Acapella SE in London / UK : opinions ?

[jacklelad]

Hi,

I am thinking about building the Acapella SE, but would like to hear opinions from existing builders in the UK.
Is it appreciably better than my current Quad 22L's ?
Can anyone generously offer a demo (I live in London and can offer a bottle of champagne as a token of my appreciation) ?
Is anyone bi-amping them ?

My priority is Classical and Jazz but also listen to Coldplay, Talking Heads etc. (no metal !).

Thanks Jack

[ShinOBIWAN]

Its always tough to offer advice about products that you haven't heard.

So I'll start by saying I owned a pair of 12L's and enjoyed them, I would imagine that the 22L is similar in sound but with more extension. Unfortunately I have never had the pleasure of listening to Troels' Acapella SE.

So my opinion here means very little but I have a gut feeling that the combination of Troels' experience, the lengthy research and implementation of the SE, coupled with the fact that the drivers used are highly respected, all tend to point toward something rather speciial. By all accounts most listeners/owners suggest that he has extracted the best from each driver and like I said they are all great drivers regardless of price.

So I would say unreservedly that you'll not only be looking at an appreciable difference but quite a dramatic one.

A word of warning though, the Acapella range looks like it needs a large room and plenty of space to perform at its best because of the dipole operation from the mid range up.

[seve]

I have had the pleasure to hear Troels' Acapella SE and I think it's one of the best speakers I have heard regardsless of price.

I cannot say any thing bad about this speaker, but I am also biased to the kind of sound they produce as I have the Point75I, which sounds quite similar to the Acapella SE, but with a little less body.

The things I really like is the top and midrange presentation that said I don't feel anything missing in the bottom, but still it's only a 8" driver which some might find to small. I think it's quite difficult to describe a speaker one really have to hear it, but I can say a few words; Stage, depth, "neutral" and accurate. I find it really involving.

You could try to contact the maker and ask if he know somebody in UK who has made it!?

Martin

[b_online]

I also live in London, and I am as well trully interested in the Acappella SE loudspeakers.

The only thing holding me back is that I will be using 2 EL34/KT88 class A monoblocks (30w) and I have the feeling that they will need a few extra dbs sensitivity.

I would also appreciate an audition of the Acapellas, and following the tradition, I would be taking a bottle of good spanish Rioja and some 5J Jabugo ham to go with it,,,,

[andy2]

I've just recently completed the Acapella SE and I was very impressed of what I've heard so far. If you like jazz or classical, they are probably as good as it gets within a reasonable price range ... maybe 5K - 10K? Mid range and soundstage was all I could have ask for. But dipole or large baffle speakers do sound quite different from a more conventional spekear such as your Quad22. You don't quite have pinpoint soundstage but other would argue that there is no such thing as pinpoint soundstage in a live performance. I used to have a pair of Living Voice Avatar and the Acapella are probably the better of the two with better soundstage depiction--both wider and deeper-- and have more command of the music especially in a larger room although the LV are probably more musical and intimate.

As for efficiency, they are quite efficient. I use a cheap Nad320BEE and the dynamic is not bad.

My two problems I had (though I am not sure it is the fault of the speaker) are there seem to be not enough bass and there is a slight bass resonance on certain recordings. The bass cabinet is about 42 liters there for you have to be careful in term of controlling internal standing wave. My cabinet is a conventional box whereas Troels cabinet does not have any parallel wall so I guess he did not have any problem. I am in the process of rebuilding the bass cabinet and hopefully will get rid of the resonance.

I wish though there could be a little more bass. Kick drum doesn't quite kick you in the gut with the Acapella. I had mine in a relative large room with high ceiling so maybe that is the problem.

Here are some pictures of mine version of the Acapella:

http://www.geocities.com/hai_vu1/AcapellaCab.JPG
http://www.geocities.com/hai_vu1/CabinetRear.jpg
http://www.geocities.com/hai_vu1/RearNoStuffings.jpg

[jacklelad]

Hi,

Thanks for all the info. I didn't realise it was a dipole, and I have a smallish room so I am now thinking in terms of Troels TJL floorstander.

Thanks Jack