Mark Audio Alpair For First Build?

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Hi All,

Ive been looking at these forums for years now (in fact I thought id registered all that time ago but it seems not) and am finally in a position to try my hand :)

Ive been looking at a lot of different drivers over the last week or so and am quite keen to try the Mark Audio A7, CHR70 or perhaps A12, a full range is appealing and the Alpairs looks get a thumbs up from my wife (this is a huge plus ;))

Would this be a good way to go?

Ive still lots of research to do but am thinking of a floor standing design for the cabinets.

I currently have a pair of B&W 602.5's at the front and some old Kef Cresta's at the rear, ive not found anywhere that I can listen to the Alpairs near me so was wondering if anyone could hint at how they may sound in comparison?

I would say they will be used 50/50 for music/movies and we listen at moderate volumes in a 6x4m room.

Thanks in advance for any light you can shed :)
 
Hi All,

Ive been looking at these forums for years now (in fact I thought id registered all that time ago but it seems not) and am finally in a position to try my hand :)

Ive been looking at a lot of different drivers over the last week or so and am quite keen to try the Mark Audio A7, CHR70 or perhaps A12, a full range is appealing and the Alpairs looks get a thumbs up from my wife (this is a huge plus ;))

Would this be a good way to go?

Ive still lots of research to do but am thinking of a floor standing design for the cabinets.

I currently have a pair of B&W 602.5's at the front and some old Kef Cresta's at the rear, ive not found anywhere that I can listen to the Alpairs near me so was wondering if anyone could hint at how they may sound in comparison?

I would say they will be used 50/50 for music/movies and we listen at moderate volumes in a 6x4m room.

Thanks in advance for any light you can shed :)


Since you've posted this query to the Full-range forum, I'll assume you want to keep it simple - within the limits of the room you describe, a single full range driver per enclosure could be quite satisfactory. For front row channels (all 3 if you want to do it "right"), you should probably consider the larger drivers in floor standing cabinets. By all accounts the new A12 would be an excellent choice for this application.

For the surrounds, the CHR70 would for me be a no-brainer, - as these channels are generally less demanding in terms of spectral content and SP levels, they could easily be very compact sealed enclosures which lend themselves to stand or wall/bracket mounting.

There are any number of enclosure designs posted at either the Mark Audio or Planet10 site.
 
Thanks for the quick reply Chris, yes I was thinking keeping it simple might be the best option for my first attempt :)

Is that quite satisfactory phrased in a good way or simply mediocre/adequate?

As you say ill be looking to have 3 channels at the front, our current lack of a centre is partly the reason my wife is giving me the go ahead.
 
Thanks for the quick reply Chris, yes I was thinking keeping it simple might be the best option for my first attempt :)

Is that quite satisfactory phrased in a good way or simply mediocre/adequate?

As you say ill be looking to have 3 channels at the front, our current lack of a centre is partly the reason my wife is giving me the go ahead.


yup, that should have been "more than ... "


FWIW, if this is an opportunity to improve on the performance of a "HT" system by adding a discrete centre channel speaker, don't be tempted to compromise on that channel.

After being substantially disappointed by a poorly implemented attempt at a multichannel system several years ago (mostly due to my lack of enthusiasm as well as budget for a decent processor), I've yet to really get warmed up to the idea of adding complexity to my 2 channel TV system.

However, even only part way through reading the most recent book by Floyd Toole has me reconsidering the matter. In any case, I'm sure the truly experienced experts in HT systems will attest that the centre channel is the single most important speaker in the system. This book should be required reading for music recording / mixing engineers, many of whom cling to decades old habits, and may not have a clue, nor care about what things actually sound like in the majority of real world (i.e. often very sub-optimal) listening rooms.

<rant off>

With appropriate tuning of the bass management controls in any competent surround processor/receiver, the centre will be relieved of the heaviest lifting, which can allow simplification and reduction of volume of enclosure. Of course, efforts should be made to voice as closely as possible to the L&R mains in terms of its critical bandwidth, tonality and dynamic capabilities.
 
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Thanks Chris, Ive read about the impotance of the centre channel too, thats probably why we dont have one yet, id rather leave it to my B&W's than skimp on it.

Its only really in the last year or so that ive started with HT, I thought I was happy with my stereo setup too but now im glad ive gone this route.

Ive not really looked into it but my fronts are currently biamped, would there be much benefit to having 2 drivers per cabinet for the left & right? Would I be better with a single A12 than for example two biamped A7's? Sorry I should research it before posting..off to do so now!
 
Thanks Chris, Ive read about the impotance of the centre channel too, thats probably why we dont have one yet, id rather leave it to my B&W's than skimp on it.

Its only really in the last year or so that ive started with HT, I thought I was happy with my stereo setup too but now im glad ive gone this route.

Ive not really looked into it but my fronts are currently biamped, would there be much benefit to having 2 drivers per cabinet for the left & right? Would I be better with a single A12 than for example two biamped A7's? Sorry I should research it before posting..off to do so now!


For what sounds like an incremental upgrade, I'd recommend all 3 speakers in the front row be a single of the the same model. Not having heard the most recent MA(Alpair 7 or 12's), it would be a bit presumptuous to suggest which of these would be most suitable for your particular situation. Futhermore, I'm certainly at least a decade behind the bleeding edge of the HT/Surround sound curve, but unless your processor/receiver/computer sound card includes the capability to do so, I'd opine that bi-amping could needlessly complicate things, and not necessarily ensure improved performance and overall system balance.

in other words, baby steps
 
frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
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That makes the rears suddenly a lot cheaper, sounds like a good place to start before progressing to the fronts!

Maybe, maybe not, depends on what you had in mind for the surrounds...

CHR-splayedSurround-3d.gif


dave
 
..but unless your processor/receiver/computer sound card includes the capability to do so, I'd opine that bi-amping could needlessly complicate things, and not necessarily ensure improved performance and overall system balance.

Im using an Onkyo 875 which has the option of biamping the fronts, so I have it that way atm almost free of charge so to speak.

A single driver will probably be easier to implement as you say.

Its a shame ill probably be unable to compare the drivers before hand but im sure id be happy with either.

Thats an interesting design planet10, certainly more adventurous than id had planned, now youve got me thinking though ;)
 
Im using an Onkyo 875 which has the option of biamping the fronts, so I have it that way atm almost free of charge so to speak.

A single driver will probably be easier to implement as you say.

in which case the "advantage" is moot


Its a shame ill probably be unable to compare the drivers before hand but im sure id be happy with either.

yup, that first leap of faith is probably the hardest

That's an interesting design planet10, certainly more adventurous than I'd had planned, now youv'e got me thinking though ;)

you want to determine number and placement of surrounds before choosing between bipole or directional designs.
 
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