In the 1970s I built a pair of LS/5A clones(they weren't called clones then) using a kit from Wilmslow Audio, or maybe Falcon Acoustics. I have forgotten which.
That was the serious start of my interest in diy audio. I had previously dabbled with full range drivers in concrete pipes and other fun experiments.
I met with Arthur Radford in the early 1980s and bought his drivers and x-over and built his TL speakers. The LS3/5As were sold to a friend and the TLs went to my son, eventually.
In 1991 I bought my first commercial speakers, Apogee Centaurs, which I still have.
When I retired, I pursued the diy hobby rather vigorously, mostly because I enjoy woodwork and have seen quite a few home brewed designs leave the workshop, usually with active x-overs. Also built a smattering of other folks designs such as TABAQ, Frugelhorns and some OBs.
However the speakers I now have in my somewhat small music room and have been there uninterrupted for over 3 months continuous use and, I believe, are the most musically satisfying speakers I have ever owned, and will probably remain there are a pair of Jeff Bagby Continuums with two Ripole subs actively crossed with a minidsp.
I took a few liberties with the cabinets which are made from walnut with 1" thick leather covered baffles and front mounted drivers.
Thank, Jeff.
These little jewels beat the socks off everything I have built to date.
Picture attached.
Peter
That was the serious start of my interest in diy audio. I had previously dabbled with full range drivers in concrete pipes and other fun experiments.
I met with Arthur Radford in the early 1980s and bought his drivers and x-over and built his TL speakers. The LS3/5As were sold to a friend and the TLs went to my son, eventually.
In 1991 I bought my first commercial speakers, Apogee Centaurs, which I still have.
When I retired, I pursued the diy hobby rather vigorously, mostly because I enjoy woodwork and have seen quite a few home brewed designs leave the workshop, usually with active x-overs. Also built a smattering of other folks designs such as TABAQ, Frugelhorns and some OBs.
However the speakers I now have in my somewhat small music room and have been there uninterrupted for over 3 months continuous use and, I believe, are the most musically satisfying speakers I have ever owned, and will probably remain there are a pair of Jeff Bagby Continuums with two Ripole subs actively crossed with a minidsp.
I took a few liberties with the cabinets which are made from walnut with 1" thick leather covered baffles and front mounted drivers.
Thank, Jeff.
These little jewels beat the socks off everything I have built to date.
Picture attached.
Peter
Attachments
What a great testimonial, Peter. Its amazing how good a modestly priced 2 way can sound, especially when matched well with a sub. Just curious, it looks like they are up against the wall. Do you have any room treatment?
Erik.....The speaker was placed close to the wall only to reduce the flash shadow. They are normally 24" from the front wall for listening. No room treatment added, other than 50% floor is carpeted and a soft sofa and recliner.
I have a 30 degree sloped ceiling from left to right and the right speaker required 5db boost at 60hz to closely match the left one. This was done prior to introducing the two subs. Subs are located between the speakers against the wall and crossed at 80hz LR4. I'm toying with the idea of lowering that to 60Hz.
I have a 30 degree sloped ceiling from left to right and the right speaker required 5db boost at 60hz to closely match the left one. This was done prior to introducing the two subs. Subs are located between the speakers against the wall and crossed at 80hz LR4. I'm toying with the idea of lowering that to 60Hz.
So phase matters. the typical thxx crossover is a sealed satellite at 80 hz with 2nd order active high pass and 4th order active low pass to the sub. with the appropriate delay this arrangement can give you an ideal lr4 crossover. doing k
Lr4 entirely in an active stage doesnt result in an lr4 electroacoustically. put your speakers back where you like them and examine the low pass roll off. treat the sub and satellites as part of a single speaker and crossover for the most accurate integration.
Also, eq the sub! Especially look for big peaks to clip.
Lr4 entirely in an active stage doesnt result in an lr4 electroacoustically. put your speakers back where you like them and examine the low pass roll off. treat the sub and satellites as part of a single speaker and crossover for the most accurate integration.
Also, eq the sub! Especially look for big peaks to clip.
So now you have completed the continuum have you fallen out of love with the apogees or are they still waiting on the same things as back in january?
The Continuum is a great design that seems to get rave reviews. I have yet to see distortion measurements from them - has anyone seen such measurements? I have used the AC130F1 in a similar small sealed cabinet (they have quite a large Vas and prefer larger cabinets) and the harmonic distortion just goes through the roof below 150Hz. These drivers are very smooth and flat in response but don't do well in small sealed cabinets. At lower SPL's they work quite well in a transient perfect first order XO:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/280331-fr58ex-ac130f1-micro-fast-3.html#post4466062
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/280331-fr58ex-ac130f1-micro-fast-3.html#post4466062
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Hi,
Zaphs tests don't seem to indicate that. Compare the AC130F1 :
To the next on his list the (highly rated) SB15NRXC30-8 :
rgds, sreten.
The woofer as tested by Zaph is probably an open baffle reference IEC standard? It has no distortion issues in the open - I have same nice result. It's when you put it in a sealed box. I tried 4 samples all but one has issues - manufacturer said the one with lower distortion is the "outlier" and others were normal. I am talking 6% HD at 80Hz with only 90dB at 1m. The outlier had 3% HD at same setting.
One other thing: the manufacturer specs for TS are way over rated. Consistently I was getting Qts much higher around 0.5 (vs 0.3 something) and fs was higher. You are best off not to trust the values of designing a speaker that requires carefully known TS parameters (vented alignment).
One other thing: the manufacturer specs for TS are way over rated. Consistently I was getting Qts much higher around 0.5 (vs 0.3 something) and fs was higher. You are best off not to trust the values of designing a speaker that requires carefully known TS parameters (vented alignment).
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Hi,
Curious result of putting it in a sealed box, I wonder why.
FWIW Zaph measured Qts=0.68, Fs=52Hz, Vas=11L.
But that was ten years ago ....
Sadly the full write up of the Continuum has been removed
from the site. It was a good read, but said things that the
sellers probably prefer not to be said about bass alignment.
rgds, sreten.
Curious result of putting it in a sealed box, I wonder why.
FWIW Zaph measured Qts=0.68, Fs=52Hz, Vas=11L.
But that was ten years ago ....
Sadly the full write up of the Continuum has been removed
from the site. It was a good read, but said things that the
sellers probably prefer not to be said about bass alignment.
rgds, sreten.
Looks great! I did something similar with ash and leather but I rear mounted the woofer. Mine have played steadily in my HT for five years and I often use them as a benchmark to compare my own builds to.
David
David
Regarding distortion in the lower regions; I prefer (subjectively) the tight bass of my scan 15/4531G and Usher 8945A but I find the AC130 to be tighter than a Peerless 830883 and my Energy 22 Conn so I doubt the distortion is too bad but like I say That's entirely subjective.
Interesting. Im using 18/4531 and Peerless 830991. Both pprted. I find the scanspeak much warmeIr, but deeper. Not the same speakers otherwise but I did attempt to match the same listening curve.
I was at Jeff's house listening to his speakers, and he pulled out the Omnimic on the spot and measured the HD of the Continuum. It has very low HD from about 100-20k, IIRC.
Later,
Wolf
Thanks Wolf Teeth. Still I would like to see a published measurement at a reference level of 90dB and 1m.
Not a measurement but a comment from Jeff Bagby answering a query comparing the Piccolos vs Continuums.
I ttried looking up measurements for the LS3/5a but found so many versions, few of which seemed neutral that my head spun. I wonder if there is any Jeff tthought of as the reference. The docs for the continuum on the other hand make it seem like a neutral speaker. i clearly missed the connection.
Best,
Erik
Best,
Erik
I see references to above 100Hz as low distortion - maybe I really can't expect anything better than 6% HD below 100Hz then. But that says you need to high pass it to avoid distortion which gives muddy bass.
I high pass mine as they don't do much below 60hz but even running them full range I've never felt dissatisfied with the bass quality and I'm quite fussy about tight bass. I wonder if the low non-linear distortion above 100 helps to offset what is added in the lower registers.?
Satellites with a sub can sound great when properly integrated. Sadly ive heard very few properly integrated systems. This is why i call subs the devils second child. so much promise but so demanding.
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