A new toy on the anvil

[GeorgeO]

OK I have gotten the raw MDF enclosure ready, will upload some photos tomorrow

 

[GeorgeO]

A couple of shots

 

[GeorgeO]

A better shot, the earlier ones were edited a bit too much. As you can see, I have placed eggshell foam and will be stuffing the enclosures before sealing them up. The remaining things that need to be done are to assemble the crossovers

 

[captrajesh]

Nice pis George. Hope they would be ready by the time you are back from US

 

[GeorgeO]

I have a few things to buy and give the carpenter before I go-rosewood veneered ply, etc. The good thing is that the carpenter is good, and once this is done I will recommend him to others in Bangalore.

The photo of the drivers shows the thick custom tweeter baffle from the edge. This is machined to allow closer positioning of the two midwoofers in the enclosure.I will try and take another photo showing this in slightly better detail.

 

[santhosh]

Thanks for sharing ....nice progress George.

Cannot make out from the pics. Is the bottom most cavity also being used or stuffed and sealed?

Also, where did you buy the egg-crate foam from?

 

[jls001]

Cannot make out from the pics. Is the bottom most cavity also being used or stuffed and sealed?

I have the same question By the way George, how low (frequency) will this design go?

 

[GeorgeO]

From the designer:

Nothing has been left to chance in the cabinet design. Dual-wall construction (1.5") is used throughout. The upper section is extensively cross-braced and activates the full acoustic volume. The (non-acoustic) lower section is also braced and houses the low-pass and high-pass crossovers with 16" of separation between them. A 1" thick base covers the lower access windows, and holds the large floor spikes. The speaker can be angled back by 4 degrees with the use of an additional front riser.

Note the third sentence in the above para-it is just a "stand", the upper part is the real enclosure. It goes down to 20Hz.

More about it here:

Bamberg Audio :: Speakers for Life


Santhosh:

T.Antony and I got a sheet each as a favour from friend Mahendra Palesha. He was shipping a plate amp to a friend and added this to the consignment. I dont know where this is available locally, but I can give you a sample or more-I may have about half a sheet left over if you want some.

George

 

[t.antony]

Nice WIP pics, it's impressive that the Scan-Speak classics can touch 20Hz in this enclosure.

 

[GeorgeO]

I heard Venu's Acoustic Portrait MTMs very impressive low frequency performance and am now a "believer"..He doesnt need a sub.

 

[navin advani]

More about it here:
Bamberg Audio :: Speakers for Life

Great going George,

I had built a MTM using the 18W8546 and 9900 and an MT using the 18W and 9500 in the mid 90s. The speakers (8545 and 8546) are capable of playing quite loud till about 40Hz. However for true FULL range capability a pair of subwoofers would be great. Like Bamberg has done you too could integrate an active subwoofer into the
stand of the speaker.

BTW the 9500 is a smoother sounding tweeter than the 9900 but the 9900 is more dynamic.

 

[GeorgeO]

FWIW, Venu's Acoustic Portrait MTMs use the same drivers that I am using in this project, though his is a larger enclosure than mine. Yes, SS drivers are, to put it mildly, real high performance stuff, and IMHO, among the best that money can buy today.

 

[navin advani]

FWIW, Venu's Acoustic Portrait MTMs use the same drivers that I am using in this project, though his is a larger enclosure than mine. Yes, SS drivers are, to put it mildly, real high performance stuff, and IMHO, among the best that money can buy today.

Others...Audio Technology's C-Quenze series, SS's Illuminators, SEAS's Excel (I call then sex-sell drivers since they really look so sexy), B&G Neo series, Morel's Supreme/Ultimate series, SB's Satori series, and who can ignore Mundorf AMTs or RAAL ribbons and the dark horse - Peerless Platinum line.

So many drivers, so little money.:sad:

 

[GeorgeO]

Yes, indeed. I agree-so much to eat so little time, so much to hear and see, also so little time!

Focals, Raven ribbons, Accutons also among others.

 

[jls001]

It goes down to 20Hz.

That's very impressive indeed for a not too large cabinet, whatever its loading flavour. Of course this one looks quite deep.
Any idea what would be its sensitivity? Will it run on a flea-watt tube SET amp, or one needs something more substantial?

 

[GeorgeO]

Its unusually deep for its width. The sensitivity is 87dB, according to the spec sheet, so it does need some power.I plan to run it with different amps and wee what it likes-28 and 40 wpc EL 34 pp tube amps, a 55wpc ss and finally my 100wpc Hypex Class D.I am a firm believer in synergy between amps and speakers-some combos rock while others just don't!

 

[GeorgeO]

Hi Navin

Yes the 9900 is also a bit more pricey. I wasnt willing to spend mega bucks at this time.

I have a new sub on the way, am deciding if I should use it with these or with my HT system. The sub is the 12 inch Shiva driver in a 4 cft sealed box, which is ready, needs to be assembled and wired, so integrating it into the stand is not an option.. The amp is an O Audio 500 Bash Class D plate amp. I will be travelling for a few weeks , and hopefully once I am back can complete all these little projects.

 

[captrajesh]

Others...Audio Technology's C-Quenze series, SS's Illuminators, SEAS's Excel (I call then sex-sell drivers since they really look so sexy), B&G Neo series, Morel's Supreme/Ultimate series, SB's Satori series, and who can ignore Mundorf AMTs or RAAL ribbons and the dark horse - Peerless Platinum line.

Focals, Raven ribbons, Accutons also among others.

Hmm, I wanted to ask why Accutons were not in the list and then I saw George's post. If one were to rate these drivers purely on performance terms, which would top the chart and if they were to be rated on cost to performance ratio, which would top the chart?

 

[navin advani]

Focals, Raven ribbons, Accutons also among others.

Hmm, I wanted to ask why Accutons were not in the list and then I saw George's post.... which would top the chart and if they were to be rated on cost to performance ratio, which would top the chart?

Recent Focals have not impressed. Lets discuss Accuton about 9-12 months from now. I suspect a host of changes coming in the ceramic driver space.

As far as Price - Performance. That is so subjective. In many ways the Illuminators are brilliant drivers. Are they worth 1.5x or 1.4x a Revelator? I dont know. If the application demands an Illuminator I suppose even at $300 per pc they are worth it.

When one considers the brands that are reputed to build nice drivers for a good price we normally look at Dayton, Tangband, Aurasound, Seas-Prestige, and Vifa/Peerless with the occasional one from Silverflute, HiVi or Usher.

 

[doors666]

Hmm, I wanted to ask why Accutons were not in the list and then I saw George's post. If one were to rate these drivers purely on performance terms, which would top the chart and if they were to be rated on cost to performance ratio, which would top the chart?

There is not too much to pick between drivers at these price and quality range. There are personal preferences and synergy with other parts that decides which one to go for. For price perf ratio, start looking at the reverse sorted price list, there is a very good chance that the highest priced one is least value for money:lol: