ESL speaker build photos

[dochungwell]

Hello all, Well like they say about the best laid plans...I didn't finish last weekend or get as far as I would of thought I would have by this time, but tomorrow is another day! At this time I will attach a link to view my progress thus far. I am quite satisfied that is turning out as good as I expected it would! I have not taken any shortcuts as you will see from my pictures!

ESL BUILD PHOTOS | Facebook

Thanks Jer, Charlie, Wachara C. You all have been a great resource in assisting me in this build. I hope to post the final pictures tomorrow when I hope to complete the build.

Wachara C...on your stretching jig I see a reference percent of stretching measurements, are you seeking 1.5% elongation for 6um film in both vertical and horizontal axis?

Thanks,
Jerry

[geraldfryjr]

Very cool pictures! I'm on FB as well!
I think you are going to be shocked (he,he) when you fire those things up!!!
Those are nice size panels.
I am contemplating my 4 footers now and I am working out the details of the bass units.
I am going to try a detuned ported cabinet first.
When I get some more drivers I will try a Dipole bass setup.

Keep us posted! jer

[dochungwell]

Thanks Jer,...and by shocked I hope not literally...LOL. actually I have no idea how they will sound...I currently have a set of .5QR Magnaplaner along side a powered sub woofer and have enjoyed them after my recent rebuild! I was hoping that these will sound as good or better than the Magnaplanars? and if so then... for the next issue,tubes vs solid state amp, the quest continues....

Regards,
Jerry

[geraldfryjr]

Ha,ha! I did mean the sound!

It will be very interesting to hear your comparison to the Magnaplanars!

I love those tubes but I much prefer the non colored sound of solid state,But that is just me.

Especialy since I like to crank it up once in awhile.
I know that my big amps don't have any issues with low impedence's that the ESL's present at the higher end of the spectrum.

jer

[chinsettawong]

Hi Dochungwell,

Nice pictures! I'm sure that you're enjoying making them.

No, I only look at how it elongates on the shorter side. 1.5% of the longer side is way too much, and the diaphragm would break long before you can achieve that.

Good luck on your build.

Wachara C.

[CharlieM]

Originally Posted by chinsettawong

Hi Dochungwell,

Nice pictures! I'm sure that you're enjoying making them.

No, I only look at how it elongates on the shorter side. 1.5% of the longer side is way too much, and the diaphragm would break long before you can achieve that.

Good luck on your build.

Wachara C.

I agree with Wachara on this. Go slow pumping in the air and stop when you've got 1.5% elongation across the panel width.

And you're not going to believe how fantastic it's going to sound!

You will need to apply some EQ, though, to compensate the dipole phase cancellation-- otherwise the panel will sound thin on the low end. The phase cancellation losses begin when the wavelength of the sound is about 1/4 of the minimum width of the panel + baffle (frame). For the frequencies below that threshold the output will fall off at 6db per octave.

Can't wait to hear your impressions!
Charlie

[dochungwell]

Jer, It is funny that you mentioned tubes color the sound. I have been involved for many years building tube guitar tube amps and analog effect pedals, and one of the reasons is that they do not color the sound. In the musicians world analog vs digital has been a topic for discussion for many years an almost unanimously siding with analog for effects, tubes over solid-state, and geranium over silicon for semi conductors, carbon resistors vs metal film etc...

When it comes to music reproduction I don't have enough experience or knowledge base to weigh-in on that discussion. What I can comment on is that when I use OP amp chips in building effects pedals they have a profound effect on sound coloration. A good example of this is when I placed a socket in a distortion pedal I modified to try to capture that Stevie Ray Vaughn sound, the op amp chips made nearly all the difference when swapping them from one to another either adding a bit of distortion (generally desirable), or mid-boost clean sound etc...

Is this belief the general consensus shared throughout the hi-fi community?

Regards,
Jerry

[dochungwell]

Hey Charlie, I agree that EQ will need to be present to shape the sound. The maggies I have sound significantly thin without my subs. I would Imagine this will also be the case with these ESL's. I am still on the fence as to what I will do to resolve the low frequencies, I initially thought I was going for a hybrid build, but after listening to the inexpensive subs an high freq cut-off with my setup I seem to be fine with this configuration.

Jerry

[CharlieM]

Originally Posted by dochungwell

I initially thought I was going for a hybrid build, but after listening to the inexpensive subs an high freq cut-off with my setup I seem to be fine with this configuration.

Jerry

I'm not sure I understand where you're going... do you mean that you want to run the panels full-range (no crossover) and just supplement the bottom end with subwoofers?

[geraldfryjr]

Yes I agree,Jerry,I didn't mean to sound objective or to start a debate as there are many many different factors involved as a tube system can be built to be extremely clean and sweet sounding.

The same goes for opamps as well.

Some do sound different than others in the same circuit sometimes, depnding on the type of circuit and their range of operation.
I found that out when I re-opamped my Fostex 454
I too have built many effect units and that was how I first got my feet wet,I devolped my own version of an octavizer that work great.
I couldn't tell you how many hours it took for me to get it just right! he,he

Personaly, I would love to eventualy setup an all tube system to just listen to music with.

But since I got into recording I have found out first hand how any subtly's in the signal's chain can make or break a mix.
So I tend to trust the dryness (as it has been called) of my solid state amps not to mention that they are fairley powerful.

I used to run them on my Apogee Duette's and they are crystal clear and balanced.
Except now I am down to only one amp, so, I got some repairing too do.

I am curious as to how you have your subwoofer system setup as there have been many deep discussions as to what works best for dipole's.

The system I have now works great and will be over kill once I add 6 more 8" real subs, But I don't have any dipole's setup as of yet.

jer