I like the best of both worlds approach of grading the listening room by time, the anechoic like cleanness mixed with the ambience of the room.
Recordings having reduced ambience are 'here' and it seems right, yet those with ambience have the opportunity to show it. If a performer taps their foot and gives a cue to the floor in the recording chamber it is not overpowered by my room, it's versatile, yet not disappointing either way like some compromises might be.
I totally agree. One basically pays for the nCore and intellectual property. I hope sooner or later the number of this type of speakers will grow among DIYs.
Anyway, has anyone been to Audiofest in Denver to share his experience with Kii?
Maybe not directly for DIY 
...... but
Check out the new Bang & Olufsen Beolab 90 ..... it's like taking the Kii to a totally new level .... 18 ScanSpeak drivers, 18 channels of DSP and class-d amp .....
BeoLab 90 - Bang & Olufsen?s High End Floor Loudspeaker. - Bang & Olufsen
BeoLab 90: Behind the scenes earfluff and eyecandy
Quite interesting ...... but maybe also a bit over the top
...... butCheck out the new Bang & Olufsen Beolab 90 ..... it's like taking the Kii to a totally new level .... 18 ScanSpeak drivers, 18 channels of DSP and class-d amp .....
BeoLab 90 - Bang & Olufsen?s High End Floor Loudspeaker. - Bang & Olufsen
BeoLab 90: Behind the scenes earfluff and eyecandy
Quite interesting ...... but maybe also a bit over the top
I'm trying to wake up this old thread, cause I'm trying to figure out a basic understanding of waveguides.
Basicly - if that is possible with this kind of topic.
If you have a nice and even cross between a waveguided tweeter and a midrange - then is it not just 2 things that need to be in place?
1. The waveguide needs to be the same physical diameter as the midrange.
2. How low in frequency and how narrow the directivity works is directly related to the size of the waveguide/midrange combo.
Am I oversimplifying things? Or is there a "red thread"?
Ok....but how is, let say a Buchardt S400 different - except for the size - compared to for example a Summa - in rough terms?
Does it make sense where I'm trying to get at?
Thor - it's best not to refer to specific products and be more general about design attributes rather than specific models. I have no idea what a Buchardt S400 is (although I do recognize "Summa".)
In general what Allen says is correct, equal size is not a hard and fast rule, but it does tend to be very near the sweet spot. In general if the waveguide is smaller than the woofer, there will be CD problems at the crossover. On the other hand I have made some of my best speakers with a waveguide larger than the woofer. And, in general, bigger is going to be better as a tighter control DI is possible. I find higher DI to be much prefered over lower DI, but in either case it needs to be flat and smooth throughout most of the audible range.
Soi I don;t know if this is "where (you) are trying to get at", but I hope it helps.
In general what Allen says is correct, equal size is not a hard and fast rule, but it does tend to be very near the sweet spot. In general if the waveguide is smaller than the woofer, there will be CD problems at the crossover. On the other hand I have made some of my best speakers with a waveguide larger than the woofer. And, in general, bigger is going to be better as a tighter control DI is possible. I find higher DI to be much prefered over lower DI, but in either case it needs to be flat and smooth throughout most of the audible range.
Soi I don;t know if this is "where (you) are trying to get at", but I hope it helps.
Thank you for your response - highly appreciated
Sorry for taking it for granted - I should have posted a picture of the Buchardt to make a more clear point. In short it is a small speaker that clearly has the same size waveguide as the woofer/midrange. In my limited knowledge of waveguides, I presumed that there was some kind of logic in this design, that could be scaled, so that I could use it in a floorstanding speaker. Righ now I use a typical dome tweeter with my 5" midrange and three 6" woofers to blend with my 4 subwoofers. I was then thinking of putting in a waveguide to make the top end a tad better - even though I do understand, that it can never have a perfect DI - but I hoped that it should be better than a normal dome tweeter design.
Does this picture give an idea of my assumptions of a scaled down Summa?
Sorry for taking it for granted - I should have posted a picture of the Buchardt to make a more clear point. In short it is a small speaker that clearly has the same size waveguide as the woofer/midrange. In my limited knowledge of waveguides, I presumed that there was some kind of logic in this design, that could be scaled, so that I could use it in a floorstanding speaker. Righ now I use a typical dome tweeter with my 5" midrange and three 6" woofers to blend with my 4 subwoofers. I was then thinking of putting in a waveguide to make the top end a tad better - even though I do understand, that it can never have a perfect DI - but I hoped that it should be better than a normal dome tweeter design.
Does this picture give an idea of my assumptions of a scaled down Summa?
It scales in the sense that as the dimensions get smaller the best crossover point moves higher and the DI lower. These have a lot of disadvantages to them, but hey, if size rules over performance then scaling directly may be the best option.
Hate the square edges however!!
Hate the square edges however!!
Hey - looks is always a factor - more or less
But thank you for your answer. It kinda tells me, that I can scale a waveguide - roughly - but have to live with some compromises if do not want a big bulky speaker.
Fair enough - I can go by with that
If I do get curious and want to build something along the Abbbey/Nathan - do you still sell the Waveguide as a kit, or do I have to find something similar in the jungle of waveguide on the market?
The Buchardt S400 in that picture isn't uniform off-axis (1-3 kHz 30 degrees): they didn't go low enough with the waveguide/tweeter.
I'm new to all this about waveguides - so could you please clarify
Cause how are they not uniform between 1-3Khz. What do you see?Yes - I'm trying to learn
Cause maybe I can live happily with a scaled version - or maybe I will have to build something totaly different.
Hey - looks is always a factor - more or less
But thank you for your answer. It kinda tells me, that I can scale a waveguide - roughly - but have to live with some compromises if do not want a big bulky speaker.
Fair enough - I can go by with that
If I do get curious and want to build something along the Abbbey/Nathan - do you still sell the Waveguide as a kit, or do I have to find something similar in the jungle of waveguide on the market?
Looks have never mattered to me. I do what makes the most sense sound-wise. And square edges are a problem from a sound quality perspective.
I don't make anything for sale anymore, I've retired from that.
Maybe that was my first flaw with my own speaker. I tried to make something that both looked ok and also had few issues sound-wise. I am actually happy with the sound, but also like to explore. Heard a unity horn - which I think sound really good too. I see both pros and cons in all constructions.
I got very inspired by Avalon:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Mine are just in two seperate cabinets, with 3 x 6" SS woofers, older 5" Accuton and Seas Excel Magnesium dome - all to keep a more slender look.
Oh - and ofcourse 4 subwoofers - gotta have those subwoofers
But I know that these kind of speakers, can never have that directivity of a waveguide - they just have a little less screw-up when it comes to diffraction.
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