Will the Xeno shoot loose with aggressive firing schedules (full auto mag dumps)?  The keymo locking mechanism is rock solid on my Vox S, which is my entire frame of reference.  I would think it would be a more secure mount than a Xeno on a shtf rifle, but I've never seen or used the Xeno.

I’ve never had mine loosen up yet. It’s a thread to taper system. Just like the cherry bomb or rearden system

I've gotten my xeno to loosen up once or twice (when I first bought into the system). I chalk that up as user error, as not tightening it enough. Haven't had any issues since. Someone tag mr magoo.

I really like the system. I couldn't bring myself to spend keymo money when I have 5+ rifle cans that would all need mounts ($$$$).

I don't like the weight and length penalty that these locking systems bring to the party either.

I liked the KeyMo when it came out, and I think it still has its applications, but it does add cost, weight and length.  The Xeno and also Rearden muzzle devices and bravo connectors are just as effective, and have all the advantages of economies of weight, length and cost.

I bought my keymo before the xeno came out also I like the sandman line because they are built like a tank and I can run them super hard.

While waiting for the can I bought all the muzzle devices for my host and had them installed. I spread the cost over a couple months so it wasn’t that bad.

Your going to pay a weight and length penalty but it’s worth it to me.

The taper on the Xeno is larger than the Rearden/Cherry Bomb, will that make it a more secure or repeatable mount?

Correct.  This is by design.  The large taper adds to the repeatability and ability to stay tight.

Thread-to-taper systems really do need you to crank them down.  This is true for KeyMo too.  In the end, it's a thread-to-taper system as well, but with a friction clutch plate to help absorb huge thermal shocks and heavy vibration.  People that think the KeyMo system truly locks because they heard it click are usually the people that find it loosened on them.  I like to tell people to tighten it down as much as they can (two handed, even).  Especially if you're going to shoot it hard.

Other Xeno benefits include:

--Left hand thread so when you tighten it on you'll know if the adapter isn't tightened in the can enough.  Also, it'll ensure the adapter is never left behind when you go to remove the can. It actually tightens the adapter into the suppressor when you remove it from the muzzle device.

--Nitrided surface to eliminate the possibility of galling inside the can (like can happen with raw 17-4 to raw 17-4).

--Broad taper as mentioned.

--Adapter is very lightweight. It's a fraction of an ounce lighter than a Plan B and with the Xero muzzle device, it's probably the lightest combo out there.  Not sure, though, haven't checked in a while.

--Taper before threads to eliminate carbon lock.

--Large tool features for wrenching.  This makes it look longer, but a lot of it's an optical illusion.  It does add .25" over Rearden and .42 over Q's Plan B (which converts your can into a direct-thread one if it unthreads from the barrel).  The Xeno adapter will take an 1-1/8 impact socket if you ever need to flex when removing it from the can.  You don't need to use hook spanners to install/uninstall.  Rearden is what I'd get right now if had to choose an alternate brand.

--Ensures the muzzle device isn't right up against blast baffle so you don't get premature erosion from flash hiders as they focus flow on the blast baffle (and brakes that focus flow on the second baffle that isn't made for it.

--Omnidirectional mounting.  No shims needed.  


Let me know if you have any questions.

Todd Magee
Dead Air Engineering

You sold me on Xeno. Now if only SilencerShop didn’t have a back order. Guess it’s time to get in line.

Xeno is the shizzle.  Try Hansohn Bros.

Now if only DA129, the 3 prong Xeno would come out.  Im praying its long enough for p/w to 13.9 barrels.

Brakes that focus flow on the second baffle…. Can you elaborate on that, please?

When a brake reaches all the way up to the blast baffle, the flow down the bore path is directed right through the bore of the blast baffle directly onto the 2nd baffle.  When you look at a Trash Panda, you'll typically see the blast baffle looks pretty good (because the cherry bomb brake takes the brunt), but the flow that comes out of the CB is then directed right onto baffle #2.   I'm not saying this is necessarily bad, because the TP was designed for this.  From a sound perspective, it's probably fine.  If you shoot it aggressively, you may see erosion down the bore bath of the MIM'd baffles, rather than on that thick, machined, blast baffle.

Speaking of Dead Air products, the early Nomads with our long 3 port brake could see the same effect.  And we often saw that caused some variation in sound performance so we wanted to fix that. This was the main reason for the updated Nomads (with raised tool features in the back for those wondering).  There's now sufficient gap between the end of the brake and the tip of the blast baffle to allow for some expansion to occur and let the blast baffle do what it's designed to do.  

Seriously.  I'll check into that.  That little guy kicks ass.  

It's designed for compactness and performance, not compliance purposes.  I'm afraid people shouldn't be planning on this one to get you to 16".

Thanks

So question for you Todd since you are always so kind to offer up your knowledge. Regarding the discussion above about the Cherry bomb, how did you arrive at the design for the Xeno brake? I have a couple of them and they are growing on me more and more as I am digging the look.

What is the difference in effectiveness between that 360 style brake vs say, the style like Keymo with the brake being comprised of baffles. We hear of and have seen pics of brakes with baffles where erosion has occurred, obviously indicating the brake is doing its job. What would lead an engineer to design that Xeno the way you did vs designing it like the Keymo? Not to give away any secrets, but do you have some type of computer program that simulates the flash/blast/flow through the brake, that assists you in arriving at a certain brake design?

X2

My Xeno brake on an sig rattler is savage with concussion. Thought about trying the wee brake instead

Thanks Captain.

We wanted something omnidirectional and exceedingly simple.  The whole system is designed for weight reduction as well.  For the brake, we wanted something different than our current lineup and to give people an alternate option that wanted something like the Knight's omni style comps but were having to go elsewhere for similar designs--each with drawbacks, though.  We had a lot of people requesting it, so it naturally rose to the top.  

The design "envelope" was done based on building samples that started even closer to the blast baffle (on our suppressors) than the currently available stuff out there and then moved back while looking for a balance of performance and minimizing erosion.  An A2 style cone right on the blast baffle is about it most erosive thing you can do to a can, I'll tell you that much!  We also looked at other cans in the market and planned around what competitors were doing so that we wouldn't cause those customers issues with their suppressors if they adopted our system.  We erred on the positive side of the spacing and the spreadsheet influencers make a big deal of the .25-.4" difference because they're more interested in simple numbers or promoting another brand than focusing on function.  That requires a little more understanding of product use and that's a lot to ask.  

I wish I could say we have some crazy software, Lol.  There are some national labs that can run simulations for you, but there's a lot of fine print and they can end up owning the data or design.  

As for the Omni vs. traditional brakes, I think the traditional is a little more effective, but the Omni is less concussive to bystanders (depending on where they're standing) and it's softer on the blast chamber.  I don't know how fully, but the ones with super tiny holes seem more concussive to me than our Omni, but our Omni feels noticeable better on recoil.  I'm sure there will be a standard brake style offered at some point, but it'll probably be from a licensee affiliate.  I mean, even LMT has their little mini brake, so fun stuff is happening.

Cool Todd. Thanks for sharing, makes a lot of sense. I'll be running Xeno on your stuff, YHM Turbo K and Turbo, as well as a couple EA cans. Am confident I chose well w Xeno brakes on 12.5" and under, and flashhiders on longer barrels.

Oh, and ETA since we are on the Xeno topic, how about a Xeno for the Saker series at some point? I'd sure love to lighten those two up from Keymo!

Todd, any sound suppression performance difference between the Xeno brake and Xeno flash hider? As much as I like the KeyMo on my Sandman, I went for Xeno on my Sierra 5. Figured that it’s a lightweight profile barrel that the can will go on, so I may as well save a few more ounces.

Thanks for the answer.  Ive been sitting on a build trying to get some clue as to whether I should plan on the 3 prong helping me or not.  Now I can more forward knowing this.  Really appreciate it. Ill cut the barrel shorter which is what I wanted to do, but if I could maintain legality with xeno I would, for this buid.

Glad I can help.  We're definitely working on that one.




That's really dependent on the size of the muzzle device, size of the chamber, and the type of cartridge.  You might see a 1-2 dB improvement in a Nomad with a full size brake using supers, but you'll also see a 1-2 dB improvement using direct thread (or Xeno because it's so small) in 300BLK.  This is all lab testing, so DON'T chase a couple dBs.  Note that whenever you see a number like this (1-2 dB difference), it's comparing averages of bell curves that are very broad.  The averages of the two bell curves need to be very far removed from each other to truly say that they are different (because of the amount of overlap of the two populations).  For all intents and purposes, they're still statistically the same.

In the end, it takes the meter to tell.  So the real answer is, worry way more about the big picture usage that's important to you.  That could be true functionality of a brake or FH, overall length, etc.  

Good to know and thanks for sharing w us Todd.