Steve M Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 (edited) I've been having the usual fun over the Christmas-New Year period building a new set of ambitious ultimate loudspeakers ...this is where I am at, doing what makes the most difference (to me) that is, concentrating on LOUDSPEAKERS combined with complicated EQ'ing (to suit my large room) via an active digital crossover and room tuning.The new fourway loudspeaker consists of an 150L mdf Bass Reflex box, 2 x DBX DRPA digital crossover units, four stereo amplifiers mainly Class AB amplification, one Class D and a total of 385w/ch, 4 x 5" Accuton C79-6 ceramic pure midrange drivers (@$2K), large Aurum Cantus G1 ribbon tweeters (@ $1K, 102dB efficiency (8 ohm impedance and goes down to 800Hz - meaning its very flexible), an AC 8" carbon mid-bass driver and a Vifa 8" bass unit from 50Hz and below (Fs @ 24Hz). All crossed around the traditional three way crossover points of 500Hz and 5kHz, give or take +/- a few hertz to suit.Sounds awesome to me and tuned to sound like a blend between the transparency of my DDESL stats (fast and accurate) and the impact of Edgar Horns (exciting and scintillating).Not for me to judge the speaker however, as we all tend to get caught up in 'own little world' including myself, so do welcome any SNAer's to check them out if ur in Perth. I am confident most people would like this loudspeaker.Cheers,Steve. Edited January 22, 2016 by Steve M 13 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted January 21, 2016 Author Share Posted January 21, 2016 (edited) ..................... Edited January 22, 2016 by Steve M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwhouston Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 @@Steve M looks absolutely stunning. You have spare no expensive in drivers. Should sound crazy good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blackangus Posted January 21, 2016 Share Posted January 21, 2016 Needs more drivers... They look awesome, would love to hear them. my kind of loudspeaker! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki65 Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Not for me to judge the speaker however, as we all tend to get caught up in 'own little world' including myself, so do welcome any SNAer's to check them out if ur in Perth. I am confident most people would like this loudspeaker. Sounds interesting, i'm in. As of 3pm today i'm on leave for 2 weeks so any time suits me. Also I've another new toy, maybe a swap of opinions?? Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 Sure Dave, can catch up next week. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
teagle Posted January 22, 2016 Share Posted January 22, 2016 Happy to catch train up to suit Steve. Can bring a few tunes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted January 22, 2016 Author Share Posted January 22, 2016 No worries Terry, try and bring the 'banned' one with you . Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Atlas Gouverneur Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Great work! How do you find the Aurum Cantus's? Is their lack of vertical dispersion noticeable? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki65 Posted January 23, 2016 Share Posted January 23, 2016 Sure Dave, can catch up next week. Sounds like a plan, work out a day and time that suits you and pop me a PM. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
a.dent Posted January 24, 2016 Share Posted January 24, 2016 They look fantastic Steve. I'd love to come and have listen. I have plenty of time now I've semi retired. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted January 25, 2016 Author Share Posted January 25, 2016 Yes, will need to catch up soon Andrew ... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
statman Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 I heard them, very nice.... accurate but also pleasing to the ear, you did a good job tuning them Steve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
THOMO Posted January 26, 2016 Share Posted January 26, 2016 Looks good Steve. Why the 5000 Hz crossover?Seems pretty high to me. Although I guess having the same drivers covering such a wide frequency range brings it own benefits? I think you need another two woofers on top though-Duntech style! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki65 Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Was fortunate enough to have a listen to Steve's white monoliths today, and as usual it's always a great experence to hear what Steve can get out of a system. As a whole they are a very well put together pair of speakers, but the standout for me was the ribbon tweeters. @@Steve M a couple for you to checkout (on Spotify) The Necks ( transparent roads, the title track), The Kilimanjaro Dark Jazz Ensemble. Also been listening to a bit of Gillian Welch and Lera Lynn (stunning version of ring of fire, almost as good as Wall Of Voodoo's version) Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest BobbyD Posted January 29, 2016 Share Posted January 29, 2016 Looking very nice......great job!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Steve M Posted January 30, 2016 Author Share Posted January 30, 2016 (edited) I heard them, very nice.... accurate but also pleasing to the ear, you did a good job tuning them Steve Thanks Mick, appreciate the feedback from a discerning ear. Was fortunate enough to have a listen to Steve's white monoliths today, and as usual it's always a great experence to hear what Steve can get out of a system. As a whole they are a very well put together pair of speakers, but the standout for me was the ribbon tweeters. @@Steve M a couple for you to checkout (on Spotify) The Necks ( transparent roads, the title track), The Kilimanjaro Dark Jazz Ensemble. Also been listening to a bit of Gillian Welch and Lera Lynn (stunning version of ring of fire, almost as good as Wall Of Voodoo's version) Cheers Dave Glad you liked them Dave, good that you liked the ribbons (I've got them sounding pretty sweet and airy I think) and that you didn't notice the Accuton mids too much, in that they did a disappearing act, which is the way it is meant to be (the Accutons are quite hard to tame and get right). Likewise your PSE144 horn based system is sounding excellent and look forward to hearing them with the DEQX in tow. I think you were pretty impressed with the Antipodes DX clone server from Conchblower/Liam ...might convert you from the vinyl spell hey, maybe? Also, will check out those discs you recommended via Spotify. Looks good Steve. Why the 5000 Hz crossover?Seems pretty high to me. Although I guess having the same drivers covering such a wide frequency range brings it own benefits? I think you need another two woofers on top though-Duntech style! Jon, the Accuton ribbon spkr array is sounding very good, I reckon my skill with the DBX is better than most, without blowing my own trumpet too much. Drive the input hard, tons of Parametric Eq & Graphic Eq to compensate for room effects, get the meters jumping and get the x-o settings right - and the DBX essentially disappears. The upper crossover point for the mid-tweeter transition started at 5kHz, but what Mick and Dave heard was at 3.2kHz which sounds just about right I think. As mentioned, the big Aurum Cantus G-1 ribbon tweeter is very flexible with 102dB efficiency @ a friendly 8 ohm impedence and goes down to 800Hz, quite meaty sounding and nothing like other ribbons I have used, the alluminium ribbon is about 6 x the surface area of your smaller Fountek ribbon. The trick too is to run the Accuton up quite high to support the lack of strength of the ribbon, which the Accuton can do easily because of its hard ceramic material, the stiff pistonic behaviour and 'fast' sound. Looking very nice......great job!! Serg, you are welcome to drop by anytime. Cheers, Steve. Edited January 30, 2016 by Steve M Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Sime Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 As far as how they look, this sums it up for me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
loki65 Posted January 30, 2016 Share Posted January 30, 2016 Glad you liked them Dave, good that you liked the ribbons (I've got them sounding pretty sweet and airy I think) and that you didn't notice the Accuton mids too much, in that they did a disappearing act Not just the mids, you've done a great job making the speakers (as a whole) disappear when the music starts. I think you were pretty impressed with the Antipodes DX clone server from Conchblower/Liam ...might convert you from the vinyl spell hey, maybe? No, I think vinyl will always be my reference preference. BUT, with not everything I want being released on vinyl and the disappointment of the SQ with some I have bought, has me thinking. A bit of thought and effort into finding a the right server based player, I should be able to get closer to the SQ of my TT. Plus there seem to be a few releases these days that are Download only, so it would open up another door. Yes, was quite impressed with the DX clone. Cheers Dave Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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