Unique concept from Decware in OB design.. Plans are available for the diy crowd.. Audiophile Tube Amps and Tube Gear from DECWARE
While the concept certainly is unique (as far as I know) I'd stay far far away from these things as a commercial product.
First, the published specs don't make any sense. He claims 99 db but he's using the Fostex FE207E the last time I checked, which doesn't add up. Also, if those things can do 112 db at 38 hz I'll eat my socks.
Reading up on the history of this design is good for a laugh though, the many iterations were so convoluted and complex and just downright weird that I used to check in often to see what he would come up with next. He started with the FE206E, and desperately tried to make it work. He was using an odd live broadcast system (mic inside the bass box) and sending the bass to his Imperial subs at first. Then he decided the bass section would be better is he used his reference fullrangers as "subs", a speaker that is widely known for it's lack of bass. Finally, I think he gave in and used a slightly higher q driver in order to ditch the ill conceived bass broadcast system.
The concept itself is very interesting, but the $3000 finished product is not.
First, the published specs don't make any sense. He claims 99 db but he's using the Fostex FE207E the last time I checked, which doesn't add up. Also, if those things can do 112 db at 38 hz I'll eat my socks.
Reading up on the history of this design is good for a laugh though, the many iterations were so convoluted and complex and just downright weird that I used to check in often to see what he would come up with next. He started with the FE206E, and desperately tried to make it work. He was using an odd live broadcast system (mic inside the bass box) and sending the bass to his Imperial subs at first. Then he decided the bass section would be better is he used his reference fullrangers as "subs", a speaker that is widely known for it's lack of bass. Finally, I think he gave in and used a slightly higher q driver in order to ditch the ill conceived bass broadcast system.
The concept itself is very interesting, but the $3000 finished product is not.
Yeah I hear ya, especially the price compared to some of his other designs that seem much more complex.. He has a very inventive approach however compared to others and for sure there are many naysayers etc.. He has a good ear though, and being a drummer knows how to listen and how things should sound.. His amps are very good for the money if you are the type to purchase rather than build, and the plans for this new OB are available.. The question has been asked about the sensitivity on his forum so I'm just waiting to see the reply... Interesting design though 
With the extra surround he puts on the driver it should be lower sensitivity if anything, not higher. The specs are pure fantasy. Notice there's no +/- spec on the frequency response? That speaker does not do 38 - 22khz by any normal measurement standard. I'll even up the ante and eat your socks if it can do 38 - 22khz at +/- 10 db. And I'm sure he probably did measure 99 db at one meter in room at some single frequency but certainly not across it's entire frequency range.
It's all about marketing. Want some more? I like this one.
Priceless!!!
Also notice his increasing penchant for referring to himself in the third person, also for marketing purposes.
It's all about marketing. Want some more? I like this one.
Priceless!!!
Also notice his increasing penchant for referring to himself in the third person, also for marketing purposes.
Last edited:
maybe its true that the driver sensitivity raise some in the medium band due to the backwave... isn't it? that would justify the 99db figure somewhere aroung 1khz...
do you guys think the bass reinforcement is additive or acts against the backwave diminishing the cancellation?
why did he use a driver with a Q so low as 0.27 except that he does them?
does a design like this, given that it can work to some extent have some real advantage over crossing to an helping woofer? i mean is it a problem to have a woofer in terms of coherence, harmonic integrity etc at frequencies so low??
using heavy DSP i can not get any sound pressure under 50hz from an AN super 8" alone on a 110cm wide baffle (trying to make a mono system ) withouth severe clipping
do you guys think the bass reinforcement is additive or acts against the backwave diminishing the cancellation?
why did he use a driver with a Q so low as 0.27 except that he does them?
does a design like this, given that it can work to some extent have some real advantage over crossing to an helping woofer? i mean is it a problem to have a woofer in terms of coherence, harmonic integrity etc at frequencies so low??
using heavy DSP i can not get any sound pressure under 50hz from an AN super 8" alone on a 110cm wide baffle (trying to make a mono system
) withouth severe clippingI have read about this design and commented on its potential value in open baffle speakers only last week, on my thread as a means to filling in the harmonic tones that i felt were missing from my BAstanis clone. But whether it works or not is another matter. So my keenness on his design is not in its sensitivity and abilty to reach the deepest bass depths but its ability to fill in the missing harmonics in the middle order to make open baffles so much more acccuarte as well as live sounding.
Well yes he sure likes his marketing, but I can't see him releasing something like this if it doesn't work... In almost everything that goes against the norm, or during the creative process, there will always be those that oppose etc.. Some things I do know about Decware is there are many who have used way more expensive gear that have sold off and now use Steve's stuff.. His new Hazen mod for the SV83 and EL34 raised some eyebrows, but seems to be well received by those who have heard it.. The anniversary Taboo Amp which I've owned since Aug 2006 raised some eyebrows and got some comments because of the grounding scheme, but it's worked flawlessly for me all this time, and I've yet to burn out any tubes that I have been using almost exclusively since I've owned it.. As for this new OB, I guess time will tell?, and it's something new and neat to watch and see
Last edited:
You've been visiting his forum for several years now so I'm surprised that you don't know that he says that about every single product he releases. And if there's no new product to promote, he'll say that one of his old speakers combined with one of his old amps is the best thing he's ever heard in his life. If possible, he'll do it in third person to make it seem like his business is large enough to have a marketing dept. I wouldn't trust anything he says about anything.
Easy enough to make your own even without plans, you'd just have to experiment with the ports a bit. It probably wouldn't be hard to do a much better job too. I'd use a higher q driver though, maybe the B200 or something similar, and possibly even a larger resonator. If the bass was too strong, which I imagine would be extremely unlikely, just add some stuffing to the resonator.
Last edited:
@ just a guy, not that easy but I do have B200s and getting the bass to match those highs is a problem I have yet to solve properly. Anyway I won't imagine getting a lot of driving bass from this idea but it is interesting. The trouble with resonant bass systems is they tend to sound... well resonant.
Ah, SD's baffle idea has popped up again. I remember when that first appeared on his site, to the sound of overwhelming silence on his own forum, which didn't appear to please him greatly. That was a couple of years ago at least, obviously he's been doing a fair old bit of fiddling.
Sympathetic helmholtz resonance isn't new; Rega do the same with some of their (box) speakers. Can't recall anyone doing the same with a dipole (well, more a dipole with monopole bass now) though. In principle, the general concept seems reasonable, although I wouldn't take the claimed specs. at face valve.
Owners of 1 man / very small companies writing in the 3rd person is common enough; the vast majority of small companies do the same. No big deal.
Re needing to be cranked up a bit, the drivers themselves don't tend to like regular mass-market amps all that much without a bit of Eq, and you're probably on the right lines about there needing to be sufficient cone displacement to excite the box below.
Sympathetic helmholtz resonance isn't new; Rega do the same with some of their (box) speakers. Can't recall anyone doing the same with a dipole (well, more a dipole with monopole bass now) though. In principle, the general concept seems reasonable, although I wouldn't take the claimed specs. at face valve.
Owners of 1 man / very small companies writing in the 3rd person is common enough; the vast majority of small companies do the same. No big deal.
Re needing to be cranked up a bit, the drivers themselves don't tend to like regular mass-market amps all that much without a bit of Eq, and you're probably on the right lines about there needing to be sufficient cone displacement to excite the box below.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.