Yes…..very much like the Zaph Za5.5…..just a little wider and taller with more power handling and efficiency. His current Strad placement would give these plenty of room to breathe having the front baffle out about 30” from the wall behind and 4ft to each side wall……..i‘m counting on both placement and the narrow baffle imaging together to best the much more expensive Strads. They won’t have the same mid bass impact that the two 10” Strad woofers have, but i suspect the open soundstage and disappearing act will rise to the top.
Yes…..that was an option as you’ve suggested……and I’ve built quite a few for commercial purposes as stick systems from smaller portable corporate events and mid size for in house club/stage. I’ve prototyped both at home in my workshop and here’s the thing………they never sound right in the mid field……the combing is always slightly evident as you move around a bit and the whole thing never seems cohesive. Of course the clarity and SPL abilities are incredible but…..it always sounds more like a commercial installation than a warm and fuzzy hifi solution…….I know that sounds silly but……I’m an older dude and my personal observations keep getting in the way of progress! Lol-you know, you could go ”array”.
..maybe with a bass driver(s) of any size (depending on the loudspeaker’s depth) on the inward side-panel.
not unlike a more narrow version of this (could even have a SF aesthetic like a tall array version of the Maxima Amator):
https://www.soundstageultra.com/ind...-a-elektroakustik-solitaire-s-530-loudspeaker
The array portion can be a cheap way of getting stellar objective performance as well.
Was this for me?…….haven‘t selected an AMT yet………center to center spacing will be a decision factor as will the desire for high efficiency considering the 4 midwoofers will have an average around 94db 2.83. The B&G/GRS meets both criteria so some research is in order……which of the two sounds better and is either suitable for this system or does the design warrant the far more expensive Aurum Cantus?……..
Most commercial systems featuring these are using a mild waveguide too…..something that I’ll need to explore. I like the overall alignment and the choice of the Signature woofers though so that core will remain. I’m considering a curved sided cabinet as well with multi laminates of 3mm ply or a multi ply using HDF as well…….
The Heissmann DXT-Wave speaker shows a nice way to design an MTM speaker which has minimal width around the tweeter. This shape allows the cabinet to be wider than would otherwise be acceptable.
https://heissmann-acoustics.de/en/dxt-wave/
https://heissmann-acoustics.de/en/dxt-wave/
Yes. I have no idea which one sounds better.
I have only 1 Sounderlink AMT-920 (which is not AMT) and it's intriguing. Some companies who design loudspeakers "by ear" use something looking like this:
The midbass quality is one of the things you'll likely miss the most. IMO, one of the most important qualities a lifelike sounding speaker will have is palpable midbass, which is only achieved with alot of cone surface area. This is why I like large 3 way speakers with lots of cone surface available to play accurately up into the lower mids. It has to pass the live solo cello test, reproducing Yo Yo Ma, which isn't easy for many larger speakers. Most aluminum cone midbass drivers fail this test.
yes!.....i lke that Jim! My initial thought was to do a slab baffle.........1" thick dark Walnut maybe..........i could carve out those reveals.....i like it!!!!!!
I've used many types / brands of planar tweeters in my earlier years and came to the conclusion most of them are put together with little care in regards to even membrane tension. That puts them all over the place in spec with most of the deviation found in the lower mids, where planars distort the most, especially when the membranes aren't tensioned evenly.
Sometimes you get lucky and end up with a good batch of drivers, but often times its necessary to buy a larger amount of these new cheaper planars and have to pick through them to get a decent matching set.
I recommend avoiding planars with clear colored polyester foil membranes and look for models with kapton (yellowish color) membranes. These withstand higher temperatures compared to the polyester material and hold their tension better over time. Kapton film can also be made thinner than polyester (mylar).
The new GRS planars are made with Kaladex, which is a little more heat resistant than regular polyester. Kapton is over 4 x as temperature resistant than PE and Kaladex with a max temp of 350 degrees C. Its internal damping isn't as good as the softer PE, which is probably why Kaladex is the preferred material. It only withstands about 80 degrees C, which doesn't make it hold up well to higher SPLs.
Sometimes you get lucky and end up with a good batch of drivers, but often times its necessary to buy a larger amount of these new cheaper planars and have to pick through them to get a decent matching set.
I recommend avoiding planars with clear colored polyester foil membranes and look for models with kapton (yellowish color) membranes. These withstand higher temperatures compared to the polyester material and hold their tension better over time. Kapton film can also be made thinner than polyester (mylar).
The new GRS planars are made with Kaladex, which is a little more heat resistant than regular polyester. Kapton is over 4 x as temperature resistant than PE and Kaladex with a max temp of 350 degrees C. Its internal damping isn't as good as the softer PE, which is probably why Kaladex is the preferred material. It only withstands about 80 degrees C, which doesn't make it hold up well to higher SPLs.
@mikets42 If you look at the conductor spacing on the membrane, the traces are rather far apart compared to the more expensive brand name planars. That reduces sensitivity, power handling and internal damping characteristics. I'd do some testing first before committing to using them in the final speaker design.
The 4 Signature 5.25" midbass drivers will have roughly the same SD as the single mid and a singe 10 of the Strad.......so yes, not as much air to be moved....BUT the Signature drivers do have a healthy xmax and my design for sealed upper mid/midbass enclosures will replace some of that tactile sensation at ear height....as opposed the Strad which is closer to the floor.
And in both cases, 2 well placed and performing subs with a 1st order low pass starting at 60hz beats em both anyways.
I did quite a bit of testing. for example, sine sweep:
and another example tone sweep (1kHz of variable power):
unlike "standard" cone midrange, odd harmonics decay ~8dB per 6dB of SPL lowering, which is nice.
Although, I would also try GRS's ribbon. Maybe, they are made at the same manufacture ... maybe not, and one is better than another. I have no idea.