A little background on myself, I have been messing around with audio for about 20 years now. Building speakers then amps (tube and SS), then speakers then amps etc. Currently my system is a PP Class A 6B4G tube amp, a passive transformer volume control, and either my FE167E / Alpha 15a OB or my old Essence Gems.
Well for a while now I have been thinking about building a new set of speakers. I am just unsure which direction to go with them.
Either:
A) Radian 5208c with a Beyma 10G40 or 10WRS300. Run the Radian in a sealed enclosure and the Beyma below. Helps with bass and BSC.
B) Beyma 15XA38ND – unsure of enclosure in this one… as I have seen quite a number: MLTL, BR, Back Horn.
C) 2x10HPL64 with DE250 horn in RCF H100. 2.5way
D) Mark Audio or equivalent. Single driver. Gets rid of the xover but not as efficient as above.
So what I am looking for is a consensus of what direction I should go. I will be keeping with low power amps… either tube or SS amps.
Advantages or Disadvantages of the above?
Thank you for any help!!
Well for a while now I have been thinking about building a new set of speakers. I am just unsure which direction to go with them.
Either:
A) Radian 5208c with a Beyma 10G40 or 10WRS300. Run the Radian in a sealed enclosure and the Beyma below. Helps with bass and BSC.
B) Beyma 15XA38ND – unsure of enclosure in this one… as I have seen quite a number: MLTL, BR, Back Horn.
C) 2x10HPL64 with DE250 horn in RCF H100. 2.5way
D) Mark Audio or equivalent. Single driver. Gets rid of the xover but not as efficient as above.
So what I am looking for is a consensus of what direction I should go. I will be keeping with low power amps… either tube or SS amps.
Advantages or Disadvantages of the above?
Thank you for any help!!
I think the Radian coaxial is your best route if you play at moderate level.
the 15" beyma won't give you the midrange clarity a small 8" can and the 10g40 woofer shall be moved up to a 12 or 15" subwoofer if you want real bass.
Try to go active DSP crossover if you can, huge gain to be made here.
the 15" beyma won't give you the midrange clarity a small 8" can and the 10g40 woofer shall be moved up to a 12 or 15" subwoofer if you want real bass.
Try to go active DSP crossover if you can, huge gain to be made here.
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should I use sealed for the radian? I want to run the 10" as low as I can. For now a passive crossover is what I want to do.. even thought about a series crossover. There is a good schematic of a series for the Radian somewhere here. Or do OB on the Radian?
I’d be partial to a set of MA A10p in something like FHXL or Pensil. I am well familar with the FE167 & the Alpha 15 (not together thou). I’m pretty sure you would find this a significant upgrade.
I bet your amp is pretty good. This Class A 6B4G PP is one of the best amps i have heard. It would be a good match to the A10p (or better yet A10PeN).
dave
I bet your amp is pretty good. This Class A 6B4G PP is one of the best amps i have heard. It would be a good match to the A10p (or better yet A10PeN).
dave
Without a better idea of specific goals / application for your new system, look forward to a barrage of well intended, but perhaps irrelevant advice
There's quite a range from an Alpair single FR driver system to the Radian / Beyma combinations listed.
John Ferguson's (?) 6BG4 amp was quite wonderful, and depending on how "low" you mean power wise, there are quite a few very decent sounding class D, or even chip amp designs that might be worth considering. At last count, I've heard 5 different Class Ds I quite liked - and a couple on which I'd pass - and Tom Christiansen's LM3886 implementations are very well engineered.
There's quite a range from an Alpair single FR driver system to the Radian / Beyma combinations listed.
John Ferguson's (?) 6BG4 amp was quite wonderful, and depending on how "low" you mean power wise, there are quite a few very decent sounding class D, or even chip amp designs that might be worth considering. At last count, I've heard 5 different Class Ds I quite liked - and a couple on which I'd pass - and Tom Christiansen's LM3886 implementations are very well engineered.
I know its quite a range. I do like the single driver ... low crossover count solution... but also the high efficiency effortlessness of other systems. So I am torn.
The mark audio route would be cheaper... but the Radian or Beyma option would be a killer system.
5-10 W of power is all. I have done a SE Class A 6b4g that had 3.5W which sounded sublime.
The mark audio route would be cheaper... but the Radian or Beyma option would be a killer system.
5-10 W of power is all. I have done a SE Class A 6b4g that had 3.5W which sounded sublime.
I have been using Pass ACA of late… you’d (almost) never know it is only 6W. Bet your amp is the same.
dave
dave
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I've used coaxial drivers with mixed results. While there are some successfully implementations, they tend to have very involved crossover networks, equalization filters, etc.
http://www.diysoundgroup.com/waveguide-speaker-kits.html
http://www.diysoundgroup.com/waveguide-speaker-kits.html
My future route for amp is a 47 cap coupled to 300B amp. Adjust the 47's screen voltage to get some decent gain out of it.
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There are a lot of Audio Nirvana drivers out there and they have changed over the years so you gotta wade through the comments carefully.
Many of the older stamped frame drivers were shouty and had those issues commonly associated with large stamped frames. You will find mixed reviews about those. I think most of their drivers now use the cast frames which are much better.
Still, many of the drivers have ragged treble response, the sizes you'd think would be most popular, i.e. around 6.5 inch or slightly larger are bad for this reason. Some people are less sensitive to ragged treble and love the hyper-clarity that they perceive from it, some will use plenty of toe-in to push the treble peaks off their listening axis and yet others, like me, can't stand it. I really DETEST and can't live with any treble harshness. The Fostex 127E almost killed my interest in full range for good.
And then there are some recent drivers called the Classic Range which ditch the whizzer and phase plug - a recipe for poor dispersion at high frequencies so some mixed reviews can be anticipated there from the larger drivers.
My driver is the cast frame Super 15" driver, with whizzer cone and phase plug, which I believe is the diamond in the rough of the Audio Nirvana range. It is simply superb in my opinion. It isn't perfect, I find that directly on-axis the treble response isn't properly balanced but you gotta sit facing down the barrel of the driver to detect this. It has amazing deep bass and mid-range clarity and very good treble dispersion. Bud Purvine (inventor of eNable) was similarly impressed with this driver.
I've also built Pencils with the MA 10.3 driver. This is a very nice driver. The upper mids and treble are more coherent than the Audio Nirvana 15" because it does not have the mechanical cross-over of a whizzer cone but the deep and dynamic bass of the Audio Nirvana provide music with a strong foundation and gives up very little in terms of mid-range that for me the 15" cone is the better compromise for my listening space. Were I looking for smaller sized speakers than the 15" cones need, the MA 10.3 would be high on my list.
YMMV
Many of the older stamped frame drivers were shouty and had those issues commonly associated with large stamped frames. You will find mixed reviews about those. I think most of their drivers now use the cast frames which are much better.
Still, many of the drivers have ragged treble response, the sizes you'd think would be most popular, i.e. around 6.5 inch or slightly larger are bad for this reason. Some people are less sensitive to ragged treble and love the hyper-clarity that they perceive from it, some will use plenty of toe-in to push the treble peaks off their listening axis and yet others, like me, can't stand it. I really DETEST and can't live with any treble harshness. The Fostex 127E almost killed my interest in full range for good.
And then there are some recent drivers called the Classic Range which ditch the whizzer and phase plug - a recipe for poor dispersion at high frequencies so some mixed reviews can be anticipated there from the larger drivers.
My driver is the cast frame Super 15" driver, with whizzer cone and phase plug, which I believe is the diamond in the rough of the Audio Nirvana range. It is simply superb in my opinion. It isn't perfect, I find that directly on-axis the treble response isn't properly balanced but you gotta sit facing down the barrel of the driver to detect this. It has amazing deep bass and mid-range clarity and very good treble dispersion. Bud Purvine (inventor of eNable) was similarly impressed with this driver.
I've also built Pencils with the MA 10.3 driver. This is a very nice driver. The upper mids and treble are more coherent than the Audio Nirvana 15" because it does not have the mechanical cross-over of a whizzer cone but the deep and dynamic bass of the Audio Nirvana provide music with a strong foundation and gives up very little in terms of mid-range that for me the 15" cone is the better compromise for my listening space. Were I looking for smaller sized speakers than the 15" cones need, the MA 10.3 would be high on my list.
YMMV
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