Osborne Loudspeakers Owners & Discussion Thread

[aussievintage 3,799]

2 minutes ago, jakeyb77 said:

Great job!  Are the new surrounds co trolling the extension better? 

Much better than the temporary drivers I had in there.   I would say they are also better than they were when I first got them - not unexpected as those old surrounds were totally shot.

[Kaynin 3,780]

1 hour ago, aussievintage said:

 

 

Job finished  AND successful.    Glued the outer edges of the foam down yesterday, and installed them this morning.  Working like new!!

 

 

 

Great work!

[aussievintage 3,799]

Just now, Kaynin said:

 

Great work!

Thanks.  I was pretty apprehensive as I soldered and screwed them back in, then played the first few tracks through them, but they are singing nicely.  I didn't screw up  

[aussievintage 3,799]

On 16/09/2019 at 7:32 PM, davewantsmoore said:

Ahh...  I see.   It's still right to call it the "midrange driver".....  or the "bass/mid".

It doesn't include an electrical high pass filter .... but the driver and the box themselves act as high pass filters   

 

Depends on how you want to use the terminology.

 

2.5 usually refers to two identical woofers, where on has a low pass filter.    eg. two woofers which play from 40 to 1400Hz ....but one has a low pass filter stopping it from playing above 200Hz.

 

Here, it's really just a mid/bass driver, which doesn't have/need an electrical high pass filter.

Just to put this one to bed,  while I had the drivers out today, I looked around inside a bit more.  There is a horizontal divider inside between the 2 lower drivers, and a crossover is sitting on top of it behind the middle driver that I was replacing.   

 

It seems to be essentially two separate enclosures, and this is supported by the fact there are two bass ports on the rear, a smaller one for the top section, and a larger one for the bottom.  That middle driver really is a woofer for the 2-way section on top.  The bottom section is a subwoofer.  At least that's the terminology that seems most correct for me.

[Guest jakeyb77]

Email from Greg states they are run as a mid only. 

Next question. In the manual it’s says to use the switch in the bottom position. Does this mean push the switch so the bottom is in? 

Edited September 19, 2019 by jakeyb77

[aussievintage 3,799]

14 minutes ago, jakeyb77 said:

Email from Greg states they are run as a mid only. 

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

 

15 minutes ago, jakeyb77 said:

Next question. In the manual it’s says to use the switch in the bottom position. Does this mean push the switch so the bottom is in? 

... 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?

[davewantsmoore 6,557]

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.    

 

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.

[davewantsmoore 6,557]

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 September 19, 2019 by davewantsmoore

[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”. 

 

[aussievintage 3,799]

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.

[Kaynin 3,780]

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...

[aussievintage 3,799]

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.

 

[Mat-with-one-t 1,302]

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

[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 

[Mat-with-one-t 1,302]

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!!

[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. 😳

[Mat-with-one-t 1,302]

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......

[Luc 10,255]

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.

[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 October 30, 2019 by jakeyb77

[blybo 4,646]

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 October 30, 2019 by blybo

[Luc 10,255]

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.

[blybo 4,646]

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.

[aussievintage 3,799]

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.  

[sir sanders zingmore 12,137]

17 hours ago, blybo said:

Agreed. Sloppy, boomy over the top bass

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

[Guest jakeyb77]

24 minutes ago, Sir Sanders Zingmore said:

At the risk of putting noses out of joint. 

You? Never! 😂

[Grizzly 2,765]

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.....

[aussievintage 3,799]

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  

[Red Spade Audio 318]

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.

[blybo 4,646]

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.

[aussievintage 3,799]

59 minutes ago, blybo said:

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

Newer different drivers reacting to the same room differently?

[Red Spade Audio 318]

4 hours ago, blybo said:

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

This was more of a general comment, not so much about this year vs last year.

[nedrum 34]

I like the look with grills on (I only have an older model C2 centre), but find the sound without the grills a little smoother to my ears

[Rakalel 25]

On 31/10/2019 at 8:42 AM, aussievintage said:

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.

Is it one with the new bass drivers though? From October he had a new model bass driver I think. I'm only extrapolating from the fact that he said he can't get the bass units anymore for the Grand Monuments, people on here saying it was the bass and that sort of lines up with the website saying everything from the Eclipses up is a new model from October 2019.

[camtays 8]

I'm lucky enough to have my hands on at T12 Subwoofer. 
https://www.osbornloudspeakers.com.au/t12

These guys have such tight low lows. Almost too good at producing 20-30hz. But you guys are right. The bass is only as ever as good as the room it lives in, no matter how amazing the speaker is. 

 

[aussievintage 3,799]

8 hours ago, Rakalel said:

Is it one with the new bass drivers though? From October he had a new model bass driver I think. I'm only extrapolating from the fact that he said he can't get the bass units anymore for the Grand Monuments, people on here saying it was the bass and that sort of lines up with the website saying everything from the Eclipses up is a new model from October 2019.

Probably the old one then.  Purchased earlier in the year.     

[Kaynin 3,780]

13 minutes ago, HOOKED ON HIFI said:

Supposed to be the best Osborn speakers ever and no hardness on the sound.

 

Who said that?

 

No I haven't heard the Grand Monument Reference, but I have heard the new Epitome tower Reference.  I prefer them to the previous series, so much so that I bought a pair.  I never found the Focal drivers hard on sound, but could be bright if pairing with the wrong amp.  I've had the older Eclipses for 8 years, brilliant speaker with the right amp.

[Jventer 1,705]

On 30/10/2019 at 3:33 PM, 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.

Hi Luc

I am an Osborn fan - maybe because I have to be with my investment in his speakers - but, when I listened to his big speakers at a show, compared to at his house  the difference was significant.  Based on what I heard in the hotel room  I would not have bought them, from my listening position at the back of the room they were actually irritating, the bass especially. I told Greg that and he agreed. The answer in my layman terms was that the room was too small, e.g room nodes.My speakers, Eclipse Reference, in different places I have lived, I have and still experience that the rooms and placement do make a difference, especially with the bass.

This brings me to your post: I believe the small speakers were not influenced (influenced less) by the room as the bigger speakers.

So, I agree, in a hotel room those Epitomes would drive me bonkers! Those EOS or whatever they were called before and what they are called now would be ideal.

 

 

[Jventer 1,705]

2 hours ago, HOOKED ON HIFI said:

I am seriously considering buying a pair of there grand monument that's why I am so interested in feedback if anyone has herd them

Hi, you have to have a big room! Seriously I love them, but this is an issue. Maybe not if you only listen at low volume, but then you do not want these anyway.

Lovely speakers, sounds great in the right space.  

Be careful re small spaces and they are heavy as - I know - my Osborn speakers only weigh about 90kg. I bought them for that reason - kids could not push them over -  - but not easy to move.

[Jventer 1,705]

On 31/10/2019 at 10:11 AM, 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. 

Hi

You IMO are correct - that is what I also found - the bass was all over the place. 

Do yourself a favour and go to Greg and listen to the speakers in his setup. 

 

 

[Jventer 1,705]

2 hours ago, Kaynin said:

 

Who said that?

 

No I haven't heard the Grand Monument Reference, but I have heard the new Epitome tower Reference.  I prefer them to the previous series, so much so that I bought a pair.  I never found the Focal drivers hard on sound, but could be bright if pairing with the wrong amp.  I've had the older Eclipses for 8 years, brilliant speaker with the right amp.

Hi @Kaynin

Our speakers were bought and then made about the same time. I still have mine. Well done on upgrading!

Anyway - agree with you, speakers need to be matched to the right amp.