Markaudio Pluvia 7 spec's HERE
Markaudio Alpair 7MS spec's HERE
The intent of this thread is to compare both drivers in nearly identical conditions within my testbed. Spec's soon.
The 7MS is a new purchase, so has less than 100 hours of low volume use. The P7's have undergone break-in and have undergone stressful use. More on that later...
More importantly, the 7MS is a mono-suspension driver. There is no spider fighting the cone and cancelling frequencies. Also, the cone and basket are designed to improve off axis frequency response. I will, to the best of my ability, analyze that how these small details affect the frequency response. Also, most off axis response curves are missing from Markaudio datasheets so at least some data will be present there.
The test gear:
1) Dayton USB EMM-6 Calibrated Mic.
2) Behringer U-Phoria UM2 USB preamp with 48V phantom power.
3) 19-in 1U rackmount Win10 running REW, custom made with BlueTooth keyboard and HDMI output to smartTV. Optical/SPDIF output to DEQ2496 digital EQ which outputs RCA to the AudioSource Amp3.
4) 1x AudioSource Amp3 150W per channel for power.
5) 5ft tripod to hold the Dayton emm-6.
Markaudio Alpair 7MS spec's HERE
The intent of this thread is to compare both drivers in nearly identical conditions within my testbed. Spec's soon.
The 7MS is a new purchase, so has less than 100 hours of low volume use. The P7's have undergone break-in and have undergone stressful use. More on that later...
More importantly, the 7MS is a mono-suspension driver. There is no spider fighting the cone and cancelling frequencies. Also, the cone and basket are designed to improve off axis frequency response. I will, to the best of my ability, analyze that how these small details affect the frequency response. Also, most off axis response curves are missing from Markaudio datasheets so at least some data will be present there.
The test gear:
1) Dayton USB EMM-6 Calibrated Mic.
2) Behringer U-Phoria UM2 USB preamp with 48V phantom power.
3) 19-in 1U rackmount Win10 running REW, custom made with BlueTooth keyboard and HDMI output to smartTV. Optical/SPDIF output to DEQ2496 digital EQ which outputs RCA to the AudioSource Amp3.
4) 1x AudioSource Amp3 150W per channel for power.
5) 5ft tripod to hold the Dayton emm-6.
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Have you got a boom arm for the tripod? I find such a bulky mechanism to hold a mic causes some squiggly bits in the reading. I normally hang mine from fishing wire which means I can get the mic stand stuff out of the picture a bit more. Looking forward to seeing the off axis, I've never been able to do it well enough to have repeatable results. Some sort of turntable with the acoustic centre marked would be best I suppose but then if I was going to those lengths I'd not be happy with domestic gated measurements either.
outdoors (if noise and wind/weather permit) works well. A plastic turntable marked 0-15-30-45 degrees is cheap/repeatable. (I've moved the mic in an arc before)
with my Karlson stuff, the mic could not alone discern much with aperture changes - probably due to a large source and perhaps varying time arrivals which can be easily heard but not seen/"understood" in a single mic point. Your little direct radiator should be easier in that regard. Your report will be interesting.
with my Karlson stuff, the mic could not alone discern much with aperture changes - probably due to a large source and perhaps varying time arrivals which can be easily heard but not seen/"understood" in a single mic point. Your little direct radiator should be easier in that regard. Your report will be interesting.
I'll try to be as objective as possible, but I'm afraid it will be nowhere anechoic. I have vinyl floors and a relatively small 15ft x 20ft listening room. Consider everything I post an 'approximation'. It's one reason I added 'subjective' to the title...
For the 0deg FR measurement, my technique will be placing the tip of the mic 1 meter direct and level in front of each driver cone and double check the SPL with a calibrated mic plugged into my cell phone using an App. Once it reads 86dB, I should be close to 1Watt. I'm assuming the Markaudio datasheets are correct.
Here's a couple pics of the 2 drivers side by side. You can see how much more shallow the 7MS cone AND basket is compared to the P7 on the right. Also, the basket style is different. I tried to focus on the voice coils too, sorry for the brightness levels.
For the 0deg FR measurement, my technique will be placing the tip of the mic 1 meter direct and level in front of each driver cone and double check the SPL with a calibrated mic plugged into my cell phone using an App. Once it reads 86dB, I should be close to 1Watt. I'm assuming the Markaudio datasheets are correct.
Here's a couple pics of the 2 drivers side by side. You can see how much more shallow the 7MS cone AND basket is compared to the P7 on the right. Also, the basket style is different. I tried to focus on the voice coils too, sorry for the brightness levels.
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Here's a few pics of the enclosures I'm using. They're .1cuft or ~3litres. The rolloff should start at about 150Hz for the P7's. Not sure of the rolloff of the 7MS's? Had a real long day at work... FR measurements will start tomorrow!
Also, the wiring I use is 8 strands of cat5E solid cable with insulation and about 14" long tightly crimped to spade connectors. Spade connectors are very tightly connected to the driver connectors.
The stuffing is very loose fiberglass used in the housing industry.
Also, the wiring I use is 8 strands of cat5E solid cable with insulation and about 14" long tightly crimped to spade connectors. Spade connectors are very tightly connected to the driver connectors.
The stuffing is very loose fiberglass used in the housing industry.
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Thanks Dave, looks identical to the P7. The P7's and 7MS's will be cutoff @150Hz after I do the initial tests.
This morning got everything hooked up and everything is working.
Computer optical out --> DEQ2496 Balanced out --> Audiosource Amp3.
I'm using balanced to RCA converter cables. The first test I did is my noise floor. The fridge and computer fans are the 2 things audible. Very noisy I'm afraid.
Now it's time to depopulate the stands and listen to 2 P7's. The only time I've ever listened to a pair of P7's was in the garage using a Madisound BLH kit meant for the FE126En. I was so impressed I went full bore using them in arrays. Now it's time to revisit.
This morning got everything hooked up and everything is working.
Computer optical out --> DEQ2496 Balanced out --> Audiosource Amp3.
I'm using balanced to RCA converter cables. The first test I did is my noise floor. The fridge and computer fans are the 2 things audible. Very noisy I'm afraid.
Now it's time to depopulate the stands and listen to 2 P7's. The only time I've ever listened to a pair of P7's was in the garage using a Madisound BLH kit meant for the FE126En. I was so impressed I went full bore using them in arrays. Now it's time to revisit.
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Wait, you’re using it in its original manufactured state?! What a novel idea!
This is what happens when I project my own preferences onto other people’s projects. I was picturing you stripping the jacket and insulation off, retwisting the twisted pairs tighter, then braiding the twisted pairs before soldering and crimping to a terminal. Why? Because that’s what I would’ve done if I wanted that thick of a gauge.
Hey no problem! Forums are great for an exchange of ideas.
I couldn't resist, I had to listen to the 7MS's first. I chose Pink Floyd: The Endless River. I listened to the first 3 tracks at about 87 dB from my listening spot about 10ft away. I heard nothing objectionable. Imaging was pretty good. The speakers were about 10ft apart...
Then I ran some Log sweep tests and white noise FR tests with the mic 3ft away from the right side driver. Left side driver was not connected.
So if you look at both FR plots above they pretty much jive with Markaudio's datasheet: Hump @ 120Hz, dip @ 500Hz, dip @ 9-10kHz, and peak @12kHz...
Time for the off axis tests next...
I couldn't resist, I had to listen to the 7MS's first. I chose Pink Floyd: The Endless River. I listened to the first 3 tracks at about 87 dB from my listening spot about 10ft away. I heard nothing objectionable. Imaging was pretty good. The speakers were about 10ft apart...
Then I ran some Log sweep tests and white noise FR tests with the mic 3ft away from the right side driver. Left side driver was not connected.
So if you look at both FR plots above they pretty much jive with Markaudio's datasheet: Hump @ 120Hz, dip @ 500Hz, dip @ 9-10kHz, and peak @12kHz...
Time for the off axis tests next...
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I chose a linear Sin Wave Sweep this time as it reveals more on the top end, 100Hz-20kHz sweep at 15deg, 30deg, 45deg & 90deg off horizontal axis. Very impressive results for the 7MS IMO. As expected.
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Hmm, P7's are abit annoying in the 1-8kHz range while listening to Pink Floyd: The Endless River. Will have to retest the MS7's!
MS7's definitely are an improvement! I hail MA 5" mono-suspension drivers as a worthy successor to the Pluvia series. But Pluvia not too bad either, definitely worth the $. You get what you pay for.
I can say I miss my arrays. Nothing beats cohesive dynamic range.
MS7's definitely are an improvement! I hail MA 5" mono-suspension drivers as a worthy successor to the Pluvia series. But Pluvia not too bad either, definitely worth the $. You get what you pay for.
I can say I miss my arrays. Nothing beats cohesive dynamic range.
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