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Pluvia 7 in half-tower MLTL build

Hi everyone,

Just wanted to share here my recent build - the MarkAudio Pluvia 7 and my take on the half-tower MLTL from Planet 10's MicroTower plans.

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Having built the Alpair 10p in pensil cabinets and the 10.3m in FH,to be honest I wasn’t expecting much from this build. I just wanted something that doesn’t take much space and can be placed somewhat close to the walls but these speakers surprised me, I can say I like the highs of these pluvia 7 better than both 10p & 10.3m. The lows are enough for Jazz & acoustic genres. Thanks!

Do they sound as good as they look? They look stunning - well done.


Thanks Larry. These are bottom firing.

Nice work! Are these vented?

Larry
 
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Thank you Anton, but you have uncovered something special for this relatively new Pluvia 7 driver. So, sorry for all the questions, but
1. Which plans did you use? It looks like it could be the halfTower ML-TL v0.91 for Mark Audio CHR-70 or CSS EL70, in the frugal phile box library? You say it is your take on it, but did you change anything?
2. What made you choose this design? If a small footprint and closeness to the wall are considerations, then the compact floor standers are also an option as mentioned in the other Pluvia Seven thread.
3. How does the mid-range compare to your other Alpair speakers?
4. Lastly, what amp are you using?
 
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Very interesting thread !

I built my own version of the half tower here: MARTELLO-2, a mini-tower from a single 2' x 4'

But I've been curious about the Pluvia 7, whether it could be a sonic upgrade from the EL-70. Interesting to see somebody else built the half tower (and do an amazing job of the finishing).

Has anybody had a chance to compare the Pluvia 7 with the EL-70 ?

I happy with the bass of the EL-70 (who isn't) but the treble seems to lack a little something, not quite sure.
 
Hi twocents, pls see me answers below:

1. I've come across several threads where Dave/Chris mentioned that the P7 is very close to the EL70 so I used that plan for this build. I didn't change the internal dimension on the plan, in the drawings all sides have sharp corners, I bevelled the front baffle 45degrees on this and the bottom has an arch-like cut-out on all sides which serves as the feet, I made a base and used spikes instead.

2.The compact floorstander has a rear-firing port, I figured placing it close to the wall will affect the sound significantly, this one is bottom firing.

3.This has very close midrange to the 10.3M.

4. I've tried 2 amps for this, a gainclone and TPA3255 (TI EVM)


Thank you Anton, but you have uncovered something special for this relatively new Pluvia 7 driver. So, sorry for all the questions, but
1. Which plans did you use? It looks like it could be the halfTower ML-TL v0.91 for Mark Audio CHR-70 or CSS EL70, in the frugal phile box library? You say it is your take on it, but did you change anything?
2. What made you choose this design? If a small footprint and closeness to the wall are considerations, then the compact floor standers are also an option as mentioned in the other Pluvia Seven thread.
3. How does the mid-range compare to your other Alpair speakers?
4. Lastly, what amp are you using?



Thanks Bigun, sorry I don't have any experience with EL70 but the treble on this P7 is totally not lacking base on what I hear.

Very interesting thread !
I built my own version of the half tower here: MARTELLO-2, a mini-tower from a single 2' x 4'

But I've been curious about the Pluvia 7, whether it could be a sonic upgrade from the EL-70. Interesting to see somebody else built the half tower (and do an amazing job of the finishing).

Has anybody had a chance to compare the Pluvia 7 with the EL-70 ?

I happy with the bass of the EL-70 (who isn't) but the treble seems to lack a little something, not quite sure.
 
1. I've come across several threads where Dave/Chris mentioned that the P7 is very close to the EL70 so I used that plan for this build. I didn't change the internal dimension on the plan, in the drawings all sides have sharp corners, I bevelled the front baffle 45degrees on this and the bottom has an arch-like cut-out on all sides which serves as the feet, I made a base and used spikes instead.

2.The compact floorstander has a rear-firing port, I figured placing it close to the wall will affect the sound significantly, this one is bottom firing.

3.This has very close midrange to the 10.3M.
1. Thanks, I see Dave confirmed that the P7 tuning is the same as for the EL70. I really like the base and spikes you did on these speakers.

2. Yes you are correct. I did not think of that actually, but the compact floor standers might want some space away from the wall. How do you find the soundstage of these speakers against the wall, compared to the Pensils and FHXLs?

3. I still find it very interesting that these P7 drivers compares so well with the 10.3 and 10P.
 
2. Soundstage is not as wide when placed so close to the walls but the separation of voice from instruments is still there. Can't compare it with 10P in pensils since I don't have them anymore (a friend but from what I remember the 10P lack a bit in the highs but can dig deeper lows than the 10.3. The 10.3 clearly has better highs.

3. I want to make myself clear, I'm not saying the Pluvia 7 is better than the 10P or 10.3m. I just find the top end on these drivers has more "sizzle". The Alpairs still resolves better micro-details esp in the mids/low-mids. But for the price,these Pluvia 7s are really good. Has the same voicing as the metal Alpairs, good imaging and soundstage and well constructed. I think they are worth every penny ;)


2. Yes you are correct. I did not think of that actually, but the compact floor standers might want some space away from the wall. How do you find the soundstage of these speakers against the wall, compared to the Pensils and FHXLs?

3. I still find it very interesting that these P7 drivers compares so well with the 10.3 and 10P.
 
I agree Dave.

Though right now the Pluvia 7s are competing with these in my listening space:

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The Pluvias are giving these ScanSpeak 3-way a good fight in the clarity in mids esp the vocals ;)

P7 is a very good driver. It loses out to the A10x in their DDR, the ability to reproduce small details. Of course one has to listen for that and the system needs to not lose those details before they get to the speaker.

dave
 
Hi Bigun,

The speakers are now with my son and he's using it in his room, with Spotify mainly. I still like how they sound. Great for small room setup.

My son loves them, I don't see him wearing his headphones nowadays so that tells me how much he enjoys the speakers.

Hi Anton, was wondering if you had any follow up listening impressions after these first few weeks of use ?