Hi Cilla,
I am apparently no longer signed up for this forum! Truly, I wasn't shunning you girl, at my age I cannot afford to and your avatar is so fetching , I don't want to.
Have you experimented with the mid cone rings yet? We have had a number of brilliant success stories with them and I was immersed in them just a week and a half ago, up in BC, standing on the Planet 10 mountain side.
You should talk Ruth, the planetary goddess, into letting you come for a summer and join the party at the end of August. Victoria is one of the more visually stimulating cities I have been in, such a wide variety of faces and all of them friendly. Plus, a vegan restaurant to die for!
sumadoggie,
I will email you my private email, accept your email and then I can send you the file. Meantime I have attached a text file below with most, maybe all, of the EnABL threads, with a couple of training thread locations. Easy to learn, tedious to do, very well worth the time, even your female companions will like the improvements. I also have pretty comprehensive files, in Corel 10, for all of the PDF sets you will find from the attached text file.
wlowes
Haven't dealt with that speaker system. I assume it has a dome tweeter? If so that can be rather dramatically improved too, as can any other configuration, for that matter. You can get the two to match in transient speed, very near to seamless, and if you also pattern the front fascia, the boxes and drivers will disappear from the sound field and all that will be left is a wall of music with a couple of miles deep back edge, out past the back wall. It will take about 48 hours before the pattern is cured and the driver quits changing and the gloss takes a minimum of 24 hours to cure.
Bud
I am apparently no longer signed up for this forum! Truly, I wasn't shunning you girl, at my age I cannot afford to and your avatar is so fetching , I don't want to.
Have you experimented with the mid cone rings yet? We have had a number of brilliant success stories with them and I was immersed in them just a week and a half ago, up in BC, standing on the Planet 10 mountain side.
You should talk Ruth, the planetary goddess, into letting you come for a summer and join the party at the end of August. Victoria is one of the more visually stimulating cities I have been in, such a wide variety of faces and all of them friendly. Plus, a vegan restaurant to die for!
sumadoggie,
I will email you my private email, accept your email and then I can send you the file. Meantime I have attached a text file below with most, maybe all, of the EnABL threads, with a couple of training thread locations. Easy to learn, tedious to do, very well worth the time, even your female companions will like the improvements. I also have pretty comprehensive files, in Corel 10, for all of the PDF sets you will find from the attached text file.
wlowes
Haven't dealt with that speaker system. I assume it has a dome tweeter? If so that can be rather dramatically improved too, as can any other configuration, for that matter. You can get the two to match in transient speed, very near to seamless, and if you also pattern the front fascia, the boxes and drivers will disappear from the sound field and all that will be left is a wall of music with a couple of miles deep back edge, out past the back wall. It will take about 48 hours before the pattern is cured and the driver quits changing and the gloss takes a minimum of 24 hours to cure.
Bud
Re: Boston Acoustics
I confess that I added the sand at the same time I replaced the wiring, so I can't speak to the impact of the sand alone. I put about 10 pounds in a sealed plastic bag in the bottom of the box under the dampening material.
I forgot to mention that I put an EnABL pattern around the edge of the baffle using self sticking felt. It brought a relaxed clarity although not as dramatic as the 2 coats of Modge Podge on the driver.
Jallenbass - I have updated my profile. I believe email should work now.jallenbass said:
I confess that I added the sand at the same time I replaced the wiring, so I can't speak to the impact of the sand alone. I put about 10 pounds in a sealed plastic bag in the bottom of the box under the dampening material.
I forgot to mention that I put an EnABL pattern around the edge of the baffle using self sticking felt. It brought a relaxed clarity although not as dramatic as the 2 coats of Modge Podge on the driver.
Dave,
Thanks for reminding me about the wedge tweek. I'll be sure to add it. All of your other suggestions have been spot on.
Ed, thank you for the offer to supply Microscale. I'll take u up on it if I fail to find a source in Toronto.
BudP, I'll add the pattern to the dome tweeter. I keep thinking it can't get better but each step moves it up a notch.
Walter
Thanks for reminding me about the wedge tweek. I'll be sure to add it. All of your other suggestions have been spot on.
Ed, thank you for the offer to supply Microscale. I'll take u up on it if I fail to find a source in Toronto.
BudP, I'll add the pattern to the dome tweeter. I keep thinking it can't get better but each step moves it up a notch.
Walter
Hi all,
I was presented with the following just today and thought it presented what EnABL is up to so well I am posting it here.
Re: AN INTRODUCTION TO EnABL
posted by The GAS Man on Mon Nov 10, 2008 9:59 am on another, private, forum. Reproduced verbatim here, with permission of the author
At long last, I am posting the results of hearing what the EnABL modification does for the sound of my loudspeakers. In addition to the EnABL modification, Planet 10 HI-FI, from where I purchased the modified drivers, adds some of their own modifications to further improve upon the raw drivers. Take a look at the Planet 10 website to get a gander at the end result: http://www.planet10-hifi.com/fostex.html
In the past, tweaks have been somewhat of a mystery where you either had to believe in a higher authority to hear the results, or strain your ears and try to convince yourself that you were indeed hearing something. AC power cables fit into that category for me. The EnABLed/Planet 10-modified, Fostex, FE126 drivers that I installed in my Atelier First Horn speaker enclosures left no doubts in my mind of the improvements that have been touted. Sadly, the last First Horn speakers were produced with no firm commitment on a replacement.
Recently, I bought a used Luxman L-590AII integrated amplifier on Audiogon at a fantastic price. Check it out here: http://www.onahighernote.com/luxman/?c=8&id=30 This is Luxman's top-of-the-line integrated so anything less in the system that doesn't measure up won't reveal the potential of this amp. Listening to this wonderful piece of eye candy through the First Horns with the stock drivers was good, but it left doubts in my mind as to value of the Luxman in my system, even at nearly half list price. I waited it out because I had placed an order from Planet 10 Hi Fi before I bought this amp. It would be any day that the order would arrive. And boy, am I ever glad I waited.
The changes brought about with the new drivers was immediately apparent. Piano is probably the most difficult instrument to record correctly and reproduce accurately. It is the benchmark by which I judge because instinctively I just know when it's right. I love Mapleshade recordings and was listening to Chris Anderson's "Love Locked Out". Anderson was the teacher for Herbie Hancock but this recording was nothing like I was expecting. Because of my disappointment it didn't get much play. It was for that reason I chose it as the last music to hear before I installed the modified drivers. Afterward when I played this CD again, the modified drivers drastically transformed the musical message. Notes from Anderson's piano were now more fully developed from hammer strike, to sustain, to decay. Harmonics and overtones could be heard more easily as they rose up from the soundboard and expanded on their way out to wash over me. All the notes up and down the keyboard were now so distinctive that I could more easily hear the separate left hand and right hand play. I also didn't encounter the peakiness that the stock drivers were apt to display. Before, certain notes played resulted in the ice pick-in-the-ear effect. The apprehension from that of bracing myself and wincing at higher volumes faded as I got to know these new drivers. The stock drivers were uneven and lumpy in retrospect. It was also more evident the emotional and dynamic inflection the artist gave to the notes and chords in his halting style as he would start, then stop just as the flow would start to carry me. However, his vocals on some songs is annoying, and meaning no disrespect, it sounds like he was toothless and aged with his singing dissonant from the beauty of his playing. It just sounds wrong. What I heard after the upgrade was more richness and intelligibility to his singing, but nothing could have made it into a silken performance. All in all what I heard was more tonal density and richness with a vibrancy that kept me captivated and enthralled as the music carried me. I was more emotionally involved as I heard the purity of the Luxman being revealed.
An aspect that was a shortcoming in the stock drivers was a small shifting of vocals or instruments located in the center of the soundstage, as if the image was wobbling slightly from side to side. The driver upgrade locked the image more solidly in the center where I didn't have the tendency to shift my head to lock back in.
As I played more Mapleshade recordings I could more easily hear brush and stick work on cymbals, almost as if being able count the number of wires in the brushes. The sound now developed from the undersides of the cymbals as would be seen from the audience, while at the same time they had a more realistic ring and chime quality. Before, they were more diffuse and dull. It was at this point that I wondered if I really needed to install the super tweeters that I once used with the First Horns. The improvement in clarity with the new drivers was significant. Ambience recovery was also improved being better able to hear the studio or club in which the recordings were made.
There did seem to be some minor trade off for the improvements. Upper bass and lower midrange seemed slightly less emphasized with the resonant decay of drum cavities not as noticable as with the stock drivers. The higher notes played on stand up bass were slightly less loud than previously heard. Saxophones notes were also slightly less in the bowl but had more note pad and mouthpiece detail. Again, while noticeable, this didn't detract in my enjoying the improvements and overall performance gains.
And yes, I had to play some Diana Krall because she is a yardstick by which so many in audio judge and evaluate equipment. The new drivers revealed more focus to her voice and removed some of the slowness that makes these recordings so tiresome. She was also more a part of the entire musical ensemble instead of being being spot lit with the accompanying musicians being mere background performers. Again, I heard more ambience recovery than I previously thought was on these recordings.
Since moving to single driver loudspeakers, it has been my belief that all audiophiles should be required to start their quest with this type of speaker. In appreciating the coherence and dynamics that can be realized from a single-driver loudspeaker in the first place, they could then move on to more fully hear and understand what multi-driver loudspeakers can and can't do as they seek improvements to their systems. A lot of frustration and needless expense could be spared if that were the case.
Judging by what I hear, the improvements brought about to single-driver loudspeakers with the EnABL treatment and Planet 10 modifications is an order of magnitude. The single-driver, high-efficiency loudspeaker can now step out of the shadows of being a niche-type, hobbyist's speaker, to that of a mainstream design where audiophiles are able to enjoy and appreciate these loudspeaker's strengths without having to tolerate their weaknesses.
If there were a category in the Grammy Awards for Advancements in Audio Playback, these would get my nomination. Thanks, Bud, and thank you Dave!
The GAS Man
I was presented with the following just today and thought it presented what EnABL is up to so well I am posting it here.
Re: AN INTRODUCTION TO EnABL
posted by The GAS Man on Mon Nov 10, 2008 9:59 am on another, private, forum. Reproduced verbatim here, with permission of the author
At long last, I am posting the results of hearing what the EnABL modification does for the sound of my loudspeakers. In addition to the EnABL modification, Planet 10 HI-FI, from where I purchased the modified drivers, adds some of their own modifications to further improve upon the raw drivers. Take a look at the Planet 10 website to get a gander at the end result: http://www.planet10-hifi.com/fostex.html
In the past, tweaks have been somewhat of a mystery where you either had to believe in a higher authority to hear the results, or strain your ears and try to convince yourself that you were indeed hearing something. AC power cables fit into that category for me. The EnABLed/Planet 10-modified, Fostex, FE126 drivers that I installed in my Atelier First Horn speaker enclosures left no doubts in my mind of the improvements that have been touted. Sadly, the last First Horn speakers were produced with no firm commitment on a replacement.
Recently, I bought a used Luxman L-590AII integrated amplifier on Audiogon at a fantastic price. Check it out here: http://www.onahighernote.com/luxman/?c=8&id=30 This is Luxman's top-of-the-line integrated so anything less in the system that doesn't measure up won't reveal the potential of this amp. Listening to this wonderful piece of eye candy through the First Horns with the stock drivers was good, but it left doubts in my mind as to value of the Luxman in my system, even at nearly half list price. I waited it out because I had placed an order from Planet 10 Hi Fi before I bought this amp. It would be any day that the order would arrive. And boy, am I ever glad I waited.
The changes brought about with the new drivers was immediately apparent. Piano is probably the most difficult instrument to record correctly and reproduce accurately. It is the benchmark by which I judge because instinctively I just know when it's right. I love Mapleshade recordings and was listening to Chris Anderson's "Love Locked Out". Anderson was the teacher for Herbie Hancock but this recording was nothing like I was expecting. Because of my disappointment it didn't get much play. It was for that reason I chose it as the last music to hear before I installed the modified drivers. Afterward when I played this CD again, the modified drivers drastically transformed the musical message. Notes from Anderson's piano were now more fully developed from hammer strike, to sustain, to decay. Harmonics and overtones could be heard more easily as they rose up from the soundboard and expanded on their way out to wash over me. All the notes up and down the keyboard were now so distinctive that I could more easily hear the separate left hand and right hand play. I also didn't encounter the peakiness that the stock drivers were apt to display. Before, certain notes played resulted in the ice pick-in-the-ear effect. The apprehension from that of bracing myself and wincing at higher volumes faded as I got to know these new drivers. The stock drivers were uneven and lumpy in retrospect. It was also more evident the emotional and dynamic inflection the artist gave to the notes and chords in his halting style as he would start, then stop just as the flow would start to carry me. However, his vocals on some songs is annoying, and meaning no disrespect, it sounds like he was toothless and aged with his singing dissonant from the beauty of his playing. It just sounds wrong. What I heard after the upgrade was more richness and intelligibility to his singing, but nothing could have made it into a silken performance. All in all what I heard was more tonal density and richness with a vibrancy that kept me captivated and enthralled as the music carried me. I was more emotionally involved as I heard the purity of the Luxman being revealed.
An aspect that was a shortcoming in the stock drivers was a small shifting of vocals or instruments located in the center of the soundstage, as if the image was wobbling slightly from side to side. The driver upgrade locked the image more solidly in the center where I didn't have the tendency to shift my head to lock back in.
As I played more Mapleshade recordings I could more easily hear brush and stick work on cymbals, almost as if being able count the number of wires in the brushes. The sound now developed from the undersides of the cymbals as would be seen from the audience, while at the same time they had a more realistic ring and chime quality. Before, they were more diffuse and dull. It was at this point that I wondered if I really needed to install the super tweeters that I once used with the First Horns. The improvement in clarity with the new drivers was significant. Ambience recovery was also improved being better able to hear the studio or club in which the recordings were made.
There did seem to be some minor trade off for the improvements. Upper bass and lower midrange seemed slightly less emphasized with the resonant decay of drum cavities not as noticable as with the stock drivers. The higher notes played on stand up bass were slightly less loud than previously heard. Saxophones notes were also slightly less in the bowl but had more note pad and mouthpiece detail. Again, while noticeable, this didn't detract in my enjoying the improvements and overall performance gains.
And yes, I had to play some Diana Krall because she is a yardstick by which so many in audio judge and evaluate equipment. The new drivers revealed more focus to her voice and removed some of the slowness that makes these recordings so tiresome. She was also more a part of the entire musical ensemble instead of being being spot lit with the accompanying musicians being mere background performers. Again, I heard more ambience recovery than I previously thought was on these recordings.
Since moving to single driver loudspeakers, it has been my belief that all audiophiles should be required to start their quest with this type of speaker. In appreciating the coherence and dynamics that can be realized from a single-driver loudspeaker in the first place, they could then move on to more fully hear and understand what multi-driver loudspeakers can and can't do as they seek improvements to their systems. A lot of frustration and needless expense could be spared if that were the case.
Judging by what I hear, the improvements brought about to single-driver loudspeakers with the EnABL treatment and Planet 10 modifications is an order of magnitude. The single-driver, high-efficiency loudspeaker can now step out of the shadows of being a niche-type, hobbyist's speaker, to that of a mainstream design where audiophiles are able to enjoy and appreciate these loudspeaker's strengths without having to tolerate their weaknesses.
If there were a category in the Grammy Awards for Advancements in Audio Playback, these would get my nomination. Thanks, Bud, and thank you Dave!
The GAS Man
Neat graph cuibono!
>>> Since moving to single driver loudspeakers, it has been my belief that all audiophiles should be required to start their quest with this type of speaker. In appreciating the coherence and dynamics that can be realized from a single-driver loudspeaker in the first place, they could then move on to more fully hear and understand what multi-driver loudspeakers can and can't do as they seek improvements to their systems. A lot of frustration and needless expense could be spared if that were the case.
BudP, interesting comment that would trouble many speaker manufacturers. I agree with you. Btw, your Luxman amp looks beautiful and based on what I heard of any Luxman product years ago, it must sound equally beautiful.
Godzilla
>>> Since moving to single driver loudspeakers, it has been my belief that all audiophiles should be required to start their quest with this type of speaker. In appreciating the coherence and dynamics that can be realized from a single-driver loudspeaker in the first place, they could then move on to more fully hear and understand what multi-driver loudspeakers can and can't do as they seek improvements to their systems. A lot of frustration and needless expense could be spared if that were the case.
BudP, interesting comment that would trouble many speaker manufacturers. I agree with you. Btw, your Luxman amp looks beautiful and based on what I heard of any Luxman product years ago, it must sound equally beautiful.
Godzilla
G'day,
I've been quiet on the forum for some time but tinkering in the
background with application of enABL to cabinets.
Here's a few thoughts:
1) For those of you with enABL'd drivers it will add extra magic.
2) For those who are wishing to try enABL but not
ready/willing/able to do the drivers, it will give you about 70-80%
of the sonic magic of enABL without touching the drivers.
3) If point 2 applies to you - enABL your drivers!!
Block material
If you want an easily reversible way to try cabinet enABL, you can
cut up PVC duct tape on a cutting mat to make the blocks.
Norton 'All Weather Tape' is a clear tape and thicker than duct
tape.
You can also use paint if you are familiar with the enABL process.
Stage 1 - External cabinet edges
Start with the baffle edge.
Ideally, select block size based on 4 x baffle width.
Do one speaker baffle, then listen in stereo - it will sound strangely unbalanced.
Then do the other baffle and listen again.
If you like what you hear, do all other edges of the cabinet.
Stage 2 - Internal cabinet edges
Apply the pattern along the edges of all internal panels.
Use the same size blocks as you used for the baffle.
Stage 3 - Internal cabinet walls
OK this is extreme - but wow!
Do this with paint - otherwise you'll go crazy laying blocks!
Fill in all internal panels with the enABL pattern.
Cheers,
Alex
PS - Don't forget to enABL the ports/vents/mouths!
I've been quiet on the forum for some time but tinkering in the
background with application of enABL to cabinets.
Here's a few thoughts:
1) For those of you with enABL'd drivers it will add extra magic.
2) For those who are wishing to try enABL but not
ready/willing/able to do the drivers, it will give you about 70-80%
of the sonic magic of enABL without touching the drivers.
3) If point 2 applies to you - enABL your drivers!!
Block material
If you want an easily reversible way to try cabinet enABL, you can
cut up PVC duct tape on a cutting mat to make the blocks.
Norton 'All Weather Tape' is a clear tape and thicker than duct
tape.
You can also use paint if you are familiar with the enABL process.
Stage 1 - External cabinet edges
Start with the baffle edge.
Ideally, select block size based on 4 x baffle width.
Do one speaker baffle, then listen in stereo - it will sound strangely unbalanced.
Then do the other baffle and listen again.
If you like what you hear, do all other edges of the cabinet.
Stage 2 - Internal cabinet edges
Apply the pattern along the edges of all internal panels.
Use the same size blocks as you used for the baffle.
Stage 3 - Internal cabinet walls
OK this is extreme - but wow!
Do this with paint - otherwise you'll go crazy laying blocks!
Fill in all internal panels with the enABL pattern.
Cheers,
Alex
PS - Don't forget to enABL the ports/vents/mouths!
doorman said:
No idea if it makes a difference (these are waiting for me to search out and find my organ felt to damp the inside basket legs and i figured it wouldn't hurt to get a thousand+ hours on them until i did -- doesn't hurt to have a second set of Fonken kicking around) ... these drivers were more about the extreme basket tricks
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=1649080#post1649080
but when i got that done, i had a canvas that just screamed out for a bit more
This is my personal pair so i said why not... i have a set of FE126 i'm taking to the same extreme for our A126... they are a bit more work.
When am i going to get yours (if you don't want to be out drivers, i have a set of 126 out of an Ed Horn you can borrow (or i can do up and we can swap)
dave
Attachments
Dave: I'm hoping to get down your way before Xmas, (I've got a pair of 108EZ's I canuse)planet10 said:
No idea if it makes a difference (these are waiting for me to search out and find my organ felt to damp the inside basket legs and i figured it wouldn't hurt to get a thousand+ hours on them until i did -- doesn't hurt to have a second set of Fonken kicking around) ... these drivers were more about the extreme basket tricks
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?postid=1649080#post1649080
but when i got that done, i had a canvas that just screamed out for a bit more
This is my personal pair so i said why not... i have a set of FE126 i'm taking to the same extreme for our A126... they are a bit more work.
When am i going to get yours (if you don't want to be out drivers, i have a set of 126 out of an Ed Horn you can borrow (or i can do up and we can swap)
dave
-also got a Jolida 603 cdp for you (limping, but not dead!)
I'll call 1st.
Don
You guys are great!
Dave, rather than wait for felt, you can clumsily, at least in my experience, pattern the cone side of the basket for an equivalent effect.
Pedal to the metal Alex has investigated far deeper into inside of box patterns than I ever have. Single ring set on the inner box wall, to eliminate the reflections from a mid wall stiffening rib is the most I have ever bothered with. Honestly Alex, were you to pattern both sides of the driver, along with all of the other patterns, you will have easily exceeded my personal goals for musical clarity.
Mister Twister, patterning a wall of windows is being contemplated in Hawaii. Patterning of a small band shell has been accomplished with outrageous results, back in the days of D, S & R&Roll.
All of this activity just makes me smile.
Bud
Dave, rather than wait for felt, you can clumsily, at least in my experience, pattern the cone side of the basket for an equivalent effect.
Pedal to the metal Alex has investigated far deeper into inside of box patterns than I ever have. Single ring set on the inner box wall, to eliminate the reflections from a mid wall stiffening rib is the most I have ever bothered with. Honestly Alex, were you to pattern both sides of the driver, along with all of the other patterns, you will have easily exceeded my personal goals for musical clarity.
Mister Twister, patterning a wall of windows is being contemplated in Hawaii. Patterning of a small band shell has been accomplished with outrageous results, back in the days of D, S & R&Roll.
All of this activity just makes me smile.
Bud
G'day Bud,
The impact of the enABL pattern on the internal walls is astounding.
I've been playing with some two way floor standing speakers to
see how far I can push the cabinet enABL - drivers are untouched
so far.
The process has given me a huge insight into how much influence
cabinet diffraction (internal and external) has on the sound of speakers.
Got some ideas for enABL as a room diffuser as well...
Cheers,
Alex
The impact of the enABL pattern on the internal walls is astounding.
I've been playing with some two way floor standing speakers to
see how far I can push the cabinet enABL - drivers are untouched
so far.
The process has given me a huge insight into how much influence
cabinet diffraction (internal and external) has on the sound of speakers.
Got some ideas for enABL as a room diffuser as well...
Cheers,
Alex
Sam
I think Dave has done a pair or two along the way. I have no patterns but would point you to the edress of my photo album which has a lot of different drivers shown EnABL'd. Won't give you the exact tools but will give you a general idea of what you will be facing. I have attached a txt file with all known urls with EnABL info on them and the Picassa web site is listed.
Bud
I think Dave has done a pair or two along the way. I have no patterns but would point you to the edress of my photo album which has a lot of different drivers shown EnABL'd. Won't give you the exact tools but will give you a general idea of what you will be facing. I have attached a txt file with all known urls with EnABL info on them and the Picassa web site is listed.
Bud
Alex from Oz said:G'day Bud,
Got some ideas for enABL as a room diffuser as well...
Cheers, Alex
This one should be a good one!!!
Please keep us posted on you findings Alex. Now if we could combine Bud's EnABL pattern with Alex's idea for room diffuser along with Pdan's touch for making technical things artful - WOW!!!
(and there is always "Optimum edges for speakers and musical instruments" US patent 6334505.
(If I remember correctly I think it was Pdan that fished this one out of the files)