Open baffle speakers

They’ve never really done it for me, but I’ve heard few.

Also, I am of the opinion that when sound is coming from the rear and bouncing willy-nilly about the room, it may give a sense of depth to the soundstage but can’t really be good for imaging compared to a nice closed-back point or line source, or even time-aligned speaker. But this is not something that you will pick up from a YouTube video recorded in the sweet spot. I’ve specifically blocked off the rear wave from my modified Heil AMTs and my speakers image outstandingly.

If you have good monitors, there are plenty of examples of open backs that you can listen to on (God Forbid!!!) YouTube. But also listen to similar quality closed baffle speakers because ultimately, your monitors have a lot to do with the sound, and you are listening to not just the speakers but for differences in the presentation of the sound between the open and closed back representatives.

When Dizzy is blowing his horn, certainly some sound goes to the rear and bounces around.

But with open back, were talking essentially as much sound going "backward" as is going forward, and it’s out of phase. Maybe this is proper for a Leslie, and some percussion (including piano) but little else that primarily goes forward, including guitar amps, PA systems, and such.

It just doesn’t seem like it would present the same pin point imaging as two well placed speakers with no sound emanating to the rear except what is natural to the room they are being played in. But my listening to these OB systems is limited.

If there is anyone in the Orange County, CA area with a nice OB system that they would like to share, I would love to come hear it! Of course you would be welcome to come hear my offerings.

I don’t believe that Dalquist DQ10s really qualify as open backs.

The woofer is in a separate sealed container (closed back).

The lower midrange has a thick piece of padding that covers the back of the cone to remove any rear radiation/reflection.

The two dome tweeters are sealed and the piezo is a sealed horn.

https://pinkfishmedia.net/forum/proxy.php?image=https%3A%2F%2Flive.staticflickr.com%2F65535%2F53161980583_3e92fd31bb.jpg&hash=32606d143ec35aa0dea6837f7fa9a0a6

Does it get better than this, because it really doesn’t do it for me? I’ve heard similar live and..., meh.

The peak in the vocals here would drive me crazy.

https://youtu.be/eB6ZJvLICVo

coltrane1

According to the video they are Lii Audio PT-10/W-15.

I know they are certainly far from cheap, but they just don’t do it for me. Maybe it’s the track. IIRC, I have that one on CD and will have to listen on my system.

No not quite, though it appears to be a "double roll" rather than a simple foam. It would appear that your selected surround is "applied" to the cone whereas the JBLs are a "part" of the cone and of different material.

Of course the JBLs also have bigger voice coils, more tesla, higher BL, etc., but I don't think they are suited to open baffle mounts.

Another qualifier when I put these together was that there would be no foams to rot and replace, again at the expense of deeper bass.

Maybe the bass is "way more textured" because open baffle speakers tend to use an accordion rather than foam surround?

I use JBL 2241H (18")  and 2251J (~10") woofers in ported cabinets and these have accordion and double roll, respectively, rather than foam surrounds and are extremely textured in the bass. I am not a fan of foam surrounds even if they go a bit lower. I have JBL AlNiCo 2235s (foam edge 15") in my L200/300 cabinets and the texture of the bass, especially things like stand-up string bass, can’t compare.

OK...,

JBL 2279 18" in U-Frame.

https://youtu.be/UA6fvVMoTug