Since I had already ordered parts for the original version of the Manzanita I thought I would cobble them together and give them a listen. I used some 1.25" thick ply I had on hand and covered them with some cork underlayment. I love my local used building materials store!
Of course the first thing I did was play them as loudly as I could with bass heavy music and a 120wpc class D amp. I'm amazed at the bass these can produce, I was half expecting them to sound rather thin. I did find the limits of low end with some Pantha du Prince played at loud levels. Bass quality was excellent and as extended as I could have hoped for. Admittedly these levels were much louder than I normally listen. In fact, the best sound so far played at my normal listening levels has been with a passive pre and PP 6BQ5 amp. I only listen about 7 feet from the speakers and don't crank it so the match is superb. I can't wait for the next iterations to be rolled out Here is a picture in my messy garage
Of course the first thing I did was play them as loudly as I could with bass heavy music and a 120wpc class D amp. I'm amazed at the bass these can produce, I was half expecting them to sound rather thin. I did find the limits of low end with some Pantha du Prince played at loud levels. Bass quality was excellent and as extended as I could have hoped for. Admittedly these levels were much louder than I normally listen. In fact, the best sound so far played at my normal listening levels has been with a passive pre and PP 6BQ5 amp. I only listen about 7 feet from the speakers and don't crank it so the match is superb. I can't wait for the next iterations to be rolled out
Here is a picture in my messy garage
The cork made it very easy to countersink the tweeter; I just used Super 77 to mount the cork, rough cut the holes for the tweeters and traced around the tweeter baffle on the cork. Then it was simply a matter of cutting the circle and peeling back the cork for the 1/8" recess.
To say I'm eager to see the high efficiency version would be an understatement I'd like something that plays nicely with a SE 2A3 and it sounds like it might fit the bill.
To say I'm eager to see the high efficiency version would be an understatement
I'd like something that plays nicely with a SE 2A3 and it sounds like it might fit the bill.
Here is a picture in my messy garage
Hmmmmm.......... I spy a couple of spare tubez ampz - plus a nice look'n dual VC woof-woof - plus a couple of boxes to sniff around in!!!
Hmmmmm.......... I spy a couple of spare tubez ampz - plus a nice look'n dual VC woof-woof - plus a couple of boxes to sniff around in!!!
Yep
Top shelf is pair of EV 12trxb's, next down is a Bogen CHB100 I'm rebuilding into a bass amp for a friend and on the bottom is a Sherwood S8000II.
Right now I'm listening to Buddy Rich on the Manzanitas with a little rebuilt PP 6bq5 Fisher console amp and it is sounding very nice indeed
Yep
Top shelf is pair of EV 12trxb's, next down is a Bogen CHB100 I'm rebuilding into a bass amp for a friend and on the bottom is a Sherwood S8000II.
Right now I'm listening to Buddy Rich on the Manzanitas with a little rebuilt PP 6bq5 Fisher console amp and it is sounding very nice indeed
I'm so green with envy that I can babababarly ttttyyyypppppeee - hmmmm......that doesn't infer anything naughty - I have both hands on da keyboard.
John likes Bass
Who Doesn't ? Without Bass, music has no get up and get your groove on.
Gives it the Beat. That my feet so desprately need ! Like Kicking out the Kick drum.
Last edited:
First measurements: trying to sort things out
So I finally got around to hooking up all my measurement stuff and took the first measurements of my Manzanitas (original design) tonight. Below is the screen grab from ARTA. Basically I took several measurements varying the distance to the back wall (from 1-2.5m) and the distance of the measurement microphone from 0.5-1.5m. The overall shape of the response is pretty much the same. I took the measurements in a room which is fairly "bright." Overall dimension along the measurement direction is 8m. The overall trend of everything from 1-2kHz on up being relatively lower than the frequency response below that matches what I am hearing. I was comparing the Manzanitas the other day with my Plutos and there definitely is less volume in the higher frequencies on the Manzanitas. So it looks like I need to think about less attenuation in the high frequency path. On that note, what is the cross over frequency for the Manzanitas? Does it coincide with the drop that I am seeing from 1-2kHz on up? I wonder whether others have seen this too or whether that is particular to my listening environment. As that case may be, one question is what I should do to the cross over to lift the higher end.
My overall goal in these measurements (and the ones to follow) is to see how things will turn out if I go active. Has anyone tried this? I have a DCX2496 that I want to use for this purpose. Any stories to share on that kind of setup?
Thanks much!
Peter
So I finally got around to hooking up all my measurement stuff and took the first measurements of my Manzanitas (original design) tonight. Below is the screen grab from ARTA. Basically I took several measurements varying the distance to the back wall (from 1-2.5m) and the distance of the measurement microphone from 0.5-1.5m. The overall shape of the response is pretty much the same. I took the measurements in a room which is fairly "bright." Overall dimension along the measurement direction is 8m. The overall trend of everything from 1-2kHz on up being relatively lower than the frequency response below that matches what I am hearing. I was comparing the Manzanitas the other day with my Plutos and there definitely is less volume in the higher frequencies on the Manzanitas. So it looks like I need to think about less attenuation in the high frequency path. On that note, what is the cross over frequency for the Manzanitas? Does it coincide with the drop that I am seeing from 1-2kHz on up? I wonder whether others have seen this too or whether that is particular to my listening environment. As that case may be, one question is what I should do to the cross over to lift the higher end.
My overall goal in these measurements (and the ones to follow) is to see how things will turn out if I go active. Has anyone tried this? I have a DCX2496 that I want to use for this purpose. Any stories to share on that kind of setup?
Thanks much!
Peter
Attachments
Take a look here --> http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/110583-fast-fun-inexpensive-ob-project-18.html#post2007692
The reason, the 27TDFC sensitivity is 88dB instead 90dB
The reason, the 27TDFC sensitivity is 88dB instead 90dB
Well, I heard the original updated Manzanita's and the HE model over the last two days. I had to leave before John had the Gigantus ones up. All I can say is WOW!!!! John always has some of the best stuff I've ever heard and these were no exception. The HE's were smooth and refined, with none of the shout you would expect from the Seas driver. He's tamed it well and that setup sounds damn good. And he was limited to his SS amp as his ASL tube amp shot craps. He said they sound absolutely spectacular with the SEP amp. I'd be interested in hearing them when he finds a suitable replacement for the woofer.
On the other hand, the updated originals sounds very nice as well. Incedible bass extension for such a small baffle and being off the floor two feet. I've got to build me some of these as they would work perfect in my smaller listening room and they'd fit into my limited budget very well! John told me what drivers he was using but as usual my steel sieve of a brain let it all slide through. Since he was selling these I didn't feel it appropriate to ask about the crossover components.
Here's a link to the pics I took at the LSAF show. There is a pic of both of these speakers there.
LSAF 2011 Pics
On the other hand, the updated originals sounds very nice as well. Incedible bass extension for such a small baffle and being off the floor two feet. I've got to build me some of these as they would work perfect in my smaller listening room and they'd fit into my limited budget very well! John told me what drivers he was using but as usual my steel sieve of a brain let it all slide through. Since he was selling these I didn't feel it appropriate to ask about the crossover components.
Here's a link to the pics I took at the LSAF show. There is a pic of both of these speakers there.
LSAF 2011 Pics
Thanks for that Shane.
I got an email from John tht said he was up until 2AM playing music for visitors. He said much of the day was SRO with the new Manzanitas being very popular and the HE version a great sucess.
Sorry to hear about the tube amp. He bought it just for the show!
Since I could not be in three places at once (in London & Cambridge at the moment), I just get to read about it. Glad that John has finally decided to go commerical with these, his designs are great and extremely good value for money.
I'll post more when more info comes in.
I got an email from John tht said he was up until 2AM playing music for visitors. He said much of the day was SRO with the new Manzanitas being very popular and the HE version a great sucess.
Sorry to hear about the tube amp. He bought it just for the show!
Since I could not be in three places at once (in London & Cambridge at the moment), I just get to read about it. Glad that John has finally decided to go commerical with these, his designs are great and extremely good value for money.
I'll post more when more info comes in.
I'm about to start a rebuild on a Pilot SA-232 amp, which I bought specifically to power the HE version of these when the design comes out. Right now I'm going back and forth between an old PP 6BQ5 Fisher console amp and Yamaha CR-820 on the original Manzanitas. They both sound great!
At the very top end of the range of my normal listening levels I can start to get some "sonic funkiness" from the 12" driver, but most of the time it does much better than I would ever expect it to through the midrange.
I'm glad that John is going commercial with these, he deserves to make some money from all of his hard work. I just hope the designs are still made available here
At the very top end of the range of my normal listening levels I can start to get some "sonic funkiness" from the 12" driver, but most of the time it does much better than I would ever expect it to through the midrange.
I'm glad that John is going commercial with these, he deserves to make some money from all of his hard work. I just hope the designs are still made available here
I have a Tubelab simple se that was waiting for a high efficiency speaker system. Just need to order the transformers and sundries. That HE design looks perfect for it. Will John be selling plans like Bob Brines does?
Fooling around with the on line calculators one can see how small changes in driver impedance at the cross over frequency can really effect component values. Doing it by the seat of the pants would most likely mean multiple parts orders that could quickly run into a couple hundred bucks and lots of left over parts. A reasonable priced set of plans would be a bargain in light of this.
Fooling around with the on line calculators one can see how small changes in driver impedance at the cross over frequency can really effect component values. Doing it by the seat of the pants would most likely mean multiple parts orders that could quickly run into a couple hundred bucks and lots of left over parts. A reasonable priced set of plans would be a bargain in light of this.