IME speakers with large irregularities in frequency response will eventually start to sound unnatural to me. I prefer a more or less flat response with a slight tilt downwards from about 1k up. I seem to be quite sensitive to resonances in the upper mid to treble region. I had a set of Fostex FE206 and eventually gave up on them because I would occasionally hear a distinct resonance that I couldn't listen past. We all have our preferences and prejudices when it comes to sound quality. This makes it difficult to evaluate all of the reviews and listening impressions for DIY full range systems. Too bad it's so expensive to experiment!
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indeed, that Satori looks quite interesting but reading around there sn’t much apetite for it as a full range.
I've been busy building some of the more recent Eikona cabinets. First up is the 4 driver Eikona transmission line.
OK, not cheap to build but I can't think of a commercial speaker at the build price I'd rather have. They have all the qualities of Eikona drivers that I like, great imaging, very fast bass etc but now they go seriously deep 🙂 Quite a few of my friends have heard these and all seem to be impressed.
More recently I put together the new Eikona SL cabinets together.
Better declare that Colin of EJJ lent me the drivers as he wanted this design testing. I love them and a friend who heard them for the first time last week commented that
Current amp is a Rogue Audio Sphinx 2 which I think is a great match for the Eikonas, keeping a tight grip on the bass while allowing that delicacy to shine through.
Plans for both these cabinets are on the Jordan website.
OK, not cheap to build but I can't think of a commercial speaker at the build price I'd rather have. They have all the qualities of Eikona drivers that I like, great imaging, very fast bass etc but now they go seriously deep 🙂 Quite a few of my friends have heard these and all seem to be impressed.
More recently I put together the new Eikona SL cabinets together.
Better declare that Colin of EJJ lent me the drivers as he wanted this design testing. I love them and a friend who heard them for the first time last week commented that
Current amp is a Rogue Audio Sphinx 2 which I think is a great match for the Eikonas, keeping a tight grip on the bass while allowing that delicacy to shine through.
Plans for both these cabinets are on the Jordan website.
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Joined 2009
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Lovely builds Ian!
It would be nice to see some off-angle response curves for the Eikona drivers - assume that toe-in/out is how you deal with the rising response at 10kHz ?
It would be nice to see some off-angle response curves for the Eikona drivers - assume that toe-in/out is how you deal with the rising response at 10kHz ?
Very nice looking.
I like the bare wood color, for me it is closer to my tan walls.
I assume slightly off axis or a little comb filtering brings any noise past 8khz down on the array.
Grr, I'm getting sucked back to full range drivers lol !!!!!!!
I like the bare wood color, for me it is closer to my tan walls.
I assume slightly off axis or a little comb filtering brings any noise past 8khz down on the array.
Grr, I'm getting sucked back to full range drivers lol !!!!!!!
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Joined 2009
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Good to see new designs coming out. Couple questions. Is that 4 driver cabinet built with 12mm plywood or 18mm mdf? Jordan web page write 18mm mdf or 12mm plywood, but drawing is for 18mm. Probably 12mm is just a typo error.
Do you have idea how are Transmission Line Array compares with Linear Array Reflex and how SL compares to VTL?
Do you have idea how are Transmission Line Array compares with Linear Array Reflex and how SL compares to VTL?
Probably not. I’d prefer 12mm ply to 18mm mdf. 15mm quality plywood is probably a better choice.
dave
dave
Hi Gints,
Another builder on our Lenco Heaven forum built the array and TL and prefers the TL. I have only built the TL - oh and it was built with 18mm baltic birch ply then veneered with maple.
As to VTL vs SL. I had Jordan'JX92's in VTL cabinets for many years and always enjoyed them although the need to toe them in well to tame the treble peak was always needed. Then I popped a pair of Eikonas in the VTL cabinets and the improvement in smoothness was obvious. My memory of the VTL with Eikona is a bit distant now but my hunch is the SL is a better speaker. Easier to build and although on paper it doesn't go as deep it doesn't make me wish I still had the VTL cabinets. I've also built the DCR cabinets with two drivers and I think these are an excellent design if the size of the TL's is a bit off-putting. OK, they lose out a little on bass depth and weight but in all other aspects they work beautifully.
There's a long thread on my and other people's builds here.
https://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=27554.0
Another builder on our Lenco Heaven forum built the array and TL and prefers the TL. I have only built the TL - oh and it was built with 18mm baltic birch ply then veneered with maple.
As to VTL vs SL. I had Jordan'JX92's in VTL cabinets for many years and always enjoyed them although the need to toe them in well to tame the treble peak was always needed. Then I popped a pair of Eikonas in the VTL cabinets and the improvement in smoothness was obvious. My memory of the VTL with Eikona is a bit distant now but my hunch is the SL is a better speaker. Easier to build and although on paper it doesn't go as deep it doesn't make me wish I still had the VTL cabinets. I've also built the DCR cabinets with two drivers and I think these are an excellent design if the size of the TL's is a bit off-putting. OK, they lose out a little on bass depth and weight but in all other aspects they work beautifully.
There's a long thread on my and other people's builds here.
https://www.lencoheaven.net/forum/index.php?topic=27554.0
There is no US reseller for the Eikona 2 drivers anymore. If someone is interested, I have a like new pair up for sale. The only reason I'm selling them is because I'm building closed cabinets and I need more cone area to produce enough bass. Otherwise, these are awesome drivers. I would love to see a 6 or 6-1/2 inch version.
Good luck with the sale. There are no immediate plans for a 6.5 inch version for full-range use. Our recommendation for sealed cabinets would be to use a suitable bass driver with the Eikona and crossover at a low frequency point.
Although we don't currently have a US reseller, Eikonas ship direct from us all over the world and we regularly sell direct to US customers. In fact, our latest blog is a review by one of our customers in Colorado with whom we corresponded closely to help him build his desired enclosure.
Although we don't currently have a US reseller, Eikonas ship direct from us all over the world and we regularly sell direct to US customers. In fact, our latest blog is a review by one of our customers in Colorado with whom we corresponded closely to help him build his desired enclosure.
My design is centered on the full range from a point source, so I want to avoid any cross-over, although I agree on your principle of crossing over low, if I were to do that.
The Eikona 2 is one of the few drivers I tried capable of clean sound when pushed close to x-max. A 6.5 inch version would allow to get rid of a bass driver, at least in near field applications, even with a closed box design.
A single point source, with no electrical, acoustical or mechanical cross-over. That's the definition of holy grail, for me. I hope plans to extend cone area will be considered, sooner or later.
The Eikona 2 is one of the few drivers I tried capable of clean sound when pushed close to x-max. A 6.5 inch version would allow to get rid of a bass driver, at least in near field applications, even with a closed box design.
A single point source, with no electrical, acoustical or mechanical cross-over. That's the definition of holy grail, for me. I hope plans to extend cone area will be considered, sooner or later.
An approach which UK designer Tom Evans developed was to use one of our drivers in a sealed cabinet with no crossover (allowing the cabinet to roll off the bass below 100 Hz) and matching it to a bass unit with a single inductor. Reportedly it worked very well.
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Cool. I'm more interested in the near field application, but it's definitely an elegant approach for a minimalist cross over.
If you cross low enough it's still effectively a point source. The roll off of the speaker is an acoustic/mechanical filter. I have Eikonas in VTL which I sometimes use subwoofers with
That's the common belief. I found that it's not exactly the case for near field applications. If I had a woodwork shop I'd keep the Eikonas and give a try to making a TL cabinet, which to me comes closest to point source.. Still not enough for near field, though.
What do you call nearfield? I'm about 5ft away. If you cross low then subs can be positioned independently to help fight room modes, best of both worlds 🙂