At the front? I dont have the black ones. there all shipped. I can show the wood ones(taped in place) that I have in other cabs that are now MK5
Mk5 sounds great.. Great job Joe
Friend showed up and immediately noticed more revealing and detailed treble
Bass is better across the range and midrange clean and the main thing(balance) I loved about them seems to remain.
All first impressions after 4 hours
Waveguides
I"m keeping rough track of the takers.. I think its close to a go
Best to email me at neverenoughmusic@hotmail.com if you want a pair
I'll get the starting numbers and then post a final time fo anyone coming in a bit later..
Thanks for the comments on the speakers..
Joel
I think I can handle that.
I received the waveguides from Joel today. Wow, am i impressed! They turned out spectacular! They are quite substantial, more than I expected. The powercoat is first class and really lends a professional touch. Hat's off to Joel for the superior effort and outstanding turn-around/comms (Thanks again Joel).
In any case, here ya go:
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They make a fitting called a slip coupling. It already has the center ridge missing. Look in the plumber/pipefitting section.
jea
Thanks. The plumbing slip couplings I found were a bit undersized. The 3" electrical coupler I got from home depot is ~3.5" ID (90mm ID) and 88mm in length. Once the center ridge is eliminate, it should be perfect. A 4 and 1/8 hole saw (105mm) will be just about right if not perfect for the outside diameter.
The Mark 5's are outstanding speakers. Excelent balance, the best sound stage I have ever heard and extremely easy load for any amp. The sound I am getting with a Van Alstine hybrid amp is the sound I was scared I would hear when I went in to the expensive ultra high end stores and would have to buy. I also use a Van Alstine Ultimate 70 tube amp with the Elsinores and they convey the difference between tube and ss elegantly. The speakers definitely sound best when the tweeter is at ear level, so a low listening seat is suggested. I found that ribbon foil inductors give the bass a rock solid sound with no ringing, the best sounding capacitor I found was the Sonicap 2.0uf, 200V. I found the Solens kind of rough in comparison. My main system at home has a pair of Soundlab A-1's ($21,000 retail) in it with essentially the same front end electronics and I enjoy the Elsinores in my recording studio every bit as much. The best $1000 I ever spent on stereo.
Waveguide Purchase 2 Invitation
I have one pair of Aluminum Waveguides for my speakers.
Notice 2 small changes:
The rear pocket finishes with a taper to alow for one set-up in the lathe.
The screw holes are moved close to the outside.
This pair was machined in a way that I will now use clear Powder coat for this pair but can paint a batch black as well. Personal taste here.
Note: There has been inquires. Maybe some, understanably, dont read all the posts but I need 5 pairs paid up front to make it work. $160can/pair
I can wait until the end of next week(June 5) if anyone is interested. The machinist can start the following week.
Joel
I have one pair of Aluminum Waveguides for my speakers.
Notice 2 small changes:
The rear pocket finishes with a taper to alow for one set-up in the lathe.
The screw holes are moved close to the outside.
This pair was machined in a way that I will now use clear Powder coat for this pair but can paint a batch black as well. Personal taste here.
Note: There has been inquires. Maybe some, understanably, dont read all the posts but I need 5 pairs paid up front to make it work. $160can/pair
I can wait until the end of next week(June 5) if anyone is interested. The machinist can start the following week.
Joel
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If you do not mind me asking, what gauge inductors did you go with? Did you go with a ribbon foil for the 18mH part as well?
Could you clarify, please? Do you have a pair to sell now with clear coat? Or are you referring to the new batch?
Please put me down for this pair or a new pair, but although I prefer the looks of clear coat I am concerned about durability of the finish. I don't have experience with clear powder coat - will it last as long as black?
Thanks
I'm going to clear coat the only pair I have left and use them in my speakers.
I'd like to see how they turn out before I can offer them.
I've spent some time talking with the powder coating guy's and also viewed numurous painted car parts of different colours. The clear will have the same durability as black and guys are polishing aluminum engine parts and clear coating them.
To explain a bit more: The first Waveguide batch was machined with minimal lines and black powder covers them. I like the aluminum look but they would have to sanded and polished to have them look good in clear. The car guys warned me that polishing metal for clear coat takes hours for a small piece, so that makes it impossible.
The machinist had the idea of doing a pair with nicer visible lines and then embrace the lines with a clear finish. See how it turns out.. Should have this figured out and show them before June 5
Also, the price is for a batch and painting a single pair in a different finish will add a bit to the price, unless we can get 2 seperate batches..
I agree. tpate, can you tell me what tweeter series resistor you settled on
I used 14ga foil inductors in the signal path to the two upper woofers and 16ga to the lower two woofers, if I did it again I would use 14ga on both, about $20 difference. I used an iron core for the 18mh and 16ga wire wound for the rest of the bypass inductors. I ended up using a 2.0uf capacitor like Joe did. I made it easy to switch them out, using speaker terminal type connectors, on recordings that need a little more presence I switch them, I find that on most recordings the 2.0 paints a deeper picture with more nuance. The link in my earlier email shows where I got them.
Just want to point out that 2uF is what I ended up recommending, but I do also recommend that some experimentation with that value is worthwhile and also to share and provide feedback.
The reason: The Waveguide makes even small changes to the 2uF much more noticeable than without it, maybe not an exxageration to say that it may makes as much as three times more noticeable. So changing from say 2 to 2.2uF is only a change of 0.2uF, but sonically may have the effect of 0.5uF or 0.6uF under other circumstances.
The reason is that the Waveguide's "gain" is controlled by the value of this cap.
So even tweaking this value in 0.1uF increments may be worthwhile, but if you try it, share it with the rest of us.
Cheers, Joe
PS: Thanks ptate for a short concise 'review' - very nice.