Hi Everyone,
It's close to the holidays and as you know I'm not very technical. Still every now and then I see some enthusiastic new DIYer come on and want to clone X or Y brand commercial speaker. I've also seen some spectacularly beautiful clones like for the Focal Utopias. (no idea if they even work).
Still, most of the time I'm left scratching my head over their choices. So, you my dear experts, I must ask. What uber high-end speaker do you wish you could clone, or think "wow, I can never do that myself." ?
It's all for fun, so any ideas are welcome. Personally, I am stuck on the nostalgia of the Snell A/IIIs with the wide, hemispherical mid and tweeter section. and wish I could replicate that. Perhaps my memory of those speakers is much better than reality.
Best,
Erik
It's close to the holidays and as you know I'm not very technical. Still every now and then I see some enthusiastic new DIYer come on and want to clone X or Y brand commercial speaker. I've also seen some spectacularly beautiful clones like for the Focal Utopias. (no idea if they even work).
Still, most of the time I'm left scratching my head over their choices. So, you my dear experts, I must ask. What uber high-end speaker do you wish you could clone, or think "wow, I can never do that myself." ?
It's all for fun, so any ideas are welcome. Personally, I am stuck on the nostalgia of the Snell A/IIIs with the wide, hemispherical mid and tweeter section. and wish I could replicate that. Perhaps my memory of those speakers is much better than reality.
Best,
Erik
Perhaps something like this, not so much for the looks, but for the engineering philosophy John Dunlavy stood for.
Dunlavy Audio Labs SC-IV/A loudspeaker | Stereophile.com
Dunlavy Audio Labs SC-IV/A loudspeaker | Stereophile.com
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Maiko, share the important parts of Dunlavy's principle for us please!
Erik, read this interview, yes, it's Stereophool again but this is a really worthwhile and entertaining read, John is such a down to the earth engineer to the core without all the black magic jumbo spin talk it can make a DIY audio techy guy, at least me, relate with his thought process and philosophies revolving loudspeaker designing, "subjectivists" may be of different opinions.
Loudspeaker designer John Dunlavy: By the Numbers... | Stereophile.com
Yosemite Sam Speakers
The Jadis Eurythmie
Eurythmie spec sheet. "Sculptured to reply the laws of nature, they are surprisingly aesthetic in appearance. As they cannot be hidden, we have made them into works of art and have used craftsman techniques in their manufacture." About 60" high, with a width at the front face of almost 28", and a similar depth at the base.
The Jadis Eurythmie
Eurythmie spec sheet. "Sculptured to reply the laws of nature, they are surprisingly aesthetic in appearance. As they cannot be hidden, we have made them into works of art and have used craftsman techniques in their manufacture." About 60" high, with a width at the front face of almost 28", and a similar depth at the base.
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The Infinity IRS, the most amazing speakers I've ever had the misfortune* of hearing.
* I say misfortune because after hearing them I no longer enjoyed my speakers which I'd been perfectly happy with up to that point, and I was depressed because I could never have afforded the (from memory) $35K price tag. I also suspected I would never be able to make something quite so amazing myself. It probably didn't help that all up the total worth of the system playing would have been over $100K.
edit: I'm actually suspicious that what I heard was not the IRS linked above but a different version with the same 6 30CM woofer towers, and Electrostatic panels rather than line arrays. Not the IRS Beta either, but perhaps a mix and match.
Tony.
* I say misfortune because after hearing them I no longer enjoyed my speakers which I'd been perfectly happy with up to that point, and I was depressed because I could never have afforded the (from memory) $35K price tag. I also suspected I would never be able to make something quite so amazing myself. It probably didn't help that all up the total worth of the system playing would have been over $100K.
edit: I'm actually suspicious that what I heard was not the IRS linked above but a different version with the same 6 30CM woofer towers, and Electrostatic panels rather than line arrays. Not the IRS Beta either, but perhaps a mix and match.
Tony.
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Me, I'd settle for a 3 wheeled Robin. In my village nobody drives a car like that and the fact that every turning is a new adventure that you don't know how it's going to end up, is absolutely an invaluable source of joy.
Regarding speakers, the best looking one to me ever, was the Dynaudio Confidence 5. I did what was in my power to replicate something sounding similar, so I'm satisfied in that respect. A Lebanese cedar veneer stained in pine.
edit: Forgot to say, a very nice cap, Tony!
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hehe thanks Lojzek
Erik, I'm pretty sure (memory is a little hazy as it was around 25 years ago) that the main speakers were electrostatics, not the line arrays of ribbons. The Beta seems to fit the bill visually from what I remember Infinity IRS Beta loudspeaker | Stereophile.com But the woofer towers definitely had 6 X 12" drivers each. Nothing in Infinities line up that I can find has that combination...
Probably possible to replicate (but not cheaply). It was the most convincing "The singer is in the room with me" experience I've had!
Tony.
Erik, I'm pretty sure (memory is a little hazy as it was around 25 years ago) that the main speakers were electrostatics, not the line arrays of ribbons. The Beta seems to fit the bill visually from what I remember Infinity IRS Beta loudspeaker | Stereophile.com But the woofer towers definitely had 6 X 12" drivers each. Nothing in Infinities line up that I can find has that combination...
Probably possible to replicate (but not cheaply). It was the most convincing "The singer is in the room with me" experience I've had!
Tony.
Lojzek, I'm sure if speakers had been made in Biblical times that's what they would have looked like! Beautiful.
Wintermute... interesting. I remember the woofers were servo-controlled, and yes, very large and heavy. Given a choice, I would rather have a subwoofer that minimized floor space, and they certainly did that!
Best,
Erik
Wintermute... interesting. I remember the woofers were servo-controlled, and yes, very large and heavy. Given a choice, I would rather have a subwoofer that minimized floor space, and they certainly did that!
Best,
Erik
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