New Lowther Drivers.

TWL:
Please keep us informed.

Thanks,

Twl:

You wrote:

"I can live with 40Hz"

I agree Twl. If the speaker handles 40Hz really well it's much betteer than having something that stumbles over something lower. I've been building two ways for a couple years that max out at 39Hz, but handle that well, and for lots of music I never miss a thing.

I am moving in your (FR) direction though.
Continue to let us know what your doing and how it's going.

Thanks,

Good Bishop:

You wrote: "This again brings us to the perennial question of whether we are listening to the sound or to the music. It is pretty clear when twl makes statements like "I can live with 40Hz" that he is opting for listening to the sound."

Not only is it NOT "pretty clear" but I think you introduce a complete, and quite unkind, non sequitur. If one looks at any materials on designing or building audio equipment the discussions are all the same. They do not, for the most part, or at least at the beginning of the design stage, stay in the language of music, but rather in the language of electronics and acoustics. It can't be helped. Don't blame Twl for it.

You will not get to first base without asking the simple question: what do I want the equipment to do? A most basic aspect of this process is determining frequency response for the piece you are building (amp, speaker, whatever). The folks who developed your lovely Utopia's undoubtedly talked in this manner. Does it mean that they have choosen not to listen to music and are only interested in sound? That is ludicrous. It simply means that they have turned off the record player for a while and stopped listening to music in order to work on audio equipment. It's not that they have choosen not to ever listen to music. It's just at the moment they are doing a different thing...designing audio equipment. It is somewhat akin to saying someone who practices scales is interested only in technique and tone and not music when, in fact, one follows directly from the other.

Take another example. Some time ago you were involved in helping a friend build a listening room. This entails looking at and talking about rooms in terms of sound and acoustics. In describing the first steps in this direction one might say something like this: Well I established the basic axial resonant frequencies of the room by dividing the speed of sound by the 2xlength of the room. (1130/2L). Finding the basic resonant frequency to be 44Hz, I put on a frequency disk on the stereo and fired her up at 44Hz and walked around the room trying to identify high pressure points in the room. I then built a few bass traps tuned to that frequency and started experimenting with placement of them based on the SPL measurements. (Your first steps in tuning a room may differ and be much better(not the point.)) The point is that tuning the room inevitably requires an approach, and discussion, along these lines and it resembles Twl's talk about speakers. It can't be avoided! It would be pure folly for someone to say "See, the Bishop is only concerned about sound and the frequency response of his room and has choosen not to listen to music."

Of course, when such measurements and things are done you will sit back, turn on the music, and your ears will be the ultimate judge. But your ears alone will never tell you HOW to build a good sounding circuit or what to do in order to make your listening room sound musical. They will tell you when and if you do it. But never HOW to do it.

I've read some of your posts and you are not stupid. The point above is so obvious, that I find it hard to believe you do not see it. It almost makes me agree with Twl that you are setting out to insult him (as sugar coated as the insults are).

In any event, I'd like to see Twl keep posting so I can learn from his Lowther project and would appreciate it if you would respect his request. He might otherwise stop posting or something and I'll lose some valuable insight into FR drivers.

I remain,