Post by CJinArcadia on 05/31/21 at 19:17:46
I'm not certain where I first read about the Betsy driver by Wild Burro. It could have been here on Decware, maybe on Randy's Caintuck site, or somewhere else on the web. But I was intrigued by the idea of these open baffle speakers, especially with Randy's low barrel design. I still remember, some 30+ years ago, hearing a pair of giant Martin Logans, and being blown away by the airiness and soundstage. Could these, little full range speakers deliver some magic? I decided that I had to dip my toe in to see.
I've had a few sets of speakers in the past 40+ years. Avid, Klipsch, Monitor Audio, and Thiels. The Thiels I've been most satisfied with and have had them for 12 or so years. But last year I got the bug for something a little "different". Thus, the journey.
My journey started with a plain Betsy, using glued and clamped 1/2" mdf so that the baffles were 1" thick. A string and pencil gave me the arcs for a pair that were about the size of Randy's (mine were 22-1/2" tall by 18-1/2" wide). Cut the arcs with saber saw, speaker holes with a home made router jig, mount a base, spray some paint, mount the drivers, and hook up some wires. I wasn't concerned too much with WAF at this point; these were first prototypes to see if I liked the sound. And did I! (Especially with them pulled away from the wall a few feet.)
But then I wanted just a bit more reinforcement on the lower end. Through this site I came across the old Betsy & Buck idea from Caintuck Audio. I went back and forth between the B&B, or a Lii 12" or 15" driver. The B&B won out due to aesthetics (WAF) with using the 10"Alpha 10A drivers. (And a compromise on probable low end versus the 12 or 15" Alpha drivers. Since these are in my living room, looks are critical.)
Prototype 2 was again 1" thick mdf, but I took more care on the construction. The arcs this time were cut with a router jig, changed the design to rear mount the drivers, and I used a roundover bit for the front edges. And of course made them taller (24-1/2"tall by 18-1/2" wide). Based upon input from Randy (Caintuck) and Doug (Wild Burro), I initially ran these with a separate small amp with built in crossover. In my system, I wasn't thrilled with the results and ordered a pair of 10mH chokes to try passive mode on powering the 10" drivers. I was extremely happy with the resulting sound.
Here's prototypes 1 and 2.
" alt="" border="0" />Since I was so pleased with the sound, time to make an even nicer set. This time from 6/4 cherry from a local custom lumber yard. I decided to make them slightly larger (25" tall and 19-1/4" wide), and altered the side arcs to more of a slight "tulip" shape where the base is slightly wider than the top. I used a larger roundover bit for the speaker holes, and bought some super Q chokes with heavier guage wire. So far, I and my wife, are both thrilled. Yes, the upper and low ends aren't the same as my older Thiels, but the airiness and soundstage have exploded.
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" alt="" border="0" />With the music that I primarily listen to: jazz, vocals, acoustic (guitar, piano, Irish Trad), classic rock, with a touch of music from up in the hollar (I'm near the NC hill country after all), these speakers in my system deliver. The speakers disappear. The sound stage seems like it sometimes goes outside the room. Both male and female vocals sound "right". And with the bit extra provided by the 10" Alpha, things like standup bass come across with the right authority.
Next up: What happens when I replace the plain ol Betsy with a fancy Alnico version? I can't wait to find out.
After That: How do things sound when I replace my old PSE amp with one from Decware?
Chris
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