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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
seanheis1 OP
626 posts
 
thanks for the suggestion on the gtaudioworks. Those look like Magnepan killers. 

Yesterday I received some Betsy open baffle speakers made by caintuck audio from an Agon seller and I can't stop listening to them. They are laughably good for the money.

It does sound like the band is playing in the room. When you hear a speaker without a crossover, you learn what coherence is. When you hear a speaker without a box, you learn what the box sounds like. When you hear a good speaker without a box or mid/tweet crossover, you begin to question conventional designs.

This speaker does need bass reinforcement though. At some point today I plan to add my REL to see how it blends.  



   
bdp24's avatar
bdp24
9,819 posts
 

@gnjtack. you are SO right about the OB sub and dipole speaker pairing being a great one. There are a number of us Maggie/Eminent Technology/Quad speaker owners using a pair of the GR Research/Rythmik OB/Dipole Servo-Feedback Subs with them. But as you said, it is a DIY product, the woofers and dedicated servo amp available as a kit only. However, there are a few woodworkers making flat pack OB frames to install the parts in, the flat packs pretty easily assembled.

Linkwitz Lab offers it's own OB/Dipole sub as part of complete OB speakers systems, but again as a kit only. The top model is tri-amped, the consumer required to provide three stereo amps (or six mono), including the one for the woofers. That can get expensive!

gavman's avatar
gavman
135 posts
 
I made an enquiry to Spatial's European distributor last week, as I'm very interested in the Lumina. 
Unfortunately received the response that they are not currently available like for like in Europe, the distributor is working his own variants and is still navigating EU approval on the bass amplifiers.
 Very disappointed 
mijostyn's avatar
mijostyn
8,570 posts
 
I love open baffle speakers. All of the speakers I would own are open baffle and I have been using nothing but since 1978. Having said this open baffle or dipoles subwoofers is a silly notion even from a DIY perspective. The way you control bass dispersion into a room is by careful placement against walls and into corners using multiple drivers. 
In 1982 or so I built dipole subwoofers for my Acoustats falling for the reasoning that they would be easier to match up with dipole speakers. The experiment lasted 6 months and was a total and complete failure as far as real low bass was concerned.
sevenseasofrye
1 posts
 

I recently got some Lii Audio F15 full range drivers. I fashioned some some 3/4 inch plywood sheets to hold them. This is the first time trying full range speakers and open baffles. 

I am struck how a lot of tracks now sound very different, with instruments seeming to disappear or are playing in a different room of the studio than the rest of the band. Example the harpiscord jangling in the left channel of Van Morrison's Cyprus Avenue is very faint, almost not there. Or the lead guitar on Neil Young's Unknown Legend from Harvest Moon, which is like a distance echo. Again Bob Dylan's voice on Queen Jane Approx is fantastic but the rest of the bad seem to be in room next door. This from a mint copy MFSL of Highway. 

This very off putting. Is there something very easily explained going wrong? I am delighted with the sound of Stan Getz's sax on the Girl from Ipanema. Its the best I ever heard. 

Any ideas? Or should i just adjust my expectations from the sounds i was familiar with from listening only on cabinet speakers before. 

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