• Disclaimer: This Vendor's Forum is a paid-for commercial area. Unlike the rest of diyAudio, the Vendor has complete control of what may or may not be posted in this forum. If you wish to discuss technical matters outside the bounds of what is permitted by the Vendor, please use the non-commercial areas of diyAudio to do so.

Alpair 10 Gen. MAOP Prototype TW-1

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
Hi Mark,

Thanks for explaining that. It seems the new design trades off a bit high end and efficiency for smoother response curve. I suspect that's due to the new spider, right? I was somehow worried about the flexibility of the new spider when I saw those reinforcements but now I am not.

And yes I forgot about the contamination issue. The ink may make its way down to the MAOP so it's impossible to remove all of the ink. Maybe I should come up with another way...

Hi Boris,
You still up? It late here in HK.
The MAOP cone is doing most of the work re the smoother response.
Let me know if you do some research on MAOP applications
thx
Mark.
 
Hello,

We held a listening session in Fotan today and listened initial performance of the Alpair 10 Gen. MAOP prototype TW-1. All of us were surprised at the sound of the new driver. Alpair 10 Gen. MAOP was excellect on the 3D sound stage. The sound we heard was very balanced and natural. The mid range was so soft and smooth without loss of detail. The bass was deep and solid. Although the new drivers need time for run-in, they performed so good as we heard.

Mark, when will the new driver be available? My friend, Thomas confirmed to have one pair.
 

Attachments

  • DSCN5073.jpg
    DSCN5073.jpg
    805.9 KB · Views: 614
  • DSCN5076.jpg
    DSCN5076.jpg
    803.9 KB · Views: 563
  • DSCN5074.jpg
    DSCN5074.jpg
    765.8 KB · Views: 649
Hello,

We held a listening session in Fotan today and listened initial performance of the Alpair 10 Gen. MAOP prototype TW-1. All of us were surprised at the sound of the new driver. Alpair 10 Gen. MAOP was excellect on the 3D sound stage. The sound we heard was very balanced and natural. The mid range was so soft and smooth without loss of detail. The bass was deep and solid. Although the new drivers need time for run-in, they performed so good as we heard.

Mark, when will the new driver be available? My friend, Thomas confirmed to have one pair.



free-handing the installation of mounting screws with enclosure in vertical position - brave man

but then you know a guy at the factory for quick replacement parts :rolleyes:

almost a shame to loose the gorgeous copper-tone finish, but what sacrifices we make in the name of sonics ;)
 
It seems like this will be an excellent driver, but I do have a couple questions. I know that the prototype is white because it is a ceramic coating, but will white be the only option for cone color?
Will this coating also make it to other drivers, or only the Alpair 10.2?

I would also like to commend you on what appears to be an extremely rapid product development cycle for constantly improving all of your products.
 
Blimey, give the man a chance! There's only one or two prototype pairs of this A10 based unit in existence, and no confirmation it will be offered for sale, so speculating on whether MAOP cones will make it to other units in the range is a little premature. ;) Regarding colour, I suspect it'll be a case of any colour you like providing it's white. Assuming it's even possible to have different shades of MAOP coating, it's not going to be economical for Mark to offer it in a range of them, particularly in a special edition model, which this would almost certainly have to be.
 
Last edited:
It seems like this will be an excellent driver, but I do have a couple questions. I know that the prototype is white because it is a ceramic coating, but will white be the only option for cone color?
Will this coating also make it to other drivers, or only the Alpair 10.2?

I would also like to commend you on what appears to be an extremely rapid product development cycle for constantly improving all of your products.

Hi L,
Correcting the initial part of your first question (highlighted text), its not ceramic. That's an entirely different process thats based on glass or other silica materials. Re the colour, at this stage, we only have the off-white. No plans to introduce an alternative.

Likely will be also used on the New Alpair 12 but its largely up to you guys. If enough Diyers tell me they want this process on other metal coned drivers, I'll do my best to make it happen.

Cheers

Mark
 
Last edited:
Hi Chaps,

At this stage, the plan is to have the MAOP drivers individually made by Evan Yu, Kitagawo San and Taniguchi San. The drivers will then be individually sweep tested in an anechoic chamber and pair matched. The test results will be printed and placed with the drivers. You'll know who built each pair of drivers as the 3 assemblers will sign their names to each unit.

The cones require special care when being handled. They're expensive to make and take 1 month to complete. While they are quite robust, the light colour can be marked by finger nails etc. so they're best suited to "special" limited production by these 3 guys.

Cheers
Mark.
 
I think that's going to cause a few people to come down with wants it lust, Gollum style. ;)

Hi Scott,
Still up?
Yup, could be lust.

Boy was I nervous yesterday afternoon. Norio san, Tony, Graham, Kenneth, Peter and the gang are all very serious audio guys. Bit like walking into the lion's den but this time, they didn't eat me for afternoon snacks. Seriously, they're nice guys but they aren't into "average" audio. Peter brought along his vintage GE KT88's and some rare 6SN7's. He only uses and trades vintage GE valves (tubes). Dare not ask him the prices but the cotton gloves were in permanent use when handling these treasures.

Personally speaking, I enjoyed these drivers in the 10.2 Pensils. Bass and mids were pure delight. Highs very clean, especially when mated to Kenneth's mono 300B's.

Cheers
Mark.
 
Last edited:
Gollum eh? My precious. Maybe like the ring, when installed in a cabinet it disappears. Mark - would you say these may be a bit more forgiving of source than the standard 10.2?

Hi Jim,
Yes, thats the impression I got. Judging from the chat at yesterday's first listening session, I think it was Graham or Norio who said the MAOP driver came between a metal and paper cone.

We played a mix of CD's, some were "average" quality (Pink Champagne 2 CD Jazz set for example). These recordings did better on the MAOPs than the standard Alp 10's. Pretty much expected given the coating will have a smoothing effect on the cone's output.

2 of the guys at yesterday's meet already have Alp10 Gen 1 and Gen 2's. Interesting that Thomas wanted to "up-grade" to this driver. I think it could be a driver that firstly interests those guys with existing Alp10 set-ups, or those guys who really want to fine tune a system and make something the wife (partner likes), a system that looks good as well as sounds good.

In all honesty, I wouldn't suggest these drivers as an "experimenters" due to their likely price. Once we get into individual hand-builds and anechoic matching, I guess a pair is going work out at around the US$430 to US$530 region.

Cheers
Mark
 
Last edited:
Mark you mentioed applying MAOP to next gen Alp 12 - that is a limited edition run too?
-Zia

Hi Zia,
Yes, most likely. The coating cost for bigger cones becomes increasingly expensive.

Also component handling becomes an issue. For example, last Wednesday, the courier managed to wreak 12 sets of the new neckless Alpair 12 cone!:eek: Imagine if these were MAOP versions:eek::RIP:

Once we add MAOP, it likely won't be viable to go to mass production. MAOP really is for guys like yourself who once's they've done their practice on the standard drivers, want to go the "Full Monty" and fit this top version. Or Diyers who want to take time to build a pro-look finished project. For example, there's a member in Sweden (I think) on one our thread who's made a system using a re-made Chinese amp with Alps in matching painted boxes. See if you can find his pics and imagine MAOP driver is his cabs.

Cheers
Mark
 
Last edited:
Hi Boris,
You still up? It late here in HK.
The MAOP cone is doing most of the work re the smoother response.
Let me know if you do some research on MAOP applications
thx
Mark.
Hi Mark,
City never sleeps, and to be exact, teens never sleep.

I have done some Googling on the MAOP and it seems the process is very similar to anodizing, except it needs far higher voltage, uses a different electrolyte (diluted alkaline in MAO, sulfuric acid in conventional anodizing) and the microstructure can be tailored to suit the application.

If the oxide coating is semi porous, it should be able to be dyed just like anodized aluminum, but I suspect that is not the best idea around as it might change the damping properties of the coating. Imagine packing up holes in a sponge, the sponge will be stiffer. Also, the MAO process seems to be REALLY EXPENSIVE, so I don't see much benefits of risking.

Masking prior to MAO is possible though, but definitely not with markers! Maybe acrylic based paint?
 
Hi welborne,

Your Alpair 10 Gen.1 is a classic driver of Mark Audio. If you can compare Alpair Gen.1 with Gen.2 and Gen.2 MAOP TW-1, you will easily hear the difference and improvements on the sound from the Alpair Gen.2 and Gen.2 MAOP TW-1. The performance of Alpair Gen.2 MAOP TW-1 goes to high-end level.

Cheers,
Tony.

Hi Mark,

Very nice to see you keep working and improving on these wonderful drivers. My pair of Alpair 10 is still serving nicely at home. Well done.

ciao.
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.