I know the name of Volt Speakers since a long time and read rave reviews about them in this forum. Search key words B2500 or BM2500 for examples. However, I have not yet seen independant tests à la Zaph for them and I would much like to know their frequency response above 1000 Hz.
I use them in transmission lines I pretty much copied from the PMC XB2 although folded differently so that mine are taller but less deep.
They share their duties with Tannoy 3149s and Fountek JP3.0 ribbons so ultimately they are part of 4way speakers. They are run fully active using modified BSS FDS360 analogue xovers, crossing at 175Hz, 1.2kHz and 12kHz.
All slopes are standard 24dB Linkwitz-Riley and the amps are MC2 Audio MC750, MC450, T500 and an Omniphonics Footprint for the ribbons.
The Tannoys share a 46L cab with the ribbons, originally it was meant to be sealed but I did opt for porting so if need be I could run them full-range.
The port tuning and cab volume are the same as Tannoy Little Red Monitors but when run with the Volts the porting has no effect whatsoever.
Using a third octave analyzer I got them to roughly within +-2dB in room.
The tweeter part of the Tannoys needs some eq to achieve a flat response for which I use a parametric eq.
I am quite happy with them but they never seem to be very loud even when one has to shout to make oneself heard. I tend to turn the volume down when the room starts to rattle. ;-)
When I first joined here I spent many an hour searching old threads and in one a member had started measuring the FR of Volt drivers.
He soon stopped as every measurement looked exactly the same as the ones published on Volts own site.
I have tried since but can't find that particular thread anymore :-(
On the whole I think Volt specs tend to be on the conservative side, certainly the difference between Xmax and Xdamage is far greater than most other manufacturers. Mine are listed with an Xmax of 5mm while Xdamage is 25mm.
At some point during a party someone turned up the volume all the way resulting in 400+ Watts being fed to the Volts which are rated at 300. They didn't even break into a sweat which would have been impressive had it not been for the Tannoys sitting above which were not really bothered by 250W while being rated at 50Wrms.
Didn't sound that loud either but the walls were visibly vibrating, although with hindsight I can not be sure if it was the walls or my eyeballs.
Hi Charles Darwin,
Thanks for your comments. I am impressed how high Volt loudspeakers are rated among those who have heard them. What people say about them invevitably make me willing to get a pair. However, they do have a default, it's their name, "Volt", too common, which make them quite difficult to search in this forum.
Thanks for your comments. I am impressed how high Volt loudspeakers are rated among those who have heard them. What people say about them invevitably make me willing to get a pair. However, they do have a default, it's their name, "Volt", too common, which make them quite difficult to search in this forum.
What a shame that even £2000 Prestige speakers are poorly braced and have cabinet resonances.
For the time being I will stay with my B&Ws. They are well built, have a good sound, have a guarantee (not only against failure but that they will work) and that they are well finished.
I've got a pair of second hand B&W 805S coming in the near future. As I only paid £650 for them I'm more than happy.
For the time being I will stay with my B&Ws. They are well built, have a good sound, have a guarantee (not only against failure but that they will work) and that they are well finished.
I've got a pair of second hand B&W 805S coming in the near future. As I only paid £650 for them I'm more than happy.
Yes, some B&Ws are great, I have M801 and they are something special with a big enough amp. There is an oddity with the crossover though, if you only connect the LF (with internal link removed to put into bi-amp mode) you still get sound from the MF/HF part! It seems to be electromagnetic coupling in the x-over! You might hope B&W would have spotted this.
Sadly I haven't got any pictures of the build, we knocked them up on a couple of evenings at a mates place of work.
The length of the line and the size of the opening I extrapolated from info I found on the PMC site and the drawing they provide. After that it was just some fiddling with the stuffing since I used long-haired sheep wool from Yorkshire as it was the cheapest material I could find and the opening which is smaller than the end of the actual line.
With regards to the xovers 'modified' sounds a bit grand, all I did was changing the original TL072 op amps for Burr-Brown OPA2134 and removed relays and limiters. Main reason to remove the relays was that they had died in one of them and it was impossible to find replacements which fitted in the case. I also changed the xlr connections from pin 2 hot to pin 3 (or the other way around, just so that it is the same as all my other xlr connections).
Changing the op amps made quite a significant difference. OPA2134 are drop-in replacements, I understand that there are better ones around but they require additional by-pass caps and cost a lot more. There are 25 in each xover but I was lucky enough to find a tube of 50 old, non-RoHS compliant stock at Farnell which cost only 75p each.
It's nice of them to give the outside dimensions and the "effective TL length" but doesn't the effective length depend on the material used to stuff the TL? Since they give the effective length as 3m is this the 1/4 wave of 29Hz which is just below the Fs of the Volt driver? Can you remember the actual length of the TL you used? Roughly? It would be very interesting to see inside one of these XB2s - and the MB2 as well.
Didn't do much calculations, seemed easier just to buy a couple of sheets of MDF and build them.
I just adjusted the stuffing and opening to get the output as smooth as I could be bothered.
The good thing is that crossing them in at 175Hz does not remove any of the Tannoy point-sourciness but they do sound quite a bit better with the low bass removed!
I just adjusted the stuffing and opening to get the output as smooth as I could be bothered.
The good thing is that crossing them in at 175Hz does not remove any of the Tannoy point-sourciness but they do sound quite a bit better with the low bass removed!
I'm still bitten by the constructing bug..
I don't have the requisite skills to cut wood to the high standards that I expect so I am somewhat limited to buying pre-cut cabinet components. I don't mind assembling them but I would be buying them pre-veneered.
Has anyone had any experience of any of the Wilmslow Audio Floorstanders ?
I don't have the requisite skills to cut wood to the high standards that I expect so I am somewhat limited to buying pre-cut cabinet components. I don't mind assembling them but I would be buying them pre-veneered.
Has anyone had any experience of any of the Wilmslow Audio Floorstanders ?
To be honest, most of what they do, including individual components, is quite highly priced compared to their competitors. Normally I could understand this with business overheads etc, but given the nature of the hobby I think it's normal to look for cheapest like for like.
Where are you based? maybe we could work together on something? (plus I now have plenty of spare tools/parts)
I'm just finishing my B&W based build now, next is a revelator 2-way MTM tower, but I'm having that CNC'd in sections from CAD drawings.
As i've said before, I'm always happy to help people on the forum with CAD files/drawings if it helps them get where they're going.
Also, probably worth mentioning my cabinets were build from pre-cut blanks ordered from MDF cut to size, then clad in aluminium from aluminium warehouse (who also cut to size) with a layer of neoprene between the baffle and the front alu strip to dampen resonance... in other words, it's easy to get a custom cabinet built in parts to your own design.
I've got B&W 683's at the moment which I am very impressed with. But, as they only cost £700 new, I'm intrigued that I could do a lot better with £1000 Wilmslow Audio. I am very exacting with the visual impact of the speakers, they do form a major item of furniture in the lounge so I want them to look professional.
Wilmslow Audio cabinet costs are marginal in my budget. £200 ish for the cabs is no problem.
Wilmslow Audio cabinet costs are marginal in my budget. £200 ish for the cabs is no problem.
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I think i just reel a bit at the idea of spending that much money on a box I can build myself... and to be honest, I don't really like the aesthetics of most of the wilmslow designs.
What did you want to achieve with your design?
I'm very keen on the accuton drivers for some mini monitors at the moment, but the scanspeaks need to get built first!
I would recommend the Wilmslow Audio HSM model, its based on the Kord Tornado which I previously owned and they would be great value for around £750:
HSM Studio Monitor - Gold
HSM Studio Monitor - Gold
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