onken Onken w or A7 or Valencia

[gunnt]

In the process of starting to build the hometheather/Audioroom at home and I would like to build it with good speakes, the space of the room is quite big. But what are the best to choose for 2 channel and multiaudio.

The goal is to have the best hometheather / Audio room using altec speakers / McIntosh electronics .

so which one should i use ...

onken
Onken w
A7
Valencia

The other requierment are that the boxes can be built , since the A7, Valencia and Onken are very rarae here in Sweden , you can just imagine the shipping costs of the boxes from say the US....

Thanks ! Conny

[GM]

'Best' is a variable and more details WRT to the HT construction/layout and desired electronics is required to properly speculate and since you want to use Altec, I suggest you cross post on the Altec Forum: Altec User's Board - Hostboard

Regardless, the short answer is that none of the ones you list is 'best' by today's lofty standards.

GM

[Holty]

I have recently used the Onken design on some 12" Tannoy Monitor Golds and i am very impressed with the outcome. The bass from them is stomach thumping at times if its on the source. Dont know whether they would suit you but good luck with your project.

Jim.

[Pano]

If you have the room and the 4X 515 drivers, build the W. It's a big box and a tough build, though.
Can't say I've ever heard better.

[CLS]

Originally Posted by panomaniac

...

Can't say I've ever heard better.

Wow!

How does it compare to true bass horn, or IB, or very big OB?

[Pano]

It's better. At least in moderate to large spaces. And we are talking Hi-Fi here, not P.A. I've never heard OB sound as good or as clean.

I've heard the Onken W in rooms from about 125- 450 cubic meters. Clean, deep, powerful, beautiful. Amp matching is important, you can really hear the amp. Not that I heard any amp sound bad, but going to better and better amps can be quite rewarding.

It's a simple design, just a big box with 2 little ports. It's the sand filled walls that make it so hard to build, and to move!

[Cal Weldon]

1 vote for the A7 box. Just something about that box that works for me. The Onken is very nice too but...

[Pano]

Well, yeah. You know which I own.

[CLS]

I'm not suggesting big boxes with double 15"ers are all the same, but I've listened to TAD 2401 (TSM-1) and was VERY impressed, too. (Interesting, how similar their appearances are!)

Also curious about the 515. Almost always, it's said to be excellent in mid to midbass but not able to extend very low. Maybe it's ~G, and ~C can get lower I guess.

[Pano]

Right, the 515 in theory doesn't play low. I never measured an Onken W, so I can't say.

But the bass was never lacking at all. Even room effects like air handling and doors opening and closing in the recording venue could be heard or felt. And the goofy fireworks, trains going by, cannon shots etc demo CDs were unbelievable. No sound of a speaker at all, just the sounds of what seemed to be the "real thing."

Subjectively, they are quite commanding. No idea how they measure.