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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
atmasphere's avatar
atmasphere
11,653 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
666 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???
seanheis1 OP
595 posts
 
This is all interesting. I would be surprised if buyers of planars and stats considered open baffle, even though they all need lots of space and none of the technologies are known for being lookers. 
twoleftears's avatar
twoleftears
5,313 posts
 
There's also Emerald Physics, from the guy who went on to found Spatial.
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,510 posts
 

To your point, seanheis1, OB's are thought of only in terms of having all cone-type drivers, but some of the best actually use at least one ribbon, magnetic-planar, or similar type driver, usually a tweeter of course, in combination with a cone woofer. And many OB enthusiasts are also planar fans, some having a pair of those as well as OB's. I mean, planars are just OB's with non-cone drivers!

And snapsc, you're exactly right, OB ownership places the same demands upon one as do planars---3 to 5 feet minimum from the wall behind them.

One incorrect thing said above is that OB's require a lot of power. Actually, one thing OB users like is the design's generally high sensitivity. Many owners pair them with low-power single-ended amps. One exception is the Linkwitz OB's, which require not a lot of power over-all, but a separate power amp for each driver. A fairly complicated x/o is a big part of his designs.

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