humanhuman said:
I built a pair a year ago based on BG RD75's and would not switch back to monopoles. The stereo image is highly accurate, as you move about the room (and even walk between the speakers), the image stays put but your perspective on the sound changes as in a live event. Walking through the setup is like walking through the (band/orchestra/stage) as the image approaches, then surrounds, then retreats behind you.
These are augmented by a 5 ft^3 sonotube type subwoofer.
auplater
Attachments
I've built a pair of active dipoles using:
1x Fountek JP2.0
1x Audax PR170m0
2x 12" El-Pipo Lineage woofers
They sound incredible, I'll never go back to "boxed" speakers again. The only real drawback is that you won't get alot of bass-slam. What you do get is very clean and detailed, just not alot of chest slamming thump like you do with a vented woofer.. Oh yeah, and you need alot more SD or X-max to get the same amount of output as a monopole woofer due to the roll-off. So be prepared for 2 big woofers per side, a single 10" just won't get you below 30hz.
--Chris
1x Fountek JP2.0
1x Audax PR170m0
2x 12" El-Pipo Lineage woofers
They sound incredible, I'll never go back to "boxed" speakers again. The only real drawback is that you won't get alot of bass-slam. What you do get is very clean and detailed, just not alot of chest slamming thump like you do with a vented woofer.. Oh yeah, and you need alot more SD or X-max to get the same amount of output as a monopole woofer due to the roll-off. So be prepared for 2 big woofers per side, a single 10" just won't get you below 30hz.
--Chris
Dipole is a radiation pattern. You can buy dipole box surround speakers at your local Best Buy.
An open baffle speaker is a dipole that has no enclosure. You can get a taste of open baffle, dipole sound, if you have for example, a Magnepan dealer nearby. Those use ribbon type drivers. Other similar examples like these are electrostatic type designs.
The examples you are going to see here are mainly open baffle, dynamic driver designs. The same type of cone units found in your box speakers at home and Best Buy, etc.
These combine the openess, clarity and "boxless" type sound of an electrostatic, with the power and dynamics that cone type drivers provide.
There is far, far more to open baffle speakers than cutting a hole in a piece of wood and sticking a driver in there, just like there is more to box speakers than cutting a hole in a random box and sticking a random driver in there, then expect it to sound good.
For all one would want to know about open baffle design: http://www.linkwitzlab.com/index.html
It's where I went (after nearly 20yrs of building many speakers for myself) to come up with these. Since each speaker I own can't be worse than the last, there is no going back to boxes.
Cheers,
AJ
An open baffle speaker is a dipole that has no enclosure. You can get a taste of open baffle, dipole sound, if you have for example, a Magnepan dealer nearby. Those use ribbon type drivers. Other similar examples like these are electrostatic type designs.
The examples you are going to see here are mainly open baffle, dynamic driver designs. The same type of cone units found in your box speakers at home and Best Buy, etc.
These combine the openess, clarity and "boxless" type sound of an electrostatic, with the power and dynamics that cone type drivers provide.
There is far, far more to open baffle speakers than cutting a hole in a piece of wood and sticking a driver in there, just like there is more to box speakers than cutting a hole in a random box and sticking a random driver in there, then expect it to sound good.
For all one would want to know about open baffle design: http://www.linkwitzlab.com/index.html
It's where I went (after nearly 20yrs of building many speakers for myself) to come up with these. Since each speaker I own can't be worse than the last, there is no going back to boxes.
Cheers,
AJ
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Dipoles
Go there, you wont be sorry. From my experience you need at least 2 12" drivers per side, preferably more for big spl. One 8" crossing at 120-150Hz will also only just cut the mustard for decent spl levels without distortion. I've found pushing the crossover up to 150Hz helps the 8" driver out but the 12"s then start to sound a little muddy. A subwoofer is recommended for use below the lowest room mode frequency of your room.
Go there, you wont be sorry. From my experience you need at least 2 12" drivers per side, preferably more for big spl. One 8" crossing at 120-150Hz will also only just cut the mustard for decent spl levels without distortion. I've found pushing the crossover up to 150Hz helps the 8" driver out but the 12"s then start to sound a little muddy. A subwoofer is recommended for use below the lowest room mode frequency of your room.
The WG itself is aluminum/silver, the rest is a semi transparent "frost" paint. I have it elsewhere in my interior, like on the glass doors on my storage cabinets,etc. Its been 3yrs now, so I can't recall the exact name of the paint. "Frost" sounds about right.
It hides the decoupling structure when facing the (front of the) speakers.
Those are old pics.
The paintings are up
cheers,
AJ
It hides the decoupling structure when facing the (front of the) speakers.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Those are old pics.
The paintings are up
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
cheers,
AJ
BG dipoles
Hi folks...
The BG's run free from ~600 hz up....with Peerless HDS
mid-woofers for 600 Hz to 50 Hz range, Peerless silk tweeters (one firing forward, one backwards) from 3500Hz up, EAS-400 leaf-tweeter as super tweeter from 7000Hz up. The bottom end is augmented by a Titanic 12" sub in a 5 ft^3 sonotube, pretty much from 100 Hz to < 20 Hz. all @ 2nd order
RD 75 has the notch filter... dipole baffle roll off compensated and levels matched for all drivers...
I'm still tweaking (does it ever end?) The baffles are 1" cherry and the mid woofers are housed in mdf enclosures tuned to ~48 hz.
yes I have weighed in on some gold from time to time :-;
another pic earlier while building...
John L (auplater)
tubee said:
Hi folks...
The BG's run free from ~600 hz up....with Peerless HDS
mid-woofers for 600 Hz to 50 Hz range, Peerless silk tweeters (one firing forward, one backwards) from 3500Hz up, EAS-400 leaf-tweeter as super tweeter from 7000Hz up. The bottom end is augmented by a Titanic 12" sub in a 5 ft^3 sonotube, pretty much from 100 Hz to < 20 Hz. all @ 2nd order
RD 75 has the notch filter... dipole baffle roll off compensated and levels matched for all drivers...
I'm still tweaking
(does it ever end?) The baffles are 1" cherry and the mid woofers are housed in mdf enclosures tuned to ~48 hz. yes I have weighed in on some gold from time to time :-;
another pic earlier while building...
John L (auplater)
Attachments
CLS said:Wow, they look loud
What are the drivers?
Dual 21" Woofers - Madison Executioner X21 - 45-330 cycles 99 db sensitive
Dual JBL 2123J 330-1400 cycles 105 db sensitive (best cone midrange driver I have ever heard up to 2.5k)
Heil Air Motion Transformer 1400 up - broad band notch filter 96 db sensitive (3k peak smoothed to flat) These are dipoles too
Horn loaded subwoofer - JBL 2242H 18" 20 hz flare - 50 cycles down around 104 db sensitive below 50 hz
Quad Amped - No eq needed with high sensitivity/QTS bass drivers
Sound is HUGE and natural with excellent bass definition and impact. Dynamics are very good. Soundstaging is 3D and wrap-around.
The baffles have 100 lbs of sand each.
I like these a lot. One of my best sounding speakers. Other than being 73" tall they don't take up much room and I can actually move them without disassembly.
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