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SPEAKER FORUMS >> Betsy Open Baffle >> Difference between sizes of drivers in Barrels
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Message started by Casey on 11/04/23 at 19:29:05

Title: Difference between sizes of drivers in Barrels
Post by Casey on 11/04/23 at 19:29:05

HI Randy - I am still thinking you listen in your small custom built listening room / man shed. I had F15s a few years ago in my small room. There was some good some not so good. I am wondering how the Lii Audio 8's might be different from the 10's and 15's in your room. Thinking in my small 12x13 room with lots of off-axis listening that one of the smaller drivers in a barrel might work better? What has been your experience - not just Randy with this question.

Title: Re: Difference between sizes of drivers in Barrels
Post by Randy in Caintuck on 11/06/23 at 05:37:41

Hi Casey,

My listening room is 12' x 16' with a vaulted ceiling and all of the baffles with Lii Audio drivers work well in that room ..... from the 8s to the 15s.

All of the Lii Audio drivers have a "family sound".
The biggest difference between the various sizes is that the smaller drivers are a little "quicker" and more focused while the larger drivers have a more robust lower midrange / upper bass.

The Fast-8s and F-8s sound very good to me ..... but they roll off pretty quickly below 100 HZ or so.
To have a full range system, you can add a small, inexpensive powered subwoofer to them that can be placed almost anywhere in the room.

In a small room, this setup will usually work better than the F-15 baffles.

Best wishes,
Randy

Title: Re: Difference between sizes of drivers in Barrels
Post by Casey on 11/06/23 at 19:59:23

thanks for the reply Randy - always love the photo of your room.

Makes sense regarding the 8s or 10s in a small room. I have a couple of Rel subs so not too interested in the baffle that has the Lii 15 woofer on bottom and smaller driver on top. Other thing for me is I listen off axis about 80% of the time (at a desk) - I found the low barrels didn't work as well off axis as my Zu speakers do now so may need a raise the driver strategy.

Also FAsts or Silvers - both would be in my budget especially the 8 inchers.

As always more to thing about and read some more.

Title: Re: Difference between sizes of drivers in Barrels
Post by Randy in Caintuck on 11/07/23 at 18:21:04

Hi Casey,

The Fast-8 and F-8 both sound good in open baffles.
The Silver-8 was not really designed for open baffle use ..... the .QTS parameter is not optimal.

However, if you have an amplifier with a lot of "meat on the bones" or a Decware Audio ZROCK2 ..... the Silver-8s can sound VERY good.
Amazing speed, focus and low level detail .....

Best wishes,
Randy

Title: Re: Difference between sizes of drivers in Barrels
Post by Casey on 11/20/23 at 16:45:06

Just reporting back in that I purchased a 2nd hand pair of Crystal 10's in magnum Caintuck barrels. (from a member here). They arrived last week.

I was nervous about these as a) I read the Crystals work best in a box and b) I was really thinking 8 incher or smaller in my small room. And they sounded awful / even broken right out of the box - screechy in upper mid and high end.

Things settled down after about 10 hours. I tried putting some rubber feet under the front to tilt them up - this seemed to help with off axis listening.

Running them with an Lta Ultralinear amp and lampizator dac. Have other amps / preamps to try with them. Very efficient as volume doesn't go very high with the integrated and these speakers.

By last night they were wow - best image I have ever had in this room, great dynamics and detail, have subwoofer now blended in and bass with detailed and sounding good. Listening to Alexis Cole and Bucky Pizzarelli - what a great nightcap before bedtime.

Still get a little mid-range glare with poor recordings. Only other negative is tilted up driver right at dog's tail level! Listening to KSFR-FM out of Santa Fe this morning - great music and sounding radio station. Open baffle working well in my small room - will try some other amps this week.

Title: Re: Difference between sizes of drivers in Barrels
Post by Casey on 11/29/23 at 20:49:34

Hope this photo loads - never done a photo here before.

Apologies to Randy - I have put my Crystal 10 Baffles on speaker stands (these are from a large stand mount and almost perfect fit). Sounds much better raised off the floor. I would add they look pretty cool on the stands. Pretty much ear level in listening chair (10% of the time).

Again my room is not the best a) it is small 12x13 b) it is crammed full of stuff and c) I listen off axis about 90% of the time.

Still find these drivers sound strident with agressive guitar, some male vocals, bad recordings especially rock music.

Flip side is they are magical with pretty much all jazz, acoustic guitar, female vocals, folk, americana - what I mostly listen to these days. Pretty much every album from Randy's list on his website sounds great on these speakers.

Title: Re: Difference between sizes of drivers in Barrels
Post by Randy in Caintuck on 11/30/23 at 18:37:21

Hi Casey,

Thanks for the update .....

When the baffles are sitting on the floor, the drivers "couple" with the floor which increases the lower midrange / bass.
Having said that, several of my customers have the baffles sitting on stands and are happy with the results.

The Crystal / Silver drivers can definitely be a little thin and bright in open baffles with some recordings.
However, as you have found, recordings with a "rich" tonal balance can sound very, very good.

Best wishes,
Randy