alpair 5 from markaudio

[timpert]

Hi all,

I purchased a pair of Alpair 5's a while ago, so far I haven't come to making a box for them yet. However, I did measure the TS parameters, and they were very close to published spec. I think that is an encouraging sign.

In the spec, it says they have a large bump (deliberately according to the manufacturer) above 10 kHz, that could be responsible for the lisp reported by marshy. I wonder why that is. Does someone know (or have an idea)? My thought is that it might make off-axis response a little better.

[Landroval]

Originally posted by timpert
In the spec, it says they have a large bump (deliberately according to the manufacturer) above 10 kHz, that could be responsible for the lisp reported by marshy. I wonder why that is. Does someone know (or have an idea)? My thought is that it might make off-axis response a little better.

I asked this about the J6T just after its release and Mark from Markaudio replied me this:

"Yes we have measured the off axis response. Sorry I can't release that detail at this time as we have commercial reasons not to show our competitors at this time. As stated, since our tweeter is a cone with a larger surface area and a rising response, it will give an excellent off-axis response when compared to typical dome tweeters."

So yes, I'd say based on that that it's mostly about off-axis. I have a pair and they're not too bad.

[Geek]

Hi guys,

Originally posted by _henry_
i thought j6t need the box to work properly.

Not if you cross them high enough

This pair that I have here and will be making an appearance in Victoria, are crossed at 900Hz. The don't seem to mind an open baffle at all, especially with a case of the spotted pox. High crossover also means better power rating.

I tried them in their own box and we don't need it competing with the woofer.

Speaking of the spotted pox on these, it actually simplifies crossover design - it controls that runaway peak around 15-20K the j6T is notorious for (sorry, it's a painfully shrill flaw, not a feature). With that controlled, we can eliminate the zobel across the j6T.

The Markaudio's still have that peak, but in a different place.

This design is versatile, because you are free to and can quickly swap drivers from j6T to the Markaudio to the Fostex. It's a series crossover in there, so the woofer will track it automatically for minor T/S changes of the tweeter.

Final design can even incorporate a 4/8 ohm switch for the tweeter.

I have tested an earlier version of these in Dave's big listening room and no worries about filling a larger room. They will do it just fine.

Efficiency is not bad for a lower budget bookshelf 2-way. I drive them with a 2/w channel amp at home and the volume for normal listening isn't higher than 10 o'clock.

Cheers!

[_henry_]

ff85k also caught my attention, and dave already have some enabl protoypes ready.

the reason why i want to pair a small widerange and a SDX7 just to create a speaker that can play both music and HT, because i found out that a single jx92s not enough to cover all grounds.

the problem is i like to listen jazz, mellow or mainstream, sometimes rock, blues, all kinds of music, and i like to have a decent setup for the HT, but i need only 2.0 or 2.1 atmost enough for me.

thanks for more insight Geek and marshy

[marshy]

Originally posted by Geek


I have tested an earlier version of these in Dave's big listening room and no worries about filling a larger room. They will do it just fine.

How big is Dave's big listening room? I'm thinking of trying Alpair5+SDX7 and FF85k+SDX7 in quite a large living area - but not sure what to expect.

[chrisb]

Originally posted by marshy


How big is Dave's big listening room? I'm thinking of trying Alpair5+SDX7 and FF85k+SDX7 in quite a large living area - but not sure what to expect.

The floor space of the main listening area is approx 400-450sqft, open to a small galley kitchen, but it's the highly lofted ceiling (max height is close to 16ft, that makes for a very nice space. The shape certainly aids in reducing LF standing waves, and allows for pretty decent bass response.

The FF85K and SDX7 is a definitely an interesting combination - actively bi-amp, XO to taste between 200-300.

[planet10]

Originally posted by marshy


How big is Dave's big listening room? I'm thinking of trying Alpair5+SDX7 and FF85k+SDX7 in quite a large living area - but not sure what to expect.

The effective listening space is the entire floor of the house, about 900 ft*2 (no doors and purposefully large openings between all spaces). A rough calculation of the volume is 350m^3. The height at the ridge is just under 17 ft. The actual listening area is 24 x 16'

dave

[chrisb]

Originally posted by planet10


The effective listening space is the entire floor of the house, about 900 ft*2 (no doors and purposefully large openings between all spaces). A rough calculation of the volume is 350m^3. The height at the ridge is just under 17 ft. The actual listening area is 24 x 16'

dave

Along with the highly vaulted ceiling ( from 6'2" at the front wall to the 17' at the back wall), the numerous open areas to the sides on the first floor, and along the top and sides to the upper floor allow the room to breathe very well. It needs to get silly loud, and massively loaded with bass to start sounding closed in.

Tim Forman did manage this at one of the events a few years ago, but it took a heckuva lot more than a pair of 4" full range drivers to achieve it.

[Henkjan]

I tested the Alpair5 (copper/gold version) and like them a lot. This was with a small notchfilter to flatten the hump around 12kHz (flat under 15 degrees that is). the clarity and level of detail is better than many tweeter can offer. I listened to them crossed at 150Hz to my 8" sub.

[_henry_]

what are u using the alpair for Henkjan, i mean in the living room or like a computer speaker? which sub ur using ?

i'm still considering using alpair or ff85k as 2way with sdx7 or singles with a sub.

which one do u think would do best?