Thanks nandappe, I appreciate your experience with these.
I actively crossover my A11ms to my bass cabinets around 200-250hz so In my particular application, I don’t need any bass from them.
I also own Pluvia 11’s, which I was running as side surrounds in my 7.2.4 multi channel system, however, I’ve recently moved home & can no longer run surround backs, this compromised the “surround bubble” I was experiencing, so I replaced the pluvia 11’s with another pair of A11ms & they work much better, so much so, that I no longer miss the surround backs.
I'm afraid I don't generally do subjective comments; as I often say, what I hear is very unlikely to be what anybody else hears, except potentially on a macro level; we don't always mean the same things by the same phrases and I lack the communications skills of a Srajan Eban or Art Dudly (RIP) to carry that off on a useful basis.
What I can say is that the MAOP11 is based around the Pluvia 11 with deep oxidised cone (i.e. the surfaces are converted to ceramic), tweaked cap & coil, and hand-built to very tight tolerances. The changes alter the frequency response somewhat as the resonant profile of the driver is subtly altered. They generally have slightly better self-damping without significantly giving up outright extension so in general presentation, most regard them as having an improved balance.
Thanks Dave, great explanation, I think the 11ms are great in this respect, if the maop are a step up, that would be impressive.
Translation (i think): It is a smoother driver with less uncontrolled HF stuff.
dave
Since i value this the most, the drivers i typically suggest.
Many of the Mark Audio Alpairs, especially when EnABLed. A7.3eN is really close to doing what my stock MAOP 7s do. It is one of the things that the FExx6 do well in some ways (but with other issues) and the reason people often praise what they do right and live with what they do not.
In my experience the larger drivers tend to have less DDR due to stuff getting buried by the inability to control the cone behavior as the frequency does up.
The AudioNirvana Classic 10 an example with a ripple train of resonances that buries the tiny stuff. The Silver Iris suffered from this too, and it was only a midbass.
But this is not always the case, the Jordan JX150 vrs the JX92.
A good ESL can also have high DDR, but faces the task of finding an amplifier that will driver them and not be heavily compromised into the highly reactive loads. True ribbons do this at HF, likely why many like them despite their issues lower down.
Paper cones, as a generalization will have less DDR as the fibres that make up the paper on the surface of the cone rub together and cause self-noise. I found out that binding the surface layer together with a thin coat of something like PuzzleKoat/ModPodge (BL100 i believe if you are buying a bucket to do a 1000 cones) many decdes ago and have used it successfully on literatly 1000s of drivers.
Unlike EnABL this is something almost anyone should be capable of DIYing. Sometimes is also helping in controlling the ringing up top in Al midBasses. The 5” one Doc Bottlehead used for his 8 driver monstrosity got a whole lot better once this was done, but the need for a tweetr became greater.
dave
Looked at MAOP 11 on the link you provided down thread, it's listed as not available but I was able to put in cart and plug the numbers.
Cost of shipping to the USA makes ordering when available a much less attractive proposition:
SUBTOTAL $853.38
SHIPPING
UPS Expedited™ (3-4 working days) USD 115.36 of taxes & duties are INCLUDED in the cost: $334.00
Wishful thinking, but, perhaps Madisound could get a few drivers for pre-order from the upcoming run of MAOP 11MS drivers ... USA guys, how about sending Madisound request for MAOP 11MS?
I met Mark F in HK shortly after he just walked away, and I was actually there to purchase 16 Jordan J6Ts for my 8 drivers line array + CSS SDX7 x2 project back then.
He told me he was actually expecting to assume the EJ Jordan trade name, as they had a 'gentlemen' understanding, but apparently Ted went behind his back and sold the company to EAD without heads up to Mark.
Somehow when Ted came back with the Eikona drivers, I was surprised, but somehow not surprised he pull the same stunt on EAD yet again.
Steven,
What I can contribute is my experience between the Alpair 10.3M and the MAOP 10 which are both using FHXL boxes.
I have both listened to them for more than 1 year (surpassing also the required 800+ running in hours).
I would say the MAOP 10 better than the 10.3M. The MAOP 10 has smoother highs and mids. Also, the bass is more extended, detailed and impactful with the MAOP10. Even with the big price difference, I am happy with paying more for the MAOP 10.
Also, what I noticed is that the MAOP 10 is easier to drive as I am driving them now on FHXL enclosures with 4 watts of tube amplification using EL84 SET circuitry. And I love what I hear.
What I can contribute is my experience between the Alpair 10.3M and the MAOP 10 which are both using FHXL boxes.
I have both listened to them for more than 1 year (surpassing also the required 800+ running in hours).
I would say the MAOP 10 better than the 10.3M. The MAOP 10 has smoother highs and mids. Also, the bass is more extended, detailed and impactful with the MAOP10. Even with the big price difference, I am happy with paying more for the MAOP 10.
Also, what I noticed is that the MAOP 10 is easier to drive as I am driving them now on FHXL enclosures with 4 watts of tube amplification using EL84 SET circuitry. And I love what I hear.
There is a different version of this story from Ted's side. MarkAudio was a contractor and my understanding is that at no point did Ted intend to hand over the business, so the gentleman's understanding may have been miscommunication or misunderstanding. It is, in any case, water long under the bridge.