new speakers

Discussion in 'DIY Discussion' started by bottleneck, Dec 18, 2008.

  1. bottleneck

    bottleneck talks a load of rubbish

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    bottleneck, Dec 21, 2008
    #21
  2. bottleneck

    D Louth 77

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    Hi Mondie

    Mephisto's are fairly rare things even in the Uk. i used to work for the UK distributor and the packaging PL supplied them in was so poor I am amazed one made it all the way to Australia in one piece
    However it is a brilliant design and was designed by Piere Lurne an excellent TT designer. The transport is very like a TT in design and has a slightly analogue sound ( more the one piece CDP with Angram 192 Dac ). The Audio Notes a nice Dac .

    PL is back to turntables, hes dropped digital.

    Thanks for the reply

    D Louth 77 :)
     
    D Louth 77, Dec 22, 2008
    #22
  3. bottleneck

    anubisgrau

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    chris, congratulations - hope some of your dreams came true!

    at the first glance i've thought it's tune's speakers but now i see i was wrong!
     
    anubisgrau, Dec 23, 2008
    #23
  4. bottleneck

    bottleneck talks a load of rubbish

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    Last edited by a moderator: Dec 23, 2008
    bottleneck, Dec 23, 2008
    #24
  5. bottleneck

    anubisgrau

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    have you kept 2405s all these years?

    yes - tune/merlin. he used to have something not too different, a big JBL 15" driver with a TAD compression driver in horn, but not anymore.

    hope this is now a long lasting solution. i know you're never certain in our sport, but it really seems it will take a lot to get a more promising speaker to use in normal housing conditions.
     
    anubisgrau, Dec 23, 2008
    #25
  6. bottleneck

    bottleneck talks a load of rubbish

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    Hi !

    Sold the Altecs to SCIDB (Dean) on this forum. I dont know if he still has them. I still love those speakers...

    Domestic considerations are the key aren't they?

    I would have rather replaced the 15" with a 10" in a tractrix or a straight horn, and used folded bass bins for the bottom octave. I haven't that kind of size room (few do I suspect), so worked with something more living room friendly.

    I am the proverbial kit-changer when it comes to speakers, and am selling my IPL's - which truth be told were more than good enough. I Thought the best way to kick my own habbit is get something I couldnt afford to replace! Lets see if my logic works....
     
    bottleneck, Dec 23, 2008
    #26
  7. bottleneck

    Jimbo

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    Jimbo, Dec 23, 2008
    #27
  8. bottleneck

    Mondie

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    It is but l figure l have spent a fortune to get this far so l may as well go the whole hog :p l know of a fellow in NZ who is running 1601a/4001 in an Onken loaded cabinet with a Townshend ribbon Supertweeter, l have thought about this option too as it doesnt require a XO however it means continuing to run the 4001 full range.

    l bought the Mephisto from the Aussie distributor in Melbourne 3-4 yrs ago now, he was only bringing them in very small quantities. You are right the packaging is poor, l still dont even have the owners manual for it as it came with the Mephisto 1 manual, many emails to PL have gone unanswered. :mad:

    l will sell it off one day and replace it with a Teac VRDS 20 when l can find a good one.

    Merry Christmas and all the best for 2009 Zerogainers

    Cheers,
    mondie
     
    Mondie, Dec 24, 2008
    #28
  9. bottleneck

    bottleneck talks a load of rubbish

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    Hi Mondie!

    I've been following your thread on Lansing Heritage. I also have found 8khz 'about right' to cross the 400* over with a tweeter.

    You'll have to let me know what you think of the Ashly. I'm replacing my ageing Ashly with a new one - the same one as you in fact.

    Will also be interested in what you find putting a cap in place for diaphragm protection. Haven't done it yet, but not a bad idea!

    All the best,
    Cheers
     
    bottleneck, Jan 12, 2009
    #29
  10. bottleneck

    sandgrownun

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    Bottleneck, thanks for sharing your new speakers. I'm sure they sound great, and it's always good to achieve a long-held objective :) .
     
    sandgrownun, Jan 13, 2009
    #30
  11. bottleneck

    bottleneck talks a load of rubbish

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    Cheers

    They are very transparent - equipment wise you get out of them what you put in. I can see why some people spend tens of thousands on amps - you would definately hear the benefit on TAD horns.

    I've had a couple of requests to make them for others (for a few quid of course), which is nice. Could be a part-time little hobby-job thing for me. There's a question mark over whether it's a good use of my time though, which has a value like anything else.

    I'm thinking of doing an EL84 kit too. I've got a (with some help of course) great circuit and design - a cross between a Border Patrol and a an EL84 amp.

    I think there is scope for a kit which can be built as a finished product and sold in the 650-800 bracket. The middle ground between a cheapo chinese amp with potential issues, and your boggo brit-amp at about £1,500. Let me know if anyone's interested.

    Really I should spend time on my day-job instead of my hobbys like this, but I love hifi, and horns and valve amps especially...
     
    bottleneck, Jan 13, 2009
    #31
  12. bottleneck

    Mondie

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    Hi BN,

    Grab a bargain here mate, l bought mine from this seller, even with shipping its most likely much cheaper than buying in the UK.l am yet to play with mine, l dont have the extra amps l need for now.

    http://cgi.ebay.com.au/ASHLY-XR-200...ItemQQptZAU_Pro_Audio?_trksid=p3286.m20.l1116

    Cheers,
    mondie

     
    Mondie, Jan 21, 2009
    #32
  13. bottleneck

    bottleneck talks a load of rubbish

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    Hi Mondie

    I took delivery of the unit last week.

    Initial impressions - very clean, very quiet - generally very impressed. It betters the older Ashly unit which was no slouch.

    Many good features, you can use it balanced - as a mono 4 way aswell as stereo 3 way, variable crossover type (linkwitz etc).

    Only thing I don't like is a MASSIVE switch on thump. The resistor in the cable is a necessity I feel. I'm doing this as per your posts on Lansing Heritage.


    Cheers
    Chris
     
    bottleneck, Jan 21, 2009
    #33
  14. bottleneck

    Mondie

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    Hi Chris,

    Its a shame about the thump, do you think this comes standard with every unit or could yours be a little faulty? Come to think of it, wouldn't you turn the XO on first then the power amps, getting around the problem? Don't use a resistor, according to posts on the AL forum a capacitor is the go and there is a formula to calcluate what value to use so it doesn't affect your crossover point or introduce phase issues

    Cheers,
    mondie
     
    Mondie, Jan 24, 2009
    #34
  15. bottleneck

    bottleneck talks a load of rubbish

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    Hi Mondie

    Yes, a cap is what I need, sorry. I now have the values so will be doing that asap.


    If you turn the amps on first, you still get the 'thump'. I need to look a little more at this. At least with the caps in place, the tweeters and mids will be protected.
     
    bottleneck, Jan 24, 2009
    #35
  16. bottleneck

    Mondie

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    You should be turning the power amp on last, if you do that then is the thump no longer a problem?
     
    Mondie, Jan 24, 2009
    #36
  17. bottleneck

    bottleneck talks a load of rubbish

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    My memory is playing tricks on me.....

    :)

    Can't remember!
     
    bottleneck, Jan 24, 2009
    #37
  18. bottleneck

    anubisgrau

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    Are you talking about Ashly 2001?

    If yes, than can anyone comment on usually mentioned argument that active x-overs of this level of quality may be a bottleneck (no pun intented:)) in more advanced systems?

    I'm asking this cause I'm keen on trying an active 2-way crossover with my Oris Swing horns - I'd love to see how their bass response will behave with a different amp (than a current gainclone module) and what will happen with the rest of the spectrum once the main SET amp is freed from running 2x15" per side.

    So I need a cheap but decent sounding thing to evaluate if this is a way to go or not - I've been thinking of a basic Ashly 1001. Would there be any reason to go for 2001 for a 2-way use. I don't think I will be ever in a position to go 3 way because my mid-hi driver, BMS 4592nd needs some serious filtering to hamper the peaks. So this may stay regulated by a passive x-over/filter.

    Comments pls
     
    anubisgrau, Nov 11, 2009
    #38
  19. bottleneck

    anubisgrau

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    Also how are the current Ashly x-overs against vintage stuff? There's Ashly SC-80 on Ebay for 80E only!
     
    anubisgrau, Nov 11, 2009
    #39
  20. bottleneck

    Smithy

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    I use a Crown K2 at the bass end crossing over via Ashly XR2001 to Oris 150 horns(Focal Audiom 7K2 drivers).A bigger amp would certainly be worth trying at the bottom end,were the discontinued BD designs Crazy amps chipamps ?
     
    Smithy, Nov 13, 2009
    #40
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