An update on the project.
In my OBs I have used Hawthorne Audio Augies with dual Crown Amps, a pair of 15” pulled from some Sony Speakers and Eminence 15As without additional amplification. All sounded good. The Augies definitely put out the bass.
But I have long had an interest in Acoustic Elegance woofers because they played low, were efficient and had good reviews. I finally heard them at Axpona this last Spring in Vinnie Rossi’s prototype speakers and was impressed so I thought I’d like to buy a pair of the LO15s. In late May, I got a email from John at AE saying he was going to honor the existing price until the end of the month and then increase it $100 per driver so I decided to give them a try.
Well, he had supplier problems and I only just received them recently.
My initial concern was that they would fit my baffles. I lucked out and they fit exactly in the cutout I had made a little bigger for the 15As. I also just used the coil that I had to make the cross over around 250Hz.
My second concern was that they would play loud enough without needing to use the crowns (which I now use for dual subs). John (AE owner) had sent me a response chart showing them playing louder over more frequencies than the 15A which is rated at 97db. Also, they are dual voice coil and I have them wired in parallel, so I think they are around 4ohms impedance.
Anyway, they seem louder than the 15As and certainly seemed to play lower. John said in an open baffle configuration, they would play around 35hz and roll off after that.
But what these bass drivers do is something I haven’t heard in a bass driver before. They produce such defined, punchy bass that it really enhances the overall musical presentation. The bass seems to get out of the way and allows the mid and treble to come through with more definition. You can definitely hear the bass and follow it very closely. Bass drum and bass guitar are clearly separated better than I have heard in any speakers.
The punch or hit of these drivers is only rivaled by the Lii audio F15 full range driver that Steve has been working with in the Betsy baffle shape. But being a dedicated bass driver, these go lower. I swap these speakers in and out to compare them so the next time the Betsy’s are in place should be interesting.
Here is a REW response chart showing a comparison of the two speakers. The PAP speakers go lower and have more treble but there is a significant cost difference in terms of total driver cost. And I’m not sure I can hear more treble extension with the PAP tweeters. Plus the F15 drivers have such musical bass that I don’t know how much I care about the lower extension either. Initially, I thought the PAP spearkers were less transparent, but perhaps not so with the AE bass drivers. I’ll have to swap the Big Betsy’s back in to see where I land on that.
Soundstage of the two speakers is completely different. Big Betsy’s are very much “they are here” while the PAP OBs are “you are there.” As such the PAP seem more open.
Hands down, the Big Betsy’s are more efficient and can play louder/fuller with my 25th. I found myself taking the PAP speakers to clipping when I rarely if ever do that with the Big Betsy’s.
So I find myself with two sets of OBs that I like a lot. One in the $2K driver/materials range and the other at $650. I’m not sure where I will go from here, but I am interested in hearing the Lii Audio Crystal 10s at the fest. I would likely have to use the Crowns to play the AE LO15s due to efficiency differences but I think a combination of those two drivers in an OB might be killer.
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