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I honestly think you’re starting out at the wrong place. With a small space of 7’x7’ you don’t need high sensitivity, especially as you have decent power at 15W. In that space you’ll be better with a smaller speaker. It could be a single driver full range, a Cornu wall mounting ‘flat’ horn might be especially attractive, or a bookshelf sized traditional 2-way speaker. Even 85dB is likely to be good.
I certainly hafta ageee with Bigun - thanks, dude - my haste to flaunt my self ascribed expertise, I’d missed quite possibly the most important factor in this whole calculus- the room. I think others posting here did as well?
Have you actually ever heard a pair of Lowthers, and if so in a room the size quoted?
I left this until now to mention - while I’ve heard a scant few Lowther based systems, all have been in much larger rooms, and frankly none where to my taste.
Since this thread started with the mention of Boston Acoustics -a brand with which I was quite familiar during the vintage that the original A series was produced- I’d suggest that something along the lines of the baby A40 would be more than sufficient for this application - scores of them were sold by a local dealer in the mid 70’s with NAD 3020- a delightfully musical 20WPC amp, and I know for certain that many such systems were used in much larger rooms -my own included.
Minidsp or various other approaches to multi-amping certainly have their place, but I think this is definitely a case where less is more.
As will take very little time to conclude from reading my numerous posts, I happen to be a big fan of “full-range” drivers, and there are many moderately sensitive drivers of much smaller dimensions, lower cost, and far less demanding of enclosure size/complexity than the Lowthers. I also happen to not be a big fan of shallow wide wall mounted enclosures such as the Cornus, etc for several of my own reasons, but one of which might be pertinent to this case - focusing of primary listening spot. Your described situation seems to me to be very close to a near-field , desk-top / computer type situation, in which I’ve found 3 - 4” full range drivers in small vented enclosures to shine.
End of rant by crusty old fart - have at it kids.
Have you actually ever heard a pair of Lowthers, and if so in a room the size quoted?
I left this until now to mention - while I’ve heard a scant few Lowther based systems, all have been in much larger rooms, and frankly none where to my taste.
Since this thread started with the mention of Boston Acoustics -a brand with which I was quite familiar during the vintage that the original A series was produced- I’d suggest that something along the lines of the baby A40 would be more than sufficient for this application - scores of them were sold by a local dealer in the mid 70’s with NAD 3020- a delightfully musical 20WPC amp, and I know for certain that many such systems were used in much larger rooms -my own included.
Minidsp or various other approaches to multi-amping certainly have their place, but I think this is definitely a case where less is more.
As will take very little time to conclude from reading my numerous posts, I happen to be a big fan of “full-range” drivers, and there are many moderately sensitive drivers of much smaller dimensions, lower cost, and far less demanding of enclosure size/complexity than the Lowthers. I also happen to not be a big fan of shallow wide wall mounted enclosures such as the Cornus, etc for several of my own reasons, but one of which might be pertinent to this case - focusing of primary listening spot. Your described situation seems to me to be very close to a near-field , desk-top / computer type situation, in which I’ve found 3 - 4” full range drivers in small vented enclosures to shine.
End of rant by crusty old fart - have at it kids.
Hi! Thank you for your honest appraisal, I need this as a newbie.
The reason I’m gunning for a wideband high efficiency driver is because I used to have an Audio Nirvana 6.5” in a br monitor assisted with two active subwoofers crossed via a minidsp (crossed at around 100hz). I liked the sound of this powered by a SET amp. It’s hard to go back once you experience a crossover-less midrange hence my desire to have that.
Heard a lowther in a giant BLH in a hifi show in a hotel room and got to know the limitations of my setup, and I was smitten by the sound.
I’m not against re-thinking my build but the real only major considerations are the thinness and proximity of the new speakers from the rear wall (got married so WAF is now a major factor, and it would be too costly — emotionally and financially — to get another wife hahahaha).
So if this build seems too much for a small room in terms of complexity and “appropriateness”, I can settle for a FAST build with a side firing port and a small sub. I was just under the impression that this build can seamlessly integrate more than my AN BR + Sub combo which I remember tweaking to death so the bass doesn’t seem separate from the mids.
Again the priority for me is to be able to use my SET amp with a crossover-less mid-range and to even out the inherent lean-ness in a wideband driver.
Thanks, do chime in and point to links for your recommendation if it’s no trouble.
Your help is much appreciated!
If you already have two active sub-woofers, you are already half-way to a final system. Select a suitable full-range driver and cabinet and use that with the subs, crossing over at 80-120 Hz and you should be set.
Lowther used to make a smaller, standmount design but the only one I can find now is the Magus
Magus - Teresonic
Lowther used to make a smaller, standmount design but the only one I can find now is the Magus
Magus - Teresonic
Heard lowthers in a hotel room hifi show in big BLH and I was smitten with the sound as stated above.
How so? Only thing I can see as a limitation is a slight “crunchiness” to the high mid which I plan to even out via the minidsp. I used to have an Audio Nirvana 6.5” wideband driver and an active sub setup which may explain my attraction to the lowther.
My father was a fan of the East Coast sound and we had an AR, Large Advent and a boston acoustics bookshelf powered by a Quad 405 and I remember liking the taut, defined bass of these. I just thought (and this might be very foolish) that I can marry the two things I liked (crossover-less mid range and defined bass).
Can you expound more on the drawbacks of the “wide” cabinets? If it has major drawbacks I’m open to other build options with the lowther that can be put near the rear wall. I can settle for something tall and compact that can be near the wall if “wide-ness”, does introduce effects that are really out-there.
I can let go of imaging if i can get a more expansive sound stage.
Thank you for taking the time indulge me.
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Sadly sold those AN's and subs, again due to WAF, and settled for a B&W601 small stand mount (not my cup of tea), hence the desire to acquire another wideband setup.
The Magus seem exceptional but pricey! But I get what you mean for me to settle for decently made bookshelf enclosure for the lowthers and get subs and be done with it. Based on the other's feedback this seems to be a popular opinion instead of pursuing the original post.
Will give all your suggestions a lot of thought.
Thanks
Given the room size, the sub option allows more flexibility to design the Lowther cabinets to fit the room. I assume the shallow cabinet is to allow them to go back against the wall and be more discrete (an approach we've taken for some time with some of our designs)?
Spot on assesment!
Wow this wealth of info is making me question my project!
Would you know any builds like this aside from yours, featuring a Lowther?
But these are on the money!! GOOD JOB MAN!!!
Have a prowl round here
Lowther Fullrange DIY speaker kits. The world's best sound at prices anyone can afford.
There are some bass reflex designs which, with care, could be modified to the shape you're after. You may have to be careful with reflections through the cone though we've found with our drivers that the shallow depth means the reflections are at a higher frequency and easier to damp. The Lowther paper cone may be more susceptible.
This design by Morgan Jones may also suit, although it uses a Fostex driver
Arpeggio Loudspeaker - diyAudio
Lowther Fullrange DIY speaker kits. The world's best sound at prices anyone can afford.
There are some bass reflex designs which, with care, could be modified to the shape you're after. You may have to be careful with reflections through the cone though we've found with our drivers that the shallow depth means the reflections are at a higher frequency and easier to damp. The Lowther paper cone may be more susceptible.
This design by Morgan Jones may also suit, although it uses a Fostex driver
Arpeggio Loudspeaker - diyAudio
I was going to suggest an Allison Three style enclosure but your room is a virtual cube unless the ceiling is vaulted so placement will be tricky re room modes in the LF.
Hmm, if nothing is purchased the KEF LS50 or Continuum II would be good options for a small room.
I'm enjoying the imaging that the coax designs are delivering. While I built my own coax, there are several nice drivers that offer a dome tweeter that would work nicely in a small box with a DSP
I'm enjoying the imaging that the coax designs are delivering. While I built my own coax, there are several nice drivers that offer a dome tweeter that would work nicely in a small box with a DSP
She likes me sitting in a couch listening to speakers that fit her “design sensibilities” and not bothering her as opposed to wandering outside checking out other hotties.
Hahahahahaha!
X2 after 4 decades I guarantee you that "ok honey" or "yes dear" are passwords to marital bliss. You CAN make these look good enough
As I briefly alluded, my rather limited exposure to Lowther based systems was also at hifi shows from 2001 to 2008, in a variety of configurations:- a couple of small back loaded horns (run full range) , front loaded horn with bass bin support (can't recall exact XO points), and by far the best of the bunch was a mid sized OB with 15" woofer support, with tons of requisite EQ and power on the latter. That was a hotel conference room with at least 6 rows of listening chairs - had to have been at least 800 sq ft? Even then, I found the Lowther shout particularly fatiguing after probably 10 minutes.
See above - from my experience with the Lowthers, and numerous Fostex FExx6 series drivers, I'd postulate that the very nearfield listening conditions implied by your described listening space would only exacerbate the "crunchiness" - that could require a lot of parametric EQ to tame.
Not at all a foolish pursuit - this is commonly known hereabouts as "WAW" - essentially a 2 way with lower crossover than would be normally found when employing small dome or ribbon tweeters. I just think the Lowther is simply not the best choice in this instance. I could name several "FullRange" driver makes and models that would probably acquit themselves handily to your purpose; several by Mark Audio (Alpairs, etc), Fostex FF series - which I've heard and built many systems with, and certainly not least the Jordan Eikonas that could be seen in the enclosures posted in one of the photos above - those I've not yet heard, but they've received numerous accolades in these fora.
can I expound? , oh Lordy can my wife and other forum members attest that yes I can, ad nauseam - exemplar to follow 😉, but to the point, my issue is not with wide baffle enclosures per se, rather with the constraints in placement and ideal listening positioning that often occurs with wall mounting. Compact bookshelf / standmounters or even small footprint floorstanding tower types can offer much more flexibility in placement and angling often required .
Soundstage is one of those nebulous buzzwords that can mean different things to different folks, some of whom will maintain it must be in the program material, and that anything that expands on what the artists / recording engineer had in mind or created in their mixing rooms is artifice. Unless we created it ourselves, how we can know exactly what the original should have sounded like is another conversation.
But, not willing to leave that alone, I've always considered soundstage to imply not only the lateral array of "voices", but an enveloping 3D simulacrum extending beyond the physical boundaries of the listening space.
We could be on opposite sides of that one, as I'd be inclined to sacrifice a degree of imaging precision (again, how do we know exactly what that should be?) for a sense of spaciousness that admittedly may be its own artifice.
Good luck with your project. I understand your liking for Lowthers: for many years I used them. They do have (for me) a certain alluring reality, even when one can hear all their flaws. Strange.
If you go down your original path (though all the advice you are getting seems excellent) the chamber for the Lowther does not need to be small, because you will not be using the bass loading of the chamber. A small chamber will be very cramped, with little space to put any absorbent to control the rear radiation. I thought the idea of having the top open worth doing (you can always experiment with a cover on later if you want.) The smaller Lowther units have a reputation of being a bit less uneven in their frequency response, but I personally have no experience of them.
If you go down your original path (though all the advice you are getting seems excellent) the chamber for the Lowther does not need to be small, because you will not be using the bass loading of the chamber. A small chamber will be very cramped, with little space to put any absorbent to control the rear radiation. I thought the idea of having the top open worth doing (you can always experiment with a cover on later if you want.) The smaller Lowther units have a reputation of being a bit less uneven in their frequency response, but I personally have no experience of them.
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