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SPEAKER FORUMS >> Betsy Open Baffle >> Built a pait of Caintuck Betsy's
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Message started by hurdy_gurdyman on 04/12/17 at 06:46:49

Title: Built a pait of Caintuck Betsy's
Post by hurdy_gurdyman on 04/12/17 at 06:46:49

Built my own Caintuck Betsy baffles from scratch. Randy was nice enough to provide me with a paper pattern. I plan on getting some blue wood dye to finish them up. I happen to like blue and I'm tired of wood stained speakers I been making since my teens.

I must say Randy really knows what he's talking about. The Betsy drivers sound WAY better in the small baffles sitting on the floor than they did in my tall baffles made for a set of Sterling Silver Iris Duets. The sound-stage really opened up, and the treble sounds much clearer (not real sure why this is, but it's very noticeable). These speakers are far more accurate than my old EV LS12's or LS8's every were. I couldn't be happier. I can see why these are getting great reviews in the audio press.

Excuse the instrument clutter. I find if they are out of sight, they simply don't get played as much as they should. Here they are out of the way and in plain sight to me.

]I must say Randy really knows what he's talking about. The Betsy drivers sound WAY better in the small baffles sitting on the floor than they did in my tall baffles made for a set of Sterling Silver Iris Duets. The sound-stage really opened up, and the treble sounds much clearer (not real sure why this is, but it's very noticeable). These speakers are far more accurate than my old EV LS12's or LS8's every were. I couldn't be happier. I can see why these are getting great reviews in the audio press.
Excuse the instrument clutter. I find if they are out of sight, they simply don't get played as much as they should. Here they are out of the way and in plain sight to me.

Dave

Title: Re: Built a pait of Caintuck Betsy's
Post by Tripwr1964 on 04/13/17 at 01:26:53

thats the spirit! they are fun and sound pretty damn good huh.

thing i like is they sound great with every amp i've hooked up to them. versatility, i like that!

Title: Re: Built a pait of Caintuck Betsy's
Post by hurdy_gurdyman on 04/13/17 at 04:01:48

I'm using a 60/30 watt ultra-linear/triode PP amp (TAD-60) in triode mode with them. Sounds good in either mode. Don't have anything else to hook up to them at this time. Would love to try a single ended amp of maybe 8-10 watts sometime, but won't be anytime soon.

Dave

Title: Re: Built a pait of Caintuck Betsy's
Post by Randy in Caintuck on 04/13/17 at 05:05:59

Howdy Dave,

When my storefront was open, the main listening room was 17' x 35' with an 11.5' ceiling.

The "little" Decware SE84UFO absolutely filled the room with music when connected to a pair of Betsy baffles .....

Several of the visitors to the storefront had to pick their jaws up from the floor when I told them that they were listening to a 2 watt per channel amplifier .....

That's one of the beautiful things about these speakers ..... a couple of high quality watts makes them sing ..... but they are also happy when connected to a more powerful amplifier.

Happy listening,
Randy

Title: Re: Built a pait of Caintuck Betsy's
Post by hurdy_gurdyman on 04/13/17 at 16:50:00

Hey Randy,

I'd believe a two watt amp could do that. Hooked directly to the speaker with no crossover really makes a difference. When I had my SSI coaxial speakers (96 dB/W 1 meter) hooked up and very used to their sound, I went and hooked up my vintage EV LS12's (94 dB/w 1 meter) and they played way louder at the same setting on my amp. The crossover was really sucking the juice on those coaxial drivers. The Betsy is pretty close to as loud as the EV's at any given volume setting, but with more extended range on both ends and a more neutral midrange.

I do find it amazing how well those EV's perform, them being a 1958 design. They still sound better than many newer and more expensive speakers sound.

My Betsy sounds very good with my TAD-60 on either Ultra-linear or triode setting. I'm using triode more for Betsy's sake than any perceived difference in sound. I felt 60 watts is a lot for that small of a voice coil. 30 watts is more than enough, even for watching movies. The Betsy's never protested loud explosions and earthquakes, etc.

I haven't made grills yet, but will one of these days I fear my two 60 pound dogs might damage them while getting rambunctious. Thankfully, the speakers are light enough to just pick up and move out of the way when not in use. I still have to get a pair of handles for them, which will make it almost too easy.

All in all, I'm very happy with these. Someday, when my ship comes in, I'll get a single ended amp for them.

Dave

Title: Re: Built a pait of Caintuck Betsy's
Post by hurdy_gurdyman on 05/02/17 at 02:08:42

Thought I'd post a pic of my grills I came up with. It isn't stained yet, as the baffle isn't, either. That's a future project. The sound doesn't appear to be affected as far as I can tell, but my ears aren't as young as they once were.
I am thinking of using a deep blue wood dye for the baffles and neon yellow for horizontal dowels and neon green for vertical. I've used wood stain/natural wood look for decades on my speakers. Time to unleash the hippie in me... :o :D

Dave