rsf1977 said:
what happened to the quad box? Kinda looks like PA speaker enclosures?
The science didn't work. I had a number of designs to choose from. The "quad" style was sonically the weakest by a fair bit. It was also quite heavy. Separating it into 2 boxes solved the weight issue. Going with that shape meant I could use that particular horn, which is one of the reasons the box sounds so good. The horn is extremely big. 2 pieces also meant I could just take the top box for smaller gigs. That being said, the sub adds a lot of the room filling presence (not like the amp control). I tried it with and without the sub. The thing with the sub is, it's not just low end flubb, it's very defined, punchy, clear bass. I have an acoustic gig I do. Sort of a storytellers thing. I'll be using the whole stack for that gig. Even at low volumes, that effortless bass presence sounds great. With a Mama Bear IR and that sub, you get that nice bass swell from the plugged acoustic that you get off the body of the guitar unplugged. It's not over the top or out of control. It's just nice.
I just realized I hadn't posted the pics in this thread. Have a look at that horn. The flare that extends past the attachment point sticks out a solid 4in. The magnet is also really big. Look at the unloaded box. For reference, that lower speaker in the top box is a 12in. Now look at the size of the circle in the box behind the square for the horn. That is a support for the magnet. It's a big magnet.
Basically I had a list of criteria sound wise and look wise. The designs that had it look wise, lost a considerable amount in the sound. This particular one got the sound spot on. I decided to go for sound instead of looks. Like I said, I was a little disappointed at the look, until I heard what it sounded like. It really does sound incredible. FWIW, the dimensions of the box seem to be about the same as my Genelecs, only blown up. The seem the have roughly the same ratio of width - height - depth. I haven't done any measurements, it's just an off the cuff observation.
FYI: That speaker combo is made to work together. That type of horn, in particular, is a rarity. The old JBL biradials were great, but had a lot of issues. This one solves almost all the issues inherent in the old biradial designs. You can't see what's going on there without seeing a cross section (it's a proprietary design so you're not going to), but let's just say it's not a straight forward horn. There's a lot going on in there.
DJD100 said:
Wow, they look great!
Questions:
No port on the high/mid box?
Where's the Sub crossed-over at?
Congrats!
Glad you like them. The head should help the look quite a bit. It'll be a slant front head with a panel that hides the amps and crossover.
That particular speaker (12) was chosen mainly because of the way it couples with the horn. It likes to work in a sealed inclosure. With this combination there is no audible separation between the horn and 12.
I can't remember the exact crossover frequency, but a D5 (open shape) will get some added thump. I know all the crossovers have a smooth slope with a fair bit of overlap.
BTW: The box hasn't been set in open air yet. I don't have an anechoic chamber so open air will have to do. In short, there's some fine tuning still to go.
Look wise, the grills are still to go on. There will be sonically transparent foam behind them, so the speakers will not be seen. It's actually to keep the dust and other nasties away from the speakers. The grill is a steel honeycomb with 6mm holes. I tried to get some photos yesterday, but the light was too low by the time I thought about it. I was having too much fun playing through it and lost track of time. Try photographing different textures of black in low light.
One major plus of this box is stage bleed isn't really a problem. The dispersion is so wide that everyone in the room will easily be in the sweet spot. It's also the ideal sound so it's not going to be fighting with the FOH sound like a conventional box. It will merely blend with it.
On a side note... The designer is now seriously considering copying my rig from the top down after hearing what it can do with that box. He's already redesigning some of his system to incorporate that horn and 12 combo. It's way bigger than what he was going for as well, but as he said "it just sounds way too good to not use it."
Also keep in mind, this thing is only idling. It does everything fairly effortlessly. It's built like brick sh*t house and all the speakers are extremely durable and have protection built in. It would take a monumental effort to break them. That's one of the things I was gong for. I'll be handing this thing down to my kids one day.
I should have the box complete with the head this week. The head is going to take some designing. It's just a fancy rack case, but I want it to look good. BTW, the cab is the width of my SKB Rack.
). Each instrument had very good separation and the low end was tight and controlled, in other words, and accurate reproduction. Anyways, I love it. I can go IEM if I need to, go the big rig, or soon, go with a medium rig. All with the same great sound. I think my next upgrade will be some Ultimate Ears or Sensaphonics. Not sure which yet. I'd love to go for the Ultimate Ears sound quality, but I really like the Sensaphonics ambient mixer.
