A quick heads up.
I've organised a small DIY speaker event over in the UK near Warwick. We're keeping it small but I have 4 or 5 places left for those who are interested. It should be a fun day out. It's partly about a bunch of guys getting togethr and listening to some interesting talks, partly to get a look at the new Pluvia 11 and partly to raise a little cash for MIND the UK mental health charity.
Events for September 2016 | KJF Audio
There is more info over on my web page. PM me here if you want to come.
Stefan
I've organised a small DIY speaker event over in the UK near Warwick. We're keeping it small but I have 4 or 5 places left for those who are interested. It should be a fun day out. It's partly about a bunch of guys getting togethr and listening to some interesting talks, partly to get a look at the new Pluvia 11 and partly to raise a little cash for MIND the UK mental health charity.
Events for September 2016 | KJF Audio
There is more info over on my web page. PM me here if you want to come.
Stefan
Hi zman, thanks for showing an interest. I really enjoyed it. I would have liked to spend a bit more time on the practical stuff but it's amazing how time can just evaporate, especially once you get Mark talking! As a format I think it really worked, just need to be a bit stricter about the timings.
To those of you who couldn't come, I hope to see you next time.
Mark is going to spend a lot more time in the UK later on this year and into next year so we might try and do some similar things in other parts of the country and some more stuff at the farm. Mark and Scott also produce finished speakers under a brand known as MarkAudio Sota, which has just released some of it's first speakers. Of course that means doing all the audio shows next year. They were both impressed with my format and want me to help them shake up the audio shows a bit by helping them make things a lot more interactive than is usual at these events so I'll look forward to that. It sounded like the National Audio Show was a bit of a damp squib so it would be good to shake things up a bit.
We raised over £400 for MIND, most of the attendees paid a much higher donation than I suggested, some of them didn't even manage to attend and some people that donated aren't even into the hobby, so they all deserve a big thank you. Mental health is a growing epidemic in this country, and the NHS is poorly equipped both from a budgetary point of view and understanding. Charities shouldn't have to fill the gap but that is the reality. So thanks for chipping in so much, it just goes to show that you guys are an understanding bunch.
My favourite part was showing the attendants how easy it was to put a speaker kit I made for Scott's new Pluvia 11 Pensil alignment together.
I've got some pics and videos I'll put together over the next few days so that the rest of you can benefit from Mark and Scott's insight.
Stefan
To those of you who couldn't come, I hope to see you next time.
Mark is going to spend a lot more time in the UK later on this year and into next year so we might try and do some similar things in other parts of the country and some more stuff at the farm. Mark and Scott also produce finished speakers under a brand known as MarkAudio Sota, which has just released some of it's first speakers. Of course that means doing all the audio shows next year. They were both impressed with my format and want me to help them shake up the audio shows a bit by helping them make things a lot more interactive than is usual at these events so I'll look forward to that. It sounded like the National Audio Show was a bit of a damp squib so it would be good to shake things up a bit.
We raised over £400 for MIND, most of the attendees paid a much higher donation than I suggested, some of them didn't even manage to attend and some people that donated aren't even into the hobby, so they all deserve a big thank you. Mental health is a growing epidemic in this country, and the NHS is poorly equipped both from a budgetary point of view and understanding. Charities shouldn't have to fill the gap but that is the reality. So thanks for chipping in so much, it just goes to show that you guys are an understanding bunch.
My favourite part was showing the attendants how easy it was to put a speaker kit I made for Scott's new Pluvia 11 Pensil alignment together.
I've got some pics and videos I'll put together over the next few days so that the rest of you can benefit from Mark and Scott's insight.
Stefan
There is always continuing development of drivers, the new Pluvia range has just been added to with the Pluvia 11 and there is a new ultra wide dispersion driver in the works. All the drivers Mark develops are really as a direct result of info collected from DIYers, he just doesn't engage on forums himself directly anymore, they leave a bad taste. That doesn't mean he hasn't got his ear to the ground though.
Mark has been very ill recently so I doubt his website will get answers. That said, when he gets email he thinks one of us dealers can help with they are passed on.
Mark has been very ill recently so I doubt his website will get answers. That said, when he gets email he thinks one of us dealers can help with they are passed on.
For the sake of information, Mark Audio is no longer owned by Mark Fenlon, and has not been for some time. Given his health issues he felt he could not continue to run the company. It is now largely under the umbrella of Telefield group, and is gradually moving factory to the main Telefield facility where they have far more resources (and have built a substantial new anechoic chamber). I gather a new MA website, along with one for its sister brand is currently under development, which is presumably why communication is a bit sporadic. Be that as it may, since Mark flew to the UK from Hong Kong less than a month after major surgery and gave a 2 1/4 hour talk on wideband driver engineering to a group of DIYers & interested parties, I don't think he has turned his back on anyone just yet.
As far as larger drivers are concerned, to the best of my knowledge Mark would still like to develop some. However, AFAIK, they will be a little way down the 'to do' list. Quickly calculating on a scrap piece of paper, he's currently got at least five new units that will have to come before he's able to look again at larger models so it may take some time.
I'll try and get sorted today. Got.loads of video bit didn't actually take any photos myself, someone must have.
A pleasure Stefan.
Hopefully my waffle on reflex alignments & suggestions for adopting 'practical' tunings was at least of some use.
Thanks for the info, Scott. I wasn't aware of Mark's poor health or that he had stepped away from Mark Audio. I hope the new company is able to continue the quality drivers that Mark and his team were building. And sure would be nice to see some large format drivers still.
No worries. They will; there's no change in the design team per se, Mark's still there designing things, but it's relieved him of the pressure of running the company. The new units should be very interesting indeed, and I suspect some larger bass drivers will happen at some point, even if it's a way down the road yet.
Yeah, some of us have been waiting for an 18" woofer, and dual concentric style 2-ways
kidding
A video of any portion of Mark's chat would be fun.
Those of us aware of his health situation over the past several years are glad to hear he's still motoring on - that's more stamina and determination than many could muster.
kidding
A video of any portion of Mark's chat would be fun.
Those of us aware of his health situation over the past several years are glad to hear he's still motoring on - that's more stamina and determination than many could muster.
Joys of the internet mate -it's global by nature. They'll be viewed by a lot of people, especially Mark's -you don't often get to hear an extended talk by a wideband driver designer, so I suspect it will be of interest to many. Especially in Japan actually.
Re mine, it can go up. I'd just add the caveat that it was done assuming an audience that was not necessarily very experienced at designing their own speakers, and generally advocating taking a 'system wide' view of design. I stuck to BRs as they're relatively straightforward, with the suggestion that a slightly undersized box tuned slightly lower than a maximally flat anechoic alignment is likely to give better results in practice for most uses. It's a reasonable starting point for people getting into loudspeaker design anyway. At least IMO.
I still think Avalon's cabinets look like coffins though.
They'll be viewed by a lot of people, especially Mark's -you don't often get to hear an extended talk by a wideband driver designer, so I suspect it will be of interest to many. Especially in Japan actually. Re mine, it can go up. I'd just add the caveat that it was done assuming an audience that was not necessarily very experienced at designing their own speakers, and generally advocating taking a 'system wide' view of design. I stuck to BRs as they're relatively straightforward, with the suggestion that a slightly undersized box tuned slightly lower than a maximally flat anechoic alignment is likely to give better results in practice for most uses. It's a reasonable starting point for people getting into loudspeaker design anyway. At least IMO.
I still think Avalon's cabinets look like coffins though.
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