Alpair 10 Gen. MAOP Prototype TW-1

[markaudio]

Originally Posted by silverhairbp

In terms of driver performance, does the 10.2 MAOP have the resolution capabilities of the 7.2? The range that interests me most is > 300hz.

Hi Silver,
The range on the Alpair 7.2 has been slightly extended on the 7.3. The newer Alp 7.3 would have slightly more resolution.

Thx
Mark.

[silverhairbp]

Hello Mark,

Just a few questions....

Any news or updates on the Alpair 10 MAOP? Will a few pre-production prototypes be distributed for evaluation to other than the ones provided to Musik007?

Are you considering a production run? If so, is there a price target and possible availability date?

Thank you in advance for your consideration.

[markaudio]

Originally Posted by silverhairbp

Hello Mark,

Just a few questions....
Any news or updates on the Alpair 10 MAOP? Will a few pre-production prototypes be distributed for evaluation to other than the ones provided to Musik007?
Are you considering a production run? If so, is there a price target and possible availability date?
Thank you in advance for your consideration.

Hi Sliver,
One set is with Norio san while the other set is running in my studio. Ideally, I want to get around 2000 hours on these drivers, then strip them down and put the MAOP cones under the microscope. We'll compare the MAOP surface from new to the 2000 hour mark to see what they're doing.

If all goes according to plan, we'll put most of the driver build into the personal hands of Taniguchi san and Kitagawa san. The MAOP cones are so expensive to manufacture, there's no way to handle them reliably on standard production line. Expect a matched pair to retail in the US$400 to US$500 range. Sorry its this price but they will be beautifully hand-built and anechoic matched by these guys (Evan and me also making some as we like to keep our skills sharp).

Cheers
Mark.

[DYNABLASTERTUNERS]

Beautiful!

[silverhairbp]

Mark,

Bump for any updates on development. (I know it's not 2000 hours yet, but...) Any reports?

Bill

[markaudio]

Originally Posted by silverhairbp

Mark,
Bump for any updates on development. (I know it's not 2000 hours yet, but...) Any reports?
Bill

Hi Bill,
Cones holding up 100%. No stress issues under at the 1100 hours mark. If anything, I'd say they become really smooooooooooth sounding. I really like these drivers. I'm keeping these protos for myself (my Christmas treat). But I'm keen to further experiment with the coils. I have an idea for a ultra light semi-short coil for this MAOP.

Cheers
Mark.

[zman01]

Mark,

Sounds encouraging! When does the process start for Alp 12.3?

-Zia

[silverhairbp]

Originally Posted by markaudio

Hi Bill,
Cones holding up 100%. No stress issues under at the 1100 hours mark. If anything, I'd say they become really smooooooooooth sounding. I really like these drivers. I'm keeping these protos for myself (my Christmas treat). But I'm keen to further experiment with the coils. I have an idea for a ultra light semi-short coil for this MAOP.

Cheers
Mark.

Mark,

That is very encouraging. Thanks for the update! By "smooooooooth sounding" do you mean more refined than a "stock" 10.2?

Bill

[markaudio]

Originally Posted by silverhairbp

Mark,
That is very encouraging. Thanks for the update! By "smooooooooth sounding" do you mean more refined than a "stock" 10.2?
Bill

Hi Bill,
I'm not sure I'd say "refined" automatically. Like so many of these situations, beauty is in the ears of the beholder. One audio guy's smoooooth, is another's reduction in detail. So far I personally like what I'm hearing. For me MAOP does have a level of refinement above the standard driver, hence my interest in pushing the performance envelope a bit further. The main point about these drivers is they will be built by:

Kita Gawa San (Ex 25+ years as Fostex's Japan QC manager)
Jeff Taniguchi San (Ex 25+ years Fostex)
Evan Yu (17 years as driver design technical and later development manager for one of the larges OEM driver makers in South China)
Me - Mech. Eng. (30 years), cone experimenter and driver designers for some 10+ years.

We'll likely operate in 2 teams, Me and Evan. Jeff san and Kita san. All MAOP drivers will be individually tested and matched.

I'll disassemble one of the test pairs at the 1500 hour mark and micro-resonance test their cones, compare to the standard driver. At this stage I'm fairly certain we'll find a small reduction in the micro-resonances likely between 1-kHz to 12-kHz. To be expected as all coating processes add a degree of mass damping to a substrate (cone bass material).

Cheers
Mark.

[Gary the Grey]

I had asked about these in another thread. Wow! These are going to be something special! I will be following this with great interest. And yes, as it sounds like it's going very well, I will probably want a pair of these!