Why do you prefer single driver speakers?
Because they match the single tympanic membrane that I have on both sides of my head
And because you can have a great time experimenting with them.
Buy a cheap one, build some recommended box and listen...you could live an epiphany.
...unless you like hard rock or something like that...
Good luck
M
Because they match the single tympanic membrane that I have on both sides of my head
And because you can have a great time experimenting with them.
Buy a cheap one, build some recommended box and listen...you could live an epiphany.
...unless you like hard rock or something like that...
Good luck
M
Because they are fun
I have had a pair of Thiel 1.5's in my system for 10 years and was very satisfied with them. I used to build my own speakers when I was a teenager and when I read some reviews of the Hemp Acoustics FR8 I got the bug to build a pair. They do not image as well as the Thiel's. One review I read way back describe the 1.5's as projecting a wall of sound. The Hemp's do not sound as "open" as the Thiel's. The FR8 speakers sound more "organic" I think is the word. When listening to say James Taylor it seem more like actually listening to a real person. I boxed up the Theil's and put them in the garage two month's ago and I have been listening to my diy single driver speakers ever since.
I have had a pair of Thiel 1.5's in my system for 10 years and was very satisfied with them. I used to build my own speakers when I was a teenager and when I read some reviews of the Hemp Acoustics FR8 I got the bug to build a pair. They do not image as well as the Thiel's. One review I read way back describe the 1.5's as projecting a wall of sound. The Hemp's do not sound as "open" as the Thiel's. The FR8 speakers sound more "organic" I think is the word. When listening to say James Taylor it seem more like actually listening to a real person. I boxed up the Theil's and put them in the garage two month's ago and I have been listening to my diy single driver speakers ever since.
I am only familiar with the FR8. Have you looked at Hemp Acoustics website? The FR8 in their bookshelf cabinet well give good bass down to 50hz or so. In their floor standing cabinet they will give good bass down to the upper 30's or there about depending on the room. In my search for a full range driver I really did not want to have to use a sub-woofer and I am not skilled enough to build a back loaded horn. That is why I went with the FR8. They also have a couple of open back designs on their website that look like something I would like to try too. The FR8 will play loud and with good bass. My 19 year old son listens to Red Hot Chili Peppers so loud I have to leave the room. They are good with jazz. Female singers sound very good. On a large orchestral piece they will start to sound a little ragged when pushed hard. They break in a little strange too. For the first few hours they sound fine but soon turn shouty and irritating in the treble. After 100 hours or so they settle in are sound their best.
Hi Bigdh31,
Back loaded horns and 8" drivers are not exclusive...
In fact, they are an ideal combination, IMHO.
(I would add: front and rear loaded horns)
Cheers,
M
PS: I am about to open a thread about a front and rear horn loaded project and hope to receive as much help as you all can give.
Back loaded horns and 8" drivers are not exclusive...
In fact, they are an ideal combination, IMHO.
(I would add: front and rear loaded horns)
Cheers,
M
PS: I am about to open a thread about a front and rear horn loaded project and hope to receive as much help as you all can give.
Hemp FR8HQ or "C"...
I have lived with these in a 20 litre "ish" box, tuned to 42 Hz to good effect. I have listened to them in my modified open baffles--Perry asked me for some feedback regarding my listening experiences. I encouraged him to try my ideas, which he did and enjoyed. His manual for them is very excellent., I continue to like em even more.
The only boxed fullranger driver speaker I have heard other than these are the Fonkens from planet10. They have a little more finesse and less impact (but they have 4X's less radiating surface, you can't fight physics).
I did do a review of the Hemp Acoustics for Affordable$$Audio .
My enthusiasm for fullrangers continue to grow, even though I often listen to multiways in my house too.
I have lived with these in a 20 litre "ish" box, tuned to 42 Hz to good effect. I have listened to them in my modified open baffles--Perry asked me for some feedback regarding my listening experiences. I encouraged him to try my ideas, which he did and enjoyed. His manual for them is very excellent., I continue to like em even more.
The only boxed fullranger driver speaker I have heard other than these are the Fonkens from planet10. They have a little more finesse and less impact (but they have 4X's less radiating surface, you can't fight physics).
I did do a review of the Hemp Acoustics for Affordable$$Audio .
My enthusiasm for fullrangers continue to grow, even though I often listen to multiways in my house too.
So, to take the discussion in a bit different direction, I'm aware that many full-range drivers don't have very flat frequency response curves. Would you agree with the statement that a flat frequency response isn't essential to music enjoyment? I remember Robert Harley of The Absolute Sound magazine said as much in a column not too long ago. If that's true, it could render the "no highs, no lows" criticism virtually meaningless. Would you say that the other aspects of fidelity (such as phase coherence and point-source radiation) are more important, then? Is extended treble above 10kHz just a gee-whiz novelty when it comes to really _listening_ to music?
Taterworks said:
I've found that if treble is more than 4-5db too high a speaker becomes fatiguing after about 20 minutes.
If you crossed a full range speaker at 10khz to a dome tweeter the sound would still be dominated by the full range driver. I've also found 10khz to be a fairly transparent place to have a crossover.
Going to try some Hemp Acoustics FR8's in OB. The price is reasonable and worst case is I have some fine computer speakers.
Daveis...
The Fr8s deserve so much more than "computer" speaker use.
If you follow the Ventana plans you will have yourself a humdinger, methinks..
there exists a striking resemblence between my modified JELabs style open baffles and the Ventana (I did put Perry onto my baffles.. He made some changes that measured better ).
For a speaker not really "intended" for Open Baffles, the FR8s do a great job. I can say that bass impact is a little light, but the sound is there. No over-pressuring of a room or anything like that (even 5.5" drivers can have some of this impact), but the low frequencies are there. If I can ever get some sort of measuring rig put together, I would gladly post them here.
hmmm... wonder how well they'd travel...
The Fr8s deserve so much more than "computer" speaker use.
If you follow the Ventana plans you will have yourself a humdinger, methinks..
there exists a striking resemblence between my modified JELabs style open baffles and the Ventana (I did put Perry onto my baffles.. He made some changes that measured better
).For a speaker not really "intended" for Open Baffles, the FR8s do a great job. I can say that bass impact is a little light, but the sound is there. No over-pressuring of a room or anything like that (even 5.5" drivers can have some of this impact), but the low frequencies are there. If I can ever get some sort of measuring rig put together, I would gladly post them here.
hmmm... wonder how well they'd travel...
>"Would you say that the other aspects of fidelity (such as phase coherence and point-source radiation) are more important"
As long as the freq resp doesn't sound too skewed, I'd rate these factors more important. A minor imbalance in the freq you can adjust too quite quickly.
For example, I have two fullrange (ish) systems - one images better than the other but has more 'character' in the upper mid and a less extended treble, but it's the one I prefer to use at the moment as it images better.
As long as the freq resp doesn't sound too skewed, I'd rate these factors more important. A minor imbalance in the freq you can adjust too quite quickly.
For example, I have two fullrange (ish) systems - one images better than the other but has more 'character' in the upper mid and a less extended treble, but it's the one I prefer to use at the moment as it images better.
I prefer single drivers because they are cheap, easy to work with, enable elegant solutions to sound reproduction and sound better on most material to boot.
I've actually only listened to a few commercial multiway units that sound better than my (likely over EQed) B20s on small OBs. Granted, I'm listening in the nearfield to the B20s and my auditions of these "superior" units was in a more typical farfield manner, but also note that none of the commercial units that I liked the sounds of (Maggie 1.6 and 3.6, B&W 800 series) would stand a chance of fitting into my space. More importantly the ~$250 I've spent on the B20s, P10 phase plugs, bamboo baffles, mounting hardware, my Emu 0404 sound card and my antique little JVC Hybrid Feedback amped shelf unit is just a drop in the bucket for a pair of these others ($2k, $4k and I believe $16k). Sure, I've not "maxed out" my home audio potential, but I've got room to upgrade in a dozen different ways before I hit the outlay of picking up a single pair of MG 1.6QRs that I don't even have a suitable amplifier for.
That reminds me . . . I also prefer them for the DiY aspect. My woodworking skills and other resources are minimal at best, and single FR driver designs help me enjoy the journey alot more.
Kensai
I've actually only listened to a few commercial multiway units that sound better than my (likely over EQed) B20s on small OBs. Granted, I'm listening in the nearfield to the B20s and my auditions of these "superior" units was in a more typical farfield manner, but also note that none of the commercial units that I liked the sounds of (Maggie 1.6 and 3.6, B&W 800 series) would stand a chance of fitting into my space. More importantly the ~$250 I've spent on the B20s, P10 phase plugs, bamboo baffles, mounting hardware, my Emu 0404 sound card and my antique little JVC Hybrid Feedback amped shelf unit is just a drop in the bucket for a pair of these others ($2k, $4k and I believe $16k). Sure, I've not "maxed out" my home audio potential, but I've got room to upgrade in a dozen different ways before I hit the outlay of picking up a single pair of MG 1.6QRs that I don't even have a suitable amplifier for.
That reminds me . . . I also prefer them for the DiY aspect. My woodworking skills and other resources are minimal at best, and single FR driver designs help me enjoy the journey alot more.
Kensai
Every Friday we have a koffee-klatch at the local hifi store (where i worked in the late 70s), and i get to hear lots of hi-end multi-ways. AudioNote, B&W, Paradym, Sonus Faber, Magnepan, more... the only one i'd even consider would be the new QUAD ESLs which i think actually represent very good value for store-bought speakers -- only problem being that finding an amp that is happy with them, and that i'd be happy with would be a serious challenge... and the fact that i could quinruple the "current spent" of my current system with just the sales tax on speakers + amp.
dave
dave
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