I will try to get another listen before I go ahead and build them. They are not very common, so finding an owner in the region might be challenging.
Do you have another set of speakers that you use?
Yes, I have a 2A3 PP amp connected to a diy Dynaudio Foccus and a tube CD player.
And I have 2 JBL 705p's with 4 subs for a smooth sound everywhere in the room.
Without exception, people prefer the JBL system and its by far the cheapest system in the room.
As you can guess by now, I'm a recovered audiofool and I'm trying to help other people not to spend unnecessary amounts of money.
And I have 2 JBL 705p's with 4 subs for a smooth sound everywhere in the room.
Without exception, people prefer the JBL system and its by far the cheapest system in the room.
As you can guess by now, I'm a recovered audiofool and I'm trying to help other people not to spend unnecessary amounts of money.
For $50,000 I'd buy an Alpine A110 which comes with Focal speakers...
Alpine A110 Models | Sports Cars | Alpine Cars Australia
Alpine A110 Models | Sports Cars | Alpine Cars Australia
Since this is DIYAudio:
Two 8 foot tall stacks of ESS Great Heils would run about $5,000 USD right now (they are on sale). Run them dipole, with 'wings' to maintain a nice polar pattern as low as practical.
Add a stack of AE Dipole 12's on an open baffle (15's might just look too wide).
Three big (IB?) subs scattered around the room for the very bottom end.
Plenty of budget left for amplification (say, enough channels of Purifi or Neurochrome 386 amps to run everything), DSP for room correction and IIR / FIR crossovers, and a cabinet maker to make the speaker baffles and housings for the Heils with pretty veneers.
Two 8 foot tall stacks of ESS Great Heils would run about $5,000 USD right now (they are on sale). Run them dipole, with 'wings' to maintain a nice polar pattern as low as practical.
Add a stack of AE Dipole 12's on an open baffle (15's might just look too wide).
Three big (IB?) subs scattered around the room for the very bottom end.
Plenty of budget left for amplification (say, enough channels of Purifi or Neurochrome 386 amps to run everything), DSP for room correction and IIR / FIR crossovers, and a cabinet maker to make the speaker baffles and housings for the Heils with pretty veneers.
I think I'd call Earl Geddes out of retirement and commission him to design me a no holds barred synergy waveguide
Well, John Howes (of the Lowther/Voigt Museum) could, and I suppose still can, make perfect replica Voigt Domestic Corner Horns for that sort of money.
That would be an odd thing to do, as he's not a fan of the design, AFAIK.
Why not get Tom Danley to design it for you, since it's his invention?
I'm aware that Geddes is seemingly not a fan of them. I have a sneaking suspicion though that he never dove deeper into synergies due to the manufacturing complexity, and the patents of course. Anything he worked on for the last couple decades had to be commercializable, which the synergies where not.
I think that with the right motivation he could design a synergy better than anyone, even Danley.
Also since Danley is still running his company, I'm not sure it would be worth his time to design a one off for that $$.
Last edited:
I agree he has the talent and the skills.
Earl did follow along with some builds just a few years ago. In my interpretation he was accepting of the potential performance shown in the measurements.
On the other hand, when you can get a single driver/waveguide to do well below 1kHz, it begins to matter less..
Earl did follow along with some builds just a few years ago. In my interpretation he was accepting of the potential performance shown in the measurements.
On the other hand, when you can get a single driver/waveguide to do well below 1kHz, it begins to matter less..
Another entry, I'd like to try "experimental" speakers, such as a 2d array of small drivers, and a camera that tracks your ears and does a phased array thing where all the drivers of each speaker end up in phase at each ear.
Recent posts make me wish I could consult with (among others) the late Mr. Linkwitz. Would cross country (or even international) trips to consult with well-known speaker designers get paid for out of the $50,000?
Recent posts make me wish I could consult with (among others) the late Mr. Linkwitz. Would cross country (or even international) trips to consult with well-known speaker designers get paid for out of the $50,000?
I could/would never spend $50k on a pair of loudspeakers. If I had millions to burn I figure I could spend about 7~10k $ maximum for a single pair BUT I'd have 5 or 6 different pairs so your $50k might not suffice.🙂
Having a general understanding of what it takes to design and make good loud speakers, I'd never spend $50k on a set. At most, I think I'd buy a $5k, and would still be skeptical over why they are 'better' than a $1k set. I'd be quite happy buying some JL C7 speakers, designing my own crossover or running them active at home, and building my own cabinets.
How can you thinks about a rational guy when you expect to spend an irrational amount of money ?
If I had $50K to spend only on speakers - and a room that was worth it - I'd go with a set of W.E. style horns from Sven at Hornsolutions creates the extraordinary. Combine the past and the future. - Our philosophy and showrooms. A set of their 666 drivers, a good wooden midrange horn with maybe a TAD driver.
Put those on top of a pair of sand filled Onken W bass cabinets and that would be a system hard to beat. If there was enough money left, maybe do 4 Onken W cabinets.
Put those on top of a pair of sand filled Onken W bass cabinets and that would be a system hard to beat. If there was enough money left, maybe do 4 Onken W cabinets.