Neo8PDR/Neo3PDR

[cuibono]

fiat79, did you do any measurements when developing your speaker?

I really like my neo3PDR on an OB, but I couldn't have done it without lots of measurements and active XO. Right now I cross around 1.5k LR4.

[KevinP]

Originally Posted by fiat79

Just wanted to share my experiences with these slightly difficult to use planars. I had initially just bought the Neo8PDR and planned to use them with a pair of older Seas TPXs in a simple two way. Boy, was I disappointed! That upper end peak drove me crazy and the notch seemed to take all the life out of it. Plus, I was trying for the minimum amount of crossover, out of the Seas and into the Neo as early as I could given the fs.

I read here about combining the Neo8 with the Neo3 and gave that a shot, rolling off the Neo8 around 7khz and into the Neo3, all on 6db slopes. This was much better but still not it - although I lived with it for about a year while I thought about it.

The turning point came when I gave up on "as little crossover as possible" and went for a full 12 db, allpass 3-way. WOW, what a difference a few components make! Believe me, when you get them right, these guys will reach out and grab you. Talk about clean, talk about clarity - well, you get the idea. Take my advice, they are worth the effort!

I agree BG could have done a bit more to make them easier to mount and presentable - I got matching steel faceplates from Meniscus (very inexpensive!) and that helped alot, but come on BG!

Anyway, just wanted to share.

how noticible was the peak of the Neo8's? Isn't it way up at like 14-15k? I wanted to try these in a two way. That's right on the border of my hearing capabilities, so I can't imagine that would really bother me. It's gone by 30 degrees anyway, right?

[fiat79]

My measurements consisted of a couple of Stereophile test cds and a spl meter; I was more concerned with a smooth response at my listening position and trying to keep the mid-to-high cx out of the critical 1k-3k range; if I wasn't using the Neo8, I might have been tempted to take the Neo3 lower as well.

[fiat79]

My original idea was to just have a two way as well. But, I found (in my room and my samples anyway) the peak to come in a bit lower than the advertised 12k and anytime I brought my volume levels up, it drove me up the wall. My own hearing is dropping off pretty good at 16k too. I tried notching it but as I've said, to me, it just took the sparkle right out - same with padding it. Once I added the Neo3, everything began to gel.