Sub Sonic Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 Recently I've been rather enjoying listening to a pair of Markaudio wide range drivers and thought the brand deserved a thread of their own. Markaudio make only wide range drivers. I have played with a couple and am currently using the Alpair 5.3 (5cm cone) metal cone wide range driver in an open baffle, woofer assisted setup. Interestingly, they have no "spider" at all, the only suspension is the rubber surround, and moving mass is less than 2 grams. They have a very coherent, natural sound, a huge stable sweet spot, and "see through" imaging. Electrostatic speaker sound comes to mind, except that the sweet spot is much, much larger, no "head in the vice" needed here. They also sound good wherever you are in the room. These little drivers can genuinely take the place of a mid and tweeter, have a subjectively consistent power response, and are flat to around 20kHz. Bass response can be below 100Hz depending on the cabinet. I have also had the Alpair 7.3 (7cm cone) which sounded good, but was ultimately a little too "sharp" in the top end for my liking, although many others rate them highly. I am currently waiting on delivery of a pair of Alpair 10P (10cm paper cone) which by all accounts are a great driver with a wide, smooth and extended response. If anyone is looking to dip their toes into wide range drivers, these sound great, and relatively speaking, very reasonably priced. Any discussion, comments, pics or questions welcome. Cheers, SS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wen Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 some photos would be great to see, thanks Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sub Sonic Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 (edited) The little Alpair 5.3 is the only one in the house currently, the 10P’s should be delivered tomorrow Edited February 27, 2020 by Sub Sonic 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwhouston Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 I liked this setup believing tweeters are bad for reproduced music. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mwhouston Posted February 27, 2020 Share Posted February 27, 2020 I have the 12P which I regard as full range. In the pencil tower with room assist it gets down to 40 which all comes out of the port. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sub Sonic Posted February 27, 2020 Author Share Posted February 27, 2020 How many litres are the boxes Mark? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:) Go Away (: Posted March 24, 2020 Share Posted March 24, 2020 Where are you getting the MarkAudio drivers from here in Australia? Anywhere from overseas, the shipping cost ends up costing just as much as the driver it self. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kranky Posted March 25, 2020 Share Posted March 25, 2020 Darcher Audio are the agents in Australia. Steve. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sub Sonic Posted March 25, 2020 Author Share Posted March 25, 2020 1 hour ago, kranky said: Darcher Audio are the agents in Australia. Steve. Likewise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:) Go Away (: Posted March 25, 2020 Share Posted March 25, 2020 2 hours ago, kranky said: Darcher Audio are the agents in Australia. Steve. Thank you. Yes, I did have a look at Darcher, but Darcher only has Pluvia 7 and not the newer 7.2HD. Thought, there might be other options. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sub Sonic Posted March 25, 2020 Author Share Posted March 25, 2020 (edited) There are many more drivers than that? I bought pairs of 10p and 5.3 recently. http://www.darcher.com.au/store/index.php?route=product/search&search=Mark Audio SS Edit: they do have the new 11MS and 7MS. Edited March 25, 2020 by Sub Sonic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:) Go Away (: Posted March 25, 2020 Share Posted March 25, 2020 21 minutes ago, Sub Sonic said: There are many more drivers than that? I bought pairs of 10p and 5.3 recently. http://www.darcher.com.au/store/index.php?route=product/search&search=Mark Audio SS Edit: they do have the new 11MS and 7MS. Oh! I didn't mean it that way. I meant the Pluvia's latest version (P7.2HD) isn't available from Darcher yet. Surely, there are lot of other variations there for sale. Hmm... what to get. Pluvia 7 or Alpair 7MS or Pluvia 7.2HD from overseas. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:) Go Away (: Posted March 25, 2020 Share Posted March 25, 2020 Nevermind! I ended up placing an order for 4 x MA Pluvia 7 from Darcher just now. Thank you for your help. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sub Sonic Posted March 25, 2020 Author Share Posted March 25, 2020 6 minutes ago, bluehalk said: Nevermind! I ended up placing an order for 4 x MA Pluvia 7 from Darcher just now. Thank you for your help. I’d be interested to hear your impressions in due course Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:) Go Away (: Posted March 25, 2020 Share Posted March 25, 2020 Just now, Sub Sonic said: I’d be interested to hear your impressions in due course Looking forward to it. I already have cabinets built from them, just wasn't sure where I could get the drivers, apart from Darcher. Thanks to Dave (Planet10), I got the cabinet measurements and have one built already, so it is just the matter of Aus postie to come knock my door wearing mask and gloves. By the way, this will be bipole MLTL speaker with two drivers in each cabinet. The driver currently in is Dayton Audio PC-105 4", which I already had, so used them. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zanlation Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 I built a pair of Pensil 7's using the Alpair 7 a few years ago. I wanted a DIY speaker that didn't include crossovers. They are my main speakers in the lounge room now (all the other Paradigms in the picture are in my new home theater room). I am still amazed just how good they sound. I have now paired them with a Topping D50s DAC and DIY TPA3255EMV Power Amp. The front panels are Spotted Gum heartwood, the veneer is spotted gum and all the enclosure is made of 18mm plywood (including behind the front baffle). 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zanlation Posted March 28, 2020 Share Posted March 28, 2020 Some more mark audio porn. I made these for my parents. They are Alpair 10's with a Queensland Maple baffle and tassy oak veneer. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
:) Go Away (: Posted April 11, 2020 Share Posted April 11, 2020 On 25/03/2020 at 4:37 PM, bluehalk said: Looking forward to it. I already have cabinets built from them, just wasn't sure where I could get the drivers, apart from Darcher. Thanks to Dave (Planet10), I got the cabinet measurements and have one built already, so it is just the matter of Aus postie to come knock my door wearing mask and gloves. By the way, this will be bipole MLTL speaker with two drivers in each cabinet. The driver currently in is Dayton Audio PC-105 4", which I already had, so used them. Well! I received my MA Pluvia 7 drivers recently and completed the build for both speakers. I would have to say that I am presently surprised by the performance of these drivers. The amount of bass from these tiny 4inch driver is really something. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Jones Posted April 18, 2020 Share Posted April 18, 2020 (edited) Mark Audio 12P in a open baffle with 2x 300mm Visiton woofers in a W frame with XO at 280Hz As they are now. The 12P is magnet mounted to a centre spine and the baffle is mounted to the spine with rubber grommets and a soft seal to seal the 12P I have used 4 different types of FR and the 12P is by far the best. Edited April 18, 2020 by Warren Jones 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sub Sonic Posted April 18, 2020 Author Share Posted April 18, 2020 Thanks @Warren Jones, it looks like a nice setup Would it be possible to post a pic of the 12P mounting arrangement? And what model are the Visaton woofers? Which other wide range drivers have you tried? I’m currently using the 10P which I love. Cheers, SS Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Jones Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 (edited) No worries here is the setup. This is about the 6th iteration and sounds amazing. The baffle is 7mm plywood laminated with 6mm MDF, glue is Sikaflex polyurethane construction adhesive, available at Bunnings. Baffle is held on by bolts but nut are only finger tight enough so it does not rattle. Spine and base is 18mm marine ply same as the woofer enclosure. . Edited April 19, 2020 by Warren Jones 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sub Sonic Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 Thanks for posting. It looks very similar to some of my creations, except that due to kids I use flyscreen instead of grille cloth Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Warren Jones Posted April 19, 2020 Share Posted April 19, 2020 (edited) No kids, they have grown up and flown. Previous FR Fostex FE108 Fostex FE206En modified with phase plug and whizzer brace. Dayton Audio PS220 required notch filter to remove terrible peak (SHOUTY) Mark Audio 12P The Mark Audio is by far the best. The system has no correction. Baffle Step was done using the XO point, baffle width and driver placement in the baffle. They have been designed to work in my room so measuring out in the paddock they do not measure well but in room response is good. They are bi-amped with active XO between pre and power amp. Edited April 19, 2020 by Warren Jones 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sub Sonic Posted April 19, 2020 Author Share Posted April 19, 2020 Pretty similar setup here, active XO and measured/EQ’d in room, one of the bonuses of DIY 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
astromo Posted May 8, 2020 Share Posted May 8, 2020 (edited) I got myself a pair of 12Ps from the guys down in Tassie. The current plan is to mount them in Classic Golden Ratio Mar-Ken12 boxes. Was on track to get learned up to use a CNC router to do the wood work via community resources but my plan got scuppered by the plague. All in good time. I'll get there in the end. Good to read that there a few MA fans out there. Gives me confidence that I'm on the right track. Edited June 23, 2020 by astromo 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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