Just got a new pair of Mark Audio Alpair 11ms. Beautiful drivers. Thinking about a Nostromo build.
New pair of Alpair 11ms
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I recently had a chance to compare the Alpair 11MS to the Alpair 10P and also the Jordan Eikona 2s.
Alpair 11MS were in Scott's "Water Buffalo" MLTL design
ALpair 10P in the Pencils
Eikona 2s in the compact MLTL 30 design
All were very impressive and had different strengths.
I found the Alpair 10P extremely detailed with impressive DDR. I found the bass a little uncontrolled at times but that might be improved with cabinet stuffing variations. I found this speaker really good for more intimate genres critical listening sessions.
The Eikona 2 was in the smallest cabinet by far but didn't give anything away compared to the others speaker builds. It was the smoothest sounding driver of the three with a huge sound stage! Nothing was pronounced or in your face sounding and yet all the music was still there. The bass was really clean and impressive, especially considering the size of the cabinet. For long listening sessions this driver would be my choice.
The Alpair 11MS was the most impressive out of the bunch. It had incredible detail without sounding harsh and the dynamics were unmatched. The bass this 5" driver produced was almost unbelievable! I had to check several times to make sure my SUBS were turned off. This is a testament to the driver but also a exceptional speaker design by Scott Moose! We played everything from intimate Jazz, electronic trance to the Gladiator soundtrack and it handled everything perfectly! Considering the cost of this driver, I was extremely impressed to say the least!
Well done to Mark and Scott for this amazing driver and speaker design!
Alpair 11MS were in Scott's "Water Buffalo" MLTL design
ALpair 10P in the Pencils
Eikona 2s in the compact MLTL 30 design
All were very impressive and had different strengths.
I found the Alpair 10P extremely detailed with impressive DDR. I found the bass a little uncontrolled at times but that might be improved with cabinet stuffing variations. I found this speaker really good for more intimate genres critical listening sessions.
The Eikona 2 was in the smallest cabinet by far but didn't give anything away compared to the others speaker builds. It was the smoothest sounding driver of the three with a huge sound stage! Nothing was pronounced or in your face sounding and yet all the music was still there. The bass was really clean and impressive, especially considering the size of the cabinet. For long listening sessions this driver would be my choice.
The Alpair 11MS was the most impressive out of the bunch. It had incredible detail without sounding harsh and the dynamics were unmatched. The bass this 5" driver produced was almost unbelievable! I had to check several times to make sure my SUBS were turned off. This is a testament to the driver but also a exceptional speaker design by Scott Moose! We played everything from intimate Jazz, electronic trance to the Gladiator soundtrack and it handled everything perfectly! Considering the cost of this driver, I was extremely impressed to say the least!
Well done to Mark and Scott for this amazing driver and speaker design!
A11ms also in Water Buffalo
A10.3eN in Pensil
Eikona in Hawking memorial.
I too thot the A11ms outstanding. The EnABLed A10.3 outimaged them both, and while the EIkona brought other strengths, i prefereed the A10.3eN. I can’t wait till i get a set of A11mSeN (soon). Hopefully that elevates teh A11ms imagining to that of the A10.3eN then it would be a clear winner.
dave
It turns out we did the taller Sea Stack ML-TL.
http://wodendesign.com/downloads/SeaStack-A11ms-MLTL-010918.pdf
dave
http://wodendesign.com/downloads/SeaStack-A11ms-MLTL-010918.pdf
dave
I'm not Dave, but IIRC they're an MTM using a pair of Alpair 12PW midbass and an Alpair 7.3 as the midtweet, crossed at about 400Hz. Don't quote me re the latter; I think they've had a couple of different filters with frequencies from about 250Hz - 500Hz or so. Either way, should be a good speaker. 
Scott’s got it pretty well nailed- although they’ve now been at Dave’s long enough that he may have experimented with the XO. When I finalized them, they were running on an external passive designed by a third party - not a simple first order as have been most of our PLLXO/active set-ups - but the exact details of which I’m embarrassed to say are now foggy to me. I’m sure Dave has the schema somewhere.
I thought they sounded pretty damned fine, but as is now well documented, I’m constrained for space - which even in moderately generous rooms is still quite possible.
I thought they sounded pretty damned fine, but as is now well documented, I’m constrained for space - which even in moderately generous rooms is still quite possible.
The box is an MTM with 2 A12pWeN in a Woden specified ML-TL. The A7.3eN sits in a near aperiodic midTL out the back. XO is at 250 Hz. We have tried both simple 1st order PLLXO, the active 4th order DSP in chris’s HT, and the passive. All work well.
The passive XO is proprietary, but air coils and proper caps push the parts cost beyond what could be done bi-amping with a PLLXO.
The modeled anechoic response is down to 25 Hz, and the magic of the A7.3eN is improved. The 2 drivers blend really well (better than the, also very good) SDX7/A7.3 WAW.
If one is not worried about using the passive XO the midTweeter can be replaced by the 4” or less FR of your choice. A5.2//3, A7ms, A6.2, will retain the sonic signature.
The speakers in my main system have usually changed regularily, but except for a few changes to do demos, these have remained in the main system since that Sat night in Aug 2018 @ diyFEST.
A number have been built, people are very happy. Plans are available.
dave
The passive XO is proprietary, but air coils and proper caps push the parts cost beyond what could be done bi-amping with a PLLXO.
The modeled anechoic response is down to 25 Hz, and the magic of the A7.3eN is improved. The 2 drivers blend really well (better than the, also very good) SDX7/A7.3 WAW.
If one is not worried about using the passive XO the midTweeter can be replaced by the 4” or less FR of your choice. A5.2//3, A7ms, A6.2, will retain the sonic signature.
The speakers in my main system have usually changed regularily, but except for a few changes to do demos, these have remained in the main system since that Sat night in Aug 2018 @ diyFEST.
A number have been built, people are very happy. Plans are available.
dave
I have Eikonas and the soundstage never ceases to impress me, what do you think it is about a driver that does this?
I've had one of these babies on hand as well. I turned it into a center speaker. Put it in about 13 Liter, tuned to about 45Hz (slot port). It only played for a few hours right now, but it integrates really nicely with KEF R500 and LS50. The color matching of the cone to the LS50 is almost perfect. It is build into an empty spot of an old 60's tube radio (it still works except for the record player), onto which the TV is perched. I still need to finalise the font panel to match the radio though, but that is for later.. I'll first let it play for a while.
I look forward to hearing what you think of your new A11’s, I love the sound of mine but haven’t heard much from other owners of these.
Enjoy making your cabinets
Thanks, looking forward to seeing these in some boxes!
You're right, there wasn't much out there on these. Originally, I was set on the 10P, but I ended up watching a couple of Mark's youtube videos speaking about the xMS drivers and the negative camber cone feature got me interested, so I ended up getting these instead.
They are breaking in now.
Looking forward to see how the A11mSeN compares to the others when you get them done. Do you notice any benefit of the negative camber cone when it comes to imaging compared to the others?