ML5

[Darren69]

@Mat-with-one-t

[Celts88]

@Lenehan Audio

 

Mike, couple of quick one's I've been asked on Devialetchat forum:

• Ported or infinite baffle - My reply would be bottom ported, but anything else to add
• Spring Footers - I said they isolate 3Hz, but is it right 3Hz (seems a very loooooow number)
• Material on the baffle to absorbs reflections - appreciate it's not there as a foam surround to look good, but in relation to Tweeter thingamajig 

As you can see my vaaaaaaaast Audiophile knowledge  is being put to task here (now if it was something to do with Celtic  or Whisky  I could write a book, but speaker design )

[ljmac]

9 hours ago, Lenehan Audio said:

Hi John. Many thanks for the great review ! I’ll go into a few of the improvements below

1. You hadn’t mentioned this ! Both woofer and tweeter have had their cheap brass male spade terminals replaced with pure copper tube .

In the case of the Seas T35 tweeter (already the worlds best I believe) the voice coil wire itself is crimped directly into the copper tube (no signal loss here compared to solder) see first pic .
In the second pic you can see the completed new terminal.

In the case of the woofer the voice coil tinsel leads are crimped directly into the ends of the copper tubes . Pic 3 shows the original brass spade connectors. Pic 4 shows the tinsel leads directly crimped into the new copper tubes . Pic 5 shows the end product ready for install
The driver terminal upgrade alone reduces termination losses significantly and improves detail retrieval to an amazing degree.

It's a shame you didn't think of this when you built my ML2 LImiteds - it sounds like a really nice upgrade, but I'm too lazy to move them.  I wil definitely get the crossover upgrades you mentioned previously soon though - a big advantage of outboard crossovers!

[ljmac]

9 hours ago, Lenehan Audio said:

Hi John. Many thanks for the great review ! I’ll go into a few of the improvements below

1. You hadn’t mentioned this ! Both woofer and tweeter have had their cheap brass male spade terminals replaced with pure copper tube .

In the case of the Seas T35 tweeter (already the worlds best I believe) the voice coil wire itself is crimped directly into the copper tube (no signal loss here compared to solder) see first pic .
In the second pic you can see the completed new terminal.

In the case of the woofer the voice coil tinsel leads are crimped directly into the ends of the copper tubes . Pic 3 shows the original brass spade connectors. Pic 4 shows the tinsel leads directly crimped into the new copper tubes . Pic 5 shows the end product ready for install
The driver terminal upgrade alone reduces termination losses significantly and improves detail retrieval to an amazing degree.

It's a shame you didn't think of this when you built my ML2 LImiteds - it sounds like a really nice upgrade, but I'm too lazy to move them.  I wil definitely get the crossover upgrades you mentioned previously soon though - a big advantage of outboard crossovers!

[ljmac]

Sorry - how do I delete duplicate comments?

Edited May 17, 2018 by ljmac

[Celts88]

Ok ljmac we get it 

 

(only joking mate, something must have went skewiff  when you hit submit)

 

Edited May 17, 2018 by Celts88

[Lenehan Audio]

4 hours ago, Celts88 said:

@Lenehan Audio

 

Mike, couple of quick one's I've been asked on Devialetchat forum:

• Ported or infinite baffle - My reply would be bottom ported, but anything else to add
• Spring Footers - I said they isolate 3Hz, but is it right 3Hz (seems a very loooooow number)
• Material on the baffle to absorbs reflections - appreciate it's not there as a foam surround to look good, but in relation to Tweeter thingamajig 

As you can see my vaaaaaaaast Audiophile knowledge  is being put to task here (now if it was something to do with Celtic  or Whisky  I could write a book, but speaker design )

Yes John.  Bottom ported ! And yes it's 3 hz that the Isolation work at .  Cheers Mike

[bhobba]

On 17/05/2018 at 9:08 PM, Lenehan Audio said:

Yes John.  Bottom ported ! And yes it's 3 hz that the Isolation work at .  Cheers Mike

 

Transmission line is generlly considered th best but Mike has his own proprietary port alignment that to me sounds more like transmission line than ported.  When I first heard the ML3 many moons ago now I thought it was transmission line.   Mike said it was ported and I nearly fell over in shock.  No boom - nothing - just natural deep bass.   Mike said he has built transmission line speakers - and they indeed sound good - but the cost in ML3s would be considerable.   But with how good the bass is I dont know if its worthwhile,   I may talk him into building a transmission line speaker one  day - who knows - but remember since Mike lines his speakers with steel the cost may be prohibitive.

 

Yes both me and Rawl put a lot of  work into getting these speakers just right - and Mike has taken it even further.  The speakers have had a massive amount of work put into them.

 

Celts got Jupiter Copper bypassed - Dueland VSF not bypassed have a slight edge IMHO (both Mike and Rawl think the same) but its not much and you have to get VSF in lots of 10 so you need a few ordered at one time to go that route.  But Jupiter Copper along with Duelund are considered the best capacitors in the word - its purely a personal preference thing:

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/diy/0514/jupiter_copper_foil_paper_wax_capacitor.htm

 

I find the Jupiter bypassed slightly bloomy or euphonic - Duelund dead accurate.  Despite this I still love listening to either.  Bottom line if you can afford it get some Jupiter's in critical spots - Mike knows where - you wont be sorry.   If Mike has a  number of orders Duelunds are also possible.

 

My Magnesium's will have Jupiter.  These days the Jupiter are a bit cheaper as well - it used to be the other way around.

 

Thanks

Bill

Edited May 20, 2018 by bhobba

[CedricH]

Another very satisfied ML5 Reference owner and Lenehan Audio customer. 

 

Let me introduce myself. I am Cedric music enthusiast from the Gold Coast. I am the owner of the Denafrips Terminator that was compared to the excellent Gieseler GroB Dac by Bhobba in another threat. I have been listening to head fi gear like Stax, Audeze, Oppo but was willing to share with my family members the great tunes that all the members of this forum are used to. For this reason, I have saved money for the last 5 years to get the equipment I wanted. Yep the guy with a plan…It gave me plenty of time to travel and  listen to different brands : Focal, B&W, Magnepan, Yamaha, Dynaudio, Pmc, Atc you name it… Obviously, some were good, some were average and some were not really good. However, I always had in the back of my head that I should get a pair of Australian made speakers. Thanks to this forum, I read about Mike and his new upgrades he was just about to implement in his speakers.

 

Being from the Gold Coast, it was an easy drive to the factory. Mike kindly stopped whatever he was doing and received my wife and I without any appointment. We heard some ML5 without the new upgrades and these speakers were already very good. Mike explained that he was about to make some changes to his design and it would benefit the sound. I was considering purchasing a Prima Luna Hp Integrated  with CAPS upgrade because it is also an amazing headphone amp. I asked Mike which amplifier he would recommend in my situation with a pair of his upgraded speakers. Guess what he said “ Cedric, for your needs, budget and my speakers I can only recommend the Prima Luna Hp Integrated  with CAPS that I will upgrade and KT 120 valves to open the sound “. At that very moment I understood that standing in front of me was the man that would bring me to the end of my audio search. 

 

Mike is very busy but always says yes. He is clearly a perfectionist and will not let a piece of equipment going out of the factory after an extensive testing. The build took three months. I have Xovers with duelund capacitors, excellent inductors and direct coupling from Xovers to woofers and tweeters like shown by @Celts88 in his images. Woofer and tweeter are on copper plates with cooper screws to dissipate ringing, vibration and heat. Even the vertical position of the tweeter has been tested by Mike as been the best one.The speakers are mounted on house made anti seismic feet.  The interior is built like a tank. The images will speak for themselves. Obviously, Mike is much more knowledgeable than me to explain what he did. 

 

The result of this very advanced build and strong attention to vibration is a sound that is simply the best of all the speakers I have heard so far ( we all have different tastes). It is the most comprehensive design for its intended room size. My wife and I have been easily been able to hear the difference between the “ old “ vs the new design. The sound? It made my wife become an " audiophile " !!!!!! ( I have to admit that I do not like this term ). The highs are beautiful, the mid range and vocals are amazing and to top it all you have plenty of tight, fast and precise bass when present on the track . Sound and air blend together to become one. The equipment disappears… just the wine and music stay!! These speakers can play very loud due to their very direct implementation and the efficiency of the tweeter. At high volumes, they will not  lose any speed at all. The sound will float in the air at low volume.You can play ANY music genre !!! The ML5 will help you find what is your weak link in your audio chain. They will resolve a LOT of details, if the source is of high quality. 

 

Why are Mike speakers so good? The Ml5 are probably as good as a formula one car can be but such a car is nothing without its engineers fine tuning the numerous small details allowing the car to gain an additional  second after each lap against the other contestants. It simply means Mike is here the wizard of OZ bringing life to his equipment.

 

Not only, Mike is an amazing builder but he is also a very good audio adviser with tremendous knowledge of equipment interactions. A person who is patient, detailed, precise, passionate and at times brutally honest. Isn’t that what we really need? For anyone curious about Mike’s work, please do yourself a favour go to the factory, listen to some gear and have a chat with our national magician. You deserve it.

 

Thank you Sir for your years of research taking shape in the equipment that brings joy to my family.

 

Cheers Cedric.

@Lenehan Audio

[Darren69]

@Lenehan Audio Mike, what set up did I opt for in mine? I cant remember.

[Jventer]

@CedricH

Thanks for sharing.

Love your equipment and beautiful photos.

Enjoy.

 

[CedricH]

@Jventer

 

Thank you Jventer and those of you, you liked my post. I realised I forgot to mention that the isolation plates are from Mike. But, and that might surprise some, so is also the piece of furniture on the pictures. It was a special request I made to Mike. Like I said, Mike always says '" YES " !

[nonsynchro]

You have funny looking feet, they look like remote controls.

[Rob181]

1 minute ago, nonsynchro said:

You have funny looking feet, they look like remote controls.

You must have some very interesting remote controls.

[Rob181]

5 hours ago, CedricH said:

I have Xovers with duelund capacitors, excellent inductors and direct coupling from Xovers to woofers and tweeters

Those crossovers look familiar...

[CedricH]

2 minutes ago, Rob181 said:

Those crossovers look familiar...

Mike might have possibly given me the wrong picture. He looked for mine on his screen through tens and tens of pictures...

[Lenehan Audio]

8 hours ago, Rob181 said:

Those crossovers look familiar...

Ha Haaa.  Yup they were supposed to be yours Rob ! . They are half built now so they shall  live again mate .     Cheers Mike. 

[Rob181]

4 minutes ago, Lenehan Audio said:

Ha Haaa.  Yup they were supposed to be yours Rob ! 

Wasn't hard to pick....the Path Audio resisters gave it away Mike...

Won't be too may ML5 crossovers using the Jentzen/Dueland/Path combo...

Do they have my WBT speaker binding posts as well...

[Lenehan Audio]

No I’ve still got the WBT’s Rob ! [emoji2] Mike

[Gremrock]

I thought you used ribbon cables between all the bits and pieces on them?

[Lenehan Audio]

13 hours ago, Darren69 said:

@Lenehan Audio Mike, what set up did I opt for in mine? I cant remember.

Hi Daz.        You are running Jantzen Superior Capacitors bypassed by Duelund Silver . Resistors are Duelund with FoilFlex internal wiring . From memory you decided on the Duelund bypass option near the end of the build .   Mke

[Lenehan Audio]

9 minutes ago, Gremrock said:

I thought you used ribbon cables between all the bits and pieces on them?

Hi Dan.       There is actually nothing between the components ! They are just the manufacturers component leads that come with the parts .

Component leads are crimped together under high pressure then sealed with Cardas Quad eutectic solder.

this method is called ! Low contact area high pressure cold welding ! Which in fact  currently produces the SOTA in component connection . Certainly whips an old Mungrel Printed Circuit Board but is very time consuming to build . ( 9 hrs )

 

In fact when we use our own Handwound 10awg Inductors and then include the time to build and fit the FoilFlex ribbon wire this ends up being 13hrs for a pair of ready to fit Xovers ( which weigh 6.7kgs each ).    Cheers Mike Lenehan 

 

 

[PKay]

On 23/05/2018 at 7:03 AM, CedricH said:

Another very satisfied ML5 Reference owner and Lenehan Audio customer. 

 

Let me introduce myself. I am Cedric music enthusiast from the Gold Coast. I am the owner of the Denafrips Terminator that was compared to the excellent Gieseler GroB Dac by Bhobba in another threat. I have been listening to head fi gear like Stax, Audeze, Oppo but was willing to share with my family members the great tunes that all the members of this forum are used to. For this reason, I have saved money for the last 5 years to get the equipment I wanted. Yep the guy with a plan…It gave me plenty of time to travel and  listen to different brands : Focal, B&W, Magnepan, Yamaha, Dynaudio, Pmc, Atc you name it… Obviously, some were good, some were average and some were not really good. However, I always had in the back of my head that I should get a pair of Australian made speakers. Thanks to this forum, I read about Mike and his new upgrades he was just about to implement in his speakers.

 

Being from the Gold Coast, it was an easy drive to the factory. Mike kindly stopped whatever he was doing and received my wife and I without any appointment. We heard some ML5 without the new upgrades and these speakers were already very good. Mike explained that he was about to make some changes to his design and it would benefit the sound. I was considering purchasing a Prima Luna Hp Integrated  with CAPS upgrade because it is also an amazing headphone amp. I asked Mike which amplifier he would recommend in my situation with a pair of his upgraded speakers. Guess what he said “ Cedric, for your needs, budget and my speakers I can only recommend the Prima Luna Hp Integrated  with CAPS that I will upgrade and KT 120 valves to open the sound “. At that very moment I understood that standing in front of me was the man that would bring me to the end of my audio search. 

 

Mike is very busy but always says yes. He is clearly a perfectionist and will not let a piece of equipment going out of the factory after an extensive testing. The build took three months. I have Xovers with duelund capacitors, excellent inductors and direct coupling from Xovers to woofers and tweeters like shown by @Celts88 in his images. Woofer and tweeter are on copper plates with cooper screws to dissipate ringing, vibration and heat. Even the vertical position of the tweeter has been tested by Mike as been the best one.The speakers are mounted on house made anti seismic feet.  The interior is built like a tank. The images will speak for themselves. Obviously, Mike is much more knowledgeable than me to explain what he did. 

 

The result of this very advanced build and strong attention to vibration is a sound that is simply the best of all the speakers I have heard so far ( we all have different tastes). It is the most comprehensive design for its intended room size. My wife and I have been easily been able to hear the difference between the “ old “ vs the new design. The sound? It made my wife become an " audiophile " !!!!!! ( I have to admit that I do not like this term ). The highs are beautiful, the mid range and vocals are amazing and to top it all you have plenty of tight, fast and precise bass when present on the track . Sound and air blend together to become one. The equipment disappears… just the wine and music stay!! These speakers can play very loud due to their very direct implementation and the efficiency of the tweeter. At high volumes, they will not  lose any speed at all. The sound will float in the air at low volume.You can play ANY music genre !!! The ML5 will help you find what is your weak link in your audio chain. They will resolve a LOT of details, if the source is of high quality. 

 

Why are Mike speakers so good? The Ml5 are probably as good as a formula one car can be but such a car is nothing without its engineers fine tuning the numerous small details allowing the car to gain an additional  second after each lap against the other contestants. It simply means Mike is here the wizard of OZ bringing life to his equipment.

 

Not only, Mike is an amazing builder but he is also a very good audio adviser with tremendous knowledge of equipment interactions. A person who is patient, detailed, precise, passionate and at times brutally honest. Isn’t that what we really need? For anyone curious about Mike’s work, please do yourself a favour go to the factory, listen to some gear and have a chat with our national magician. You deserve it.

 

Thank you Sir for your years of research taking shape in the equipment that brings joy to my family.

 

Cheers Cedric.

@Lenehan Audio

Awesome post Cedric. I was wondering whether the valves didn’t generate too much heat being so close to the next level of your rack?

[CedricH]

1 hour ago, PKay said:

Awesome post Cedric. I was wondering whether the valves didn’t generate too much heat being so close to the next level of your rack?

Hi PKay,

 

The middle shelf gets warm after some time. The isolation plate, which is mounted on springs under the DAC, takes easily care of that. The plate and the DAC definitely stay at normal temperatures. I would be more concern about the summer temperatures here in Queensland for the amplifier like any valve amp owner. A small price to pay for a seriously good and well priced piece of gear...  

[bhobba]

On 23/05/2018 at 7:03 AM, CedricH said:

I am the owner of the Denafrips Terminator that was compared to the excellent Gieseler GroB Dac by Bhobba in another threat.

 

Freudian slip 

 

I heard them both and can say for sure its close.   I wanted to do a more in depth comparison but  Mike never had enough free time to let me do that and I was busy watching the Commonwealth games anyway.  I didn't hear them to together long enough to make up my own mind.  Best to let those that did speak for themselves   But I will do a post later of a new DAC Mike has in his shop (Grandinote) that just simply blew me a way - as well as some others that have heard it. Best DAC I ever heard. God why does this happen I am trying to cut back on getting stuff and then something like this happens.  It never ends - but my spending needs to - will be selling a lot of my stuff soon and rationalizing my system.

 

Thanks

Bill

Edited May 26, 2018 by bhobba