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Open Baffle. Why are they mostly limited to DIY?

I see a few hybrids from Vandersteen and Spatial Audio, but not much else. 
seanheis1
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,819 posts
 
GR Research offers many OB speakers, but they are offered as kits only. You get the drivers, x/o parts, baffle damping material (NoRez), and baffle making plans. You then either make the OB baffles or buy them from one of the woodworker/cabinet builders who offer them to GR Research customers. If you can solder, you can build the simple cross-overs; if not, there are GR Research Audiocircle Forum members who will do it for you. The open, transparent sound of OB speakers (no enclosure colorations and resonances) at very low cost. If you don't have room for the generally large planars (ESL, magnetic-planar, ribbons), the smaller-sized OB's are a great alternative.
johnk's avatar
johnk
1,975 posts
 
Open baffles existed long before dahlquist  I have one from the 1930s as far as DIY I think many look at a OB thinking its a easy build and it can be, but if done right it can be as complicated and material intensive as any other design if not more so. I do know of a good num of OB on market today but the nature of the OB means baffles should be large and large is a hard sell in loudspeakers. 
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 

'Well, they are different, they are large, and they need a lot of power..'

Yes, can be, not necessarily. Single driver full range OB designs are neither large nor inefficient. I think the main reason for the lack of popularity is esthetics. They "look" too simple and too crude for most people and WAF is below the line. They are also not very versatile and sound best only with certain type of music and certain upstream gear. I just recently built a pair for the first time using the Tang Band W8-1808 full range drivers and they sound real nice but only with jazz, blues, folk vocal  type of music and at moderate volumes. Could be my amplifiers since all I have are high powered SS amps.

atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,841 posts
 
I just recently built a pair for the first time using the Tang Band W8-1808 full range drivers and they sound real nice but only with jazz, blues, folk vocal  type of music and at moderate volumes. Could be my amplifiers since all I have are high powered SS amps.
The problem with this pairing is that the open baffle with the Tangband drivers is likely needing a lower damping factor to sound right. This is why they are often used with tubes. To simulate that, you might consider putting an 8 ohm resistor (probably about a 10 watt device) in series with the speakers, and see if the bass improves. If you play it too loud you might burn up the resistor, but this will give you some idea of what some of the issues might be.

There is no reason an open baffle design can't work- I think the biggest impediment is their appearance, which includes the backside of speaker drivers.
snapsc
676 posts
 
I suspect that another issue for companies that make and sell loudspeakers is the reputation for open baffles like planars and stats needing 3-5' of space. This is a pretty big market limiting factor (fewer possible buyers).... so maybe not the easiest segment to enter and have a viable business???
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