR. ALL MATERIALS RESONATE, SO THE ISSUE IS HOW THEY RESONATE. WE TESTED THE CALADAN SOUND QUALITY PERFORMANCE WITH BOTH MATERIAL TYPES AND CONCLUDED SOLID HARDWOOD SOUNDS MUCH MORE NATURAL AND ENJOYABLE. THE FOUR WOOD SPECIES WE OFFER ARE TOP GRADE AMERICAN HARDWOODS. WE DID NOT DETECT ANY NOTICEABLE DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE WOOD TYPES, BUT WHEN SWITCHING TO THE MDF PANEL, THE DEGRADATION WAS OBVIOUS. 

• COMMUNICATION - I WANT TO APOLOGIZE FOR MY LACK OF TIMELY COMMUNICATION REGARDING ORDER STATUS. TRYING TO SPEAK WITH CUSTOMERS ON A ONE BY ONE BASIS LED TO SOME FRUSTRATION ON THE PART OF OUR CUSTOMER BASE. I PLAN TO USE THIS NEWSLETTER APPROACH TO REACH EVERYONE SIMULTANEOUSLY WITH TIMELY INFORMATION.

PLEASE USE EMAIL (info@claytonshawacousticlab.com) FOR COMMUNICATION. I AM HAPPY TO TAKE PHONE CALLS IF NECESSARY (801-631-2994). PLEASE REFRAIN FROM USING TEXT.

HAPPY LISTENING

CLAYTON