Audio Nirvana Classic 8 Ferrite vs. Mark Audio Alpair 12P

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The A12P is very very nice and if you have space for a SuperPensil box for it, it is all you need.
If you put it in a small box then I advise active filtering, maybe using minidsp (no experience with it myself, but everyone loves it) and biamping to a separate woofer. Getting both speakers to work well together may require a few days of experimenting.

So I made a few fullrange speakers over the years and liked them quite a bit, yet -oh heresy- meanwhile I discovered Harbeth traditional 2 and 3 way speakers (monitors of the BBC style), and the voices were so absolutely natural through them that I don’t care anymore if it is multiway - my next speakers will be ready made Harbeths, as soon as my little kids are old enough not to poke a finger through the cones!

Nothing wrong with multiway speakers they can and usually outplay any single or coax drivers in every way possible.
 
Nothing wrong with multiway speakers they can and usually outplay any single or coax drivers in every way possible.

Harbeth however is special in that they are hard to clone, you can't get their drivers and their cross-overs are not simple. That means buying them with cash and they are pricey.
 
frugal-phile™
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If you use biamping with an active filter as mentioned, would it matter if the box is small? Imagine the A12P used from say 200hz.

Problems we had with smaller boxes were “congestion”, a lack in the midrange that went away with bigger boxes. No experience using it as a midTweeter.

Unless you want to really play loud i’d be looking at one of the smaller Mark Audio for their better dispersion & finesse.

dave
 
My AN15" is for single box mono only so I need the whizzer for good dispersion (and it's superb) but for stereo perhaps the Classic (no whizzer) is a better option with it's narrower dispersion. Anybody thought about that before choosing their AN driver ? I wrote to David, he suggested that given how much I like the AN15 Super I should stick with the whizzered versions.
 
My AN15" is for single box mono only so I need the whizzer for good dispersion (and it's superb) but for stereo perhaps the Classic (no whizzer) is a better option with it's narrower dispersion.

From just looking at its published response, I'd say no and just over-toe them to 'taste' unless super tweeters are added. The classic ideally needs some form of CD horn EQ [parallel notch filter]: mh-audio.nl - Home

GM
 
re: Nirvana - have others experience a large parameter shift from suspension stiffening? Fs went up a half octave on my stamped frame AN8 pair taking Qts up along for the ride. Fs started high on my AN10, raising Qts also. I'v heard Fs can be restored by treating the doped surround with turpentine.
 
I had the Classic 8" ferrite tested here (Klippel, etc) and am amazed at the low distortion and high DI of these drivers - after about 300+ hours, the suspension relaxed and Fs went down a little and the freq response both on and off axis flattened out - a truly remarkable driver, particularly when operated from >120Hz on an IEC winged baffle.
 
I have the SuperCast 12 and same experience, it greatly improved after 200+ hours. Still not the best speaker for complex crescendo's, i.e. big orchestral and hard rock, but spooky real at less challenging levels. I cross over to subs at 70Hz, and frankly would probably benefit from a super tweeter about 12Khz or so. (sorry didn't mean to steal the thread)
 
Yes, those 12s are a bit of a mystery - the box dimensions according to tested specs just don't seem to produce clean bass - it has taken 3 attempts at a compromised design to get a reasonable bass down to 35Hz (included some room gain) and added one of those cheap Fostex horn tweeters - the monster Levinson amp isn't a good match for it and better with a local Weston tube amp - I think the amp allows good results with his preferred classics but the drivers are slightly over damped so maybe this contributes to the better control - it's a bit of a guessing game in this area as the room contributes so much with the way these speakers/drivers radiate - they seem to benefit from quite a lot of diffusers but it gets a bit 'unsightly' and his Mrs went a 'bit spare' when she saw the skylines on the ceiling! (since replaced these with Tim's painted 'leanfusors' that are nearly hidden between the exposed rafter beams)

Seasons Greetings to everyone and Best Wishes for the next year ... james
 
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