FR audition and (sound) comparison thread

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ra7

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AN = Audio Nirvana... sorry for that.

Yes, I'm driving the Jordans with the miniwatt. And to my ears, it can go sufficiently loud. I'm listening with the volume at 3 oclock, signal straight from the playstation. They are set up in a 18' by 11' room. For the Jordans, I have them pointing at my ears. I'm about 8 feet away from the speakers. Guess you can call that near field. My room doesn't allow me to listen far field.

I don't think you can survive for long with the ANs pointing straight at you. They are better about 10 degrees off.

These are my impressions only and may not necessarily agree with others' opinions of these speakers.
 
AN = driver of unknown specs ;)

maybe one day we will know... i'm happy you don't use them nearfiled pointing towards you :)

is it possible that althought it seems 'loud enough' the miniwatt has not enough headroom to give life to the jordans? i mean is it in general possible when matching amps to drivers? maybe it's a subtle side effect
 
ra7,

I recently EnABL'd a pair of AN 8" FR drivers with ceramic magnets. Before treatment I found them to have two resonant peaks, one at ~9k and another ~ 12k, with a rise at ~15 KHz. For the rest of the FR they were very good indeed. Excellent downward dynamics and quite low distortion.

After EnABL, all but the 15 K peak had been seen to, I was unable to find where that was arising from, but I think it might be out at the outer edge of the surround. Otherwise they were sensational sounding. Every bit as good as treated Lowther PM6A's and Fostex F 200 A's, without the high price or Alnico magnets. A very nice balance of the Lowther colorful dynamics and the Fostex technical precision.

Here is a link to the pics of the finished driver. If you want to duplicate these, I will provide you with the patterns needed and the treatment description. Just PM if you are interested. These will not be for general distribution.

http://picasaweb.google.com/home?tab=mq

Bud
 

ra7

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Joined 2009
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wow! I appreciate your comments about the Lowther and Fostex comparison.. that is quite something to state, especially coming from you!

I'm very interested in doing this. I'd have to read about enabling though... i've seen it here, but haven't really gotten into it. I'll pm you.
 

ra7

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Joined 2009
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After further listening on the Jordans, I'm compelled to say that I miss the ANs. The JX92s is simply not as detailed. The ANs also bring out the ambiance better and are more lively and lifelike. Small nuances are revealed and you are able to get that much closer to what the artist is feeling.

The Jordans are far far ahead in the bass quantity and ability to play loud though. But once you've tasted the deal the ANs offer, its hard to go back to a easy, normal kind of a sound, which is precisely what the Jordan is all about.

There is a flipside to this as well. I'm able to listen to some of the not-so-good recordings again on the Jordans. It is music which I enjoy, but the recording quality was laid bare by the ANs. I guess its good to have both. :D
 
I'll refrain from commenting on speakers I sell or compete with, but here are some comments about some of the more unusual "vintage" things that I've either still got or have passed through.

Radio Shack 40-1285D: smooth sounding, good to around 12K, decent bass in a little sealed box, I found them a little un-involving but relatively unflawed. I saw another new pair at a Hamfest in the spring, and it was really hard to walk by.

Radio Shack 40-1197 variant sold in pretty little Minimus sealed cabinets: cute boxes to have around, but a honky in the midrange. If any driver ever screamed "enable me". . .

National/Panasonic 4" fullrange out of a Sony solid state R2R: these were really nice from 200hz on up, excellent candidates for helper woofers, worth tearing apart R2R's for

Philips AD3800: I honestly don't know why some folks like these. Unusual sounding, and not in a good way. Even after I sorted out the cabinet, they seemed significantly bumpy and colored in the midrange and treble. They are extended at least (18K)! The Alnico motors look nice. Not much Xmax for an 8". Maybe I had a dud pair. . .

Holey Basket Coral FE103A: I know, I have them up for sale, but as it really isn't a business thing, I'll comment. I spent some time with a pair tonight, and I'm seriously considering keeping them. They have an excellent midrange and a very smooth treble. I've got them in pitiful enclosures, but I'm sure they'd have decent enough bass in something suitable. The only downside is that they don't have particularly extended highs. I'm getting 11, maybe 12K. They could really use a tweeter, but their low efficiency makes that pretty easy! I wish I could compare them to the Fostex Sigmas. Watch craigslist and Ebay for the Sony TC-500, don't let any of these get to the dump!

Paul
www.wildburroaudio.com
 
ra7,

You can solve the Jordans too if you like. Once again I have posted the text file with the EnABL sites on it. I am sure the moderators will tire of this eventually. In the meantime, use it to find the Jordan treatment text and also have a look at the pics. They don't get any more efficient, but they do get even clearer and more immeadiate.

Bud
 

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>>> There is a flipside to this as well. I'm able to listen to some of the not-so-good recordings...

This is why we need (lol) more than one pair of speakers.

I've begun cutting wood for my first OB project. Glad i have Alpha 15's on hand... soon onto the main driver. I may add small wheels to the bottom of my speakers to roll them in and out of the listening room. IMO, don't be afraid to build/own several and switch around as you like.

Godzilla
 

ra7

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Joined 2009
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Agree with you, Godzilla.

As I'm just getting into this hobby, I'm able to listen to only one at a time. I'll be getting to the OBs soon.

Its remarkable how two specimens of the same species can be so different. Speakers are very much like humans! :)
 
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