I've gone over to the dark side!

[Toppsy]

This is my first posting on the multiway forum pages.
So why have I gone over to the dark side?

Three reasons really.

1. I normally build single driver Full-Range speakers and post on the Full Range section of this forum and this is my first foray into a 2-way stand-mount with bespoke XO.
2. I have designed and built a simple 2-way BR speaker using the Mark Audio Tweeter #3 and Woofer #6.
3. The cabinets are skinned in a rather nice Santos Rosewood veneer which as you can see from the attached photos is a rather dark rich looking veneer. Hence a play on words really turning to the dark side.

First off I must say thanks to Scottmoose for the drivers for me to experiment with.

So THANKS SCOTT.

I must say this combination of driver has turned out rather well, in fact, rather well indeed. The treble unit has a relative flat response curve from 1.5kHz all the way up to 30kHz with a very smooth delivery. The 6½” bass unit is also very clean with a nearly flat FR 30Hz to 5.5kHz. So they have a nice wide XO bandwidth to play with. These are crossed over at 3.5k which is about ideal, in my opinion.

Anyway here are some photos of the finished speakers. Sorry, there are no sequence build / construction photos.

For those interested in the speakers there's more here: audio-talk :: View topic - I've gone over to the dark side

[bentoronto]

Truly beautiful.

Say, instead of a little speaker box and a big stand, why not a lot more speaker box for the same amount of floor area? Isn't box size like being thin or being rich... can't get enough of it.

I toss this abstract critique into the air, not knowing where it may land.

[norman bates]

don't feel bad.

I carried the full range driver flag for a long while.

They do some things very well.

Norman

[Toppsy]

Say, instead of a little speaker box and a big stand, why not a lot more speaker box for the same amount of floor area?

Well now, funny you mention that! There are plans afoot to add a side firing 12" woofer to give that extra octave of bass for those that crave the extra bass only a large dedicated bass driver can deliver and make a besoke floorstander version.

Forgot to mention that for you guys in the USA and Canada the MA tweeter #3 and woofer #6 are designated as the ERT26 and EL166 as offered by CSS in Canada.

Norman Bates wrote

don't feel bad.

I carried the full range driver flag for a long while.

They do some things very well.

Norman I haven't completely abandoned FR speakers. In a lot of ways they do some genre of music that (to my ears) a multiway design simple cannot emulate. I'm sure others will differ.

[blakkshepeaudio]

Woah, nice work dude! They look absolutely fantastic.

[weskoki]

They look splendid! What king of finish did you used?Oil?

[Dr.EM]

Very nice build! I like the stands a lot too so it'd be a shame to lose them to subwoofers under the speakers.

The location of the main speakers isn't often the best location for bass frequencies anyhow, so if you have space a seperate subwoofer (subwoofers ideally!) should be more effective.

[buzzforb]

Not much comment on the sound. Have you heard any of MA's FR drivers and how does the sound compare with the two-way?

[lowpoke]

I agree with Dr. EM, very nice build!

[Toppsy]

What kind of finish did you used?Oil?

Yes the Santos Rosewood veneer is finished in 2-coats of Liberon Finishing Oil.

buzzforb wrote

Not much comment on the sound.

Here are a couple of independant reviews on how these sound, I'm obviously biased:

Colin brought them over to mine yesterday (as well as the 6em7 amp for a MOT ), very nice, I am very impressed with the drivers, I put some of my most upper mid screechy country rock on, and they handled it with no sign of bleeding from any orifice. The tweeters seems very extended but smooth, great cymbal sounds. But given what I normally use, I could not help but wonder what those two drivers would be like in a three way with a 12" or 15" bass helper at the bottom. I did think the cabinet, could perhaps be extended downward into a floor stander with a lower enclosure with a sideways firing 12" driver. Knowing bugger all about such things I thought that could be fun.. This guy normally listens to OB speakers with 15" bass.

And:

I've really enjoyed listening to these speakers this afternoon - I've got three words that describe this speaker's abilities - captivating, communicative and capable.
They look a million dollars, and sound it too.

Big thumbs up from me Very Happy


buzzforb also asked

Have you heard any of MA's FR drivers and how does the sound compare with the two-way?

Yes. I have the CHP70, CHR70 and Alpair 7. These are all small 4" FR drivers. You can catch up on reports on the sound of these on the Full Range pages under the Frugal Horn Mk3 threads. However, for a small FR and especially in the FH3 design they may surprise on what they can deliver in sound quality. If you are tempted to venture into the world of BLH FR speakers then the FH3 is an ideal starting point and a relative easy build.

I also have 2-pair the MA Alpair10. These are both mounted in a mini Onken style cabinet based on the 2 x Planet10 Mar-Ken10 design. These were built for my son who listens mostly to modern rock and he simply loves them. They look like this: