Hello, this is my experience since I've just purchased two Pluvia 11.
I burned a Cd with 99 tones from 21 to 119 Hz to run a test.
Initially I tested them in free air and I was initially really disappointed and quite scared when I heard a noise (like you said a buzz) at low level (1-2 watt) at around 40Hz..... In both speakers....
I don't remember to have heard that noise in free air with any other speaker.... And their cone moved much lesser than 7mm..
But with great surprise the noise completely disappeared when I mounted them in a 18 liters vent cabinet: very clean and extensive bass at all frequencies at any power.
Why that buzz? I don't know the technical reason for this, because Xmax was never achieved, but the important thing to me is that once they are assembled in a box they no longer make that annoying noise.
FYI: they have indeed great pleasant sound: at a first test they sound dark, mellow, clean and warm. They look to have their own tonal signature for sure. Not bright or forward sounding that could cause ear fatigue. Hence, they can be definitively used angled facing toward you, which I really appreciate since full ranges usually present a fatiguing peak in mid-high frequency curve. The only think I don't like is that the frame is made 100% of plastic...The overall construction looks anyway much solid.
...the noise completely disappeared when I mounted them in a 18 liters vent cabinet: very clean and extensive bass at all frequencies at any power.
Did you test with pure tones again when mounted, or music content?
Acoustic impedance change between open air and vented box will change the driver's behaviour, but it's hard to believe it will clean that much noise, especially when it is so much already at such low power levels.
With 45 Watt simulated cone excursion will be 8 mm (>7mm max!!) at 50 Hz in 25 liters. I think it is too much risky using so large box. 50Hz are not so unusual...
Hello I'm still under testing and I can tell you that with both pure tones and music the noise dissappeared. The only noise I hear is coming from the tube reflex and it is just the huge mass of air moving in and out, nothing to do with the vibrating buzzing in open air. For the rest I'm very happy with Pluvia 11 but I needed to fill the box with some extra material as the bass is really impressive but sometime covering the rest of the acustic band.
I don't think it is a defective because I had the issue with "both" the speakers which are not intended to work in "free air".
Interesting. Not to play devil's advocate, but could it be possible that the driver's noise is shadowed by the vent's chuffing?
The only way to test would be to stick a microphone inside the box and record what's really going on there.
One might argue that even if the noise is still there, as long as you don't hear it it's fine.
I happen to think that while some noises may at first seem to go undetected by ear, they do play a role in the sound character of the driver, and how fatiguing they are to listen to on the long run.
But if your box is bass reflex, worrying about the driver's noise might be a secondary issue.
The only way to test would be to stick a microphone inside the box and record what's really going on there.
One might argue that even if the noise is still there, as long as you don't hear it it's fine.
I happen to think that while some noises may at first seem to go undetected by ear, they do play a role in the sound character of the driver, and how fatiguing they are to listen to on the long run.
But if your box is bass reflex, worrying about the driver's noise might be a secondary issue.
Two tones or sounds don't have to cover the same frequency range for one to shadow the other. Maybe cover is a more correct term instead of shadow.
Hello, if this can help, attached the "bat/buzz noise" in free air, which disappears when put in 18 Lt vent box, at same power. The speaker was not fixed (just put in the hole) and the noise you can ear is simply air coming out from all crackings and the paper tube mouth, not from the speaker itself.
If I remember well the tone is 42Hz.
Once mounted the PLUVIA 11 bass is definititively clean.
thus for me it is not an issue at all!
If I remember well the tone is 42Hz.
Once mounted the PLUVIA 11 bass is definititively clean.
thus for me it is not an issue at all!
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Actually, while they share the new style CDs es - with some additiaonal changes, IIRC, the new MS series are not Pluvias.
I have a pair of both A11MS and A10.3 ( the latter EnABLed), both in floorstander MLTL types, and can’t honestly say I hear a huge difference between them on the use to which I’m now putting my system - i.e. mostly movies. I keep threatening to put the two to a more rigorous comparison with music - maybe sometime soon.
I have a pair of both A11MS and A10.3 ( the latter EnABLed), both in floorstander MLTL types, and can’t honestly say I hear a huge difference between them on the use to which I’m now putting my system - i.e. mostly movies. I keep threatening to put the two to a more rigorous comparison with music - maybe sometime soon.
Right. No doubt. An interesting design too. But how does it really fare in terms of buzz/noise is what I'm interested in.
No doubt, but since very few people hammer drivers to Xmax under completely free air conditions with an LF sine-wave in order to listen to output at the rear of the unit (which IIRC you were talking about at some point), I doubt you'll find anyone who has attempted this with the 11MS, especially as it hasn't been out for very long. That isn't how drivers are generally tested or used, so if that is a requirement you lay down for its usage, I suspect you would be better off looking elsewhere. I believe you have had similar complaints about a number of drivers, so you may wish to consider either revising your approach to analysing performance, or possibly the types of unit you are considering for your project.
Far from x-max. Like 1/10th of it. That was the problem I had with the Pluvia 11s. But I do agree it is a stringent requirement, given how other drivers behave under the same test conditions.
However, there are few that actually behave incredibly well. I'm hoping to add the MS drivers to this very limited list.
Maybe someone who has a pair can do the test.
Just caught up on that pretty strange typo on my post #111 above - the intent was to say that the new MS series drivers share some characteristics with the Pluvias as far as low profile of the mounting flange, but as has now been clearly noted, in almost all other regards they are very different animals.
Sax - as for the "buzz / noise" , may I ask from whence exactly that concern arose? As anyone frequenting these fora should be aware Dave, Scott and myself have had a lot of experience with virtually every driver designed by Mark over the past decade or so - including both models of Pluvias and the new A11MS. in a wide array of enclosure types, and I've personally yet to hear anything untoward that I'd describe with those terms.
Sax - as for the "buzz / noise" , may I ask from whence exactly that concern arose? As anyone frequenting these fora should be aware Dave, Scott and myself have had a lot of experience with virtually every driver designed by Mark over the past decade or so - including both models of Pluvias and the new A11MS. in a wide array of enclosure types, and I've personally yet to hear anything untoward that I'd describe with those terms.
From testing it and witnessing a loud noise, reported by someone else as well.
If you mean what the meaning of such a test is, it comes from needing to use eq that will drop mid-highs down about 10-15 dBs, and unfortunately the noise becomes very noticeable then, since it's not masked as well anymore by those frequencies.
I saw the video from Mark where he mentions the aerodynamic of the smoothed out edge of the magnet to allow the back wave to escape more easily.
That tells me some thought has gone into what's going on behind the cone. I hope the buzz issue didn't go undetected this time.
So, since it's unlikely someone has done the test, where can I buy the MS in the States?
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