My current system
Hi all
This is my current setup.
The HR-7 monitors were purchased from Westlake Audio last spring. It is a four way system using dual Deqx 2.6P units. It’s an all JBL driver system. I have owned several Westlake systems over the years including a pair of 4 way HR-1’s with all Boulder amplification. I sold that system to finance a business opportunity in Mexico, and yes, I do miss them.
The HR-7’s are powered by 4 Monarchy SM70 Plus Class A amps and a Crown K2 bass amp. The system sounds fantastic with incredible dynamics and clarity. The soundstage is both deep and wide with instruments being placed where the engineer put them.
For those of you who have never heard a Westlake monitor, do yourself a favor and try to find a pair to audition. They are damned expensive but you get what you pay for. This pair retails for 30k.
Be well..
Hi all
This is my current setup.
The HR-7 monitors were purchased from Westlake Audio last spring. It is a four way system using dual Deqx 2.6P units. It’s an all JBL driver system. I have owned several Westlake systems over the years including a pair of 4 way HR-1’s with all Boulder amplification. I sold that system to finance a business opportunity in Mexico, and yes, I do miss them.
The HR-7’s are powered by 4 Monarchy SM70 Plus Class A amps and a Crown K2 bass amp. The system sounds fantastic with incredible dynamics and clarity. The soundstage is both deep and wide with instruments being placed where the engineer put them.
For those of you who have never heard a Westlake monitor, do yourself a favor and try to find a pair to audition. They are damned expensive but you get what you pay for. This pair retails for 30k.
Be well..
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Picked out something exotic years ago, can`t remember precisely
btw; the bassport is made from massive wood
Ken,
While I have yet to hear a pair of Westlake Monitors, I've never heard anything but high praise for their sound. From the description of your system it appears that you've chosen some very good gear to augment your speakers. I could never spend that much on a system, or a pair of speakers for that matter, but a setup like yours would certainly be on my list when I win the lottery.
What are you using for a preamp and source?
BTW: I've heard speakers a lot more expensive than yours and I wouldn't be surprised if yours were better sounding.
Best Regards,
TerryO
Ken,
What are you using for a preamp and source?
BTW: I've heard speakers a lot more expensive than yours and I wouldn't be surprised if yours were better sounding.
Best Regards,
TerryO
The preamp is a part of the DEQX system (DEQX High Definition Audio). These are 4-way and require 2 Deqx PDC's with a digital link between them. As far as the source goes. I have a modded sony dvd player.
I sold my HR-1's to a recording studio just south of you in Portland.
Yes, its unfortunate Westlake does not have a presence in the domestic market. They do most of their business off shore in Taiwan, Hong Kong, Japan and Russia. Serious audiophile markets where they think nothing of spending 100k plus on monitors. Back in the 70's and 80's all the major studios used Westlake Mains in their control rooms. Here is a pair of SM-1 towers being prepped for shipment to Russia this past June (base is removed and not in picture) they sell for well over 130k. At 1000 lbs each they are a bugger to move. I am 5'7" for reference. Hmmm, is it me or am I am starting to look like the Pillsbury Dough Boy....
Also a photo of my HR7's loaded into my Trailblazer for the trip back home. Not a mark on them when I got home.....whew!
Ken
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A glimse of my system; my 1.order minimized resistance 4-way asymetric no absorbers speakers and the old tv-kabinet I`m usin as a "rack"
Very interesting speaker, I like it
Any more info, what drivers? Mabye a Monacor SPH-250TC bass, Dayton DC50F-8 mid dome? Really can't be sure. It's 6db/octave crossover throughout? Theoretical perfect transient response, but hard to implement, nice job!
Very interesting speaker, I like it
Any more info, what drivers? Mabye a Monacor SPH-250TC bass, Dayton DC50F-8 mid dome? Really can't be sure. It's 6db/octave crossover throughout? Theoretical perfect transient response, but hard to implement, nice job!
They shure looks good, but you skould hear them play! After tweaking around for years I`ve never thought I should see the day when I simply not could find anything more to pick on.
This speakers was kind of a sidestep; after working w. 12" woofers I tested out this cheap Korean 10" that showed to be just as fast as the rumors told it to be. I still haven`t found any other bass-driver articulate like this one.
The challenge was to tune it to play real bass a<t least down below the thirties. To make a long story short; I did. But to reach a real lve-like dynamic bass with only one 10" pr. side was a challenge. I had to turn every stone, rethink every aspect to maximise the dynamic output.
My basic thought is to preserve the dynamic aspect of the signal in both the electric and the acoustic domene. This research has lead me to realise the need of minimicing resistance primarely by using real heavy solid core wiring all the way starting with the amps primare windings. Absolute minimal 1.order filters built to handle huge power and tweaked in every way to minimize resistance. Like using 7-10 resistors in parralell instead of one, 9awg sold copper for low freq internal wiring aso. That gives a pic og the electric side.
To minimice acoustic loss I`ve ended up using an asymetric cabinet (=no standing wawes) and no absorbents, only difractors. The effect of this is much like what you`ll experience if you try to remove the mufflers from your cars exhaust-system; instead of mumbeling it starts roaring. When I combine that effect with a big undertuned bassreflex it gives me the opportunity to go real low and make a clean (wery clean!) deep bass with a lot more energy that you would expect from a small driver.
To make deep cleen lifelike bass is mybe the most difficult part of speakerbuilding, and since I`m an old drummer I know exactly what I want to hear. No boom or bang but PANG!
Even if the Korean MGR-23P40 is extremely fast I`ve helped it a bit in the upper region by making the low mid Seas G-17REX/P go dangerously low. Nice sounding driver, but not fast enough for me so I`ve added an extra magnet, that makes the glassfibre-driver wery accurate.
One of my basic design-ideas was to avoid this typically hard and pressed upper mid most designers end up with from cutting the tweeter too far down. So I went for a 2" dome to take care of this wery critical area, and after tweaking a Dynaudio D-52AF by removing the AF and adding a new bigger rear chamber I`ve ended up with a invisible upper mid. Was a bit of a ckallenge to tune this driver correctly since it needed a little freq-adjustment and I denies to go for anything but minimalistic 1. order filters.
On top of this I`ve put a SS 9700. The D-52 just rolls of naturally between 6-7khz, making the SS-9700`s job quite easy and relaxed. Cutting it that high makes it sound way more relaxed than a lower x-ower, and with only one tinfoil-cap between the amp and the tweeter it sounds open and airy as anything. This is how domes should be used; minimal voicecoil-movement
Lately there`s been a lot of wawes about my system, even tube/horn folks are shocked by the weightless soundquality and the realistic dynamic these little speakers makes. And a lot of folks get their eyes opened for how much gain it is in using huge solid copper specially combined with powerful SS-amps.
By tweaking out the last little db of this limited system I`ve learned a lot. After resting some years I`m beginning to look forward to put this knowledge into a slightly bigger system based on a 12" woofer (or two) Like Beyma 12B100R or something simular. And since Dynaudio D-52 is out of reach I`ve searched around for a good replacement, 2" or 3" dome.
BTW; when I was building this a friend spent a lot of money on his big 4-way active experimenting with sensitive pro/studio drivers, horns aso. We had a good battle, but even if he`s system could play louder (mine gives some 115db+headroom) he couldn`t match my little for-way on lisening-level dynamics and clarity.
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hi all! I would like to show my new sealed 2 way loudspeaker, made to order of cutomer.
it's real marble enclosure, used 2 types and pretty expensive. and heavy
that customer is musician and he hate ported system. and of course any subwoofers.
but he has no room enough for big equipment, that's why we'd choose this design.
woofer from Gui-sound, tweeter from Fountek, crossover parts, screw and terminal from Monacor.
see the picture please. it's pretty good fr. response and belive me - good sounding. thanks Gui-sound company for woofer and Fountek for very nice tweeter.
it's real marble enclosure, used 2 types and pretty expensive. and heavy
that customer is musician and he hate ported system. and of course any subwoofers.
but he has no room enough for big equipment, that's why we'd choose this design.
woofer from Gui-sound, tweeter from Fountek, crossover parts, screw and terminal from Monacor.
see the picture please. it's pretty good fr. response and belive me - good sounding. thanks Gui-sound company for woofer and Fountek for very nice tweeter.
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not realy. it's about 30 kg each. but customer shouldn't take it along everywhere.
but wooden diffuser sounding very clean
Almost finished, I need to wait for the paint to setup properly before I can buff the paint to a mirror finish. Just got the last coat of paint on a few nights ago.
They are setup in an acoustically dampened room I just built. I still need to get some legs for the right and left speakers, but that'll have to wait till I'm not poor.
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They are setup in an acoustically dampened room I just built. I still need to get some legs for the right and left speakers, but that'll have to wait till I'm not poor.
Thanks PaleRider for your response, agreed it is very interesting! Quite an unconventional build, sounds like you've done a great job tailoring it to your own tastes, something which takes real experience to do
Thanks but I`ve been wery careful to not make up my own taste or my own reality. I`ve been chasing the invisible speaker, and after years & years I`m kind of set out by the fact that I can not see/hear to find anything more to improve.
Audiophiles seems to be kind of shocked or confused after hearing music through my system; " this shure sounds like live music and not like a hifi-system.." It does, thanks to the combination of unrestricted dynamics, details and phase. And some good home-brewing
My humble system
Having just finished my Amish, I thought I would drop a quick post onto here with my system.
The system consists of sources:
Audiolab 8000CDM Transport (currently unmodified)
Virgin V+ Cable TV (needs the HDD on vibration isolators)
Panasonic Blu-ray player
Denon TU260L Mk2 Tuner
Digital to Analogue Conversion:
Tag McLaren DAC 20 (unmodified); linked to cd, cable and blu-ray
Amplification (this is where the DIY starts) :
Buffered Preamp
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/121399-opa627-buffer-based-preamp.html
3886 Chip Amp (Brian GT Kit)
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/chip-amps/92673-yet-another-3886-gain-clone.html
Speakers:
Amish 45/97
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/154432-amish-45-97-construction-diary.html
The little Denon Microsystem and JPW monitors were just photohogging, they were being used whilst I finished my speakers off. The JPW's are up for being giving new cabinets and crossovers as my first attempts to measure and design one.
Enjoy!
(there seems to be an issue with photo attachments, so will follow up as soon as this is fixed, or you can just have a butchers at the links!)
Having just finished my Amish, I thought I would drop a quick post onto here with my system.
The system consists of sources:
Audiolab 8000CDM Transport (currently unmodified)
Virgin V+ Cable TV (needs the HDD on vibration isolators)
Panasonic Blu-ray player
Denon TU260L Mk2 Tuner
Digital to Analogue Conversion:
Tag McLaren DAC 20 (unmodified); linked to cd, cable and blu-ray
Amplification (this is where the DIY starts)
:Buffered Preamp
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/solid-state/121399-opa627-buffer-based-preamp.html
3886 Chip Amp (Brian GT Kit)
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/chip-amps/92673-yet-another-3886-gain-clone.html
Speakers:
Amish 45/97
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/154432-amish-45-97-construction-diary.html
The little Denon Microsystem and JPW monitors were just photohogging, they were being used whilst I finished my speakers off. The JPW's are up for being giving new cabinets and crossovers as my first attempts to measure and design one.
Enjoy!
(there seems to be an issue with photo attachments, so will follow up as soon as this is fixed, or you can just have a butchers at the links!)
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My simple system
Greetings!
Speakers are MJK designed FE103E OB over Alpha 15 in H-Frame.
Onkyo TX-8222/ Sony DVP-NS715P for CD playing/ Toshiba D-R410 for DVD playing/ dishNetwork receiver for TV/ Vizio 32in LCD.
I just finished these speakers last weekend and I have been listening to them every night since. I am VERY happy with the results!
Greetings!
Speakers are MJK designed FE103E OB over Alpha 15 in H-Frame.
Onkyo TX-8222/ Sony DVP-NS715P for CD playing/ Toshiba D-R410 for DVD playing/ dishNetwork receiver for TV/ Vizio 32in LCD.
I just finished these speakers last weekend and I have been listening to them every night since. I am VERY happy with the results!
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