Hi Folks,
I'm looking to build a pair of speakers, having previously built a pair of two-way speakers, and I'm interested in going with a full range design this time. In particular I'm quite taken with the Lotus BVR designed by ScottMoose and using the Mark Audio CHR-70 drivers. However before plonking down the cash for the drivers etc. I thought it might be wise to canvas opinions from the more experienced builders/users of full range speakers as to the suitability of these drivers/designs to my room/amp/musical tastes.
Basically they would be used in a room of approx. 4.2m long by 3.5m wide, with the speakers firing across the width of the room and the listening position about 2 - 2.5m from the speakers. I'd be using my DIY all EL84 valve amp running in triode mode to drive the speakers, so about ~5W of output available. In terms of musical taste, 'eclectic' would be about the best description. I listen to everything from heavy metal/rock (i.e Iron Maiden/Them Crooked Vultures), jazz/funk (i.e Jimmy Smith/Poets of Rhythm), hip-hop (i.e Jurassic 5/DJ Shadow), blues (i.e Muddy Waters) to electronica/dance (i.e The Prodigy). I'm not looking for or expecting earth shattering bass from a full range design (especially since a lot of my listening is done in the evening when everyone else in my family is asleep) however I would like to cover the widest range of frequencies possible, at present my current speakers get down to about 80Hz so anywhere below this would be an improvement.
So basically it boils down to the simple question would the Lotus BVR be a suitable option considering my room, amp and musical tastes. Or is there a more appropriate CHR-70 design?
Regards,
Ewan
I'm looking to build a pair of speakers, having previously built a pair of two-way speakers, and I'm interested in going with a full range design this time. In particular I'm quite taken with the Lotus BVR designed by ScottMoose and using the Mark Audio CHR-70 drivers. However before plonking down the cash for the drivers etc. I thought it might be wise to canvas opinions from the more experienced builders/users of full range speakers as to the suitability of these drivers/designs to my room/amp/musical tastes.
Basically they would be used in a room of approx. 4.2m long by 3.5m wide, with the speakers firing across the width of the room and the listening position about 2 - 2.5m from the speakers. I'd be using my DIY all EL84 valve amp running in triode mode to drive the speakers, so about ~5W of output available. In terms of musical taste, 'eclectic' would be about the best description. I listen to everything from heavy metal/rock (i.e Iron Maiden/Them Crooked Vultures), jazz/funk (i.e Jimmy Smith/Poets of Rhythm), hip-hop (i.e Jurassic 5/DJ Shadow), blues (i.e Muddy Waters) to electronica/dance (i.e The Prodigy). I'm not looking for or expecting earth shattering bass from a full range design (especially since a lot of my listening is done in the evening when everyone else in my family is asleep) however I would like to cover the widest range of frequencies possible, at present my current speakers get down to about 80Hz so anywhere below this would be an improvement.
So basically it boils down to the simple question would the Lotus BVR be a suitable option considering my room, amp and musical tastes. Or is there a more appropriate CHR-70 design?
Regards,
Ewan
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Well, no FR based system is ideal for the kind of material you favour; OTOH, I'm often to be found listening to the same myself, so providing you accept the limitations in advance, you should be fine. Room size is OK for them, you'll probably need to have the amp running flat out though as the CHR isn't the most efficient FR driver on the face of the planet, which might be an issue, as I would imagine distortion in your amp will be quite high at that point, albeit possibly of a euphonic nature. Lotus should give a useable 60Hz, and the twin drivers do give reasonable headroom as far as such speakers go.
Thanks for the reply. With regards to the amp, I can always switch it over to run in either UL or Pentode mode so it would be capable of delivering 10-15 W, which I assume might suit the CHR-70 a bit better?
Regards,
Ewan
Regards,
Ewan
Guess it's time to give serious thought to the cut-list and look into ordering some CHR-70s 🙂.
Regards,
Ewan
Regards,
Ewan
You could also consider building Lotus' fraternal twin, Coniston. The EL70 will give at least the equivalent of doubling the amount of power you have on tap vrs the CHR-70.
For your needs i'd recommend the 2 driver ^2 variations to give a more headroom at the bottom.
dave
For your needs i'd recommend the 2 driver ^2 variations to give a more headroom at the bottom.
dave
Thanks for the suggestion Dave. Unfortunately I don't know of any European stockists for the EL70 so I'd be looking at importing them and having been stung for import duty and handling charges on previous imports I'm loathed to do that (to be honest it was the handling fee imposed by the postal service rather than the import duty that I objected to paying, but that's a rant for another time 🙂). The CHR70's on the other hand I can get quite easily from a couple of sources in Europe hence why I was considering the Lotus. And after both Scott and your comments regarding headroom I'm giving serious consideration to pushing the costs of the project out and going for the dual driver version.
Regards,
Ewan
Regards,
Ewan
Thanks for the replies. The CSS stockists I know of in Germany (Breitbandlautsprecher und mehr - SpectrumAudio) don't list the EL70 and neither do Mad About Sound. Though I might drop them an email and see if they could get hold of them as a special order.
Out of interest Henkjan, which supplier in Holand stocks CSS drivers, I haven't come across one in my searches.
Regards,
Ewan
Out of interest Henkjan, which supplier in Holand stocks CSS drivers, I haven't come across one in my searches.
Regards,
Ewan
Just discovered that Spectrum Audio in Germany do stock the CSS EL70, it's just not listed under the CSS section of their site. It was under the news section. Feel quite stupid now 😱.
Regards,
Ewan
Regards,
Ewan
nah, I wouldn't feel stupid if something is not to be found in the place you would expect them to be.
Aad
Aad
I agree. I've built the Lotus^2 and it's magnificent. One of those "will build again" designs...hopefully soon
Having now discovered that I can get the drivers, I think I might go for building the Coniston with EL70's instead of the Lotus. However I think it'll have to be the single driver version as I don't think I could justify to SWMBO or my bank balance the ~£200 for the drivers alone to build the dual driver version 🙁.
Regards,
Ewan
Regards,
Ewan
Hi Ewan,
I am not what you would a call an "experienced builder" but will share my experience with Lotus. I did build some Lotus with single drivers some time ago. They seem to get better and better as the months roll by, and I am extremely happy with them, I'm just so glad I took the plunge in the first place. I don't think you will be disappointed with the accuracy and wide freq range these speakers have, you can throw any type of music at them, they handle it fine IMO.
I've been driving them with a T-amp and a 6L6 push-pull (limited to class A only), I think an EL84 in ultralinear or pentode mode would have plenty of power for these, and you may find 5W in triode enough too, depends on how loud you want it.
With a single driver you have a 4 ohm impedance for the amp, I hope your amp has 4 ohm output taps. With EL70 or CHR70 and Moose BVR design, I don't think you can go wrong.
I am not what you would a call an "experienced builder" but will share my experience with Lotus. I did build some Lotus with single drivers some time ago. They seem to get better and better as the months roll by, and I am extremely happy with them, I'm just so glad I took the plunge in the first place. I don't think you will be disappointed with the accuracy and wide freq range these speakers have, you can throw any type of music at them, they handle it fine IMO.
I've been driving them with a T-amp and a 6L6 push-pull (limited to class A only), I think an EL84 in ultralinear or pentode mode would have plenty of power for these, and you may find 5W in triode enough too, depends on how loud you want it.
With a single driver you have a 4 ohm impedance for the amp, I hope your amp has 4 ohm output taps. With EL70 or CHR70 and Moose BVR design, I don't think you can go wrong.
Hi Ian,
Thanks for the comments and encouragement. My EL70 drivers are currently winging their way to me from Germany 😀
Now for a technical question for Dave/Scott. I'm going to go and get the plywood for my Conistons sometime this week, but before finalising the cutlist I just wanted to check that I'd interpreted the instructions in the plans for adjusting the build to 18mm material correctly. I've attached a few images showing the dimensions of my Coniston main chamber visualised in Sketchup. Do these look right?
Regards,
Ewan
Thanks for the comments and encouragement. My EL70 drivers are currently winging their way to me from Germany 😀
Now for a technical question for Dave/Scott. I'm going to go and get the plywood for my Conistons sometime this week, but before finalising the cutlist I just wanted to check that I'd interpreted the instructions in the plans for adjusting the build to 18mm material correctly. I've attached a few images showing the dimensions of my Coniston main chamber visualised in Sketchup. Do these look right?
Regards,
Ewan
Attachments
Unfortunately, Metric isn't my strong point, & I'm a bit strapped for time at the moment. However, on quick inspection, looks about right, and if you err on the side of caution, you should be fine. Always better to be a little too large than too small (vicar 😉 ); you can always do something about the former.
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