Best floorstanding plan for Alpair 10.2 ?

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My order of Pencil 10.2 was cancelled by the builder as he is too busy at the moment. So, I want to have more opinons before going on. Any idea is wellcome.

My preferrance:
Jazz & Classical
Good imaging and detail
Bass response is not important as I will use it with subs most of the time.


Thanks, Brian
 
Depends what you mean by 'best.' However, if you're planning on using them with dedicated subs, and therefore aren't too concerned about LF extension, there doesn't seem much need for floorstanders unless you want them for aesthetic reasons. A standmount should go low enough to mate to your bass units.

Note that 'imaging' is not really affected by the box except in terms of diffraction effects etc., while 'detail' just means 'low distortion.' Essentially that means you want to ensure driver deflection is held low, and remains well controlled, while group delay is minimised and the aforementioned edge diffraction is addressed. This latter point tends to be less significant with wideband drivers than in many multiway setups, but can be worth looking at depending on the design.
 
How about these?

M10_A10.JPG


A bit slimmer than the Pensil's, pretty much the same performance.

Bob
 
Depends what you mean by 'best.' However, if you're planning on using them with dedicated subs, and therefore aren't too concerned about LF extension, there doesn't seem much need for floorstanders unless you want them for aesthetic reasons. A standmount should go low enough to mate to your bass units.

Note that 'imaging' is not really affected by the box except in terms of diffraction effects etc., while 'detail' just means 'low distortion.' Essentially that means you want to ensure driver deflection is held low, and remains well controlled, while group delay is minimised and the aforementioned edge diffraction is addressed. This latter point tends to be less significant with wideband drivers than in many multiway setups, but can be worth looking at depending on the design.


Scottmoose, thanks for advise. My ultimate choice of loudspeaker type is electrostatic, but, they cannot live with the humidity at South China. So, I am looking for something close.
 
I've built a ton of different styles of boxes for almost the entire range of MA drivers, this is the only one so far for the A10 - so I can't compare directly to a Pensil (probably, neither can Bob)

It works very well, and not a complicated build at all.

Sorry Bob, but this one probably took me longer than necessary, as I had to unlearn my normal construction techniques - particularly the bracing scheme ;)

BTW, the elliptical supra baffle is not just cosmetic, and with any well executed full length QW action enclosure for this driver (including more elaborate BLH types) you could be surprised about how little you need to dial in your subs.
 
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I've built a ton of different styles of boxes for almost the entire range of MA drivers, this is the only one so far for the A10 - so I can't compare directly to a Pensil (probably, neither can Bob)

Ah, but I can! Just to make that comparison, I built a pair of Pensil 10.2's -- as per the plans without bracing. (Sidebar: I certainly would not recommend that you build the Pensil's without bracing. How difficult the Pensil is to build depends on how complicated your bracing scheme is.) The sonic differences between them is subtle and at the lower end. Mine go a bit deeper and stronger. But again, the difference is not much.

So why my design? Scott did the Pensil series for ease of build first and still maintain good sonics. Mine are designed to get the most out of the A10.2 with ease of build secondary. The result is that my cabinets are a bit taller and about half the depth. I like to think of mine as being more pencil-like.

Bob
 
Ah, but I can! Just to make that comparison, I built a pair of Pensil 10.2's -- as per the plans without bracing. (Sidebar: I certainly would not recommend that you build the Pensil's without bracing. How difficult the Pensil is to build depends on how complicated your bracing scheme is.) The sonic differences between them is subtle and at the lower end. Mine go a bit deeper and stronger. But again, the difference is not much.

So why my design? Scott did the Pensil series for ease of build first and still maintain good sonics. Mine are designed to get the most out of the A10.2 with ease of build secondary. The result is that my cabinets are a bit taller and about half the depth. I like to think of mine as being more pencil-like.

Bob


mea culpa Bob - and yes these are certainly a more elegant shape than the Pensils for the larger Alpairs (Pensils for the 70mm family are much "slimmer")
 
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Note that 'imaging' is not really affected by the box except in terms of diffraction effects etc., while 'detail' just means 'low distortion.'

Distortion is an abused term and has very specific connotations. It also does not include noise (althou in its broadest terms noise is a distortion). I like to use the term DDR (downward dynamic range).

The box affects imaging and detail, both on the outside as Scott mentions and largely due to the diffraction signature, and the inside -- what comes back thru the cone after bouncing around inside, and how any standing waves affect the load on the driver.

dave
 
Thanks for your reply. As my baby starts walking soon, a pair of floor-mount is needed to replace my stand-mount Fountek FR89EX.


Bob's MLTLs are as elegant a high performance & well balanced floorstander as I think you'll find for these drivers without getting into something like the Silbury

Silbury-3D.gif


not a tiny enclosure (72" tall) - and at 9"W x16"D deep the Pensil for A10 could be a bit awkward as far as WAF is concerned
 
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