What Do You Think . . . and How Does It Work?

kenjit,

"Even ATC use box shapes and yet they are regarded as the finest speakers. It is all a hoax."


Be fair kenjit, ATC started introducing curved slightly tapered side panels to their domestic cabinets a few years back. You can be sure they did it for good sonic reasons.

http://atcloudspeakers.co.uk/hi-fi/loudspeakers/entry-series/scm40/


Tapered cabinets must be a nightmare to produce consistently. Others like Sonus Faber have been doing it for decades.

The big exception is Harbeth but then they follow the BBC research which identifed these issues some 50 years ago. To keep the accepted box cabinet they came up with the almost unique concept of carefully constructed thin walled lossy cabinets as an answer.

As far as I know only Harbeth and Spendor currently do this.

I just finished building a pair of LXMinis (Plutos are the old version). But I'm not ready to give an opinion on sound because I don't have them in the best location at the moment. And heaven forbid, I'm using a cheap pair of Chinese stereo Class-D amps (I'll worry about switching to another amp later if they measure poorly in a good location. I've been in blind amp tests, so I don't worry too much about amps, but some of these cheap amps do have FR problems.). But I will say I played the Chesky Ultimate Demonstration Disc and they did everything the disc said they were supposed to.

As always with DIY, expect it to take longer and cost more than you think. My first impression is that they'd be better with subs, but subs require an upgrade to a $500 DSP and programming, whereas the regular kit from Madisound comes with a preprogrammed MiniDSP. And the plans are an extra $100+. Also the plans aren't 100% clear and don't perfectly match the Madisound kit (but close enough).  Another point of contention is that the plans don't tell you how to connect the MiniDSP to which amp channels. I had to figure that out from reading the LXMini build forum.

Keep in mind that the concept of active crossovers is a whole different animal. It may not be just plug-n-play like passive crossovers, which I've had experience building before. If you need to adjust the programming you're going to need a measurement microphone and REW, and the time to learn how to use that. So at least another $100. I already have those. And you'd need to learn how to program the MiniDSP if it needs adjustment.

You're also not going to make perfectly straight cuts in 3-4" PVC unless you have a miter or radial arm saw. My 10" miter wouldn't cut all the way through the 4", so I had to fiddle with trimming it a bit. And cutting PVC makes an absolute mess. The dust settles on everything like a magnet.

If you do decide to go this route, start with a simple source. My system runs wirelessly from a laptop running Amazon Music HD and MusicBee into a Paradigm PW Link preamp into a MiniDSP 2x4 HD into each channel of the amps (each driver gets its own channel). But first I tested using a CD player straight into the MiniDSP. It cut down on the points of failure.

And obviously looks are subjective. My buddy says it looks like a combination of an ashtray and a pipe bomb. I wrapped mine completely in black woodgrain with silver undertones vinyl, which provided its own set of problems. I like the quirky looks simply because they are so different, and they're about function over form. But I don't expect these to supplant my next project that I'm building for my new media room - Bill Fitzmaurice David w/upgraded drivers in charcoal auto paint. Another quirky looking, function-over-form speaker from a brilliant designer.

Built Linkwitz Orions in 2006. Still my main speakers. Built the PVC Plutos in 2008. Stunningly good, odd looking, speakers. Small footprint. Lightweight and easy to move. Work best somewhat near field. The Pluto sound more like real music than magico IMHO. 

@darkstar, More realistic that Magico?  But I thought those were supposed to be near-best?

Be fair kenjit, ATC started introducing curved slightly tapered side panels to their domestic cabinets a few years back. You can be sure they did it for good sonic reasons.

It looks like ALL their professional speakers are boxes. We all know boxes are bad. 

http://atcloudspeakers.co.uk/professional/loudspeakers/

Having curves doesn't stop it being a box. Its still a box. You gain nothing from having slightly tapered side panels. Its just cosmetic. Hence they do it on their hifi speakers because appearance is important to audiophiles.