Rat Shck Presidian 40-5053. Next Sonic Impact?

Petey,

Over the years I've seen you post many, many times about different speakers you've bought. If someone asked "what Audio Forum Member has owned the most speakers", you would be the first one to come to mind!

So, considering the vast number of speakers you've owned, how do these $40 speakers compare? Can you give us a "These are as good as XXX model 123"?

I'm looking for a pair of inexpensive speakers to have around for spares or for my portable system. So far, I haven't heard anything under $139 (Parts Express Kit) that I would buy. Maybe these would be "The Ones"!

Off topic: Did you unload the speakers a few months back so you could buy your Dream Car project?

Enjoy,

TIC

Since I had to return a gift to RS today, I picked up a pair of these speakers. I'll give you an update when I get a chance to play with them a bit.

TIC

OK, I hooked up the Presidians to my trusty Sharp SD-EX111 (which was THE killer deal on closeout for $70 at Overstocks.com) and right out of the box they sound pretty good. They are a bit lacking in bass, but sound pretty good and much better than the $40 would suggest. Of course, they will likely improve when they get some break-in time on them too...

I took an opportunity to open up the speaker to take a look at the components. There is only a single 1 Microfarad capacitor on the (+) tweeter lead, so the mid-woofer is running rull range. The box is very cheap and thin MDF with no internal bracing (except a bit in a couple of corners. The port is a cardboard tube glued to the inside of the back panel. There is no stuffing or sound dampening material inside.

So, for the adventurous type, possibly changing the cap, internal wiring and adding some dampening may provide some sonic gain for very little money.

Enjoy,

TIC

Drubin,

I own the Ref. 3A DeCapos and these Presidians. There is no confusing the two! BTW, My Decapos which supposedly "have a single cap" on the tweeter, actually have 4 components in the crossover. It's strange: When I enquired with Divergent Technologies (Distributor for Ref 3A) they said there is "effectively" a single cap on the tweeter. Whatever that means!

Enjoy,

TIC

Johnk,

You're talking about a simple open baffle speaker, right? For those who didn't follow John's previous post, it is simply a piece of plywood with a hole cut in it and a driver mounted in the hole. A shelf bracket is mounted along the bottom of the piece of plywood sticking out to make a simple prop to keep the plywood from falling over.

It can be a great sounding speaker, but it will not pass the WAF test. This is a "man cave speaker" only IMHO.

John, what kind of bass response are you getting with the Fostex? There are some "OB specific" drivers coming out soon, including one from Hemp Acoustics. If it is as good as the current FR8.0DIY (installed in a simple bass reflex box) it will be outstanding.

Enjoy,

TIC

Studioray,

I bought a pair of these to use for testing and for casual listening in a "portable" system. They are very good for $40 and are decent at 2-3 times that price. However, they do not compare favorably to the $400+ speakers you mentioned.

If you don't need a pair of cheap, disposable speakers, I don't think these are going to "do it" for you.....

TIC

Musicdoc,

Any idea of a possible price range for the upgrade?

Has anyone here that is interested in a cheap DIY project seen the Best Buy Insigna Speaker upgrade performed by Danny Richie at GR Reasearch? Looks way cool for the price. Supposedly sounds really good and cost about $150 total including the original speakers. Check it out:

http://www.gr-research.com/insignia.shtm

If we could just get someone to come up with an affordable upgrade to the "Book Speaker" from Parts Express. It would be WAY COOL to have a totally discrete speaker that sounded decent. Check it out:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=319-040

These speakers really do look exactly like a book. They are totally discrete when placed on a bookshelf. Really cool, but don't sound very good. Mine sound better with the tweeters disconnected!

Enjoy,

TIC

MD,

That's Awesome! I gotta try it....

TIC

Musicdoc,

For more information about Open Baffle Speakers than you would ever care to read, go to the Open Baffle Forum at audiocircle. Also look at the "Gravity Well of a Darkstar" Thread in the Red Wine Audio forum at Audiocircle. It's now 1200 post and 81,000 views strong! Here are the links:

Open Baffle Forum
http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?board=90.0

RedWine Audio Forum
http://www.audiocircle.com/circles/index.php?board=78.0

Enjoy the reading!

TIC