Not yet. Got hit with a load of word for my doctorate & a healthy bout of bronchitis, so I haven't even been able to visit my mates a mile or two from the house so far this year, or email most of my others. 
If Marc's free at some point this month, I do want to get up to see him -both from the social side, and also because I really do need to hear these boxes before we can move on to future cabinets. Will let you know when I do.
If Marc's free at some point this month, I do want to get up to see him -both from the social side, and also because I really do need to hear these boxes before we can move on to future cabinets. Will let you know when I do.Hi Chaps,
part of the reason I've been abscent is I've got a new job, its in Blackburn the other side of the country, so I/m in a B&B in the week and travelling across the country weekends back to Scarborough. Life is somewhat hetic at the moment
Sorry to hear yourv'e had bronchitis Scott, its no fun.
So hopefuly when we move (got to be in next 3 weeks) I can get back to some audio enjoyment.
Had a friend over just before Christmas to have a listen to the CC's, he's a transmission line fanatic and also the gentleman who built my amps, his only introduction to the speakers was "I've built some rather big speakers that sound rather nice come have a listen" after he got home and listened to his system he sent me the following e-mail.
sorry I digress, 😉 so he enjoyed being able to easily differentiate between the two.
😀
part of the reason I've been abscent is I've got a new job, its in Blackburn the other side of the country, so I/m in a B&B in the week and travelling across the country weekends back to Scarborough. Life is somewhat hetic at the moment
Sorry to hear yourv'e had bronchitis Scott, its no fun.
So hopefuly when we move (got to be in next 3 weeks) I can get back to some audio enjoyment.
Had a friend over just before Christmas to have a listen to the CC's, he's a transmission line fanatic and also the gentleman who built my amps, his only introduction to the speakers was "I've built some rather big speakers that sound rather nice come have a listen" after he got home and listened to his system he sent me the following e-mail.
An interesting and unbiased review of some of the things that the various people involved with the evolution of both the cabinets and drive units have achieved. And yes he did do the "what am I listening to" look after a 20-30 seconds. He's a Tears for Fears fan and the two lead vocalist sound very similar on other systems (non EnABLed, though reading some of the flack being thrown at those that are willing to Grok EnABL, we are it seams to some Strangers in a strange land, guilty of mass hysteria, but what the hell, we've got the benefits, but maybe if we can get a "Fair Witness" to have a listen we'll get an answer),
sorry I digress, 😉 so he enjoyed being able to easily differentiate between the two.
😀
Plans have moved to another page:
http://www.frugal-horn.com/spawn-plans.html
click on the list of drivers to download the PDF plans.
HTH
james
http://www.frugal-horn.com/spawn-plans.html
click on the list of drivers to download the PDF plans.
HTH
james
bear-hifi said:
Bear HiFi,
I could see what looks to be like Klipsch Forte I or II's in the back. I currently have Chorus II's. The Curvy Chang has peaked my intrest for a while and want to know what you think compared to the Forte's. That is very cool to break out and try something new! Congrats.
By the way, nice job!
Jay
another set
Yesterday afternoon I showed my set of Curvy Changs to the group at DIY Lexington. They had a humble roll-out earlier this summer when one of the tweeters was doa...they did not make a good impression.
The Dayton neo tweeter was replaced.
Since then they have performed well in a dance studio providing the accompaniment for the short people learning their plies & tendus.
The audience couldn't believe they were the same speakers. Granted, they are now painted pink to "disappear" as the dance mistress demanded. However, they are the same as were debuted in July, just broken in now.
Many speakers preceded these during the day. Most of them were more expensive. Many of them had larger woofers.
The bass is outstanding. The balance between the Pioneer B20FU20 and the Dayton neo tweeter is so good (& easy) with just the 2 uF cap that it defies understanding.
Thanks again to Scott, Ron and Dave for making these available.
Yesterday afternoon I showed my set of Curvy Changs to the group at DIY Lexington. They had a humble roll-out earlier this summer when one of the tweeters was doa...they did not make a good impression.
The Dayton neo tweeter was replaced.
Since then they have performed well in a dance studio providing the accompaniment for the short people learning their plies & tendus.
The audience couldn't believe they were the same speakers. Granted, they are now painted pink to "disappear" as the dance mistress demanded. However, they are the same as were debuted in July, just broken in now.
Many speakers preceded these during the day. Most of them were more expensive. Many of them had larger woofers.
The bass is outstanding. The balance between the Pioneer B20FU20 and the Dayton neo tweeter is so good (& easy) with just the 2 uF cap that it defies understanding.
Thanks again to Scott, Ron and Dave for making these available.
I'd like to direct a request to Scott. I want to model the Calhoun with the Dayton DVC8. Could you pm me?
Pink! I'd love to see them.
Must admit I've not been very active on the forums these days, keep reading up on stuff. But on the building side I'm not doing a lot cos I dont need to. Glad to say stil very happy with the Curvy Changs and the enabld fostexes.😀
Must admit I've not been very active on the forums these days, keep reading up on stuff. But on the building side I'm not doing a lot cos I dont need to. Glad to say stil very happy with the Curvy Changs and the enabld fostexes.😀
Working with the dance mistress is a stretching exercise...she's also my wife...so I find I have new limits... 😀
Hey all, this message might be a bit premature - but I've decided to DIY! Over the last week or so, I've been thinking about it quite a bit, and can't deal with the exitement at the moment, Curvychangs are for me... Thank you guys for your intelligence and design work. I won't be starting until late spring this year - and perhaps I've got the wrong idea.. but I'm thinking this would be incredibly fun to 7.1 (because, hey who likes to go overboard amiright?) hmm.. well I'm looking forward to making 2 delicious Curvy's and will read up all'yall's text on this site before I ask any questions... but I have some interesting ideas...and .. exotic wood anyone? 🙂
I'll be sure to post any "in action" shots and we'll go from there!
I'll be sure to post any "in action" shots and we'll go from there!
gychang said:
Hi,
I've been wanting to build a pair, have the parts to build two pair...
The fly in the ointment:
I already have a wonderful sounding system and need a few superlatives thrown my way to help get me motivated. Care to share a few of yours?
I did a volume of the space of the swoopy chang, and is 0.091 cubic meters, or 91 liters (or a bit less for lifting it off the floor, so plenty of space for a 200m driver , probably even down firing? I dunno, from what I've seen people hear from the guy change, they have reasonable bass anyway.
heres a slightly more curvey render, with downfiring woofer?...
Dang, I really like the added visual impact of the curved back. These are just killer looking speakers!
So is the consensus choice in drivers the Fostex 207?
Also, I must have missed it, but what are guys using for tweeters?
TIA
Rick
Well, I bought Bearhifi's Curvy Changs from the second owner in Fort Worth. They didn't sound great in the last owners garage, but they were side by side, and I like a challenge, so I bought them anyway.
Bear Hifi know's how to build a speaker. The fit and finish on these is superb. They have been well cared for too.
I got them home and hooked them up in my garage/shop at about 12 feet apart. Powered with Sansui G6700. Huge improvement spreading them out (duh).
Adding a bit of bass via the receivers EQ helped a lot. It took about an hour to get comfortable. I listened to some Rush Moving Pictures and that was a little overwhelming. The speakers have a forwardness to them in the mids. That forwardness combined with the dynamics of the speaker made it a less than optimal experience.
I put on some Paul Desmond. The mids still sounded funny but then I was surprised with a new sensation. At certain moments in the arrangement the orchestra suddenly sounded very alive and richly detailed. Wow. I was starting to get the magic. Then there was the sound stage, which was very lifelike.
This morning I hooked them to my newly refurbished Yamaha 1040. It was a much better match. Everything got more real sounding. Instead of EQ, I used the variable loudness on the Yamaha at a low to moderate setting. Sounding pretty good from an EQ point of view. Not perfect. I opened the garage doors and got to work on a pair of Mission 770's I am currently refurbishing. . Now I was about twenty feet in front of the speakers.
First on the player: Latin Jazz All-stars compilation sent by my father-in-law. The volume is up and and Cowabunga! There's a percussion section in my garage, and they are JAMMING! Very very impressive! Next up Fritz Reiner and the CSO playing Oterino Resphigi's Fountains of Rome. Equally impressive, but as I get closer and I notice more. These speakers have a way of recreating acoustic space that is unlike any I have heard. The air in the room is palpable. The softly struck gong in a quiet passage is revealing all it's harmonics. Just gorgeous!
Well. Despite an uneven midrange, these are very special speakers. They sounded best on non-heavy rock. Symphonic orchestras, Jazz combos and Jazz orchestras were brought to life.
An interesting impression. Years ago I did live sound for a living. I had a friend with a medium sized Turbosound rig. At one point, while listening to Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark, I felt like I had gone back in time. It was a similar sound. Of course, part of the Turbosound philosophy was a horn loaded eight or ten inch speaker that was crossed over to the tweet above the vocal range.
What to do now. These horns sound way good and certainly warrant more attention. The biggest problem is the midrange unevenness. I have done a little research and am looking at different drivers. I am also considering the Planet10 mod for the Fostex drivers. If I am correct, the Tang Band version of this driver is not suited to this cabinet. I am not a speaker builder so much of the information on this is beyond my ability to perceive at this time.
I would like to try some tube amps on these speakers, but as they are , they really need some sort of EQ. So I may look for a high quality pre with an on board EQ and use a Tube amp for power. I am currently considering Sansui and Yamaha pre's. They have pretty versatile EQ's and should sound pretty good. Or I could go with a high quality passive EQ like the old White, or a URIE.
Any suggestions on either of these approaches?
Bear Hifi know's how to build a speaker. The fit and finish on these is superb. They have been well cared for too.
I got them home and hooked them up in my garage/shop at about 12 feet apart. Powered with Sansui G6700. Huge improvement spreading them out (duh).
Adding a bit of bass via the receivers EQ helped a lot. It took about an hour to get comfortable. I listened to some Rush Moving Pictures and that was a little overwhelming. The speakers have a forwardness to them in the mids. That forwardness combined with the dynamics of the speaker made it a less than optimal experience.
I put on some Paul Desmond. The mids still sounded funny but then I was surprised with a new sensation. At certain moments in the arrangement the orchestra suddenly sounded very alive and richly detailed. Wow. I was starting to get the magic. Then there was the sound stage, which was very lifelike.
This morning I hooked them to my newly refurbished Yamaha 1040. It was a much better match. Everything got more real sounding. Instead of EQ, I used the variable loudness on the Yamaha at a low to moderate setting. Sounding pretty good from an EQ point of view. Not perfect. I opened the garage doors and got to work on a pair of Mission 770's I am currently refurbishing. . Now I was about twenty feet in front of the speakers.
First on the player: Latin Jazz All-stars compilation sent by my father-in-law. The volume is up and and Cowabunga! There's a percussion section in my garage, and they are JAMMING! Very very impressive! Next up Fritz Reiner and the CSO playing Oterino Resphigi's Fountains of Rome. Equally impressive, but as I get closer and I notice more. These speakers have a way of recreating acoustic space that is unlike any I have heard. The air in the room is palpable. The softly struck gong in a quiet passage is revealing all it's harmonics. Just gorgeous!
Well. Despite an uneven midrange, these are very special speakers. They sounded best on non-heavy rock. Symphonic orchestras, Jazz combos and Jazz orchestras were brought to life.
An interesting impression. Years ago I did live sound for a living. I had a friend with a medium sized Turbosound rig. At one point, while listening to Joni Mitchell's Court and Spark, I felt like I had gone back in time. It was a similar sound. Of course, part of the Turbosound philosophy was a horn loaded eight or ten inch speaker that was crossed over to the tweet above the vocal range.
What to do now. These horns sound way good and certainly warrant more attention. The biggest problem is the midrange unevenness. I have done a little research and am looking at different drivers. I am also considering the Planet10 mod for the Fostex drivers. If I am correct, the Tang Band version of this driver is not suited to this cabinet. I am not a speaker builder so much of the information on this is beyond my ability to perceive at this time.
I would like to try some tube amps on these speakers, but as they are , they really need some sort of EQ. So I may look for a high quality pre with an on board EQ and use a Tube amp for power. I am currently considering Sansui and Yamaha pre's. They have pretty versatile EQ's and should sound pretty good. Or I could go with a high quality passive EQ like the old White, or a URIE.
Any suggestions on either of these approaches?
Hi,
Welcome to the forum.
1st some questions.
1/ Post some pics?
2/ are these made with plywood?
3/ drivers are stock?
4/ internal wiring?
Typical tube amps have a high output impedance. This interacts with the impedance of the loudspeaker. As it happens with a typical FR, the impedance curve rises right where the frequency response could use a bit of a boost. With the high output impedance this is exactly what happens.
Try the tube amp.
dave
Welcome to the forum.
1st some questions.
1/ Post some pics?
2/ are these made with plywood?
3/ drivers are stock?
4/ internal wiring?
Typical tube amps have a high output impedance. This interacts with the impedance of the loudspeaker. As it happens with a typical FR, the impedance curve rises right where the frequency response could use a bit of a boost. With the high output impedance this is exactly what happens.
Try the tube amp.
dave
Thanks for your response Planet10.
This is the rig as set up in my den, with the Yamaha reciever. Best combo so far. On the right is a Cary SLA-30 I think. It is an El-84 amp with four per side pushing about 30 watts. Nice sweet sounding amp. I guess I will use the Yamaha as a pre for now since it has the EQ. If the amp without EQ is enough to improve the mids, then I try another pre or two.
Thanks for clarifying the impedance issue with regard to tube amps.
The horns are made with MDF according to Bearhifi, who posted on this thread a couple of years ago. These are the same speakers that he spoke about in the thread.
As far as I can tell, the drivers are stock, except for the addition of a phase plugs.
He describes the wiring as CCC. Not sure what CCC means though i suspect one of the C's stands for copper.
I will hook up the Cary, which is pictured in the image, just to the right of the center channel speaker.
This is the rig as set up in my den, with the Yamaha reciever. Best combo so far. On the right is a Cary SLA-30 I think. It is an El-84 amp with four per side pushing about 30 watts. Nice sweet sounding amp. I guess I will use the Yamaha as a pre for now since it has the EQ. If the amp without EQ is enough to improve the mids, then I try another pre or two.
Thanks for clarifying the impedance issue with regard to tube amps.
The horns are made with MDF according to Bearhifi, who posted on this thread a couple of years ago. These are the same speakers that he spoke about in the thread.
As far as I can tell, the drivers are stock, except for the addition of a phase plugs.
He describes the wiring as CCC. Not sure what CCC means though i suspect one of the C's stands for copper.
I will hook up the Cary, which is pictured in the image, just to the right of the center channel speaker.
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