Indeed. As he points out, every loadspeaker is rife with design compromises and he clearly outlines his.
dave
Alan,
Good to hear that you have made some progress already, and are planning to speed things up. These builds sometimes take (much) more time than initially anticipated, and it is quite normal to get delayed.
Look forward to hearing from you soon! 🙂
Good to hear that you have made some progress already, and are planning to speed things up. These builds sometimes take (much) more time than initially anticipated, and it is quite normal to get delayed.
Look forward to hearing from you soon! 🙂
puzzled
Man, I had to think a while about what was going on in the terminal cup photo. Couldn't for the life of me understand that that was the base and will be holding the crossovers.
Keep the pictures coming Alan!!
Man, I had to think a while about what was going on in the terminal cup photo. Couldn't for the life of me understand that that was the base and will be holding the crossovers.
Keep the pictures coming Alan!!
Slow but steady wins the race..and i am confident Alan will come out as a winner... Godspeed...
Alan, I'm sure you will enjoy this design as Curt / Jim do fabulous work. Curt is a man after my own heart; he squeezes every bit of performance out of his designs without resorting to "fixing" everything with parallel, series, or a combination of cascaded filters to do so.
I haven't heard this design, but I guarantee it will PERFORM!
Cheers,
Greg
I haven't heard this design, but I guarantee it will PERFORM!
Cheers,
Greg
Alan,
How is the Halcyon build coming along?
Just to add what Greg mentioned, I have't heard the Halcyon, but heard the "Finalists" - they were very good.
How is the Halcyon build coming along?
Just to add what Greg mentioned, I have't heard the Halcyon, but heard the "Finalists" - they were very good.
Halcyon progress - one functional speaker
Finally got the time to work on the Halcyons. I got one working. The other is still in the glue stage. I placed it next to the incumbent (B&W 603 S3), plugged it in using the incumbent’s wires, and IT WORKED! What I’m most pleased about is that I have it wired to either be bi-amped or using the crossover as Curt designed it. Thanks to Dave for helping me work through that.
So, how does it sound? Three things:
1. I am not an audiophile, as I’ve repeated above, so I wouldn’t really trust what I say, but my subjective opinion is stated below.
2. It is only one speaker, so I haven’t heard the pair yet. But once I do, it will be harder to do the A-B switch quickly, so maybe having one of each, switching back and forth isn’t bad.
3. The one Halcyon isn’t finished. The baffle has not been rounded, and it is absolutely brand new. I think Dave may have broken in the Alpair 10p a little, but basically the speakers have zero hours on them.
OK, so with the above qualifications, this speaker kicks the B&W’s *** every which way. Every instrument, from cymbal to string bass to females voices sounds MUCH better. Much clearer, more forceful, more definition. The old bromides about hearing things you never heard before bla bla bla - all apply here. I am absolutely amazed at how bad the B&W sounds by comparison. I thought they were pretty decent speakers. Stereophile had very high praise for them back in the day. By comparison, they sound like they are playing inside a burlap sack.
The only note of caution - for those who have spouses who don’t share your audio fixation. These things are HUGE. The B&Ws, which I thought looked pretty decent-sized for a floor-stander, are positively dwarfed by these Halcyons. The good news, at least in my situation, is that they are still narrow and I can jam them almost up to the front wall so they won’t appear that big unless you see them from the side, which is unlikely. And, they won’t stick out into the room any more than the incumbents, so the size is well disguised. I added the last picture to show the size comparison in it’s most unfavorable light. But, if you imagine these speakers being veneered to a walnut, approximately the color of he fireplace tiles, it won’t look any more of an eyesore than the current B&Ws.
Finally got the time to work on the Halcyons. I got one working. The other is still in the glue stage. I placed it next to the incumbent (B&W 603 S3), plugged it in using the incumbent’s wires, and IT WORKED! What I’m most pleased about is that I have it wired to either be bi-amped or using the crossover as Curt designed it. Thanks to Dave for helping me work through that.
So, how does it sound? Three things:
1. I am not an audiophile, as I’ve repeated above, so I wouldn’t really trust what I say, but my subjective opinion is stated below.
2. It is only one speaker, so I haven’t heard the pair yet. But once I do, it will be harder to do the A-B switch quickly, so maybe having one of each, switching back and forth isn’t bad.
3. The one Halcyon isn’t finished. The baffle has not been rounded, and it is absolutely brand new. I think Dave may have broken in the Alpair 10p a little, but basically the speakers have zero hours on them.
OK, so with the above qualifications, this speaker kicks the B&W’s *** every which way. Every instrument, from cymbal to string bass to females voices sounds MUCH better. Much clearer, more forceful, more definition. The old bromides about hearing things you never heard before bla bla bla - all apply here. I am absolutely amazed at how bad the B&W sounds by comparison. I thought they were pretty decent speakers. Stereophile had very high praise for them back in the day. By comparison, they sound like they are playing inside a burlap sack.
The only note of caution - for those who have spouses who don’t share your audio fixation. These things are HUGE. The B&Ws, which I thought looked pretty decent-sized for a floor-stander, are positively dwarfed by these Halcyons. The good news, at least in my situation, is that they are still narrow and I can jam them almost up to the front wall so they won’t appear that big unless you see them from the side, which is unlikely. And, they won’t stick out into the room any more than the incumbents, so the size is well disguised. I added the last picture to show the size comparison in it’s most unfavorable light. But, if you imagine these speakers being veneered to a walnut, approximately the color of he fireplace tiles, it won’t look any more of an eyesore than the current B&Ws.
Attachments
Alan,
Great work and keep going! Curt’s designs are always high performance; he has a knack for delivering amazing results with affordable drivers.
Cheers,
Greg
Great work and keep going! Curt’s designs are always high performance; he has a knack for delivering amazing results with affordable drivers.
Cheers,
Greg
Alan,
Good to see that you have one speaker up and running, and working on completing the other unit. Hopefully you shall have stereo sound soon - good luck!
Good to see that you have one speaker up and running, and working on completing the other unit. Hopefully you shall have stereo sound soon - good luck!
Glad to see your patience and hardwork is now bringing nice results. Eagerly waiting for the time when you can give stereo evaluation of Halcyon speakers. Keep up the good work. Godspeed.
A little more progress
Well, I finally got the second speaker all glued up. Tomorrow I’ll install the drivers and see how it sounds.
In the mean time, does anybody know what is the purpose of these little red and blue attachments to the speaker terminals on the Mark Audios?
Well, I finally got the second speaker all glued up. Tomorrow I’ll install the drivers and see how it sounds.
In the mean time, does anybody know what is the purpose of these little red and blue attachments to the speaker terminals on the Mark Audios?
Attachments
Those are the MA version of the slip on connectors. We never use them, but if you are using welding cable it can make for avoiding melting the basket.
dave
dave
Glad to hear about your progress. It is very interesting,if i am not mistaken, that you have had the scope to listen to the same driver Alpair 10 p in 3 different cabinets...Pensil, FHXL and now Halcyon. I am pretty much impatient to ask quite a number of questions to you regarding the said driver in different cabinets and how sound signature of each cabinet differs from one another.
First impressions of Halcyons in stereo!
Wow! These things are amazing. The B&Ws sound like cardboard box speakers by comparison. I don't know where to begin. I will need to have a lot more time with them. But one thing is for sure, the soundstage is broad, deep, and high. And, strangely enough, it seems like the volume doesn't fall off that much as you move from seat to seat. The camera for this picture is almost at the main listening position, but you can move from one seat to the other and the sound stage is pretty much the same. I heard that full range speakers are "beamy" but these seem to be the opposite, at least compared to the B&Ws that were there up until about an hour ago.
The speakers are also a lot more "punchy". Not sure if that is an audio term, but that's how it feels to me. Each sound has more impact, even at low volume. And, the bass is quite good. I have two pretty good subs in this room, but i turned them off to see the difference. There is a difference, but not one I care about, really. These things go plenty deep on their own. Billie Eilish Bad Boy bass is plenty good with the subs turned off. In fact, I've already turned the subs down 6db each just to stay out of the way a little. Eventually I'll get the REW out and get things harmonized properly, but for now, these seem to go higher, lower, and more middy than the incumbents, by quite a bit.
I hope somebody else will build them and give an more audiophile assessment. I'm sure I will have more useful comments after a few weeks, but for now, it's just a thrill a minute. Like getting a new car. I'm having so much fun with them that I'm dreading the time when I take the drivers out and go through the punishment of veneering or painting or whatever.
Wow! These things are amazing. The B&Ws sound like cardboard box speakers by comparison. I don't know where to begin. I will need to have a lot more time with them. But one thing is for sure, the soundstage is broad, deep, and high. And, strangely enough, it seems like the volume doesn't fall off that much as you move from seat to seat. The camera for this picture is almost at the main listening position, but you can move from one seat to the other and the sound stage is pretty much the same. I heard that full range speakers are "beamy" but these seem to be the opposite, at least compared to the B&Ws that were there up until about an hour ago.
The speakers are also a lot more "punchy". Not sure if that is an audio term, but that's how it feels to me. Each sound has more impact, even at low volume. And, the bass is quite good. I have two pretty good subs in this room, but i turned them off to see the difference. There is a difference, but not one I care about, really. These things go plenty deep on their own. Billie Eilish Bad Boy bass is plenty good with the subs turned off. In fact, I've already turned the subs down 6db each just to stay out of the way a little. Eventually I'll get the REW out and get things harmonized properly, but for now, these seem to go higher, lower, and more middy than the incumbents, by quite a bit.
I hope somebody else will build them and give an more audiophile assessment. I'm sure I will have more useful comments after a few weeks, but for now, it's just a thrill a minute. Like getting a new car. I'm having so much fun with them that I'm dreading the time when I take the drivers out and go through the punishment of veneering or painting or whatever.
Attachments
ujju3doc,
I have not ever heard Pensils, but today I've got two to compare - FHXL and Halcyon. It's really hard, at this point, to comprehend that it is the same driver in both. The FHXLs sound like the kind of speakers you listen to with a 2-watt SET amp and you really enjoy the aesthetics of the experience. I have the FHXLs in the bedroom and I listen to them, sitting fairly close, currently with Amp Camp Amp, all 5 watts or so. Right now they sound like clear parlor music instruments to be savored at modest volume.
The Halcyons, on the other hand, sound like BIG speakers. And I'm sitting much farther away, which is quite a different experience, which I wasn't really aware of until recently. But, they are big speakers, and they sound like it. But the FHXLs aren't exactly small. The Halcyons are currently driven by an amp with 2 400-watt Purifi boards inside and a 1200 watt Hypex power supply. So, it's apples and oranges right now. Eventually, when the excitement wears off, I'll be able to give a more objective assessment.
I have not ever heard Pensils, but today I've got two to compare - FHXL and Halcyon. It's really hard, at this point, to comprehend that it is the same driver in both. The FHXLs sound like the kind of speakers you listen to with a 2-watt SET amp and you really enjoy the aesthetics of the experience. I have the FHXLs in the bedroom and I listen to them, sitting fairly close, currently with Amp Camp Amp, all 5 watts or so. Right now they sound like clear parlor music instruments to be savored at modest volume.
The Halcyons, on the other hand, sound like BIG speakers. And I'm sitting much farther away, which is quite a different experience, which I wasn't really aware of until recently. But, they are big speakers, and they sound like it. But the FHXLs aren't exactly small. The Halcyons are currently driven by an amp with 2 400-watt Purifi boards inside and a 1200 watt Hypex power supply. So, it's apples and oranges right now. Eventually, when the excitement wears off, I'll be able to give a more objective assessment.