I just returned from a quick trip to the RMAF 2009 in Denver, Colorado. There were an amazing array of speakers. Here's a short summary of what I heard.
1. Feastrex
The Granada is a Feastrex field coil and two (apparently long-throw) woofers per side on OB. The OB has one "side wing" (the inner side). I was surprised by these. I'm used to hearing Feastrex very close-up. Here, they were in a big room (set up perfectly) and we sat back ~20 feet. They were seamless, balanced and smooth. But I think they would have more magic if set up for near-field listening (just a hunch). But they did a good job of filling a big room, with a lot of bottom. http://www.lotusgroupusa.com/Granada.htm
2. Mark Audio Alpair 10
Maxxhorn is now Affirm Audio, and two years back, they created a BLH that uses the 5" Feastrex Monster Alnico which I liked. Their new model, Elation, uses what looks like a Mark Audio gold-coned 5" (the Alpair 10?) I wanted to love this speaker, and the driver did sound very balanced when I put my ear up to it. But the bass / BLH was overpowering, and the dealer explained the speakers weren't adequately set up. (Did they retrofit an Alpair into the same cab as the Feastrex? I have no idea but the cabs seemed roughly the same to me). http://maxxhorn.com/purchase-a-more/elation-loudspeaker.html
3. Zu Essence
Snappy! Decent bass. A bit of zing on top. Efficient. What's that whizzer doing on a speaker with a tweeter, I wondered. Fun fact: these speakers actually sound like a lot of DIY fullrange speakers I've heard.
4. Strange BLH
I was surprised by the world's skinniest multi-way BLH called the Boenike Audiomanufacture SLS. It looks like a skinnier Zigmahornet, but with two forward-facing drivers instead of one. A total of 3 drivers on the side all feed into a BLH which exits to the floor. Zero damping inside. The whole thing is CNC'ed out of two blocks of walnut (see link) which are glued together. The forward-facing drivers come in at 2k, the midrange fires at the sidewall. The midrange is all reflected sound, yet the imaging is somehow perfect (and stays when you walk around). Freaky good. $15k. Check out the picture: http://www.lauferteknik.net/loudspeakers/boenicke/SLS.html
5. Lowther field coils with First Watt
Lowther 8" field coils on OB with an Altec (GPA) 416 woofer, paired with an active crossover from First watt and First Watt J2's. Wow! These babies sound _nothing_ like Lowthers I've heard before. Clear as a bell, airy, silky smooth. They were fed 15 volts and crossed at 120Hz (I was told). I don't know what the Q was, but I would assume it was relatively high. Maybe that smooths out the high end? Or maybe the uber-high-end of Lowthers has always been silky smooth, and I only heard the cheaper stuff? Absolutely unfatiguing. I could have listened for hours.
The room was really well-treated, and not very reverberant (lots of humans in the room probably helped). We heard a lacquer made from a master tape, and some hi-res digital from a media server. This was a crowd-pleaser.
6. The Rest
Some speakers were trying to be "the ultimate speaker" and these I found to be the least exciting. I don't think there is one speaker that can really do it all. In my mind, it makes sense to make tradeoffs and specialize in doing a few things really well.
Many of the most expensive speakers were set up in huge rooms, and just felt sterile and left the listener feeling detached, despite the decibels. In contrast, some of the more reasonably priced speakers were set up in smaller spaces to "play the room" at reasonable levels, and sounded more musical to me.
1. Feastrex
The Granada is a Feastrex field coil and two (apparently long-throw) woofers per side on OB. The OB has one "side wing" (the inner side). I was surprised by these. I'm used to hearing Feastrex very close-up. Here, they were in a big room (set up perfectly) and we sat back ~20 feet. They were seamless, balanced and smooth. But I think they would have more magic if set up for near-field listening (just a hunch). But they did a good job of filling a big room, with a lot of bottom. http://www.lotusgroupusa.com/Granada.htm
2. Mark Audio Alpair 10
Maxxhorn is now Affirm Audio, and two years back, they created a BLH that uses the 5" Feastrex Monster Alnico which I liked. Their new model, Elation, uses what looks like a Mark Audio gold-coned 5" (the Alpair 10?) I wanted to love this speaker, and the driver did sound very balanced when I put my ear up to it. But the bass / BLH was overpowering, and the dealer explained the speakers weren't adequately set up. (Did they retrofit an Alpair into the same cab as the Feastrex? I have no idea but the cabs seemed roughly the same to me). http://maxxhorn.com/purchase-a-more/elation-loudspeaker.html
3. Zu Essence
Snappy! Decent bass. A bit of zing on top. Efficient. What's that whizzer doing on a speaker with a tweeter, I wondered. Fun fact: these speakers actually sound like a lot of DIY fullrange speakers I've heard.
4. Strange BLH
I was surprised by the world's skinniest multi-way BLH called the Boenike Audiomanufacture SLS. It looks like a skinnier Zigmahornet, but with two forward-facing drivers instead of one. A total of 3 drivers on the side all feed into a BLH which exits to the floor. Zero damping inside. The whole thing is CNC'ed out of two blocks of walnut (see link) which are glued together. The forward-facing drivers come in at 2k, the midrange fires at the sidewall. The midrange is all reflected sound, yet the imaging is somehow perfect (and stays when you walk around). Freaky good. $15k. Check out the picture: http://www.lauferteknik.net/loudspeakers/boenicke/SLS.html
5. Lowther field coils with First Watt
Lowther 8" field coils on OB with an Altec (GPA) 416 woofer, paired with an active crossover from First watt and First Watt J2's. Wow! These babies sound _nothing_ like Lowthers I've heard before. Clear as a bell, airy, silky smooth. They were fed 15 volts and crossed at 120Hz (I was told). I don't know what the Q was, but I would assume it was relatively high. Maybe that smooths out the high end? Or maybe the uber-high-end of Lowthers has always been silky smooth, and I only heard the cheaper stuff? Absolutely unfatiguing. I could have listened for hours.
The room was really well-treated, and not very reverberant (lots of humans in the room probably helped). We heard a lacquer made from a master tape, and some hi-res digital from a media server. This was a crowd-pleaser.
6. The Rest
Some speakers were trying to be "the ultimate speaker" and these I found to be the least exciting. I don't think there is one speaker that can really do it all. In my mind, it makes sense to make tradeoffs and specialize in doing a few things really well.
Many of the most expensive speakers were set up in huge rooms, and just felt sterile and left the listener feeling detached, despite the decibels. In contrast, some of the more reasonably priced speakers were set up in smaller spaces to "play the room" at reasonable levels, and sounded more musical to me.
They cross the tweeter over to the full range driver at 10KHz. So, I'm sure the fairly large whizzer cone comes in useful below that point.
Sounds great. Thanks for the review.
I really liked the Granada. Not only did it sound great, but the beveled baffle is much easier on my eyes than most wide OB's. It sounds like they had just tossed it together and used a fully active, digital crossover. (the Feastrex was high passed at 200hz). Did you see the fear facing dome tweeter that was set into the baffle? I didn't recognize it. That was a great room: about as good as it gets for me.
The Maxxhorns were great fun too. Not small enclosures, but really credible bass for such a little driver.
I really enjoyed the Zu Essences. I hadn't heard ZU's before, and they are really smooth for a 10" driver. It sounds like they aren't using any BSC, so they had the typical forward midrange/recessed midbass that many folks seem to like. I was more impressed than I thought I'd be. I'm really happy to have these guys getting fullrangers closer to the mainstream. I'm working on a cabinet with a similar look for my brother-in-law. I sure can't match that finish tough!
I didn't like the First Watt/Lowther America room as much as I assumed I would. The Lowthers were freshly fitted with some field coil motors from Intact Audio. I'm sending those gents an email later today. . .
I won't mention any names, but there was a room with some 2" fullrangers in skinny little boxes. I couldn't figure out what sort of enclosures they were, but I think they may have had a port hidden at the bottom (MLTL's). They sounded fine. As much bass as you can get from a 2" driver. The boxes looked acceptable, but not that pretty. But then they mentioned the price. I swear they said $2,500 each. Good thing I wasn't drinking milk.
My favorite room may have been the Classic Audio Reproductions/Atma-sphere. Yup, a multiway. But if I had $30K (for the speakers alone). . .
[Edit] It's also worth mentioning that Madisound and Meniscus were both displaying fullrange drivers and helping further the cause. Meniscus had several of the smaller ones: CSS, TB, maybe Alpair? Madisound displayed some Fostex tweeters (no actual fullrange Fostex drivers aside from a giant poster), but they did have the Seas Exotic. That's a nice driver to hold. One of the two kit speakers they displayed used it as a woofer crossed over at 2K. [end edit]
Paul
www.wildburroaudio.com
The Maxxhorns were great fun too. Not small enclosures, but really credible bass for such a little driver.
I really enjoyed the Zu Essences. I hadn't heard ZU's before, and they are really smooth for a 10" driver. It sounds like they aren't using any BSC, so they had the typical forward midrange/recessed midbass that many folks seem to like. I was more impressed than I thought I'd be. I'm really happy to have these guys getting fullrangers closer to the mainstream. I'm working on a cabinet with a similar look for my brother-in-law. I sure can't match that finish tough!
I didn't like the First Watt/Lowther America room as much as I assumed I would. The Lowthers were freshly fitted with some field coil motors from Intact Audio. I'm sending those gents an email later today. . .
I won't mention any names, but there was a room with some 2" fullrangers in skinny little boxes. I couldn't figure out what sort of enclosures they were, but I think they may have had a port hidden at the bottom (MLTL's). They sounded fine. As much bass as you can get from a 2" driver. The boxes looked acceptable, but not that pretty. But then they mentioned the price. I swear they said $2,500 each. Good thing I wasn't drinking milk.
My favorite room may have been the Classic Audio Reproductions/Atma-sphere. Yup, a multiway. But if I had $30K (for the speakers alone). . .
[Edit] It's also worth mentioning that Madisound and Meniscus were both displaying fullrange drivers and helping further the cause. Meniscus had several of the smaller ones: CSS, TB, maybe Alpair? Madisound displayed some Fostex tweeters (no actual fullrange Fostex drivers aside from a giant poster), but they did have the Seas Exotic. That's a nice driver to hold. One of the two kit speakers they displayed used it as a woofer crossed over at 2K. [end edit]
Paul
www.wildburroaudio.com
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Hi Paul,
I did not see that rear-facing tweeter on the Granada!
It sounds like you're considering field coils for the Betsy K's??
What did you not like about the Lowther field coils? It's interesting that you liked the Feastrex, but not the Lowther. Do you think it was the huge room the Feastrex were in, vs. the little room the Lowthers were in? That was actually the reason I think I preferred the Lowthers.
I did not see that rear-facing tweeter on the Granada!
It sounds like you're considering field coils for the Betsy K's??
What did you not like about the Lowther field coils? It's interesting that you liked the Feastrex, but not the Lowther. Do you think it was the huge room the Feastrex were in, vs. the little room the Lowthers were in? That was actually the reason I think I preferred the Lowthers.
I try not to make much of the rooms I either enjoyed or didn't. I didn't have time to be anywhere for long. I had some issues with the upper midrange of the Lowthers. But it could have just been the recording.
It was a cute little tweeter, maybe 1/2". I heard one of the Lotus Group guys mention it, otherwise I probably wouldn't have noticed it either.
I'd love to do field coils, but only if I can do it relatively affordably. We'll see! BTW, I think the drivers in the Maxxhorn's may have also been a field coil version. That means that three of the speakers you mentioned above were using 'em. It might be a fad, but I suspect there is something to it.
Paul
It was a cute little tweeter, maybe 1/2". I heard one of the Lotus Group guys mention it, otherwise I probably wouldn't have noticed it either.
I'd love to do field coils, but only if I can do it relatively affordably. We'll see! BTW, I think the drivers in the Maxxhorn's may have also been a field coil version. That means that three of the speakers you mentioned above were using 'em. It might be a fad, but I suspect there is something to it.
Paul
Yeah, right. If you guys get tired of any of those "flawed" amplifiers, I'll happily dispose of them (recycle the chassis, at least😀).
I saw a couple of rooms where Pass products were being used without appearing on the lists or ads, but rather (presumably) because folks thought them best suited to showcase their wares. If that isn't high praise, I'm not sure what is.
congrats on an excellent showing,
Paul
www.wildburroaudio.com
I saw a couple of rooms where Pass products were being used without appearing on the lists or ads, but rather (presumably) because folks thought them best suited to showcase their wares. If that isn't high praise, I'm not sure what is.
congrats on an excellent showing,
Paul
www.wildburroaudio.com
Gentlemen,
Thank you for listening to the new ELATION loudspeaker by AFFIRM Audio (formerly MaxxHorn) at RMAF 2009. To clarify a few points that have been raised in this thread regarding our ELATION. The ELATION is a new loudspeaker (not a retrofit). It does utilize the same ten foot tractrix horn design and is about the same size and weight as our IMMERSION. It is lighter and smaller than our LUMINATION.
In January 2009, Mark Fenlon sent me a pair of his Alpair 10 drivers for my evaluation. I was pleased with many qualities of the driver, but found it incompatible with our unique horn technology. Mark kindly offered to provide AFFIRM Audio an OEM version built to our specifications for us to evaluate in our new ELATION prototype. We received the OEM driver from Mark Fenlon in March 2009. After evaluating the driver we selected it for our new ELATION over several others. I continue to be impressed with Mark Fenlon's professionalism and his talents as a loudspeaker driver designer.
The ELATION shown at RMAF was the second prototype produced with 1/4" Bamboo over MDF. Cosmetically, this combination was found unsatisfactory for final production. Final production began in September utilizing multi-ply Bamboo plywood and other materials laminated in a multi-layer composite construction to provide better acoustical properties, and to better resist changes of temperature, altitude, and humidity.
Bob
Thank you for listening to the new ELATION loudspeaker by AFFIRM Audio (formerly MaxxHorn) at RMAF 2009. To clarify a few points that have been raised in this thread regarding our ELATION. The ELATION is a new loudspeaker (not a retrofit). It does utilize the same ten foot tractrix horn design and is about the same size and weight as our IMMERSION. It is lighter and smaller than our LUMINATION.
In January 2009, Mark Fenlon sent me a pair of his Alpair 10 drivers for my evaluation. I was pleased with many qualities of the driver, but found it incompatible with our unique horn technology. Mark kindly offered to provide AFFIRM Audio an OEM version built to our specifications for us to evaluate in our new ELATION prototype. We received the OEM driver from Mark Fenlon in March 2009. After evaluating the driver we selected it for our new ELATION over several others. I continue to be impressed with Mark Fenlon's professionalism and his talents as a loudspeaker driver designer.
The ELATION shown at RMAF was the second prototype produced with 1/4" Bamboo over MDF. Cosmetically, this combination was found unsatisfactory for final production. Final production began in September utilizing multi-ply Bamboo plywood and other materials laminated in a multi-layer composite construction to provide better acoustical properties, and to better resist changes of temperature, altitude, and humidity.
Bob
Hi Guys,
I'm glad to work with Bob Spence. The collaboration is welcome and very interesting. The Alpair 10 drivers in Bob's Elation's have a slightly different cone coating, thus changing the mass. Spider and front suspensions are have small differences compared to the standard Alpair 10.
I've just packed a pair of Alpair 12 and a pair of Alpair 7, sending to Bob Spence today. I'll be very interested to know the results once they are installed in the Affirm horns.
Cheers,
Mark.
I'm glad to work with Bob Spence. The collaboration is welcome and very interesting. The Alpair 10 drivers in Bob's Elation's have a slightly different cone coating, thus changing the mass. Spider and front suspensions are have small differences compared to the standard Alpair 10.
I've just packed a pair of Alpair 12 and a pair of Alpair 7, sending to Bob Spence today. I'll be very interested to know the results once they are installed in the Affirm horns.
Cheers,
Mark.
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Hi drspence,
What's the proper placement for the Elation? One of the people in the room said it needed one wall, not corners (one was in a corner with a pillow, the other was sort of at the edge of the transition from room proper to front hallway). Did it just need a bigger room, or more distance from the wall(s)?
What's the proper placement for the Elation? One of the people in the room said it needed one wall, not corners (one was in a corner with a pillow, the other was sort of at the edge of the transition from room proper to front hallway). Did it just need a bigger room, or more distance from the wall(s)?
Lowther Field Coils
If you were listening to the "freshly fitted" field coil, you probably heard some rattling in the cone in the upper mid-range. Someone nicked the cone, pulling a wire loose, during installation. This created a little noise in the morning, which was small enough that it was hard to diagnose. That grew in the course of the day, and when we changed the cone that afternoon it everything cleared up.
So you are probably right - depending on when you heard it. Sorry Nelson, but you can't be blamed. At least not for this one.
If you were listening to the "freshly fitted" field coil, you probably heard some rattling in the cone in the upper mid-range. Someone nicked the cone, pulling a wire loose, during installation. This created a little noise in the morning, which was small enough that it was hard to diagnose. That grew in the course of the day, and when we changed the cone that afternoon it everything cleared up.
So you are probably right - depending on when you heard it. Sorry Nelson, but you can't be blamed. At least not for this one.
Jon Ver Halen, I heard them Saturday afternoon and they sounded sweet. I saw the field-coil driver that I think you yanked (off to the right on that end-table sized amp).
I would like to ask you: do high-end Lowthers generally sound this smooth, or is the field coil contributing to that? Or stated another way, what does the field coil contribute in terms of the response? Does cranking the voltage up (or down) smooth out the high end?
I would like to ask you: do high-end Lowthers generally sound this smooth, or is the field coil contributing to that? Or stated another way, what does the field coil contribute in terms of the response? Does cranking the voltage up (or down) smooth out the high end?
ELATION loudspeaker placement, RMAF 2009
First, let me thank Charlie and Susan Harrison of AYON USA for offering our company a last minute opportunity to exhibit with their superb products and also the many enthusiasts who took time to listen to ELATION, AFFIRM Audio’s (formerly MaxxHorn) newest single-driver loudspeaker offering.
ELATION is 99db efficient and utilizes a tractrix horn flare of our design. The bass is complex, clean, and wide bandwidth when positioned in a medium to large home living area. Unlike many horn loudspeaker designs which require corner loading for optimum bass performance, our design requires only wall loading (most everyone has a useable wall in their home). Corners may be used, however in small rooms with low ceiling (10' X 10' X 8') similar to the show room, they will likely overload the room with the deepest bass notes unless placed out from the corners about 2'. This placement option was not available to us at RMAF 2009.
We shared room 1117 with two additional pair of excellent large ported loudspeakers, Legacy Focus and Escalante Fremont which occupied the idea room placement position near the window, where the higher power AYON amplifiers were on display. The ELATION'S were located at the opposite end of the room. Show attendee's were required to walk between them to enter the room. One ELATION was placed right in the corner while the other utilized a side wall for loading. This positioning is far from idea for any pair of loudspeakers, even by RMAF show standards. Nevertheless, even with the slight room overload issue our performance received praise from many audio enthusiasts and industry professionals who stopped in to listen. Room positioning guidelines are listed on our website: www.affirmaudio.com
Thank you for allowing me to answer your questions.
First, let me thank Charlie and Susan Harrison of AYON USA for offering our company a last minute opportunity to exhibit with their superb products and also the many enthusiasts who took time to listen to ELATION, AFFIRM Audio’s (formerly MaxxHorn) newest single-driver loudspeaker offering.
ELATION is 99db efficient and utilizes a tractrix horn flare of our design. The bass is complex, clean, and wide bandwidth when positioned in a medium to large home living area. Unlike many horn loudspeaker designs which require corner loading for optimum bass performance, our design requires only wall loading (most everyone has a useable wall in their home). Corners may be used, however in small rooms with low ceiling (10' X 10' X 8') similar to the show room, they will likely overload the room with the deepest bass notes unless placed out from the corners about 2'. This placement option was not available to us at RMAF 2009.
We shared room 1117 with two additional pair of excellent large ported loudspeakers, Legacy Focus and Escalante Fremont which occupied the idea room placement position near the window, where the higher power AYON amplifiers were on display. The ELATION'S were located at the opposite end of the room. Show attendee's were required to walk between them to enter the room. One ELATION was placed right in the corner while the other utilized a side wall for loading. This positioning is far from idea for any pair of loudspeakers, even by RMAF show standards. Nevertheless, even with the slight room overload issue our performance received praise from many audio enthusiasts and industry professionals who stopped in to listen. Room positioning guidelines are listed on our website: www.affirmaudio.com
Thank you for allowing me to answer your questions.
There isn't a decent picture of Elation on your webpage, but if similar to immersion, efficiency above the the horn's bandwidth should be limited to the driver's efficiency as a direct radiator (where it is acting as a direct radiator). You are claiming 99 dB on a driver that has a midband efficiency <90 dB. How do you do this?
dave
...thought so, the similarities of their products point to the same concept. Perhaps their efficiency numbers are summed like AudioNote measures it's speakers factoring in room gain?
Room gain is not going to affect the bandwidth over which the driver is acting as a direct radiator.
dave
dave
I get when efficiency is off by 2-3db, not this much and now that i get what you're saying re BW, i don't buy it either. Not to pick on audionote but they claim 98db for the an-e lex., which j.a. measured at 92.5dB(B)/2.83V/m. www.stereophile.com/standloudspeakers/506an/index4.html
Couldn't find the link to the manufactures response and explanation of the 98db . i'll have to go to the main branch of the philadelphia library to read the actual stereophile back issue. I think it had something to do with near wall corner placement, reflected or floor reinforcement, in room measurements.🙄
Couldn't find the link to the manufactures response and explanation of the 98db . i'll have to go to the main branch of the philadelphia library to read the actual stereophile back issue. I think it had something to do with near wall corner placement, reflected or floor reinforcement, in room measurements.🙄
I don't think i ever saw a manufacturers response on that one... i have the issue round here somewhere. Corner reinforcement is not going to increase the sensitivity above the baffle step where the driver only sees the front baffle... corner placement is used for baffle step comp.
dave
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