Q: Why do the Kraken and the Makara cabinets have sliders instead of feet?

A: There are a lot of things that need to be considered when designing a cabinet. Feet are required to function beyond what most people tend to consider, but when you’re designing products that are intended to provide decades of service, you have to plan ahead. 

The Kraken is a heavy cabinet that is hard to lift and so would likely be slid around rather than lifted and carried. Due to its weight, the rubber feet would quite quickly be scraped down to nothing like pencil erasers. Another thing about the rubber feet is, even though they seem pretty hard to the touch, they do compress under weight, which allows stacks of cabinets to rock slightly if the rubber feet are bearing the weight. Since Kraken and Makara are intended to be used to support other cabinets above them, this isn’t all that desirable, either. 

Ultra-high molecular weight polyethylene (UHMWPE) is very hard-wearing but also has low-friction characteristics. Sliders made of this material allows the cabinets to be moved more easily on any surface without damaging the surface, including when stacking them on each other, the sliders won’t tear off like a rubber foot could when run into something from the side, and, since it’s harder and has much more surface area, the sliders will last far longer than rubber feet. Since the Makara is a direct descendant of the Kraken, and is intended to stack on the Kraken, and is also quite heavy, it inherited the same UHMWPE sliders. 

When you’re not doing shows in carpeted venues, we have found that a rubberized mat, the type often seen at restaurant, office and retail entryways, makes a great base on which to stand or stack any speakers. Carpet tiles or off-cut pieces of rubber flooring also work well for this purpose. The benefit of these softer pieces not being attached to the cabinet is that they are easily cleaned and readily replaced through a large number of retail outlets without the need or cost for custom-made parts. (They can also protect your gear while in transit.)