@jayctoy I also heard their speakers at AXPONA 2022 and they also sounded off to me. They were using LTA electronics so I'm unsure of what the problem was. Another speaker company I was interested in was Pure Audio Project. Has anyone heard these?
Open Baffle Experience
Much has been said about open baffles, including an epic website by the late, great Dr. Linkwitz but I've only heard them really once, playing absolutely garbage music (thanks Pure Audio!) at a hotel.
I'm talking here about dynamic drivers in single baffles without enclosures, not ESLs or Magneplanar type systems.
I'm curious who has had them, and who kept them or went back to "conventional" boxes?
I'm not really looking to buy speakers, but I did start thinking about this because of a kit over at Madisound made with high quality drivers.
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My open-baffle experience (after building many ’box’ speakers) goes like this... I was enjoying my truck stereo one Spring day, and warming weather allowed me to roll the driver & passenger window down. What just happened!?... suddenly, despite the additional wind and road noise - the system suddenly sounded amazingly better. I’ve been missing something - but what? I also have a curiosity for unique speaker designs. My first speaker build (in high-school) was my attempt to recreate Ohm/Walsh omni-directional design (early 80’s) with drivers from Radio Shack that I put on my Christmas list (along with a jigsaw - which I used to build the speakers in my bedroom) - townhome living with no garage. As an adult, armed with new-found open-back curiosity, I found Martin Logan e-stats. I liked the sound, but despite the panel curvature, they have an unacceptably narrow sweet-spot. Digging further, I found Linkwitz. Not convinced, I ordered the inexpensive Madisound kit including flat-pack to test the waters. Also note another influence. I saw the writing on the wall decades ago... due to technical innovation, audio systems (like everything else) will become more consolidated, condensed, smaller, all-inclusive, ’lifestyle’. Also, cable believers and nay-sayers alike can agree on one thing... the fewer cables the better (especially analog). So with Linkwitz LXmini, there is potential for these two factors to coincide. I built the LXmini, and was rewarded mightily, inexpensive, beautiful, natural, enveloping sound. This is compared to the other speakers in the stable at that time (ML estats, ML motion-series, GoldenEar Triton, Tekton DI-upgrad, B&W, Elac, SVS Ultra, Buchardt). Only problem was the ported sub I had did not keep up with the LXmini’s... they need an open-baffle sub to match their accuracy. Back to the genius Linkwitz for a solution in the Phoenix[alt] sub. I built a pair with the recommended Peerless XLS drivers and could not be happier with the result. So, how does this coincide with ’lifestyle’? My current normal listening rig consists of Node N130, a pair of Hypex FA123 (each mounted into the Phoenix[alt] OB-subs powering everything) and LXmini speakers. This is a ’lifestyle’ system - just one piece of gear and it’s half the size of a ream of paper. Cables are minimized down to one digital coax to Hypex FA-123(master), and one digital coax cable going from the master to the other Hypex FA-123(slave) - two cables total, and they are carrying digital signals (not analog). What do I think of the Hypex FA-series + LXmini + Phoenix[alt] combo? It sounds like being on the stage listening to a performance first-person, as opposed to sitting in the audience listening through mic/mixer/amp/speakers. Rather than bore wax-poetic, let’s review the truths about this and potentially similar systems:
So, there you have it @erik_squires go out and get some open-baffle goodness. And I’ll leave you with this
And for those that doubt the bass...
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