Linkwitz Speakers anyone?

Wondered if anyone had any experience of DIY-ing speakers according to the Linkwitz designs, or even if anyone's had a proper listen to them.

I'm moving shortly and thinking about following this up with a speaker building project. Thought these designs looked interesting.

http://www.linkwitzlab.com/index.html

If the hifi ends up where I want it I'm hoping to have a go at the Orions, which certainly seem to have an impressive array of drivers and look very cool to me. If it is banished to the smaller room (boo) I may knock up a pair of the bathroom-fittings-masquerading-as-speakers Plutos if only out of extreme curiosity. I'm planning to use the Linkwitz forum to see if anyone there would be willing to demo, but wondered if anyone here had any views or experience? (They'd be replacing my current Bryston 3B-SST/Wilson-Benesch Orator combo).

Cheers

Gordon

 

I've just made some of the Plutos. They have replaced my cyrus 8vs and B&W805 combo. I made them just on a whim, not really expecting anything much, it was my first DIY project.

They sound great, but I think I really need to take them apart and rebuild them so they look better.

I intend to go for the Orions once I have a more permanent home and somewhere to build them. I built the Plutos in the kitchen.

 

Thanks Jennings

I'd be fascinated to know a bit more about how the Plutos sound. Good to know they can be put together in a kitchen, but I'd imagined it would be finding a way of finishing them in order to look good that would be a problem. Did you make the electronics yourself or buy the modules?

Cheers

Gordon

 

I ordered the boards assembled. As I say, this was my first project and the last time I soldered anything was at school 20 years ago. The boards are certainly very nicely done. I had the plans and boards sent to a friend at the US embassy to avoid thieving Russian customs gits and got the plans in about 2 weeks and the boards a week after that.

About the design, my feeling is it would look better with a round base, but otherwise it looks better in the flesh than on pictures.

I was hit by rather a run of bad luck on mine, they dont sell workbenches in this country, sales people at DIY stores and builders markets claim to have never heard of such a thing. So I ended up cutting stuff on the kitchen table, which meant a couple of wonky lines. Then, I bought German-brand filler and paint from OBI, a German DIY chain they have here. I don't speak German and the Russian translation of the instructions and colors was clearly wrong - when I tried to sand the filler it crumbled away, and the supposedly high gloss black paint turned out to be metallic dark gray. They don't look too bad I suppose, just fall a bit short of the effect I was hoping for.

In terms of sound, the B&W 805s rock out more, but the Plutos sound more realistic. And what is most important to me, as someone living in an apartment with a toddler, is that they sound good from a low volume, which the 805s don't particularly. I listen mainly to classical chamber music and jazz, and I go to quite a lot of concerts. I'd say accuracy is the main thing with these speakers, they sound more real than the 805s. They also sound pretty good with larger scale music too.

Now I am just working on my wife for permission to build the subs, otherwise I will just get a second Tannoy and try the behringer deq2496. The Plutos are nice, but they don't go that low.

 

My advice would be to go for the Orions even in the smaller room. The di-pole bass will work better in a small room than a sealed or ported design. The open midrange woofer might not like being really close to the back wall, but 2ft should be enough, and you could always put some acoustic foam behind.

If you go for Alesis amps to power it, I know a few tricks to improve performance, although at the cost of lower input gain.

 

The Orions might even be better in a smaller room as the Plutos need to be away from the wall. I think Linkwitz says 5 feet for the Plutos, I usually have them pulled out around that distance when I am listening.

I plan to build the Orions later, but they seemed a bit much for a first project.

 

Thanks guys - that's all useful info.

Jennings, it sounds like getting the right materials is key so I'll be aware of that if I try the Plutos.

Tenson I think that's what I wanted to hear! I'd really rather build a pair of Orions. I was planning to try to get hold of the ATI amp SL recommends - I think there is now a UK importer - but I want to consider other alternatives too.

Anyway need to get moved first and see how things pan out, and try to hear some Orions. I'll report back when and if...

Cheers

Gordon