Ravindra Desai
Well-Known Member
Hello,
This speaker system was designed after I understood, from my sessions with HFV members (Thanks!) in Thane and Pune, that I need something special to impress Stereophiles (in addition to my surround sound system that, I claim, solves a ton of real world problems associated with a typical 5.1CH+ set-up).
I have a very flexible, software programmable, Digital Audio Processor (DAP) and a very robust and high quality Audio Power Amplifier. The Sat-Sub speakers that I designed primarily for use with TV for living rooms are very good for stereo also with a fantastic sound stage. But for standalone stereo application, they fall short.
I have heard Bose 901 and I recently heard the Magnepans so I know where the benchmarks are or at least I think so.....anyway...
I challenged myself to design something with no restrictions in mind in terms of cost, size or speaker combination
From tonal quality standpoint, I wanted deep lows that are articulate, yes, even in the low end, solid mid-bass, correct and natural vocals covering both male and female voice and treble that you can fall in love with.
With my electronics I wanted to design a stereo speaker system that would constantly make you want to increase the volume!
I have build a speaker system using Ahuja 12" FR that meets the above requirements but the enclosure size is not something that most will appreciate.
So I had to resort to a sub woofer which can go low in a reasonable compact size enclosure and if possible have an extended frequency response that 'touches' the male vocal voice. Fortunately I struck gold with the iWai, 12" driver. I tried it as a standalone subwoofer, both in sealed and ported enclosure. It was very efficient in the ported one but was capable of quite some magic in a sealed one and so sealed it was.
I have taken an approach to not use passive crossovers and never in the vocal range. So I looked for options in full range that could go with the 12" iWai driver.
Initially I had shortlisted the, recently launched, Pioneer 6", dual cone car speaker but after trying in vain to procure it for a good week, I gave up.
Since the enclosure width was already dictated by the subwoofer, I thought why not use the tried and trusted Ahuja 12" full range.
After doing some basic calculations in Excel, I understood that the Ahuja driver will exhibit a peaking response at lower mid bass if I place it in a compact enclosure. This was taken care by keeping the Ahuja driver outside the peaking area. So the subwoofer was made to extend into 'locatable' requencies but then why should it matter in a floor standing form factor?
With good confidence of the end result, I jumped into it and the result is in the attached pictures.
The enclosure is doubled sealed with no filler and styled to the same 'gothic' look.
I can go on to describe how it sounds but would like to stop but not before saying that I don't feel the need to design anything further in the stereo category.
These speakers are not portable that I can carry easily for an audition. But if you care only for the sound quality without bothering about anything else, then these deserve your ears.
I will be eager know what you think of this effort.
Thanks!!
Regards,
Ravindra.
This speaker system was designed after I understood, from my sessions with HFV members (Thanks!) in Thane and Pune, that I need something special to impress Stereophiles (in addition to my surround sound system that, I claim, solves a ton of real world problems associated with a typical 5.1CH+ set-up).
I have a very flexible, software programmable, Digital Audio Processor (DAP) and a very robust and high quality Audio Power Amplifier. The Sat-Sub speakers that I designed primarily for use with TV for living rooms are very good for stereo also with a fantastic sound stage. But for standalone stereo application, they fall short.
I have heard Bose 901 and I recently heard the Magnepans so I know where the benchmarks are or at least I think so.....anyway...
I challenged myself to design something with no restrictions in mind in terms of cost, size or speaker combination
From tonal quality standpoint, I wanted deep lows that are articulate, yes, even in the low end, solid mid-bass, correct and natural vocals covering both male and female voice and treble that you can fall in love with.
With my electronics I wanted to design a stereo speaker system that would constantly make you want to increase the volume!
I have build a speaker system using Ahuja 12" FR that meets the above requirements but the enclosure size is not something that most will appreciate.
So I had to resort to a sub woofer which can go low in a reasonable compact size enclosure and if possible have an extended frequency response that 'touches' the male vocal voice. Fortunately I struck gold with the iWai, 12" driver. I tried it as a standalone subwoofer, both in sealed and ported enclosure. It was very efficient in the ported one but was capable of quite some magic in a sealed one and so sealed it was.
I have taken an approach to not use passive crossovers and never in the vocal range. So I looked for options in full range that could go with the 12" iWai driver.
Initially I had shortlisted the, recently launched, Pioneer 6", dual cone car speaker but after trying in vain to procure it for a good week, I gave up.
Since the enclosure width was already dictated by the subwoofer, I thought why not use the tried and trusted Ahuja 12" full range.
After doing some basic calculations in Excel, I understood that the Ahuja driver will exhibit a peaking response at lower mid bass if I place it in a compact enclosure. This was taken care by keeping the Ahuja driver outside the peaking area. So the subwoofer was made to extend into 'locatable' requencies but then why should it matter in a floor standing form factor?
With good confidence of the end result, I jumped into it and the result is in the attached pictures.
The enclosure is doubled sealed with no filler and styled to the same 'gothic' look.
I can go on to describe how it sounds but would like to stop but not before saying that I don't feel the need to design anything further in the stereo category.
These speakers are not portable that I can carry easily for an audition. But if you care only for the sound quality without bothering about anything else, then these deserve your ears.
I will be eager know what you think of this effort.
Thanks!!
Regards,
Ravindra.