I was thinking similar at first... though obviousky I would have offered a lot more. Problen is I have no use for speakers like this 😉
If this was my project my first priority would be to get accurate measurements of fr/imp/phase from drivers IN the cabinets. I'd then build a decent crossover and run it all either from one decent high end amp or a pair.
I think this highlights a big problem with DIY, when everything works it's great, when it doesn't it puts you of and you end up with stacks of junk. Very expensive junk too.
I wouldn't trust anyone at wilmslow, whoever came up with the crossover is clearly an amateur and should not be going anywhere near retail with their 'designs'.
Katie and dad, is it just enthusiasm you have lost for the project or is it time restraints as well?
My offer to help with measurements/xo design still stands.
It wasn't meant to be read as an offer. If I had wanted to make an offer I would have contacted the OP privately.
I am not sure accurate measurements are necessary if things are as off as the OP suggests. Waving his mobile running an app in front of the drivers may have been all that was necessary to get some pointers to where the problem/s lie. He also listed sufficient kit to take some diagnostic measurements close to the drivers before he opted to spend money on a measurement microphone. It has been an interesting thread to read given we all have our different likes and dislikes and go about addressing our problems in different ways.
I offered the drivers back to W.A. at half price, brand new and unused, no reply. That must show how much faith they have in their product.
£100 is a joke, I paid over £2500 for them. I'd rather throw them in the bin and get enjoyment out of the experience.
£100 is a joke, I paid over £2500 for them. I'd rather throw them in the bin and get enjoyment out of the experience.
Time is a constraint, this was intended to be an active crossover multi amp project.
The passive W.A. prestige speakers don't ignite any enthusiasm to continue to project.
The B&W 683's on a DIY Pass Aleph 4 surpass them by many thousands of degrees.
The passive W.A. prestige speakers don't ignite any enthusiasm to continue to project.
The B&W 683's on a DIY Pass Aleph 4 surpass them by many thousands of degrees.
Just a thought - but if Wilmslow is not too far, you could take the speakers (or maybe just one), to make sure they're working as intended. I've been told they have a demo room, so I can't see why they couldn't hook it up to test it.
Yes it was intended as semi-humorous statement to draw attention to the money and effort you had already invested in the project. I should have said £10 given that both yourself and nannoo seem to have confused the statement with a genuine offer.
Given WA will be running down the stock they hold why would you expect them to want to buy second hand drivers at a price that is probably not far off what they would pay for new ones from the manufacturers?
As I mentioned earlier, the longer you leave it before you try to find out what is wrong the more likely it is that you rather WA will have to pay to fix it. If you feel unable to perform any diagnostics yourself then the suggestion above to take it to WA and ask them what is wrong looks like a viable option if you perhaps combine it with doing something else. An alternative might be to appeal for local help in the DIY section of UK home audio forum like PFM or Wigwam.
KatiandDad , it is rather sad that you are not appreciating the WA Prestige as they deserve.Although in our hobby there is a strong subjective component , stating that B&W 683 surpass them by many thousand degrees to me means only that there must be something plain wrong with either the crossover or the drivers or the electronics you are driving them with.
I have built my pair a few years ago and they can compare ,without ANY doubt, with commercial speakers costing 10X . In my room they are sitting aside a pair of Quad 2905 driven by Spectral electronics or Quicksilver V4. Compared to the Quad's they show better dynamics , better bass, but a slight inferior midrange ( less smooth and a touch more aggressive but it is very hard to beat Quad's midrange for any speaker anyway!). I would strongly second Fatmarley suggestion to take them to WA for a check and to discuss the matter openly with them.
I have built my pair a few years ago and they can compare ,without ANY doubt, with commercial speakers costing 10X . In my room they are sitting aside a pair of Quad 2905 driven by Spectral electronics or Quicksilver V4. Compared to the Quad's they show better dynamics , better bass, but a slight inferior midrange ( less smooth and a touch more aggressive but it is very hard to beat Quad's midrange for any speaker anyway!). I would strongly second Fatmarley suggestion to take them to WA for a check and to discuss the matter openly with them.
Does anyone want these, I'm chucking them as they are really not what I expected. I'd take £500 for the whole lot, some £3000 worth of drivers and cabs.
Gutted for you, but know the feeling as have had that with car project.
I have always wanted speakers with the ATC dome midrange and would buy these like a shot if I could actually fit them in the house. Hopefully someone here can give them a good home.
I have always wanted speakers with the ATC dome midrange and would buy these like a shot if I could actually fit them in the house. Hopefully someone here can give them a good home.
I made my offer in jest and I would feel a bit guilty taking them but if you really want to make a donation to my speaker building hobby then I will take them off your hands. But I would suggest your taking a day to think about it.
PS Looks like you have a lot of takers.
For anyone who is interested look at my thread 'crossover help'. I have a pair of these Wilmslow Prestige speakers. The ATC mid range is superb and I chose different tweeters and bass units from the Wilmslow recipe, using a Monacor bass unit and the Vifa tweeter used in many ATC speakers before they started producing their own. These speakers sound amazing, with of course particular strength in the mid range due to the incredible ATC mid unit.
I have two issues:
-Wilmslow Audio gave absolutely rubbish service and made all sorts of mistakes inc. not soldering all the components on the crossover. They also said the mid unit should be connected in reverse phase which made the speakers sound very strange. I suspect the crossover may be off the shelf and not customised for my drivers so am trying to understand this.
-My friend has these speakers and they have very powerful bass in his more normal living room. However, my listening has huge bass suck out which I am also trying to cure. This affects any speaker in that room
So, wonderful speakers and I do wonder if Katie and Dad's issues were caused by the ludicrous Wilmslow reverse pahse connection of the mid unit
I have two issues:
-Wilmslow Audio gave absolutely rubbish service and made all sorts of mistakes inc. not soldering all the components on the crossover. They also said the mid unit should be connected in reverse phase which made the speakers sound very strange. I suspect the crossover may be off the shelf and not customised for my drivers so am trying to understand this.
-My friend has these speakers and they have very powerful bass in his more normal living room. However, my listening has huge bass suck out which I am also trying to cure. This affects any speaker in that room
So, wonderful speakers and I do wonder if Katie and Dad's issues were caused by the ludicrous Wilmslow reverse pahse connection of the mid unit
Gosh... wish I'd come across this thread yesterday! I would have been over to KatieandDad's place with a van straight away.
I've not trawled through the whole thread but surely this was a cross-over design problem and the main, expensive parts of the speaker was fine? Was reversing polarity of the mid attempted?
I've not trawled through the whole thread but surely this was a cross-over design problem and the main, expensive parts of the speaker was fine? Was reversing polarity of the mid attempted?
I feel rather sad that you have decided to sell it after so much effort has been put into this project.
Hopefully the buyer can continue this project. For the buyer, do let us know what you do with it and what you think of this speaker !
Hopefully the buyer can continue this project. For the buyer, do let us know what you do with it and what you think of this speaker !
It seems sad to me too, as my speakers perform so well despite Wilmslow....
IMO Wilmslow:
-Use the same crossover for all 3 Prestige models. Now, one uses a Volt mid 8ohms and 94db, another uses the ATC 91db and 16ohm!
-His crossover had an extra capacitor in series with the mid, which probably led to some /all of the disappointment with the mid!
-My crossover is exactly the same as the standard one (without the unnecessary cap) even tho I have different bass and tweeters.....
-They came up with their cackhanded 'connect the mid out of phase' bollocks for me, which made mine sound strange until I'd figured it out
IMO Wilmslow:
-Use the same crossover for all 3 Prestige models. Now, one uses a Volt mid 8ohms and 94db, another uses the ATC 91db and 16ohm!
-His crossover had an extra capacitor in series with the mid, which probably led to some /all of the disappointment with the mid!
-My crossover is exactly the same as the standard one (without the unnecessary cap) even tho I have different bass and tweeters.....
-They came up with their cackhanded 'connect the mid out of phase' bollocks for me, which made mine sound strange until I'd figured it out
As quoted above, these weren't the Wilmslow Audio cross-overs being used so can't blame them for anything here... Only the same crossover points were used, although slightly different due to a mix-up with soldering the boards.
The active cross-overs could have had problems and were an unknown quantity - unwise to assume they were a good design.
Where were they bought again KatieandDad?
On another forum, a guy was having problems with his system sounding off and lifeless - isolated it to his amp and turned out to be dry joints somewhere.
We don't know what the problems were because the OP would not perform any diagnostics. If he could have brought himself to perform them then it is pretty much certain the major issue/s would have been swiftly sorted out. A comparison with this current thread is striking where the OP also has a speaker with very expensive components that has not been put together properly and also holds audiophile beliefs about home audio hardware. The outcome looks like being quite different.
- Status
- Not open for further replies.