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Message started by Geno on 10/16/18 at 22:31:47

Title: Incredible Betsy's
Post by Geno on 10/16/18 at 22:31:47

My Caintuck Betsy's just keep getting better.  I swap them out from time to time with what I consider my main speakers.  I am just about to the point that the Betsy's will be my mains. I just have to shake my head as I listen to them. My mains are 6 times the cost, and just not as sweet, tuneful and easy to listen to as Randy's.  I just ordered a 12" bass unit to go with them. I have been using a powered REL sub with them, but the pairing leaves a gap in the frequency range. My plan is to use Randy's bass unit to bridge that gap. The combination that I presently have sounds fantastic, and I cannot wait to hear how the Caintuck woofer fills out the sound!

Has anyone compared the sound of the Betsy's to Steve"s ZOB's?  I'd be interested to know how they compare with a price difference of $3000!

Title: Re: Incredible Betsy's
Post by Randy in Caintuck on 10/17/18 at 23:50:00



Hi Geno,

Thanks again for the positive comments about the Betsy baffles .....  

I won't offer any opinions on the difference in sound ..... but what I will say is that the extra money for the ZOB speakers gets you two pieces of genuine "audio art" created by a true craftsman, Bob (Zygi) ..... while I am still pretty much of a "hillbilly wood butcher" .....

The Betsy baffles are a lot of sonic bang for the buck and the ZOB speakers are furniture grade products.

Happy listening,
Randy


Title: Re: Incredible Betsy's
Post by Palomino on 10/19/18 at 21:58:26

Geno, the Betsy's are one of those wonders of nature.  I think the 12" will prove to be a good investment.  Cross the REL low (40-50hz) and hear the musicality of the 12 and the air movement of the REL.  A great combo.

I think those multi colored baffles I saw at the fest indicate to me that the hillbilly has sharpened his knife ;)

Title: Re: Incredible Betsy's
Post by Lonely Raven on 10/23/18 at 01:40:09


Randy makes the best toilet seat speakers I know of! LOL

I honestly can't compare the two sound wise - I will say the Betsy Baffles are some of the most musical speakers I've ever heard! I really enjoy them. Once I get my ZMA back from the Zen Master, I'll get back to having two systems running at my house, the smaller setup being Betsy Speakers and a modified Zen amp.


Title: Re: Incredible Betsy's
Post by Randy in Caintuck on 10/23/18 at 14:51:02




Quote:
Randy makes the best toilet seat speakers I know of! LOL




There is also a matching bathroom mirror .....



Larger photo here.

Many thanks for the positive comments, guys .....  

It's certainly a pleasure for me to provide some affordable loudspeakers that work so well with the SE84UFO and other low power Decware amplifiers.

For a fact, it's about the music .....

Happy listening,
Randy


Title: Re: Incredible Betsy's
Post by maddog07 on 10/29/18 at 19:13:16

dem be huge toilet seats....!!!
;D

On a more serious note, I haven't heard everything there is to hear (that's impossible), but over the last 45 years in this hobby and several trips to RMAF - I've heard A LOT.  If there is a better, more musical sounding speaker than the Betsy OB's, driven by a flea-watt tube amp, for the $$ spent - I haven't heard it, seen it, or read about it.

Title: Re: Incredible Betsy's
Post by Mark on 10/30/18 at 01:26:28

I've had the Betsy Baffles hooked up to my new Zen amp for a few weeks now, and I'm constantly 'baffled' by the wall of sound that these things cast out into my room...

They are fast, open-sounding, and very musical...  I think the low profile of these speakers helps in two ways: 1) It leaves plenty of room for the dipole effect to develop from behind, up, and over, and, 2) The bass also benefits from the close-to-the-floor position, because, if you think about it, the floor acts like a horizontal 'corner'...


Title: Re: Incredible Betsy's
Post by Randy in Caintuck on 10/30/18 at 15:34:22



Thanks again guys for the positive comments .....

Mark is absolutely correct in his reasoning as to why the Betsy baffles perform as they do. The "received wisdom" has always stated that the primary driver of a loudspeaker needs to be at ear level for a seated listener for the best results.  By accident, I found that the dispersion pattern of the Wild Burro Audio Labs driver produced a stereo image and soundstage that "floats" above the baffles ..... even though they are only 22.5" tall.

The floor does indeed reinforce the upper bass and lower midrange frequencies which has pretty much the same effect as if the drivers were mounted on a much larger baffle with the driver positioned at "ear level".

An additional benefit is that some of the "beaming" that full range drivers are (in)famous for is reduced because it makes the dispersion pattern slightly off axis.

Some of my customers use cones or spikes under the fronts of the baffles to tilt them up if they feel the need for a little more top end response.
As usual ..... your mileage may vary.

I have literally built dozens of open baffles of various sizes, shapes and configurations.  A couple of them were total opposites of how the current Betsy baffles turned out .....



These speakers were pretty impressive sounding, but after making the first pair of the current "low boy" barrel shaped Betsy baffles, I never looked back .....  

Happy listening,
Randy


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