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Interesting experience with two very different speaker designs

I wanted to relay my experience with two different sets of speakers in hopes that it might prove interesting and/or help some folks.

My current speakers are Tekton Electron SE with a Pass XA30.5 and a MicroZOTL2 Preamp.  I was absolutely loving the sound but I started getting into the DIY open baffle thing.  I started with a very simple JE labs design with a single driver and after a few prototypes, I ended up with a 2-way using an Emminence Alpha 15 and a Tang Band W8 2145.

After breaking the DIY speakers in a bit, I was really blown away.  The soundstage was huge and very 3D.  The bass was big and warm but still pretty fast and articulate.  Also, the speed of the speakers was very apparent.  I loved them especially on big orchestral works where the soundstage really comes to life.

I lived with them for about 4 months and then I put the Electrons back.  Very interesting.  Timbrally, the Electrons were just better.  The OBs upper midrange sounded kind of flat and beamy in comparison.  The bass on the Electrons, though not as extended, was better controlled.  In some ways I found the OBs to be more transparent in that they really pointed out the flaws in some recordings.  Well recorded stuff sounded amazing but they gave no love to mediocre recordings.  The Electrons just make everything sound good. Much more forgiving.  

Going from the OBs to the Electrons, I lost some of that soundstage magic.  The Electrons, though they have some depth, lack that completely open 3D thing that the OBs were giving me.  However, from top to bottom, they just sound right.  Instruments sound like how they are supposed to sound.  That all-important midrange really shines.

Though I like both these speakers, I'm going to stick with the Tektons.  However, if what you value is speed, transparency and soundstage over timbre, I think open baffle is a good way to go.  I'll say this with the caveat that I'm not a speaker designer and there may be OB speakers out there that really get the timbre thing right too.  I'd love to hear some!
adam8179
arafiq's avatar
arafiq
1,695 posts
 
Commercial speakers are made to do one thing and one thing only, to make a profit.

That’s a rather black and white view. Profit making and creativity/passion are not always mutually exclusive. There are a number of very talented designers and speaker makers like John Devore, Jim Salk, Jim Thiel, Alan Shaw, Jeff Joseph, the list goes on ... Yes, these folks run companies that pay their bills, but to boil it down to just one thing (profits) is unfair and overly pessimistic. These are creative people who are passionate about their craft. They have been continuously evolving their designs over many years. Each successive release is better than the previous one.

But I understand we live in the age of google scholars. Anyone can download ’instructions’ from google and perform open heart surgery. Who needs surgeons, doctors, PhDs anymore. Experts who devote their lives learning and perfecting their craft and knowledge are overrated and driven purely by greed. Perhaps this forum is full of people who can make better speakers than Jim Thiel on their first try. I’m truly humbled to be in the presence of such genius. Carry on :)

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mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
@arafiq, give me a break. You think these guys are nuclear physicists?
Geniuses are busy doing important or creative work, not designing loudspeakers. Any creativity happened decades ago. Today it is only in the marketing. Even if they started out altruistically, with employees, regulations, insurance etc, it quickly becomes just another business. If they do not see it that way they go under Like Apogee Acoustics.
mozartfan
2,143 posts
 
Are you sure you are being honest here???
Unbiased and fair.
IMHO there is no possible way a Tekton or any other xover speaker is going to beat out the Tang Band 2145. This is a impossibility and I am afraid to say I do not believe for even 1 second you are being credulous with us here.
Tekton over the Tang Band 2145?
Total impossibility.

EDIT
AS I walked away from the computer,, did you say, OB as in open baffle?
Yes.
I hate OB's. 
However putting the driver ina  closed cabinet will only give a  tighter low bass, maybe increase over all perfmonace, Not sure. 
With OB's some of the speakers energy  is wasted out the rear.
In my tests the Tang band has good tight bass, clean mids all the way through and excellent highs.
However I prefered the  midrange ever so slightly more from the DavidLouis VX8.
It is impossible the Tektons are going to beat out the mids of the TB2145. 
Impossible.

danager's avatar
danager
965 posts
 
As  Dan Aykroyd eloquently said:  https://youtu.be/c91XUyg9iWM?t=66

However putting the driver ina closed cabinet will only give a tighter low bass, maybe increase over all perfmonace, Not sure.
With OB's some of the speakers energy is wasted out the rear.

Putting a driver in a closed cabinet is what wastes energy.  As the speaker moves back it pressurizes the box requiring more energy to complete the stroke and that is what  wastes energy and then controlling the pressurized driver moving forward from overshooting which also causing distortion. The vibrations generated by driver mounted to the front causes box resonance which colors /  distorts the sound.  Not adequately attaching the driver or not properly bracing the enclosure increases the vibration hence magnifying the resonance.   

You can port the box relieving the back pressure and reinforce lower  frequency which will give you more bass bit not necessarily  tighter bass.

A driver with the proper Q / stiffness mounted as an open baffle doesn't waste energy out the back.  It uses that sound energy to create a more natural experience.  All natural sound radiates, reflects and uses our natural hearing ability for audio location. Boxes reduce the radiated sound pattern and only generate out the front which is very unnatural.

 Actually  open baffle subs are touted as some of the most natural sounding of the low frequency generators.  BOOM BOOM is when the end user is unable to properly integrate with the proper frequency and loudness which is probably why you are unable to use one.

"An acoustic event has dimensions of Time, Tone, Loudness and Space"
Siegfried Linkwitz ( of the cocreator of the Linkwitz Riley crossover)

This is what you should be reading before you post such flawed untrue statements that you falsely believe are actual facts.
http://linkwitzlab.com/The_Magic/The_Magic.htm

Now there are some who agree with you regarding the Tang Band W8-1772 but even they recommend to 
Add on AMT tweeter for single driver speaker for the ultimate in clarity.
They also use speaker grills to assist in dispersing the energy to enhance the sound.

https://transcendentsound.com/amt-tweeter-two-way-speaker.html

Maybe you should post on their forum 

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