Forums - The Round Mounds of Sound

Randy in Caintuck

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The Round Mounds of Sound
01/04/13 at 15:59:29

A couple of weeks ago, I was bitten again by the "speaker builder bug" and decided to build a set of speakers based on the amazing Wild Burro Audio Betsy 8" OB driver. These puppies are only $100.00 a pair, 92.5 db efficient and are as musical as anything I have ever heard .....

In addition to the Betsy drivers, a pair of Hawthorne Audio Augie 15" drivers (driven from plate amps) and Heil Air Motion Transformers (as super tweeters) were used.

Here is what I came up with .....

Larger photos here and here.

They sound mighty good to my ears and didn't turn out too badly for a "hillbilly wood butcher" .....

Happy listening in 2013,

Randy

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Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer
Schiit Audio Saga+ preamplifier
Decware SE84UFO amplifier
Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Magnum Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii W-15 Magnum Open Bass Baffle

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JD Seasoned Member Posts: 543	Re: The Round Mounds of Sound Reply #1 - 01/04/13 at 17:35:34 Great setup! Never seen anything like the "round mounds of sound"...well done. JD
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Randy in Caintuck

Seasoned Member

Tube be ... or not
tube be ... it's a
no-brainer.

Posts: 981

Re: The Round Mounds of Sound
Reply #2 - 01/05/13 at 02:01:46

Hi JD,

Thanks for the kind words .....

I thought you (and the other readers of the forum might enjoy some additional "audio eye candy" from the Hawthorne Audio photo gallery.

There is some neat stuff to look at here.

When you see some of the speakers and other things some of these guys have built, it's easy to see why I refer to myself as a "wood butcher" .....

Enjoy,

Randy

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Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer
Schiit Audio Saga+ preamplifier
Decware SE84UFO amplifier
Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Magnum Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii W-15 Magnum Open Bass Baffle

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Steve Deckert Administrator If the 1st watt sucks why continue? Posts: 6397	Re: The Round Mounds of Sound Reply #3 - 01/05/13 at 05:27:51 Visually Stimulating as well! Nice Job! Makes me crave sawdust. Steve
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Chris K Seasoned Member Posts: 299	Re: The Round Mounds of Sound Reply #4 - 01/06/13 at 03:50:43 Cool Randy! So what of the B200/Heil MTM set up? You not selling those B200's for a profit are you?
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Randy in Caintuck

Seasoned Member

Tube be ... or not
tube be ... it's a
no-brainer.

Posts: 981

Re: The Round Mounds of Sound
Reply #5 - 01/06/13 at 04:02:07

Hi Steve,

Thank you, sir .....

You will be happy to know that the speakers sound just dandy with the SE84C+ .....

Hi Chris,

I still have the "big dog" baffles. You know how I am ..... a total audio packrat. I still have the first vacuum tube I ever bought .....

Best wishes to you and Steve and I'm looking forward to seeing both of you at Zen Fest 2013,

Randy

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Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer
Schiit Audio Saga+ preamplifier
Decware SE84UFO amplifier
Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Magnum Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii W-15 Magnum Open Bass Baffle

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tom collins Senior Member Posts: 51	Re: The Round Mounds of Sound Reply #6 - 01/09/13 at 15:01:19 hi randy, looks fantastic. this is tom over in independence and we met up at the zenfest. i would love to hear those some time. btw, i got my second piece of decware on monday, the phono pre. i'll post my system when i get everything put back together and can get a good pic.
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Randy in Caintuck Seasoned Member Tube be ... or not tube be ... it's a no-brainer. Posts: 981	Re: The Round Mounds of Sound Reply #7 - 01/09/13 at 21:46:48 Hi Tom, Good to hear from you ..... I was thinking about you a few days a go. We will definitely get together sometime soon for a listening session. By all means, let's see some photos when you get everything together ..... Best wishes, Randy
Back to top	Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer Schiit Audio Saga+ preamplifier Decware SE84UFO amplifier Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Magnum Open Baffles Caintuck Audio Lii W-15 Magnum Open Bass Baffle IP Logged

rmt Seasoned Member Posts: 238	Re: The Round Mounds of Sound Reply #8 - 01/12/13 at 03:03:50 Those speakers "look" musical.
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Randy in Caintuck

Seasoned Member

Tube be ... or not
tube be ... it's a
no-brainer.

Posts: 981

Re: The Round Mounds of Sound
Reply #9 - 01/18/13 at 20:42:13

Hi rmt,

A few of the guys I work with opined that .....

"It looks like a pear" .....

"It looks like a guitar" .....

and, of course, the bluegrass musician said "it looks like a banjo"

After living with the speakers for a few days, I decided that the mid-range and upper bass could use a little bit of help and added some "stealth" side panels. This really improved the tonality, while keeping all of the good qualities I enjoyed about the speakers .... focus, detail, depth and width of image and the ability to pull a "disappearing act" while the music is playing.

Larger photos here and here.

I now refer to them as the "Darth Baffles" .....

Best wishes,

Randy

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Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer
Schiit Audio Saga+ preamplifier
Decware SE84UFO amplifier
Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Magnum Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii W-15 Magnum Open Bass Baffle

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stone_of_tone Seasoned Member Listen Often/Listen Deep Posts: 3217	Re: The Round Mounds of Sound Reply #10 - 01/23/13 at 16:24:29 Wow Randy....those are awesome. I need to post some pic's when my Zu Union's come. I won't have that kind of bass until I add a Sub! Awesome room and layout too....to say the least. -Stone
Back to top	Room Treats-M.Green & mine Sony TPort Illuminati D60 Shunyata Z-Alpha DigPcord Decware ZDSD DAC Kimber Select KS1030 XLOProPcord Decware ZMA/25th Mods Kimber Select KS6063 Acoustic Zen Adagio/Modified Kimber PK10 Palladian from wall to PS Audio P3 IP Logged

Pale Rider Seasoned Member Posts: 1285	Re: The Round Mounds of Sound Reply #11 - 03/23/13 at 19:18:35 Love some of those Hawthorne builds, and I really like the Round Mounds of Sound. Not so much a picture as a diagram of my Decware system, as Steve already posts better pics of his stuff; on the two ZRACKs, this stuff looks pretty good:
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