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Osborn Loudspeakers Owners & Discussion Thread


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39 minutes ago, aussievintage said:

Just to put this one to bed...

Yes, I'm aware... which is why I said what I did.

 

"Terminology" is often somewhat arbitrary and confusing.... what mostly matters is actually how they're connected and what they do.... rather than what people choose to call them.   :) :thumb:

 

Just because there's no electrical high pass filter on the "mid", or "mid/bass" or whatever you want to call the middle frequencies driver in the speaker..... doesn't really matter.   It still has a highpass response (caused by the driver and the box themselves) around (I would assume) 100 to 200Hz.

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Again... potentially more terminology confusion "full range".    ;) 

 

If you are really asking "how far down do you run the middle-range driver" ..... then my understanding is it goes down "as far as it will go", as there is no electrical high pass filter to stop it..... just the natural response of the driver and the effect of the box.

 

EDIT:   Which is a good idea for a large hifi speaker IMVHO

Edited by davewantsmoore
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Guest jakeyb77
6 minutes ago, aussievintage said:

That may be true in the Epitome.  Remember mine is the Eclipse

 

... and I have no switch, so I can't help :(       but  I think your guess is good.  What does the switch do?  Is it about that phase reversal mod I read about?

Ah of course!! ?

 

The switch is activated when you use the bass bins. 

“This by-passes the resistors on the crossover network, therefore increasing efficiency by 3db”. 

 

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Changing the subject.  Do you play your Osborns with the speaker grill on or off?  On previous speakers, I always preferred to have the grills off, but the Osborn grill is so thin and see-thru, and really looks good on the speakers IMO.  Also, I am hearing little difference in the sound, so I have been leaving mine on for now.

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21 hours ago, aussievintage said:

Changing the subject.  Do you play your Osborns with the speaker grill on or off?  On previous speakers, I always preferred to have the grills off, but the Osborn grill is so thin and see-thru, and really looks good on the speakers IMO.  Also, I am hearing little difference in the sound, so I have been leaving mine on for now.

 

I have always left the grills on.  I prefer the art of seduction...

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  • 3 weeks later...

I would like to relate a pleasant listening session.  The speakers were the top-spec Osborn Epitome Reference Elite Towers with the super midrange.     They were driven by Consonance quad-EL34 monoblocks.  Source was a Rega P6 with Dynavector XX2 MC cartridge.  A nice setup.

 

To say the least, I was blown away.  My point of comparison is my old  Osborn Reference Eclipse.   I took my favourite vinyl demo records along, and they have NEVER sounded so good.  A highlight for me, was the AR (Acoustic Research) Demo record on Ensayo ENY/AR-1.  We played the first 3 tracks on side 2.  Firstly Toccata in D minor on pipe organ.  The lows were startling, and were very well handled.   The next track, a Cello solo, and then the close-miked Ten to Two Blues track.  All spectacular sounding.

 

We listened to a big variety, from Mojo Tutu, to Stephan Grapelli, to Rickie Lee Jones, to Satchmo, to Aretha Franklin, to Bamboo, and more.   I drank my red wine and just enjoyed it all.

 

Fantastic speakers by Greg.

 

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  • 4 weeks later...
Guest jakeyb77
4 minutes ago, Mat-with-one-t said:

Hey can anyone tell me how to judge whether a pair of Osborns are lead-lined or not?  Yes, they'll be heavy, but all his speakers are bloody heavy!  Is there a way to see the lining somehow?  Mat

The lead lining is inside. It is felt-lead-felt. You’d need to unscrew a driver. It is on every panel of the inside of the cabinet so you will know for sure. They add a lot of weight. If your Epitome weighs 68kgs then there is no lead. If it weighs 21kgs more then it has lead 

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1 minute ago, jakeyb77 said:

The lead lining is inside. It is felt-lead-felt. You’d need to unscrew a driver. It is on every panel of the inside of the cabinet so you will know for sure. They add a lot of weight. If your Epitome weighs 68kgs then there is no lead. If it weighs 21kgs more then it has lead 

Thanks mate I was about to send you a PM about this but you beat me to it!!  I'll see if I can manage to weigh them without breaking a scale!!

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Guest jakeyb77

I’ve seen them being made with and without lead. 
The cabinets without are a feat in themselves and it would be bloody near unthinkable that they resonate at all.

Add the lead for good measure I suppose. ?

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16 minutes ago, jakeyb77 said:

I’ve seen them being made with and without lead. 
The cabinets without are a feat in themselves and it would be bloody near unthinkable that they resonate at all.

Add the lead for good measure I suppose. ?

And mine just weighed in at 87kg!  Man, no wonder their cab's are as dead as a dead dog's donger......

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So what was wrong with Greg's system's this year at the show you guys who are owners and were there?

I look forward to hearing his unobtania(for me anyway)at shows but this year it was meh.

Was it the room or has he changed  his designs or what? I know I'm not the only one who was underwhelmed.

The bookshelves were the only ones I could listen too at any length.

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Guest jakeyb77

I went in  pretty early in the show and he was giving them a bit of stick. The bass and sound was astonishing @Luc

Later on they were ticking along and sort of here and there.  Maybe he was hit with the naughty stick. 
Plus this ghastly Polk things were next door booming away. 
He seemed busy all the time so they just seemed to be playing in the background. 
I have also heard the new drivers don’t seem to synergise like the older models. 
I noticed the cabinets are all still the same. Maybe you can’t just throw new drivers in the old cabinets. 

Edited by jakeyb77
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1 hour ago, Luc said:

So what was wrong with Greg's system's this year at the show you guys who are owners and were there?

I look forward to hearing his unobtania(for me anyway)at shows but this year it was meh.

Was it the room or has he changed  his designs or what? I know I'm not the only one who was underwhelmed.

The bookshelves were the only ones I could listen too at any length.

Agreed. Sloppy, boomy over the top bass in the Epitomes when I was there... It sounded impressive for the first 30 seconds and then tiresome. But it was the same room as last year and if I remember, set up in near enough to the same position. I believe Greg had to re design the crossovers to accommodate a new mid bass driver so maybe that has something to do with it. I'm not technically minded enough to theorise any more than that.

Edited by blybo
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15 minutes ago, blybo said:

I'm not technically minded enough to theorise any more than that.

Your way up the ladder from me Neil. Everytime I see the word 'crossovers' I see pedestrian crossings. Anthony Holton found that out a few years ago after he wasted 3/4's of an hour me seated near the bar at the hotel. At the end of a one way convo he said; So what do think? I answered; "Is it an integrated ?"

 

I think the penny dropped then and he realised he was talking to an idiot.

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7 minutes ago, Luc said:

Your way up the ladder from me Neil. Everytime I see the word 'crossovers' I see pedestrian crossings.

I know what they do, nothing more. Couldn't design/build 1 or make design decisions as how to go about it to change a speakers output.

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16 hours ago, blybo said:

Agreed. Sloppy, boomy over the top bass in the Epitomes when I was there... It sounded impressive for the first 30 seconds and then tiresome. But it was the same room as last year and if I remember, set up in near enough to the same position. I believe Greg had to re design the crossovers to accommodate a new mid bass driver so maybe that has something to do with it. I'm not technically minded enough to theorise any more than that.

 

Can't be the Epitomes.  I have had a good to the latest Epitome reference tower with the new tweeter and the bass is not in anyway boomy or sloppy in our listening room.  I would describe it as being there, good and strong, but only when it is really part of the source.  No artificial bass.  When it is there, it is clean.  Double bass on a jazz track sounded authentic. We even hit it with the classic pipe organ track playing that toccata thing. :) 

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31 minutes ago, Sir Sanders Zingmore said:

At the risk of putting noses out of joint, that sums up my impression at every show I’ve heard them at. 

 

Noses don't have joints Zingy, learn some anatomy! Jeez.....

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47 minutes ago, Sir Sanders Zingmore said:

At the risk of putting noses out of joint, that sums up my impression at every show I’ve heard them at. 

Nose not out of joint, but it's at odds with what I hear in living rooms here.  Maybe they don't agree with the show environment :) 

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On 19/09/2019 at 11:26 AM, aussievintage said:

Changing the subject.  Do you play your Osborns with the speaker grill on or off?  On previous speakers, I always preferred to have the grills off, but the Osborn grill is so thin and see-thru, and really looks good on the speakers IMO.  Also, I am hearing little difference in the sound, so I have been leaving mine on for now.

It's not just the grille fabric but also the frame itself. I've tested many different grilles (on/off) and there is usually a big enough measurable difference that the average audiophile could expect to hear a subtle to moderate difference. Most speakers measure better with the grilles off.

 

I've heard and tested many Osborne speakers in different listening rooms. The room is the real offender here when it comes to bass.

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19 minutes ago, Red Spade Audio said:

I've heard and tested many Osborne speakers in different listening rooms. The room is the real offender here when it comes to bass.

But they were in the same room and rough positions within the room as previous hifi shows.

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