Hey Harley, very good question (which I've been perplexing/pontificating about). I like the open front look, and that's how I've always used this box in the past. However, it did take a falling guitar peg head into one of the previous speakers
, needed a re-cone. By kick plate, do you mean something that just covers the speakers? My current thoughts have been using metal speaker grate (like on the ADA slant split or the Messa P112s). Ideally, it would have 1" spacers and follow the v contour, so sit an inch off the speakers but you can still see them. Speaker grill cloth would probably be easier, but then you don't see the speakers
. I also toyed with the idea of covering the back holes with the wadding, but in the end didn't. I just did all the parallel surfaces to minimise standing waves. I did however use the 4.7mm spade connectors to connect to the 4 pin Speakon socket, rather than solder the cables directly to it.
So after all that, I plugged it in with my new(ish) 4RU live rack and gave it a whirl (11pm here so not too loud, tomorrow
). Been a while since I had "new" speakers (and I've been wanting to try these Lorantz speakers for a long while)... So first impressions (albeit they are still tight and need burning in), very tight bottom end, and probably most notably, a really nice distinct presence, they will cut nicely through the mix. Very clear and articulate sounding, but warm (which I expect will get better as they settle). Stereo Fx sounded good, the separator plate in the middle was a good addition. It's not quite as good as spreading 2 separate cabs, but works well and sounds better (warmer, richer etc.) than mono