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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
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 

jerryg123's avatar
jerryg123
3,429 posts
 
@mozartfan hates anything that is not in his listening room.

navyachts's avatar
navyachts
654 posts
 
Maybe run a pair of each, boxed and OB. Best of both worlds!
sokogear
1,100 posts
 
I had a pair of Alons (partial OB?) with the tweeter and midrange on top of the cabinet that held the woofer in the box and I really liked their openness and non-directionality as I normally sit off to the side and in other seats in an open area that includes the kitchen seating area. Pretty big (about 15x35) with 8 ft ceilings.

After 25 years, it was time for a change and I went with a pair of KEF 500s. Same non-directionality unless I am standing even, in between them changing a record where the Alons still sounded good! Otherwise the KEFs are a better sounding speaker in terms of detail and bass especially, as they are much more current technology. The thinness of the cabinet makes them have that openness and non-directionality so there is not as much reverb within the cabinet, and I put them on top of Symposium Segue platforms (changed out the KEF spikes/discs) which kept the speaker at the exact same height, and they sound even better - more detail and clearer with less internal vibration and isolation from the floor. You can add even more bass putting styrofoam inserts KEF provides into ports on the back of the speakers, but I don't need any more bass. I think for the price of these speakers or their replacement, the R5, you can't come close to the value. Now, part of that is because they are made in China (designed in the UK) which lowers their manufacturing cost significantly. I have to say though that the cabinetry is flawless and looks as high a quality as anything I've seen.

It is not a listening room, and the speakers are very well matched to a Plinius 200 watt AB amp with tons of headroom to spare. If I turn it up past 10:30 or 11:00 it is uncomfortably loud.
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