Bliesma or KEF?

Which?


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Like it says on the tin. Doing a redesign of something I'm working on (set of monitors). Was thinking of doing an MTM (4" purifis and a T25B tweeter). However, I may have an opportunity to get my hands on a pair of blade uni-q drivers. If I was going for best noise figures possible, which would be the better pick?

(Disclaimer 1. Yes I am aware that expensive drivers do not make a good speaker. Good design does that. This is just a starting point)
(Disclaimer 2. Both work out to be about the same in cost, so not a factor here)
(Disclaimer 3. This will be used with DSP plate amp)
 
The Purifi 4” MTM will have lower distortion and higher dynamic range. There will be higher directivity in the vertical direction, and lower directivity in the horizontal direction.

Compared to the MTM, the SP1815 UniQ will have lower directivity in the vertical direction, but slightly higher directivity in the horizontal direction. On the other hand, the directivity will be symmetrical, and perfectly symmetrical if you put it in a spherical enclosure. One downside is that it will be need woofers to augment them, as they suit a LR4 400Hz crossover.

How this pans out in your particular room and music is difficult to say. You might have to build both and see…
 
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@mayhem13

Do know if Focal use a 2.5 way alignment with their MTM in their professional line?

@BKr0n
How close/far will you be seated. Will you have opportunity set the height such that the reference axis is pointed at the main listening position?

Also, why do you have to choose one or the other? Have you considered a solution like what Genelec have recently done? A coaxial surrounded by midwoofers and augmented by subwoofers:

1725143852095.png


Reference:
https://www.genelec.com/8381a#mz-expanded-view-205806354053
 
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How close/far will you be seated. Will you have opportunity set the height such that the reference axis is pointed at the main listening position?
Looking to be about bookshelf size or so. Small room so I can play with the directivity a little.
Also, why do you have to choose one or the other? Have you considered a solution like what Genelec have recently done? A coaxial surrounded by midwoofers and augmented by subwoofers:
Because even I think that would be overkill lol. The main deciding factor between the two is simply which is the better performer in terms of noise and distortion figures. I already know what the T25B's look like, but can only reference the blade coax from being IN the speaker already and not on its own.
Apologies I refer to Blade META UniQ.
Oh then thank you for correcting me! Will need to ask about that one instead. Would not be surprised if it costs more though...
 
Also, why do you have to choose one or the other? Have you considered a solution like what Genelec have recently done? A coaxial surrounded by midwoofers and augmented by subwoofers:

View attachment 1351092

Reference:
https://www.genelec.com/8381a#mz-expanded-view-205806354053

By all means, that's not a near field monitor! And it's a semi-one point-source. Esp in the very close distance you will still get still interference at greater off-axis positions.
8381A horizontal dir.jpg


As you can see, 30° off axis already drops the level at almost 8dB at 10k. Moving closely in front of them got a very strong influence of the frequency response.
 
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I haven't seen distortion measurements on the KEF, but Purifi and Bliesma are significantly lower in distortion than pretty much anything else available. I have two different builds with Purifi 6.5" woofers and one of those has a T34B Bliesma tweeter. These are by far the best components I've used in any build I've done. The Purifi woofers are far ahead of anything else and they excel in and need small enclosures so I would definitely go that route if it's in the budget.
 
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The best thing about DIY audio is that you can customise your system according to your needs. Everyone is different, everyone has different ear drums and ear drum membranes. What you hear is not what I hear. KEF and other high-end systems exploit the bell curve and appeal to the 68.3%. It is not definitive, especially for the other 31.7%.
 
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The only thing I might suggest differently is a "low profile" (i.e. small faceplate) tweeter instead. There are some outstanding domes from SS with a 62mm diameter faceplate which might help you with overall speaker dimensions.

I don't know Bliesma's product offerings at all, but if they have small diameter tweets too I think they'd be worth looking into.
 
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