Most ten thousand dollars or more speakers are an EXAGGERATION! The more research you do, along with very honest audiophiles opening up, makes you wonder about the whole industry. BIG TOYS FOR BIG BOYS$$$$
100% agree. I think the great thing about the DIY space is we can take certain design concepts that have been vetted and tested many moons ago and build sole pretty cool stuff. We also get to bypass all the the “cost” associated with running a business and needing a profit margin. Not that the more expensive speakers are bad, rather that we get to bypass a lot of the variables that increase the cost. But I agree, as most retail industries, the mark up has to be crazy to cover the “business” side of things. Well said, and thanks for watching and commenting. Happy holidays. 😊😉
For those interested in horns I can only recommend Joseph Crowe's designs. I 3d printed his ES-600 horns, and together with an SB Audience driver you get sublime, smooth sound (600Hz and up) with an even frequency response. Easy on the crossover design, just a cap and an L-pad. My own preference with DIY speakers is to use active DSP plate amps from Hypex. Not cheap, but super versatile esp. if you build different speakers.
@@intrinsicfreedom there's no reason a horn will be any more shrill than any other tweeter or driver, that's a crossover tuning issue. Horns simply control directivity of the driver's output, and can absolutely sound smooth, accurate, warm, anyway you'd like as a function of frequency response.
I have frequently run into shrill sounding horns. I have no memory of this difficulty with the softdome, including those I now own. There must be some challenges, requirements, or refinements in the crossover relative to the horn that designers are not addressing, or perhaps they have hearing damage. I literally damaged my ears listening to horns at moderate 82db and lower volumes. If you want to preserve your hearing as you get older and you like to listen for hours at a time, I strongly suggest you learn to identify HARSH sonics early in your ownership of any speaker product. @@javadshadzi4824
True but each room is different and room treatments also play a factor. And yea I won’t argue that a good pair of headphones can be beat. But we are comparing apples to oranges when we bring them into the mix 😊
Rooms are a huge factor for sure!! I think we have about 15 now building these baffles. Some are moving away from some REALLY high end gear. A current member of our discord just sold his Zu Druid 6 and move the ABX baffles into the drivers seat. I went over there and auditioned his variation of the baffles, they were stunning on his PASS INT-60. 🥰🔥
Common mistake w. bypass caps is to choose them to small. Do not go with the FT-3 TEFLON under 0,1 uF. There is also a type w. 0.22 which I already ordered, but didn´t receive. when I get it I will let you know the result. but so far: The 3.3 w. 0.1 is really beautiful and absolute not harsh - pure information.
Subscribed. Awesome work and very interesting! I'd love to see the more finalized version with a tweeter horn, really looking forward to seeing the progress
It would be nice to see more work done on the smaller versions, maybe with 10s or 12s. Not everyone has a listening room big enough for a pair of 15s and 18s.
I'm really interested in building some of these probably next year now as I have a lot going on at the moment. Joined your Discord so hopefully I'll get some good pointers as I'm in France & will need to find alternative components. Cheers.... 👍
YES!!! I love playing Too Short the Ghetto, Megadeath Symphony of Destruction, anything Yello and Ghost Rider do.. The other day it was blowing my buddies mind... HA... Everyone's like "Baffles don't do bass" and "Those are only good at classical and acoustic music".... What a JOKE... Hehe..
Having kids and pets, I am a bit concerned about everything being so exposed...I would be tempted to make a removable grill and perhaps a slip cover of some sort for the back... but I am intrigued and will probably start building a pair next summer (I will have to work outside mostly since no space inside... living in Japan space is at a premium...
These are some open baffle speakers!!! I was wondering if you had ever listened to some of the Lii audio speakers in comparison to the La Dolce speakers?
Yes, have had the lii drivers in. A full range driver is great for mids and vocals, but when pushed to handle what they actually claim as full range, they fall apart quickly. 👌😊😊
Great job! I was happy to subscribe. I’m an open baffle believer. I love the concept of your channel. Keep up the good work. I just wish I could make those fit in my living room.
Thanks for the sub! - Much love and glad you are here!.. We do have a smaller version as well we designed.. Super awesome and even cheaper to build!! With a smaller hole on the single 15" driver baffle and the compression horn tweeter, it is not only great sound, but small form factor. :) Cheers
@@abxaudiophiles Thanks! I built some GR research bookshelf speakers last year, and after listening and reading about open baffles, I’m really interested in building something different than the normal box speakers. You’ve done a great job explaining the process. Keep up the great work!
@@michaela.6698 Thank you!! These baffles are really something magical. We have one member in our discord who just put his Zu Druid 6 up for sale after building a set of our baffles... The version of Druid 6 he has is $15,000.... :)
Very nice video series. I like open baffle speakers. I use Supravox drivers on My DIY open baffles speakers. I want to send some pictures to you. Thanks!
@@abxaudiophiles I can’t add to the discord channel. I click discord link on description section and not open discord app. Options only Safari or Chrome apps. I choose anyone and opening AppStore. I couldn't make it.
James, love your series on these ob's! i got into this several years ago and had much fun building. experimented with wild burro 8", eminence alphas, and hawethorne augies. i still run 4x augies in modular 3/4" baffles on extruded AL frames as subs with my vandersteen 3a sigs! love them. you've gotten me excited about a OB project again.... question: what can you drive these with (i am not familiar with the amps being used)? will these run on anything from a pass ACA to a sunfire 600 (i.e. 3wpc to 600wpc)? i ask because ive gotten rid of most of my smaller watt class a stuff (decware, pass j2, pass aca, etc...) and really dont want to have to purchase new amplification. Thanks and keep up the great channel!!!!
Awesome stuff. I as well have much of the original Hawthorne audio stuff and it’s where we got our start. I run these baffles off a 4 watt la dolce audio single ended pentode amp currently. You don’t need much. 🥰👌👌
I am a huge fan of OB and IB design .... Ive been running a pair of 24 inch IB subs in my home theater for years and the clean LFE down to 5 hz is insane MY question is are any of you experimenting with a MiniDSP for room EQ / phasing issues .... or possibly Dirac Live which is a game changer Even fantastic IB speakers have room interaction problems ... ??
The links to La Dolce Audio are on our website, you can get the LDA15 KIT and the LDA18 KIT there.. Parts list for crossover is in the photos on my website.... If you are building, I would HIGHLY recommend jumping in our Discord. Real time conversations with about 15 guys building them now. Cheer.
By the way, the cost of these speakers has increased dramatically over the initial projection which I recall was around $600.00. I reached out to La Dolce and the total was going to be near $1500 and that was a few months ago I know you want to draw people in and your cause is a good, but I want to recommend a correction to the stated cost. They are no longer a budget DIY build by my standards, particularly for open baffle which can be built economically if you survey the options.
Correct. The original single driver ABX baffle was $750. Nothing has really changed there. The newer variations are more expensive and discussed in the reviews. But good points, if you want to make the current version with the bass driver, upgraded crossover, and full LDA drivers over the cheaper harmony driver, then yes, more expensive. 😉😉. Hope that helps.
Thanks for posting! I’ve been wanting to play with OB for awhile now and this is really interesting. I’m curious, I’ve got a nice SET amp that I built some years back that I’d love to use here. I get between 3-5 watts depending on tube complement. I’d also really like to play with the miniDSP flex. In a perfect world I’d run the tube amp on the top end and pick up some solid state for the big 18” drivers. But with the miniDSP Flex I’ve only got four channels of output. I’d use two for the bass but I’d like to avoid a passive crossover on the top end. I’d like a single full range driver. I’m guessing this setup wouldn’t work for me, is that correct? With the compression tweeters I’d need a crossover. Can the La Dolce Vita drivers be run without the compression tweeter? Have you heard it? Worth it? Better options?
The LDA16 can run without the compression horn tweeter. For example I am messing with a horn on the top of the baffle, so I moved the LDA1001 tweeter to the horn. Good results. But I would not advise running the LDA15 full range. It is funny i was using a 2.5 watt pentode amp the other night and it was running the entire baffle stunningly well, as long as you stayed below 60db spl. But that first watt magic is REAL!!
Well, if 4 drivers that size didnt produce bass, open baffle or not; there really would be something drastically wrong now, wouldnt there? it is a fact that OB produce less bass for a particular driver, but obviously if you oversize the driver to compensate for that, you will get bass. Myself, i'm not really a fan of OB, I prefer sealed waveguide loaded drivers, but glad you like them.
@@abxaudiophiles its only about the sensitivity, if you dont have a powerful amp with decently good damping factor. You say your star crimson is great with it. Thats what, 500W? If you want to drive them with a flea watt SE tube amp, or something like a Pass J2, then sure, the sensitivity will come in handy, otherwise it will mean that you have to have the volume turned all the way down on your DAC, meaning you are throwing away performance. Its app about the gain structure, if its all about anything.
@@abxaudiophilesIf they come filled w/ Bulg' Pilsener I'm in! 🍻 You're doing great things on the channel-and music for kids is something we should all get behind. I saw one hater, the rest of us are with you and Terry as the OB development goes forwars. TAS touts itself as a journal: your builds, videos and an eminently worthy cause all inspire us interweb pikers to get on board! 🚞🚅 All kudos to James and Company, I'm a go buy a saw!
The thing about the crown is they’re so damn noisy. The Orchard has a INK black background. DEAD quiet. Let’s so much more micro details shine through.
@@Coneman3 it seems the industry wants to push high watt amp, low efficiency small drivers and bookshelf or towers with a small foot print. So the open baffle design, although superior in sound quality in some cases gets left behind. Back in the day High power amplification was expensive. So large high efficiency drivers were the standard to allow for small wattage tube amps to be utilized. Now days SS amps can provide hundreds of watts for super cheap and the market for those interested in the open baffle and its quality of sound at the cost of a large form factor is small.. I’m still waiting for a box speaker to pull me away from my baffles. Of all the pairs I’ve had in here this year upwards of $11,000 a pair, none have. Hell a guy in our community just put his Zu Druid 6 up for sale after building these baffles. I’ve never heard a box speaker yet that was as engaging and life like as an open baffle. I’m not sure exactly what and why the modern audiophile and industry don’t promote it more, but if it was all about the sound quality, they would be. 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
Interesting. I’m planning my own speaker cabinets. Was planning on highly absorbent TL. Won’t be easy to make. I’ve got the 3-way drivers and am going to try active amplification.
Yes, correct they were created for that reason. And yes they can add sorts of distortions, but that is not the absolute rule. Also, people like distortions more than they like to admit... :) But the horns I am working with right now add nothing but focus and detail to the stage. Not even a hint of diffusion of the macro details.
Wrong. There are many benefits from proper horn implementation. They can flatten out the frequency response, control the sound pattern, eliminate edge diffraction, reduce room reflections, just to name a few. Please look into the subject more deeply before offering an opinion. As mentioned in another comment, look at the excellent and detailed design, testing, and refinement work of Joseph (Troy) Crowe, and his various implementations of his Exponential Spiral horn design. He is a talented and creative engineer. I think he might change your mind. In any case, be happy, and enjoy the music!
you speak like someone who understands technology yet doesn't understand technology. Everything is improving because of technology. Horns included. Open your mind
@@abxaudiophiles True. Many people like the archaic distortion of vinyl as well. I loved them and 8-track back in the '70s. Now I have a killer dac and burn my CDs onto hard drives. Silk dome, MTMs and two 15" woofer per channel, bi-amped of course.
@@carlsitler9071 Very nice... I think at the end of the day, we as audio enthusiasts tend to put too many absolutes, rules, and constraints on things.... Less rules, more listening i say.. :)
Too expensive for DIY. If I was doing a DIY open baffle I think it would be the dayton exciter panels like Tech Ingredients did. My conventional Klipsch speakers cost less than this, sound great, and I don't have to put them in the middle of the room.
@@abxaudiophiles Look, I'm sure everything you have sounds better than my speakers. I'm just saying that my cheap speakers already sound great to me, and dumping a grand on an experiment that takes up a lot of room doesn't sound appealing to me. Different strokes for different folks I suppose. I wouldn't mind hearing some in person, just to see what the fuss is. However, every time I hear audiophiles prattle on in flowery subjective language, it gets my BS detector perked up. I start thinking about green sharpies on the CD edge. I assume open baffle imparts some kind of flavor to the sound that some people find appealing.
if you have never heard open baffle its hard to just describe they MUST be experienced. IT is also a misconception. They Do NOT need to be placed in the middle of the room. Having heard Klipsch and having had open baffle I can tell you there is a HUGE difference.
@@don3021 I don't doubt that there is a difference. Maybe most people, or even I would prefer the nature of the sound. If you tell me they are more accurate at reproducing music than a decent pair of headphones, I don't believe it. As far as placement from the wall, I think I've seen several videos where they recommend placing them further out, and most of the pictures I see have them that way. However, maybe that's just something that audiophiles do with all of their speakers. I would love for someone to do some blindfold testing with different speaker types on a group of randos. I wonder how they would compare with a high quality infinite baffle setup.
I don’t think headphones recreate the music better than speakers on any level in any circumstance. The presentation and stage on a headphone is nothing like real life. Although the sound is great on many headphones and it can be an intimate experience and deep sound, I have yet to hear a set of headphones recreate a completely 3 dimensional soundstage like an actual speaker that’s in a good system and properly placed. The great flaw with us audiophiles is we speculate and dismiss far to often based on our lack of experience. The stuff I am speaking about and discussing is based of of a massive amount of hours invested and actual real time experience and work put in. We have people selling their $20,000 pairs of speaker because these baffles destroy them on every level. So yea, if you build these and integrate them properly (no they don’t need to be four feet into the room) they will most likely change your life and effortlessly better anything you have, or have heard.. Just truth is all I bring.
4:00 timeline comment on "community builds ".......you do have no idea, what you are talking about, do you ? You ,should really study , rudimentary speaker building theory, at least.
Were discussing the ratio between the size of the slots total opening and the surface area of the bass driver... It is pretty simple. Change the ratio, change the way the driver reacts and how the wave propagates into the room. MAYBE you can take your salty attitude elsewhere.. OR, start your own charity review and raise money for youth musical programs. Wish you the best..
Sorry, physically I just can't continue to watch video and be abused with what coming from your mouth... sorry, I just, can't... I hope you will find your audience.
Well that's good. Why don;t you jump into our discord and SCHOOL US UP!! Maybe, be a part of the solution and not the one causing problems. Just sharing what my personal experience is, and what our group is doing.... Here in my channel and my community we are trying to be positive and do some good and have fun with audio. If that is not you jam, then go elsewhere. Plenty of reviewers to watch and harass.
Do you have any specs for the drivers? some thiel/small parameters on the actual drivers would be nice. Also do you have any measured results for the speakers.
Yes. We’ve done all of that and many times. Lots of info and links on our website and always feel free to jump in our discord to discuss in real time. ABXaudiophiles.org
Loudspeakers are the most personal audio equipment to choose. So my advice is ‘know thyself’. It is nice to see your enthousiasme though.
Wise words.. :)
Most ten thousand dollars or more speakers are an EXAGGERATION!
The more research you do, along with very honest audiophiles opening up, makes you wonder about the whole industry. BIG TOYS FOR BIG BOYS$$$$
100% agree. I think the great thing about the DIY space is we can take certain design concepts that have been vetted and tested many moons ago and build sole pretty cool stuff. We also get to bypass all the the “cost” associated with running a business and needing a profit margin. Not that the more expensive speakers are bad, rather that we get to bypass a lot of the variables that increase the cost. But I agree, as most retail industries, the mark up has to be crazy to cover the “business” side of things. Well said, and thanks for watching and commenting. Happy holidays. 😊😉
For those interested in horns I can only recommend Joseph Crowe's designs. I 3d printed his ES-600 horns, and together with an SB Audience driver you get sublime, smooth sound (600Hz and up) with an even frequency response. Easy on the crossover design, just a cap and an L-pad.
My own preference with DIY speakers is to use active DSP plate amps from Hypex. Not cheap, but super versatile esp. if you build different speakers.
Great advice! Thank you for sharing. :)
I'm accustomed to horns playing too shrill. You claim "smooth" and "sublime," unqualified?
@@intrinsicfreedom there's no reason a horn will be any more shrill than any other tweeter or driver, that's a crossover tuning issue. Horns simply control directivity of the driver's output, and can absolutely sound smooth, accurate, warm, anyway you'd like as a function of frequency response.
I have frequently run into shrill sounding horns. I have no memory of this difficulty with the softdome, including those I now own. There must be some challenges, requirements, or refinements in the crossover relative to the horn that designers are not addressing, or perhaps they have hearing damage. I literally damaged my ears listening to horns at moderate 82db and lower volumes. If you want to preserve your hearing as you get older and you like to listen for hours at a time, I strongly suggest you learn to identify HARSH sonics early in your ownership of any speaker product. @@javadshadzi4824
Bob Carver used open baffle loading of four 12" woofers in his Amazing Loudspeaker Platinum's crossed over to a 60" ribbon mid/tweeter.
ah yes, this is all very old design tech, we are just dusting it off a bit.. :)
True but each room is different and room treatments also play a factor. And yea I won’t argue that a good pair of headphones can be beat. But we are comparing apples to oranges when we bring them into the mix 😊
Rooms are a huge factor for sure!! I think we have about 15 now building these baffles. Some are moving away from some REALLY high end gear. A current member of our discord just sold his Zu Druid 6 and move the ABX baffles into the drivers seat. I went over there and auditioned his variation of the baffles, they were stunning on his PASS INT-60. 🥰🔥
@@abxaudiophiles yea I’m looking at doing a set of three the smaller baffles to accommodate my screen
I’m in! The baffle design possibilities are endless.
Lets GO!!
I have also the the green caps but you have to use FT-3 TEFLON 0,1 uF parallel - this is pure information!
We will check it out. I think some have tried bypass caps and never stuck with it. Interesting tho.
Jump in our discord and help us get the work done. 😍😍👌👌
@@abxaudiophiles blocked, because I clicked the horse ....
anyway ...
Common mistake w. bypass caps is to choose them to small. Do not go with the FT-3 TEFLON under 0,1 uF. There is also a type w. 0.22 which I already ordered, but didn´t receive. when I get it I will let you know the result. but so far: The 3.3 w. 0.1 is really beautiful and absolute not harsh - pure information.
Subscribed. Awesome work and very interesting! I'd love to see the more finalized version with a tweeter horn, really looking forward to seeing the progress
Awww. Thanks man!! Much appreciated. Much more to come.
I guess those high end manufacturers just don't know the first thing about anything.
Oh, no, that is not the case at all... More that DIY is a really powerful space... Cheers
@@abxaudiophiles touché
I know it wouldn’t do them justice like an in person listen but would love to hear a demo video.
Heck yea! We have a few on our website and a TON in our discord. ABXaudiophiles.org
It would be nice to see more work done on the smaller versions, maybe with 10s or 12s. Not everyone has a listening room big enough for a pair of 15s and 18s.
We’ve got em designed. 10” and 12”. 😊😊
Good sound of the loudspeakers. My headphones got high. I hope by 10th episode everybody can judge also
Ok den!! :)
Hi James. This is interesting stuff. Thanks for sharing.
My pleasure! Always fun to make these reviews. :)
I'm really interested in building some of these probably next year now as I have a lot going on at the moment. Joined your Discord so hopefully I'll get some good pointers as I'm in France & will need to find alternative components. Cheers.... 👍
We can help you with all of that!!! Exciting stuff... :)
EMS drivers made in France.
I love showing people good mixed rap and electronic music. People think it’s only meant for classical music or something
YES!!! I love playing Too Short the Ghetto, Megadeath Symphony of Destruction, anything Yello and Ghost Rider do.. The other day it was blowing my buddies mind... HA... Everyone's like "Baffles don't do bass" and "Those are only good at classical and acoustic music".... What a JOKE... Hehe..
Having kids and pets, I am a bit concerned about everything being so exposed...I would be tempted to make a removable grill and perhaps a slip cover of some sort for the back... but I am intrigued and will probably start building a pair next summer (I will have to work outside mostly since no space inside... living in Japan space is at a premium...
If we can do anything to help let me know. We’ve got a bunch of info on our website for them too. ABXaudiophiles.org
I cant wait to get my ears on the next iteration of baffle
Horns, Horns, Horns.... :) Did someone say Horns?
Can horns be adjusted, once built?@@abxaudiophiles
Good work!! Out of curiosity, are there any good reference boooks on open balle spesker design?
Terry has referenced a few in the discord. Hopefully adding links to our website soon.
These are some open baffle speakers!!! I was wondering if you had ever listened to some of the Lii audio speakers in comparison to the La Dolce speakers?
Yes, have had the lii drivers in. A full range driver is great for mids and vocals, but when pushed to handle what they actually claim as full range, they fall apart quickly. 👌😊😊
@@abxaudiophiles Thank you for the reply. Great information!!!
Great job! I was happy to subscribe. I’m an open baffle believer. I love the concept of your channel. Keep up the good work. I just wish I could make those fit in my living room.
Thanks for the sub! - Much love and glad you are here!.. We do have a smaller version as well we designed.. Super awesome and even cheaper to build!! With a smaller hole on the single 15" driver baffle and the compression horn tweeter, it is not only great sound, but small form factor. :) Cheers
@@abxaudiophiles Thanks! I built some GR research bookshelf speakers last year, and after listening and reading about open baffles, I’m really interested in building something different than the normal box speakers. You’ve done a great job explaining the process. Keep up the great work!
@@michaela.6698 Thank you!! These baffles are really something magical. We have one member in our discord who just put his Zu Druid 6 up for sale after building a set of our baffles... The version of Druid 6 he has is $15,000.... :)
@@abxaudiophiles woah. That’s a great endorsement right there.
@@michaela.6698 Totally!! And that’s just one of the many examples. I love that we created this as a community and are just sharing with everyone. 🥰🥰.
Very nice video series. I like open baffle speakers. I use Supravox drivers on My DIY open baffles speakers. I want to send some pictures to you. Thanks!
Awesome!!
Jump in our discord, it’s bustling with people who have and are building DIY baffles. 😊😊😁
@@abxaudiophiles I can’t add to the discord channel. I click discord link on description section and not open discord app. Options only Safari or Chrome apps. I choose anyone and opening AppStore. I couldn't make it.
@@ayildiray well that’s odd. Here’s a fresh link - discord.gg/zXWE6CSX
I do enjoy your enthusiasm
It’s all we got in this space.
James, love your series on these ob's! i got into this several years ago and had much fun building. experimented with wild burro 8", eminence alphas, and hawethorne augies. i still run 4x augies in modular 3/4" baffles on extruded AL frames as subs with my vandersteen 3a sigs! love them. you've gotten me excited about a OB project again.... question: what can you drive these with (i am not familiar with the amps being used)? will these run on anything from a pass ACA to a sunfire 600 (i.e. 3wpc to 600wpc)? i ask because ive gotten rid of most of my smaller watt class a stuff (decware, pass j2, pass aca, etc...) and really dont want to have to purchase new amplification. Thanks and keep up the great channel!!!!
Awesome stuff. I as well have much of the original Hawthorne audio stuff and it’s where we got our start. I run these baffles off a 4 watt la dolce audio single ended pentode amp currently. You don’t need much. 🥰👌👌
I am a huge fan of OB and IB design .... Ive been running a pair of 24 inch IB subs in my home theater for years and the clean LFE down to 5 hz is insane
MY question is are any of you experimenting with a MiniDSP for room EQ / phasing issues .... or possibly Dirac Live which is a game changer
Even fantastic IB speakers have room interaction problems ... ??
Totally!! We have a few doing this currently. I am dipping my toe too.. :)
looks like a great project!
We’re having a blast with it. 😍🤗
I'd be ok until assembling the crossover stuff then I'd be like.... I'm out. Nice channel. Thanks!!
I feel ya!! Thanks for watching and commenting 🥰🥰😉🫵🏼
Hell Yeah Awesome video my dude !
Appreciate it! 🥰🥰
Good stuff James! Someone should do the nuclear energy symbol (flux capacitor...really dating myself here :)) for the base driver opening...haha
🎉🎉 love it!! 🤣🤣🫵🏼🫵🏼
I don’t see a parts list at the website. How does a person order all the needed parts.
The links to La Dolce Audio are on our website, you can get the LDA15 KIT and the LDA18 KIT there.. Parts list for crossover is in the photos on my website.... If you are building, I would HIGHLY recommend jumping in our Discord. Real time conversations with about 15 guys building them now. Cheer.
By the way, the cost of these speakers has increased dramatically over the initial projection which I recall was around $600.00. I reached out to La Dolce and the total was going to be near $1500 and that was a few months ago I know you want to draw people in and your cause is a good, but I want to recommend a correction to the stated cost. They are no longer a budget DIY build by my standards, particularly for open baffle which can be built economically if you survey the options.
Correct. The original single driver ABX baffle was $750. Nothing has really changed there. The newer variations are more expensive and discussed in the reviews. But good points, if you want to make the current version with the bass driver, upgraded crossover, and full LDA drivers over the cheaper harmony driver, then yes, more expensive. 😉😉. Hope that helps.
Would be nice if you would give us a demo on how they sound…
Tons of them on my website and discord. TH-cam doesn’t allow. Copyright crap. 😊🫡
Thanks for posting! I’ve been wanting to play with OB for awhile now and this is really interesting.
I’m curious, I’ve got a nice SET amp that I built some years back that I’d love to use here. I get between 3-5 watts depending on tube complement. I’d also really like to play with the miniDSP flex.
In a perfect world I’d run the tube amp on the top end and pick up some solid state for the big 18” drivers. But with the miniDSP Flex I’ve only got four channels of output. I’d use two for the bass but I’d like to avoid a passive crossover on the top end. I’d like a single full range driver. I’m guessing this setup wouldn’t work for me, is that correct? With the compression tweeters I’d need a crossover.
Can the La Dolce Vita drivers be run without the compression tweeter? Have you heard it? Worth it? Better options?
The LDA16 can run without the compression horn tweeter. For example I am messing with a horn on the top of the baffle, so I moved the LDA1001 tweeter to the horn. Good results. But I would not advise running the LDA15 full range. It is funny i was using a 2.5 watt pentode amp the other night and it was running the entire baffle stunningly well, as long as you stayed below 60db spl. But that first watt magic is REAL!!
Well, if 4 drivers that size didnt produce bass, open baffle or not; there really would be something drastically wrong now, wouldnt there? it is a fact that OB produce less bass for a particular driver, but obviously if you oversize the driver to compensate for that, you will get bass. Myself, i'm not really a fan of OB, I prefer sealed waveguide loaded drivers, but glad you like them.
It’s all about sensitivity and Qts of the driver. 😁😁. Tons of variables.
@@abxaudiophiles its only about the sensitivity, if you dont have a powerful amp with decently good damping factor. You say your star crimson is great with it. Thats what, 500W? If you want to drive them with a flea watt SE tube amp, or something like a Pass J2, then sure, the sensitivity will come in handy, otherwise it will mean that you have to have the volume turned all the way down on your DAC, meaning you are throwing away performance. Its app about the gain structure, if its all about anything.
The sensitivity means so much more..
Why are the tweeter/ midrange horns on the bottom?
They’re not. 18” bass driver is. 15” coaxial driver and compression horn tweeter on top. Thought i covered it all in the video?? Cheers. 🥂
Inspiring stuff! Thanks...
My pleasure!
awsome stuff
Thanks man!! 🎉🎉
how can open baffle win from a cabinet speaker?
Why couldn’t it?
Good show. Wuf. 🐻
Thank you.
How many watts do they handle? How many ohms and db sensitivity?
I run mine on a 4 watt tube amp. They’re 8 ohm 97db sensitive. Handled my 500 watt class D at 100 db spl all day. 😊👍🏼
Do you have any measurements of before and after slot loading?
In our discord we discuss constantly... Basically a slight increase in bass response and performance.
крутое видео !
Thank you. Glad you enjoyed it.
Who authorized Bulgarian caps? 😁
They are SOOOO damn good.. :)
@@abxaudiophilesIf they come filled w/ Bulg' Pilsener I'm in! 🍻 You're doing great things on the channel-and music for kids is something we should all get behind. I saw one hater, the rest of us are with you and Terry as the OB development goes forwars. TAS touts itself as a journal: your builds, videos and an eminently worthy cause all inspire us interweb pikers to get on board! 🚞🚅 All kudos to James and Company, I'm a go buy a saw!
@@homeyleclerk4632 Thank you!!! Such a cool community.. :)
Nice 👍
Thanks ✌
orchard and crown xls 1502 which sound better
The thing about the crown is they’re so damn noisy. The Orchard has a INK black background. DEAD quiet. Let’s so much more micro details shine through.
I do not hear no noise in mine , my power line is very clean. Thanks for the reply.@@abxaudiophiles
@@clemmtec9506 Very nice... They are historically known to be pretty noisy amplifiers, but killer bang for buck for sure!!
Cheers... Enjoy.
Try anti vibration measures.
For what?
To improve SQ
@@Coneman3 is there a vibration issue that you’re aware of?
I’m talking in general wet Hifi. All Hifi components are affected by vibrations (it reduces SQ).
@@Coneman3 100% correct. 👍🏼
If open baffle are best, why aren’t most speakers made like that?
Because it doesn’t promote commercial profit. And it takes up tons of space.
That doesn’t make sense. Open baffle are cheaper to make, so better profits and sales if also better SQ. Less space another bonus.
@@Coneman3 it seems the industry wants to push high watt amp, low efficiency small drivers and bookshelf or towers with a small foot print. So the open baffle design, although superior in sound quality in some cases gets left behind. Back in the day High power amplification was expensive. So large high efficiency drivers were the standard to allow for small wattage tube amps to be utilized. Now days SS amps can provide hundreds of watts for super cheap and the market for those interested in the open baffle and its quality of sound at the cost of a large form factor is small.. I’m still waiting for a box speaker to pull me away from my baffles. Of all the pairs I’ve had in here this year upwards of $11,000 a pair, none have. Hell a guy in our community just put his Zu Druid 6 up for sale after building these baffles. I’ve never heard a box speaker yet that was as engaging and life like as an open baffle. I’m not sure exactly what and why the modern audiophile and industry don’t promote it more, but if it was all about the sound quality, they would be. 🤷🏻♂️🤷🏻♂️
Interesting. I’m planning my own speaker cabinets. Was planning on highly absorbent TL. Won’t be easy to make. I’ve got the 3-way drivers and am going to try active amplification.
@@Coneman3 It is all fun when it comes to audio!! No right or wrong answer.... Keep us posted and love the idea!! :)
i was patiently waiting to hear them.... nothing !😑
Many audio clips on our website and discord. ABXaudiophiles.org
@@abxaudiophiles THANK YOU i'll check'em out. guess i was too quick with my 1st reply. sorry.
@@Thereznap No worries at all, we are here to help.. :) TH-cam gets funny with copyright stuff. .
A suggestion, make the drivers the same height in both baffles. The same height as in from your floor.
They are.. :)
Horns are an archaic technology created to compensate for the low powered amps of the past and they distort the sound (think megaphone).
Yes, correct they were created for that reason. And yes they can add sorts of distortions, but that is not the absolute rule. Also, people like distortions more than they like to admit... :) But the horns I am working with right now add nothing but focus and detail to the stage. Not even a hint of diffusion of the macro details.
Wrong. There are many benefits from proper horn implementation. They can flatten out the frequency response, control the sound pattern, eliminate edge diffraction, reduce room reflections, just to name a few.
Please look into the subject more deeply before offering an opinion. As mentioned in another comment, look at the excellent and detailed design, testing, and refinement work of Joseph (Troy) Crowe, and his various implementations of his Exponential Spiral horn design. He is a talented and creative engineer.
I think he might change your mind.
In any case, be happy, and enjoy the music!
you speak like someone who understands technology yet doesn't understand technology. Everything is improving because of technology. Horns included. Open your mind
@@abxaudiophiles True. Many people like the archaic distortion of vinyl as well. I loved them and 8-track back in the '70s. Now I have a killer dac and burn my CDs onto hard drives. Silk dome, MTMs and two 15" woofer per channel, bi-amped of course.
@@carlsitler9071 Very nice... I think at the end of the day, we as audio enthusiasts tend to put too many absolutes, rules, and constraints on things.... Less rules, more listening i say.. :)
Why don't you let us listen to them?
Tons of video clips on our website and Discord... :)
Never listen to an OB.
Do yourself and favor and do it sometime. 😊😊. It will make you re think audio.
Too expensive for DIY. If I was doing a DIY open baffle I think it would be the dayton exciter panels like Tech Ingredients did. My conventional Klipsch speakers cost less than this, sound great, and I don't have to put them in the middle of the room.
Too expensive? 😂😂😂. What Klipsch are you running, cus these destroy my $4500 Forte’s…. 😊😊
@@abxaudiophiles Look, I'm sure everything you have sounds better than my speakers. I'm just saying that my cheap speakers already sound great to me, and dumping a grand on an experiment that takes up a lot of room doesn't sound appealing to me. Different strokes for different folks I suppose. I wouldn't mind hearing some in person, just to see what the fuss is. However, every time I hear audiophiles prattle on in flowery subjective language, it gets my BS detector perked up. I start thinking about green sharpies on the CD edge. I assume open baffle imparts some kind of flavor to the sound that some people find appealing.
if you have never heard open baffle its hard to just describe they MUST be experienced. IT is also a misconception. They Do NOT need to be placed in the middle of the room. Having heard Klipsch and having had open baffle I can tell you there is a HUGE difference.
@@don3021 I don't doubt that there is a difference. Maybe most people, or even I would prefer the nature of the sound. If you tell me they are more accurate at reproducing music than a decent pair of headphones, I don't believe it. As far as placement from the wall, I think I've seen several videos where they recommend placing them further out, and most of the pictures I see have them that way. However, maybe that's just something that audiophiles do with all of their speakers. I would love for someone to do some blindfold testing with different speaker types on a group of randos. I wonder how they would compare with a high quality infinite baffle setup.
I don’t think headphones recreate the music better than speakers on any level in any circumstance. The presentation and stage on a headphone is nothing like real life. Although the sound is great on many headphones and it can be an intimate experience and deep sound, I have yet to hear a set of headphones recreate a completely 3 dimensional soundstage like an actual speaker that’s in a good system and properly placed. The great flaw with us audiophiles is we speculate and dismiss far to often based on our lack of experience. The stuff I am speaking about and discussing is based of of a massive amount of hours invested and actual real time experience and work put in. We have people selling their $20,000 pairs of speaker because these baffles destroy them on every level. So yea, if you build these and integrate them properly (no they don’t need to be four feet into the room) they will most likely change your life and effortlessly better anything you have, or have heard.. Just truth is all I bring.
4:00 timeline comment on "community builds ".......you do have no idea, what you are talking about, do you ? You ,should really study , rudimentary speaker building theory, at least.
Were discussing the ratio between the size of the slots total opening and the surface area of the bass driver... It is pretty simple. Change the ratio, change the way the driver reacts and how the wave propagates into the room. MAYBE you can take your salty attitude elsewhere.. OR, start your own charity review and raise money for youth musical programs. Wish you the best..
Sorry, physically I just can't continue to watch video and be abused with what coming from your mouth... sorry, I just, can't... I hope you will find your audience.
Well that's good. Why don;t you jump into our discord and SCHOOL US UP!! Maybe, be a part of the solution and not the one causing problems. Just sharing what my personal experience is, and what our group is doing.... Here in my channel and my community we are trying to be positive and do some good and have fun with audio. If that is not you jam, then go elsewhere. Plenty of reviewers to watch and harass.
How would something like Flow Coma by 808 State sound on these? 🤔 Or maybe even the AFX remix if you're feeling gnarly...? 🫵
I will check those out, I will say we have thrown ALL genre at these and they perform stellar in all cases.... Death metal to meditation.. LOL
Do you have any specs for the drivers? some thiel/small parameters on the actual drivers would be nice. Also do you have any measured results for the speakers.
Yes. We’ve done all of that and many times. Lots of info and links on our website and always feel free to jump in our discord to discuss in real time. ABXaudiophiles.org
Put the zoo dirty weekends in the corner😂😂😂😂😂
He actually ended up putting his Zu Druid 6 up for sale.... :)