Burning Amp 2025!!

I appreciate the offer, but this is more about laziness than money. If I choose one set of big speakers then they will fit in my truck as long as there's no rain. So is it the Altec A7+variety of horns that is interesting or the 15" coaxials?
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Now that’s drool worthy!

Mine have the same horn but not the Altec VOTT bass bin.

Where are you located? I usually bring a truck.
Yours have sounded great every time I’ve heard them. I’d still like more details about your filters.

Since you’re running 2226 woofers maybe I’ll leave the 416s in.

I’m near Campbell and will plan to load up my truck with them as long as the weather cooperates.
 
Very excited to see the motley crew again! I booked the Best Western this time (Quality Inn was ok last year, but the BW seems more conveniently located).
And a heads-up/PSA: I just learned that the Lagunitas Brewery in Petaluma (just south of the Quality Inn on McDowell Blvd) typically does not have tours on Mondays.
 
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coaxial Vortex 15

Are these the Vortex 15's that DIYSG used to sell for a period of time? If I remember correctly, they were not hot sellers but then Eric mentioned that they were probably the best music speakers that they had. However, at that point they had already slipped through the cracks and were discontinued. They were the under appreciated underdog that could.

How do you like them compared to the big Altecs?
 
Yup, they are the DIYSG drivers and they are spectacular. I have a second set new in box just in case. I think they didn’t sell initially because many people were waiting for a flat pack enclosure for them. Those never really came and Erich just put them on clearance. Attached is their gated off axis response.

Apples and oranges comparison ultimately.

While neither is a small speaker the Vortex works better in smaller spaces than the A7. By virtue of being coaxial the drivers blend within a very short distance. The A7 needs more distance for everything to gel.

The Vortex can also take dramatically more power and produce amazing levels with very low distortion. You don’t notice how loud it is until you realize that you can’t even hear yourself speak. At that point they are not even beginning to be stressed.

The Altecs are no slouches though. With a flea power amp they produce dynamics and scale that my Revel F228Be can’t do even when driven by a strong Purifi amp.

Monstrous dynamics are fun but often unnecessary. I like big speakers partly because I love small simple amplifiers and they work well together. That is true for both of these. A few watts will get either singing beautifully and loud enough for the neighbors to know your favorite songs.

I hesitate to describe their tonality in comparison. They are distinctly different and both are lovely.
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Need to spend a bunch of time on crossovers for all of these but probably wont have time. Any measurement/MiniDSP/Dirac wizards wanna play? I've got a couple of those too. Maybe just some rough passive filters with dsp running cleanup to allow different amps to be easily swapped in?
I’m no wizard, but I could help you measure and dial in your miniDSP filters/EQs if you’d like. I’m in San Jose.
 
Yup, they are the DIYSG drivers and they are spectacular.

Very cool! I have heard that the Altec A7 speakers take a decent amount of distance to blend properly. My dad had a pair in the 70's when he was gigging in a band. His impressions of them were that they were difficult to move...

I have only heard smaller coaxials in a home audio environment but have never had the opportunity to hear larger coaxial drivers. I can imagine that they may have a full bodied sound.

Is that a frequency response of the Vortex?

Thank you for sharing your experiences!

If anybody wants to hear big coaxials I could bring a pair.

I cannot imagine that anybody is going to stop you!