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The Mini Me baffles (Read 16984 times)
Randy in Caintuck
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The Mini Me baffles
07/12/14 at 15:02:27
 
The "hillbilly wood butcher" has been busy again .....

Here is my latest project :





Larger photos here and here.

The project on my website.

Happy listening,

Randy
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Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer
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Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii 15 Open Bass Baffle
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Lonely Raven
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Re: The Mini Me baffles
Reply #1 - 07/12/14 at 19:07:28
 

The room looks great! I need to give open baffles a serious listen someday.
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Randy in Caintuck
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Re: The Mini Me baffles
Reply #2 - 07/12/14 at 20:09:54
 
Hi Lonely Raven,

Thanks for the kind words .....

I plan to bring a couple of my OB creations to the Zen Fest in October.

Hope to see you there.

Best wishes,

Randy
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CEC TL5N belt drive CD transport
Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer
Decware SE84UFO amplifier
Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii 15 Open Bass Baffle
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Lonely Raven
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Re: The Mini Me baffles
Reply #3 - 07/13/14 at 15:48:28
 
Hell or highwater I'll be there!

The only thing that would keep me away honestly, is if work schedules a big project that keeps me in Chicago. Beyond that, I'm so there!

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beowulf
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Re: The Mini Me baffles
Reply #4 - 07/18/14 at 02:21:26
 
Quote:
LR said,
The room looks great! I need to give open baffles a serious listen someday.


+1  awesome looking setup and I would love to hear some as well.
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Randy in Caintuck
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Re: The Mini Me baffles
Reply #5 - 07/22/14 at 12:55:18
 
Over the weekend, I decided to use the leftover plywood from the original project to make a couple of variations on the Mini Me theme.

The results can be found here.

At the end of the page is a Mini Me "family portrait" .....

Enjoy
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CEC TL5N belt drive CD transport
Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer
Decware SE84UFO amplifier
Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii 15 Open Bass Baffle
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mark58
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Re: The Mini Me baffles
Reply #6 - 07/22/14 at 15:23:01
 
Randy,  I looked at your set up.  Are those heil Air Motion transformers?  I have/ had a pair bought in 1980, of ESS AMT 10b's that had those in them...they were wonderful paired with a 1978 Kenwood 90 wpc integrated amp  I wish I could have tried them with the Torii or any other tube amp...i'm sure they would be glorious.  I think their efficiency is about 89 dB...correct?  Could you comment on what speakers you have pictured and how they sound.  Which decware amp are you using...if any. Mark.
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"The man that hath no music in himself, nor is not moved with the concord of sweet sounds, is fit for treasons, deceptions, and spoils;
The motions of his spirit are dull as night and his affections dark as Hell. Let no such man be trusted." William Shakespeare
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JD
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Re: The Mini Me baffles
Reply #7 - 07/22/14 at 16:34:33
 
Great work, I love the family portrait...quite the lineup.

JD
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Randy in Caintuck
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Re: The Mini Me baffles
Reply #8 - 07/31/14 at 15:49:31
 
Quote:
mark 58 said .....
Randy,  I looked at your set up.  Are those heil Air Motion transformers?  I have/ had a pair bought in 1980, of ESS AMT 10b's that had those in them...they were wonderful paired with a 1978 Kenwood 90 wpc integrated amp  I wish I could have tried them with the Torii or any other tube amp...i'm sure they would be glorious.  I think their efficiency is about 89 dB...correct?  Could you comment on what speakers you have pictured and how they sound.  Which decware amp are you using...if any. Mark.


Hi Mark,

Yep ..... those are indeed Heil AMT drivers.

From what I understand, they are quite a bit more efficient than 89 db.
Depending on who you talk to, the range is somewhere between 92 and 100 db.  Based on my experience, the older ones are more efficient than the current production ones ..... but I wouldn't be too dogmatic on that thought .....

To me, they are one of the audio wonders of the world and I have not heard any high frequency drivers that are better.
There is a lot of controversy as to the best way to use them ..... from about 700 hz and up with a steep crossover (the original ESS implementation) or as a tweeter or super tweeter with a first order crossover.  I have done a lot of experimenting and have concluded that either way can sound superb if done well.

The really crazy thing is that the best results I have had (open baffle) are using the Heil drivers with the very inexpensive Wild Burro Audio Betsy 8" drivers ..... crossing them over around 5000 hz with very good quality caps.  The Betsy drivers have a "hump" in the midrange that just happens to mate very nicely with what the Heil drivers are doing and it's the best sound I have had in my room for a long time.
$100.00 "full range" drivers mated with $700.00 tweeters ..... insane .....

The other open baffle drivers in the "family portrait" are Audio Nirvana 10" Classic and 12" cast frame ferrite magnet full range models. They sound very good to my ears, but my favorites are still the Betsy / Heil combo.  The bass drivers in the larger baffles are Hawthorne Audio 15" Augies .... driven by plate amps.
It's a total open baffle system and I love the sound .....

I am in the process of getting another Decware SV83 based amp from a friend who is "thinning out his herd".  We both have several nice amplifiers but I always feel that something is missing if I don't own a Decware amp.  I have used an SV83 based Decware amp with most of the open baffle speakers in my collection and the sound is very good.  IMHO, the little Decware amps are still top shelf pieces and will make music like few other amplifiers available.

I am not a "head banger" and my taste in music leans toward acoustic instruments and vocals.  The low powered Decware amps reveal things in the music that most other amplifiers do not ..... especially with higher efficiency / minimal crossover loudspeakers.

Best wishes,

Randy
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CEC TL5N belt drive CD transport
Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer
Decware SE84UFO amplifier
Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii 15 Open Bass Baffle
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4krow
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Re: The Mini Me baffles
Reply #9 - 04/08/15 at 23:25:30
 
Randy,

  I just found this thread, and am impressed by more than one aspect of your system. Steve and I were talking today about how some silly people buy outrageous systems and then put them in a fishbowl. No room treatment of any kind. At last, I see someone who gets it. Then I see the OB speakers and have to admit, I am a fan as well. I am in the middle of a speaker project with some 12" AN drivers that haven't been released yet. They are Classic 12" prototypes that I bought from David Dicks. I am anxious to finish them. In the meantime, seeing how you have the 10" classic drivers, can you give me a little insight now that you have had them for awhile. Pros and cons.
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Decware 34I.3 integrated amp/Forte' 3 bass amp/Velodyne SMS-1 bass mngmnt system/Decware ZOB speakers/Audio Nirvana 8" bass drivers/Xiang Seng DAC/ LR Audio Computer/Rega Apollo R CDP/Emotiva ERC3 CDP/BPT 3.0 power cond.
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Randy in Caintuck
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tube be ... it's a
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Posts: 965
Re: The Mini Me baffles
Reply #10 - 05/15/15 at 19:32:27
 
Hi 4krow,

Sorry about the late reply ..... I have been busy lately and not keeping up with the audio forums as often as I should .....

As to your question about the AN drivers ..... in my opinion, they are excellent drivers, but not so much in an open baffle configuration.

David Dicks HIGHLY recommends putting his drivers in boxes and after a great deal of experimentation I would have to agree with him.
I have owned several of his drivers and they have superb detail and high frequency response ..... but in an open baffle of any reasonable size they are lacking "weight" and response in the lower midrange and below.

I have found a few driver combinations that work really well in my "low boy" (22 1/2" x 18") open baffles ..... but don't think that the AN drivers are the best fit.  Having said that, I haven't tried any of the 15" drivers which would probably be the best choice for open baffle use.

Best wishes,

Randy
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CEC TL5N belt drive CD transport
Cambridge Audio Azur 851N DAC / Streamer
Decware SE84UFO amplifier
Caintuck Audio Betsy Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii Silver-10 Open Baffles
Caintuck Audio Lii 15 Open Bass Baffle
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