Open baffle speakers

@mwatsme your system sounds fabulous, especially for such a narrow room. Well done!

^ Whoo-hooooo! Nice!!!

But you don’t need a subwoofer with 2 15” subs in the lower half of an OB speaker. How much bass does one need? I’ll tell you what, the most natural, the tightest bass I ever heard from a speaker was from an OB speaker. It’s as if the jazz bassist is in the room. Almost scary.  

@toddalin , sounding great! What speakers are those?

@mijostyn, every speaker I’ve posted was an open baffle speaker. The problem is I’ve heard each speaker in small rooms, mid sized rooms, and large rooms. Each speaker performed like no other. The disadvantage you have is, you haven’t heard these speakers. The 15” subs were specifically designed for OB’s. I can’t comment on the design of other OB’s. But I can personally vouch for the performance of these. Each speaker was custom made by hand, by an audiophile who was also an exceptional woodworker. Each speaker was built from solid Sapele, or solid Ash. You don’t find this design on the open market, for most OB’s produced today are finished in Veneers.Therefore, there’s no comparison

I understand speaking in generalities. But none of your uncertainty would apply to these OB’s. The quality of them is beyond compare.

@mijostyn , well let’s see, I’m a jazz pianist and play jazz guitar fairly well, on top of being an audiophile for 50 plus years. Maybe you’re right, I have no idea about sound or music. 

Like box speakers, every OB is unique. People are referring to OB’s as if each is the same simply because they’re OB’s. I fail to understand the logic in that.

Those I posted were each created by one custom builder. They’re not a speaker for everyone. But I found them to duplicate music very accurately, especially the bass. I’ve never heard more authentic bass from a speaker as those OB’s.

@toddalin That’s very interesting because a lot of classic jazz guitar amplifiers also use Alnico speakers. They’re some of the finest tones to be had from a jazz guitar amp, of course powered by tube amplification. 

@bache Every speaker design has “issues.”

You doubt OB’s, as if you’ve heard every OB. And yet here you are representing yourself as knowledgeable. Perhaps you’re filled with as many assumptions as knowledge? Personally, one thing I believe people can’t relate to is their speed. I couldn’t, until I heard them.

Now you’ll argue time alignment or whatever measurement, as if that relates to all OB’s. Personally, I think you protest too much. Argue away. I’m done listening to your opinions.

@phillyb, Great take! I could not agree more. But first you’ve got to have an open mind. I’ve owned Electrostats for over 40 years. For years CLSiiz’s were my speakers of choice. I relished in their midrange which I believed was not matched by box speakers. We all listen differently, and prefer different components, so why should loudspeakers be any different? But 15 years ago I met an audiophile who was a professional woodworker. He built his own speakers, using solid woods and no mdf. He began building OB speakers using bass speakers specifically made for OB’s. I was floored by their performance to reproduce authentic sounding bass, which was as natural as I’d ever heard. I purchased several pairs, all while keeping my electrostatic speakers. Enjoy whatever speakers you choose. But to denigrate someone else’s choices, especially when you’ve not heard them, seems a bit harsh and illogical. We each have our biases. Allow others to enjoy and live with their choices. After all, audio is about freedom of choice. 

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

@yyzsantabarbara You should be able to acquire an OB for the price of a used Coda 16. I paid $3k for these with a 15” woofer and sub designed specifically for OB’s. And they were made with zero MDF. They’re solid Sapale, commonly used as a Rosewood replacement for guitars.

The huge benefit in OB’s is the capability of using flea watt tube amplification to drive them. You can’t do that with a typical box speaker. You need power, and typically lots of it to drive them. You need none of that to drive OB’s

@yyzsantabarbara there are tons of low watt tube amps. The amp I use is an Inspire by Dennis Had. They’re 12 watts a channel.

@campo007 Congratulations, and Enjoy! You deserve them! Can’t wait to see how they sound after being broken in!