Open baffle speakers

I went to my friends Danny's place in Ventura, CA he is the owner of Requisite Audio. He is also a musician and has the best ears for audio of anyone that I know, genius level hearing and also commented as such by Stajan on an article on 6moons.com.

He told me his new creation is the best speaker he has ever heard. Now I know he does not BS but still it was his baby, so I had some doubts.  He had come to my place a year earlier and heard my Yamaha NS5000 with my CODA #16 amp and said that was the best box speaker he had heard in about 40 years.  I have it in a nice room with very little side reflections and a high ceiling.

When he told me the open baffle speaker he his creating sounded better than the NS5000, especially on the bass I was surprised. Yesterday, I had 4 hours available while I had to go to LAX to pick up my parents. I spent that time at his place listening to the smallest iteration of his new speaker. His place is not ideal for a demo of speakers, he will set up the top end model at his shop in Ventura soon. However, this demo reminded me of a demo of a DAC and amp by what is now Infigo Audio about a decade ago. They used a $500 used scratched up B+W speaker to demo the DAC (and amp). Even in a non-deal setup great sound was possible.

I had heard an open baffle system, that cost $160k for the speaker alone, at a local store and thought it was not better than the NS5000.,which they also sold. I was not blown away with the idea of open baffle based on that experience. That is until yesterday. What I heard yesterday was a very fast, detailed, and explosive speaker, The demo was one where I was either toe tapping or dancing to the music as never before in a demo. I had also taken my superlative Schitt Yggi+ OG DAC to his place to listen with it so that had something to do with it.  That bass was extraordinary and Danny told me that is what bass should sound like. He was a professional bass player for decades.

I listened to jazz, Mozart, rock (specifically Roller by April Wine).  There was something special going on with the open baffle design. He had a class D on the 15 -inch woofer and a device to control the top end from a 15-inch full range driver. That full range was driven by a Felx Envy 4-watt amp with $2k+ of tubes. The customization of the balance between the top end and the bass was all done on the analog domain. Normally, I would say digital was the way to do that but what do I know after hearing this.

This maybe the best speaker I have EVER heard. The wife may be a no go to having 2 speakers in the same Livingroom. I also need some cash to make this happen. 

I asked Danny if he would sell the NS5000 if he was in my shoes. He said he would not since it is so good, but he also said he will no longer listen to a box speaker. I totally get that sentiment now.

Due to space restrictions and the wife factor, I think I may be selling my NS5000 and the CODA #16 amp (or my Sanders Magtech amp) to get this speaker. I love the CODA amp and can use it in my office with my Magnepan Mini. I am getting the open baffle speaker but not sure about selling the NS5000.

Requisite Audio | High-End Audio For Creators & Connosouirs

The web site in not updated with the new open baffle speaker. He is expecting a December release with many customization options from a 2-driver setup to a 5-driver setup. For my Livingroom his 2-driver speaker would be good, but the 3-driver is ideal. I am getting the 3-driver. The customization is for extra bass modules, fancy finish, 2 levels of driver quality. I heard the lower end driver he will sell. I will likely go with the unheard higher end driver and bare bones finish.

He will offer me a discount, but I never take discounts from my friends since this is their livelihood.

^ Can’t wait to see these OB’s. People who are against OB’s haven’t heard all OB’s. Their designs are endless. 

Spoke with the wife about keeping 2 speakers in the Livingroom. She says she does not care and go ahead. Nice. It will be great to be able to do a head-to-head with the Open Baffle and the NS5000.

Requisite Audio gear looks darn good! This new speaker is exciting. Meanwhile, respectfully, the word is connoisseur.

My journey is very similar to that of  @sns .  I just haven't attained his level of sophistication... yet.

I started with box speakers but once I heard the Dahlquist DQ12s (the precursor to the Nola) I couldn't unhear the box.  I've listened and the presentation of the box speaker is lacking air, realism, it is very constrained.   The only way I can explain it is if you stand behind someone talking / singing and then put them in an enclosure that's what box speakers do.  All that resonate information that is also audible from the front is absorbed and the lack of it is very noticeable.

Like SNS I too have moved to corner horns.  For some reason they don't have that Box sound and don't take up any actual living space.

As and experiment I would suggest trying a pair of DQ12s.  They can be purchased for about 4 to 5 hundred and can be sold for about the same.  The DQ20i are a little more but have the same design with  better components but are also a little harder to find probably because of their original selling price was a lot higher.  They don't have the traditional open baffle look and can be still sound good closer to the wall.  Be warned though they will change your perception of what audio sounds like.