| The one |
| I'm looking to build or buy a pair of speakers that will synergize with my gainclone amps. I notice that sakura systems has a single driver speaker that they sell for $1500 :eek: I once used some small and cheap singlr driver computer speakers that had some very interesting properties with the clone. My current speakers are old polks. Has anyone got something that really really like? |
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| EWorkshop1708 |
Should probably post in the full range forum............
Any speaker IMO that sounds good on a chip amp is one with high efficiency, (louder) and also had good clear treble, and tight bass. |
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| Nordic |
| I am still in the process of sourcing a set (seem to have more money available everytime I set my mind on one :) ), but I have noticed a few guys running ribbon tweeters comment that they are able to hear some changes in sounds after tweaks to their GCs which are not apparent on their other speakers.. |
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| Nuuk |
| Monitor Audio GR60's powered by four bog standard inverting GC's. One of the best systems I have ever heard! ;) |
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| Shoog |
Vintage fullranger's -german,japanese or british.
I'am sitting here listening to a pair of Pioneer TS1615 speakers mounted in my work room wall. These are 80's coaxial car drivers and sound simply amazing -very efficient to boot.
You don't have to spend loads of money for good sounds.
Shoog |
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| Nuuk |
Well Shoog reminded me that my Goodmans 201's also sound excellent with the GC's but of course they are not so easy to source! :)
The GC's do like an 'easy' speaker and single drivers with no crossover are the way to go!
The One- this subject has been discussed here previously so a good search should turn up quite a lot of information! ;) |
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| owen |
A pair of Mission Pilastros...
Absolutely mind blowing.
The hifi shop that allowed me to do the dem were astounded at the little gainclone and battery pre combo's performance - subtly beating many amps at the £5k mark...
Owen |
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| Dominick22 |
I have Martin Logan speakers that are nothing short of heaven, but for the money,
I suggest klipsch.
I took my LM4780 to my dealer and tried several speakers. The Klipshc are great for efficiency and the horn really shines with this amp.
A good starting pair is around $200.00.
Price value is HUGE in my opinion.
Dominick |
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| Nuuk |
| quote: | | I have Martin Logan speakers that are nothing short of heaven, but for the money, |
Just to confirm Dominick, the MLs work well with a GC? :confused: |
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| analog_sa |
| quote: | | the MLs work well with a GC? |
Sure they do. You just need a hundred in parallel. |
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| Nuuk |
| quote: | | Sure they do. You just need a hundred in parallel. |
That's what I was thinking and wondering why they were mentioned in this thread! ;) |
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| billabong |
Nordic,
Ribbons are fantastic for the highs. The ribbons though have a shorter life than cone speakers. Enquire about the lifespan of the ribbon before purchase. I used to own Decca ribbons and have Magneplanar MG3s that need replacement (expensive) ribbons.
If you decide on speakers with cone tweeters, audition them first, as many are unsatisfactoty.
Audie. |
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| Nordic |
| I'm seriously thinking of getting some Bohlender Graebener Z1 monitors... |
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| Dominick22 |
NUUK,
Right you are about ML's running well on GC's! I have tried and I blew an LM4780 chip in less than 30 seconds at very low volume and very easy music.
Now I have made it my mission to create a paralleled LM4780 chip amp that can drive these demading speakers. 2 LM4780 chips per channel which is equal to 4 lm3886 chips per channel.
But the reason I mentioned the ML's was to make a value comparison. My ML's sound considerably better than the klipsch's ever will, but I have to pay to get that sound which isn't proportionally improved to the impact they make on my pocket book.
THE BETTER VALUE really is my gain clone running on a pair of $200-$400 klipsch horn speakers. Overall cost is under $1,000 for ALL equipment. IE: Amp, Speakers, wires, CD player, etc.
Lets say that I would rate the quality of sound at 80 out of 100. (My opinion)
Now take my ML system that is running somewhere in the neighborhood of +10k for ONLY the speakers. I would rate the quality of sound at low 90's out of 100. (I beleive I could get better sound with a different amp, but that doesn't matter for this example)
My point is that he could spend $1,000 on speakers, but I truly think that klipsch is the best value under $1,000 especially for a GC that loves efficient speakers.
The klipsch's I looked at had efficiency ratings in the mid 90's. I don't remember exactly what it was. And I have heard of some rated at 98!:bigeyes:
Dominick |
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| Nuuk |
I read you loud and clear Dominick! Those diminishing returns really do have to be considered.
I haven't heard a GC with horns but I suspect that it would be one combination where a low-powered GC would be particularly good! ;) |
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| Bazukaz |
| My personal opinion that the best loadspeakers for now are planars(ESL,other types).Like QUADs.They are very expensive , but have much lower distortion and by far better transient response. |
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| Nuuk |
| quote: | | My personal opinion that the best loadspeakers for now are planars(ESL,other types).Like QUADs.They are very expensive , but have much lower distortion and by far better transient response. |
Have you heard them with Gainclones? ESL's are not an easy load.
The title of the thread is "What are the best speakers to use with a gainclone"! :att'n: |
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| Dominick22 |
Bazukaz,
I agree with you, but like Nuuk said, well-you know.
I just want to put this into larger scale.
I know that ML makes a pair of Statement speakers that are +$100K.
Thats right, the price of a house!
I would love to buy these and I am sure that they sound better than anything I have ever heard, but are they really 90k better than the ones I am currently using? Doubtful.
Once you start getting into the upper end of the high end, very minor improvements will be very costly.
Its the difference between upgrading the tires on your Honda S2000 compared to upgrading them on a Ferrari.
Dollar for Dollar, I still think that Klipsch is the best deal out there.
Dominick |
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| indoubt |
Regarding the high sensitivity of teh speakers: I found my 88db efficient Seas loudspeakers (G17REX/P and seas softdome) to be perfectly driven by my GC (LM3875).
I've tried them on minimoniotors of about the same efficiency (peerless HDS134 & Vifa ringradiator) and they sounded beatiful as well.
Maybe the 330VA transformer and the 20000uf snuberised caps do make a difference but I even tried it on 85-86 db efficient speakers with a great sound.
I also had the opportunty to hear them on 96DB single unit fostex horns, so I know how that sounds as wel.
I know it is said often but I dont think that the GC is in need for very efficient speakers unless you play your music loud. |
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| ajw |
| I am using a pair of the Lynn Olsen designed ME 2s-with a pair of Scan Speak 8" subs...The ME2s are based on the very respected Ariel transmission line DIY speakers which have received many good reviews from all over the world...I am using the speakers for mixing and mastering in a professional recording facility and I am extremely satisfied with the results...The imaging is very accurate and the soundstage is rather large..Although not really necessary-the only change that I will make is that I will bi-amp the system and run identical LM 3875 (premium parts) amps to give me even greater headroom and just have the amps running in "cruise" mode most of the time...The secret is to close your eyes and listen... :) |
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| md_Stryker |
Does anyone have experience with the Notrh Creek Pagasus and a GC?
Or any other North Creek speaker for that mater? |
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| dfdye |
I have the NC CM-77's for my HT setup, and I was pleasantly suprised with the price vs. sound quality of their lower end drivers. Of course these are no where near the Pegasus in terms of driver quality, but remember that Linkwitz recommends a LM3886 based chipamp as a good match for the Orions that use the same mid driver as the Pegasus (different tweeters, and no sub on the Pegasus, obviously. . . ). I know this isn't directly on point, but I hope it helps! :D
Edit: I can't spell! |
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| Russ White |
Lou C's Cryolite design should appeal to DIYers everywhere, and it sounds simply fabulous with every (good) chipamp I have tried so far.
Cheers!
Russ |
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| nodiak |
I have a LM3875 gc (Brian Bell kit) built by someone else ($215 on ebay, I bid $450 just to secure it, couldn't believe it went for so little). It is an integrated and sounds great, as all you would know. I have used Visaton B200's in OB with satisfying bass in smaller room. But the B200 have a rising response that may need a bsc, ymmv. Also used the new Hawthorne Silver Iris coaxial in OB, also sound great with gc. I am upgrading it's xo parts and hard wiring asap, getting rid of the board it's sent on.
Before I received gc was using Teac AL700P with center channel removed, no other mods. I quickly sold Teac after gc produced such strong, dynamic music with even freq. response.
Will be trying Charlize next with same drivers in ob. Have heard good things about Ch with these drivers, but no one else on Hawthorne or other forums has tried gc with them, which sounds fantastic. I highly recommend either speaker if ob interests you. B200is also used in aperiodic if curious.
(Also have dated North Creek"Image" 2 way with Scanspeak poly coned 8543 and 9300 tweeter, but not hooked to gc. Have used NC 5" in mtm and are good for the money I agree.)
Don |
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| Nuuk |
Don, I have been trying to contact you re SMPS but the emails are returned as undeliverable!:att'n:
5.1.0 - Unknown address error 550-'<nodiak at %^&*.net>: User unknown in virtual alias table' |
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| nodiak |
Nuuk,
Ahha, glad we connected here then. I am new to diy amps and am very curious about the smps solution discussed. Just getting ready to assemble Ch. and order battery and charger too.
Contact: nodiak@sbcglobal.net
If that doesn't work (again), I'm a little stuck as am not very computer oriented. Maybe my settings are blocking your reply? Let me know here and I'll get help resolving the problem on my end. Maybe use a friends email.
Thanks, Don |
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| Jerry T. |
I'm using Jean Marie Reynaud XO Mk2 speakers with my GC, which have an 106 DB efficiency. These speakers are often used with Tube-amps, i think they sound very impressive. I must say, i've never owned a high-end set, but from what i hear this must come pretty close.
But now i'm building single driver backloaded horns, and am near completion. In the test setup these horns already outperformed the JMR speakers. I can't wait untill they're finished. :smash: |
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| XELB |
Make: Arpa
Model: Lusitania
( Hand Built in Portugal. They very inovative crossovers )
10.000 € of pure pleasure :cool:
They are very hard to drive but the LM3886 does a nice work :D
( the bass goes down to 2 Ohm :eek: ) |
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| smoken_hot |
Hi The One,
I have recently bought a pair of second hand speakers called Ohm (Walsh series F). The technology is different than the rest. It's an inverted cone and sounds comes out 360 degrees crispy clear with beautifull tight deep bass. (better than my subwoofer!).
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/walsh/micro_2.html
I compared them with a pair of electrostatic speakers which is second hand $10,000 Australian/pair and the sound is not far off!!
http://www.soundlab-speakers.com/tech_dr.htm
Happy speakers hunting! |
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| Vikash |
| quote: | Originally posted by Dominick22
Right you are about ML's running well on GC's! I have tried and I blew an LM4780 chip in less than 30 seconds at very low volume and very easy music. |
Hi, Not sure how you managed that ;) Whilst the GC's probably couldn't be more mismatched to crazy ESL loads, I've tested three LM3875 amps with ML Ascent's at moderate listening levels without blowing anything.
In fact, the rev1 pdaniel/briangt version still out classed a £2.5k AV amp which should have been able to drive them far better.
I'm guilty of only skimming through this thread so I apologise if I'm repeating, but I believe some experienced members have successfully powered difficults speakers with chipamps, and I wouldn't pigeon hole them to certain speaker types so easily ;)
I've used them with TB W3-871 and FR125S single driver monitors and they really sing. Also with some older TDL RTL3's, and they wern't exactly poo sounding on the ML Ascent's by any means.
:2c: |
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| wa4swj |
Hi Folks,
First post in this area.
I don't have a gainclone but I'm thinking of trying one. I mostly have been building tube amps. But as for speakers, I like my Klipsch SF-2's. But also I have to say that you can't go too far wrong with Dynaco A-25's. I am amazed at how they sound. They can be had in the $200 range and are worth it. They are in the 90db efficiency range I believe.
I'm running out of tube projects so a chip amp will likely be next.
Regards to all,
Ed |
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