Fane 18-500 in H-frame + w8-1808 (or Alpair 12)

[Knight Rider]

I started new OB project. I plan to use 18" Fane sovereign 18-500 in 50 cm deep H-frame with active cross-over. http://www.fane-acoustics.com/downlo...8500_Specs.pdf

I will probably order Crown xti 1002 to drive the bass elements,
XTi 2 Series

I have previously used TB w8-1808 fr-drivers in my OB's, and I have liked their sound. I have also a pair of Alpair 12. Which one would you prefer for the baffle? I will drive the FR-drivers with Vincent SV-236 MK integrated hybrid amplifier. I will use 1st order passive cross-over for the FR-element.

[Godzilla]

What size baffle will you use? I am curious and will sim the two to see which might perform better.

[Knight Rider]

Originally Posted by Godzilla

What size baffle will you use? I am curious and will sim the two to see which might perform better.

Hello!

I think that the max. possible baffle width & height is 560 mm (22"). So the total height of the loudspeaker could be 1120 mm (44").

I could use Alpair 12's, but I have a feeling that they might be too revealing for rock music. I would probably have problems with many hard/heavy rock cd's. They also have a lower qts-value than TB's. I think that TB w8-1808's will play pretty nice with any genre. What you think?

[mondogenerator]

i think there is no speaker to genre issue with the alpairs... A good reproducer is a good reproducer, a bad mix is a bad mix. Its against the whole point of hifi to pick a speaker that colours your favourite music the way you like, as opposed to reproducing it faithfully.
My £0.02

[talaerts]

Originally Posted by mondogenerator

A good reproducer is a good reproducer, a bad mix is a bad mix. Its against the whole point of hifi to pick a speaker that colours your favourite music the way you like, as opposed to reproducing it faithfully.
My £0.02

Still, when I go to high end trade shows, i notice several systems that often sound very nice but quite different between each other, and without knowing the original to compare against it is not evident which ones sound most faithful.
(in case anyone is interested, the most musical systems to my taste that i have heard thus far were: Nagra electronics with big Proac speakers, and Mcintosh electronics with big Magneplanars.)

[mondogenerator]

yes. Im not lucky enough to go to audio shows and see very expensive speakers play. This is why i enjoy diy, since 90% of expense in commercial systems is pure profit and marketing.
Without ref no listener can truely say whether a is better than b, without measurement. Being heavily (get it?) into hard rock, metal and the like, i know that quite alot of records in the genre sound AWFUL. Pantera, v heavy but very over lean mastering. Many rock albums simply sound bad, the songs can be great but the sound awful.
A good speaker Shouldnt make these tracks sound good. Another good track is aphex twin's-bucephalous bouncing ball. VERY HARSH sounding in parts, obvious hiss and poor noise floor. It hurts to listen to this track, and that is the intention. Maybe you get my point?

[Knight Rider]

I listen to lots of hard rock, heavy rock music, but also some jazz, blues, etc. There is always the same problem that some hardrock/heavy albums sound absolutely terrible. But I want to listen to also those lower quality recordings without headache. I think that a good rock setup is some kind of compromise: maybe a little bit darker sounding with strong, powerfull bass and softer highs.

My cd-player is a slightly light sounding, very detailed, and has lots of shine at upper frequencies. Thats why I have a feeling that Alpairs might not perform as well as TB's.

[mondogenerator]

i cant speak for the alpair 12 or tb w1808(?) directly, but i use the alpair5 and tb w2 1285sg extended range drivers. The alpair5 has an rise in its response that i choose to filter with a notch, as without it i find it a little tiring with some presence heavy rock guitar. The little tb driver also has a rise but only the final octave. I filter this with a lowpass. It sounds very natural and warmer than the alpair5, but neither driver are in optimal enclosures, so i dont discard them, since the a4s ultimate detail is better. From graph alone, personally i would use the tangbands. Mark audio are very good value, more so in the current climate. I would be tempted to use the w5_1611 poly cone or alpair10 instead.