Hello everyone,
I was wondering if anyone had ever done a clone of the Energy 22 Reference Connoisseur speakers. I have a pair of the Reference Pro and still like the sound that comes from them. I am recently retired carpenter and looking for a project to keep myself busy so thought this might be something to try.
Any thoughts would be welcome pro or con.
Thanks and happy tunes.
I was wondering if anyone had ever done a clone of the Energy 22 Reference Connoisseur speakers. I have a pair of the Reference Pro and still like the sound that comes from them. I am recently retired carpenter and looking for a project to keep myself busy so thought this might be something to try.
Any thoughts would be welcome pro or con.
Thanks and happy tunes.
A friend of mine has a mint pair of those, and until only about a year ago, I'd never heard them. One of the most under-rated 2-ways in decades - much of the performance owing to that amazing tweeter design.
Aside from the integrated stand, does anyone know that the differences are between the RCs and the "lesser" versions?
Aside from the integrated stand, does anyone know that the differences are between the RCs and the "lesser" versions?
Not a lot of differences. The main one being the much heavier, braced cabinet, eliminating a lot of box resonances. And the slanted front baffle. The crossovers are pretty similar, if not identical, iirc. There was some talk of matched tweeters on the RC, but I don't know if that is true or not.
FWIW, my friend with the Connoisseurs is driving them with a fairly pedestrian by some standards integrated (Rotel or NAD, I can't actually remember) - and using minidsp 2x4 for REW. He maintains that the device is transparent enough in bypass mode to not worry about.
I helped a friend buy those in the 80s when they came out. IME a characteristic of these is a wide dispersion and a hot top end.
To reproduce a similar sound, look for a kit using a 3/4" dome that measures flat on axis. The hiquphon series tweeters have a great rep and wide dispersion.
The Energys had a pretty deep low end for a 2 way, so you'll want to stay ported if you want to approach that sound. If you want poly similar to Energy, Scan 8543 is best Poly I ever used, but I don't know a design that marries the 2 drivers
To reproduce a similar sound, look for a kit using a 3/4" dome that measures flat on axis. The hiquphon series tweeters have a great rep and wide dispersion.
The Energys had a pretty deep low end for a 2 way, so you'll want to stay ported if you want to approach that sound. If you want poly similar to Energy, Scan 8543 is best Poly I ever used, but I don't know a design that marries the 2 drivers
I have a pair and consider them keepers for life. The bass is outstanding for its size and the overall effect is just magical. I have them in my office along with a Nakamichi SR-4A and ES Sony player of some kind. What do you mean by "clone"? Parts are problematic for this speaker. The tweeters have been going bad for years and would be in short supply and there is no real substitute. The woofer is a unique plastic cone with a sewn surround. There is no opportunity to clone. When I have some time, I plan to veneer with an exotic wood. The vinyl on mine has gotten sticky over the years. My plans are to heat gun the vinyl off, spot level, and jump into what would be my first veneer job.
I think it's a great project especially for a carpenter. I assume you'll be taking the drivers from your Ref Pros and installing them into your Conns once they're built. I'm quite sure that the Conns have different crossover specs and I do believe I have a diagram of both. I can double check that. I have a set of Pros and a set of Connoisseur and love them both. I have redone the ferro fluid in the tweeters myself but otherwise both sets are stock. My Conns are oak but would love them to be the piano black finish. Good luck with the project and do post some pics as things progress.
Thanks for all the great reply's.
Well i was hoping there must be some drivers out there today that would match the original or even better them but maybe not. (if there are probably out of my budget anyway)
If that's the case I might just try and find some used drivers on the internet and go that route. Just clone the boxes and make crossovers with new parts. I have seen drivers and crossovers for sale so that might be the way to go. I really didn't plan to rob my drivers from my reference 22's but from the feedback here it might be the best idea.
Anyone ever see the measurements for the Connoisseur, thickness of material and port dimensions too. I would most likely make them from mdf as I have 2 sheets stored from a job I did last year.
I'd be interested how hard it was to replace the ferro fluid shadow59 and any tips you might have. Probably something ill have to consider at some point if using the original tweeters. My tweeters in my reference seem good for now tho so I'll leave well enough alone.
Thanks everyone for your interest, much appreciated.
John
Well i was hoping there must be some drivers out there today that would match the original or even better them but maybe not. (if there are probably out of my budget anyway)
If that's the case I might just try and find some used drivers on the internet and go that route. Just clone the boxes and make crossovers with new parts. I have seen drivers and crossovers for sale so that might be the way to go. I really didn't plan to rob my drivers from my reference 22's but from the feedback here it might be the best idea.
Anyone ever see the measurements for the Connoisseur, thickness of material and port dimensions too. I would most likely make them from mdf as I have 2 sheets stored from a job I did last year.
I'd be interested how hard it was to replace the ferro fluid shadow59 and any tips you might have. Probably something ill have to consider at some point if using the original tweeters. My tweeters in my reference seem good for now tho so I'll leave well enough alone.
Thanks everyone for your interest, much appreciated.
John
If you are going to make a clone, putting just any woofer into a cabinet designed for a specific woofer wont be right. So why not get original woofers and at least your speakers will be the same in the bass section as they were intended. And they're not that costly.
Energy 22 Woofers For Sale - Canuck Audio Mart
Energy 22 Woofers For Sale - Canuck Audio Mart
An interesting project would be to investigate a proper alternate tweeter for the 22. The woofers do come up every so often due to parting out of units with bad tweeters. You could characterize the tweeter and woofer (there is a tester available from Parts Express that might do the job for $99), hunt for a replacement tweeter, learn crossover modeling and develop a tweeter/crossover replacement scheme. Subsequently, build a box to fit the tweeter selected. Discussions abound on the internet regarding replacement tweeters from Sound Dynamics and Audax, but as far as I know, no one has done the extra work of modifying the crossover. I would bet some in the speaker section here would be glad to provide suggestions for tweeters, and even the crossover modeling, but they would need the driver data.
There's a guy selling a tweeter on Canuck Audio Mart right now. He seems to know what he is doing and he has rebuilt it with new ferrofluid. I would contact him if I was interested in having my tweeters looked at. His price for one isn't too bad, considering what I have seen them sell for in non refurbished condition. I have a pair that I had done at API (iirc) just before they went out of business. Still waiting to get them installed and working again. I've got the teak cabinets and I want to do some work on them first. They are open right now, so I could dig them out and try and do some measurements if you would like.
Steve.
Steve.
I have a pair currently. I bought them with working tweeters but decided to get them checked and re done if necessary.Chris Coote did them,he is a pilot who used to work for the company that serviced these speakers.When they folded he bought the parts and jigs used to redo the tweeters. I had mine done October 2016,he was still in business back then.Here is his email chris@abitech.ca. Give him a shout and see if he is still doing them.Cost for me was $226 for inspection,cleaning and re doing the ferrofluid.A refurb is more(new voice coils). Given how good these speakers are the cost is not an issue.FYI, I am driving mine with a Firstwatt F7 (my version) clone,20WPC Class A and that is plenty.Hope this info helps.
Right now I'm using tweeters from Bifa. I used 5 1/4" midrange speakers to house them. I cut the cones out of the midrange, and soldered the spider wires to the tweeter. It's held in place magnetically. I found the speakers in the trash, and the tweeters for $10CAD each from surplus.
I think it's a great basis for a clone. Using 8" woofer, and a tweeter of your choice for cost reasons.
I think it's a great basis for a clone. Using 8" woofer, and a tweeter of your choice for cost reasons.
I had a pair of energy 22's with blown tweeters I spent weeks trying to find a matching tweeter, With the same frequencies and db/m , this is the one that worked Solen Electronique Inc. | D27TG3506 I had to also get a new faceplate machined out of aluminum these are the new faceplates
and this is what the speaker looks like
