Battle of the Open Baffles

Here is a list of things that could be improved on the XSD

1. Drivers are not time aligned.

2. No felting around the mids and highs.....so diffraction city.

3. The mids and woofs are not wired to the voice coil wires....tabs? you have to be kidding.

4. Wire is average.....so are all the xover parts.

5. Way too complicated and hard to build. Too much wood to throw away once you realize this is NOT where it is at.....he he.

Now compare this to the speaker I am talking about. You can build it in one day ($1500 total cost using super wire and parts), 18 inches wide, bass to 30hz.......93db sensitive.....fully dipole.....time aligned....felted......one amp does the whole enchilada.....of course, you could bi-amp as described on my webite and also make a line source of planars for more output, lower distortion and more vertical dispersion. If 18 inhes is too wide then make the baffle 13 inches wide and use slightly angled out wings on the bottom to extend the bass response to match an 18 inch wide baffle.

Markmuse. Would love to hear your input on the Caladans. I just received and assembled them on Wednesday, but left for vacation the next day…..haven’t even had a chance to hook them up, much less give them a listen.

I've also been experiencing OBs for the first time thanks to a DIY project, and find them to offer all of the things already said here. Dynamic, tight, fast bass, full and satisfying mids, impressive soundstage. If you're interested in a well thought-out DIY approach, check out "ABX Audiophiles" on YT; James has videos outlining the design, and he can get you into the Discord where we discuss the build and link to the design and components. 

@larryi @kennyc  The PAP Trios with the Voxativ field coil drivers are sublime, far outperforming the "standard" Voxativ drivers offered as the center drivers for that model IMHO (albeit at a significant cost increase). I heard them at the New York Audio Show a few years back and needless to say they left a big and long lasting impression. I hope you get to hear them one day.

I’ve heard several systems with Voxativ field coil drivers and they are remakably dynamic, which is why I am interested in how they sound in PAP systems.  My concern is with how bright and sharp sounding, something I heard with their driver and some other field coil widerange drivers.  I hard similar sound with various Classic Audio field coils and the G.I.P. 4165 12” full range driver.  
Some other field coil full range drivers are smoother and more mellow, such as the ones used in Songer Audio speakers.  The best wide range field coil I’ve heard is the Jensen M-10, a driver that is from the 1940’s.