My persistence finally paid off.
Several months ago I came across a YouTube video from HiFi Cave about the new Lii Platinum10 drivers, which gave me a sever case of audiophiliaobsessionitis.  All I knew, was that I needed pair BAD. After more searching I saw they were offered up for sale on the EU, and Canadian sights, but not offered in the US. So- I emailed Lii and requested a pair. Unfortunately, I never heard back. I'm a patient guy, so I waited a few weeks and sent them another email. Still no reply. Afterwards I came across their FB page and posted the question of when they'll be available in the US. They replied that if I'm interested, I could buy a pair. I promptly responded with my CC number. That was back in late January. At that time they said they had a few extra pairs and would ship mine out within a few days, and would provide tracking info. A few days came and went with no tracking. After some back and forth emails and a couple of hiccups with shipping issues, the speakers finally arrived YESTERDAY!!!!

All I can say is the wait was well worth it.

From watching the HFC video he stated the drivers would not fit in the existing cabinets. The Platinum drivers have a back plate that offsets the huge magnet. There are five posts used as spacers for the plate. The back plate and posts interfere with the center hole in the existing cabinets, And their pattern is the same as the existing screw hole locations. Nothing a router couldn't handle. I took a strait edge and stuck a line from one existing crew hole to the next so each screw hole had a V shaped line on both sides of it. I then cutout the material on the inside of the V shape including the existing screw hole with a router. I tapped off the outside surface of the cabinet so the router plate wouldn't scratch the front face of the cabinet and stared the modification. The drivers dropped right in, I wired them up and enjoyed.

EVERTHYING is a big step up from the Silver10 drivers. Deeper, more articulate bass. Midrange is huge. The high end- oh my, Oh so sweet. I immediately put on DireStraits "You and Your Friend", a song I am very familiar with, and was blown away. At the end of the song, in the right channel, there are some very light, distant cymbal strikes, that I have never heard before. Even though they were off in the distance they came across very metallic. My wife walked into the room and immediately commented on how much better they sound. We have an elliptical at the back end of the same room. She was going to get a workout in, and when she does she always wears EarPods. I typically ask her if she wants the stereo on and she always says "no- I'm fine with my EarPods" .. However- this time she wanted the stereo on and kept commenting on how good it sounded. Now I wonder if I have a new partner in crime, or if I'll ever get the sweet spot on the couch again?

For those of you who are on the fence- DO IT.

I received an email that Steve if working on a new cabinet for these.
Although the existing cabinets sound very good, from what I understand to get optimum bass, these drivers require a lot more volume.

Any updated would be greatly appreciated. I will put an order in as soon as they are available.
 

I been following this development over at Lii's FF page. That heavy frame makes a resounding statement and your preliminary listening thoughts back it up. This might be an end game driver for me. Don't seem to be good for open baffle use though. Will be interesting on what cabinet Steve conjures up for this driver!

Ain't it great when the spouse makes an about face and spends time listening along side? Mine came down the other day and sat over a couple of LP sides with very positive comments of the sound.

Cheers!

John

Lii is not as forth coming as Steve. Lii did not publish any frequency response for the PT10s. Maybe because of the backlash over the FF15s
The impedance graph tells the story though.
The first graph below is from the Silver 10s. Pay attention to the impedance response as compared with frequency plot.

This is the graph of the PT10 impedance.


The chrome bulb is another improvement in the PT10 that surely help tame the dip between 200-11k and peak between 6k-12k.



John

Haha, here I am thinking the top photo looks like the floor in my place and that looks like my orange shirt reflected in the diffuser...... Then I realised the top picture before installing in cabinets is from my unboxening  ;)

Seems I can't post the link to my thread till I've made 2 normal posts  :)

From MattyW's post. A preveiw of Steve's cabinet design for the P10.



The frequency response:



I am beginning to salivate!

I'm coming up with 13 1/2" wide by 27" deep by 57 3/8" high. Not so bad of a foot print as compared to a bass reflex implementation. The P10 looks to be about 3' center from floor. A bit high.

John

Definitely would need to bi-amp for the W15 as they're way less efficient but crossover point should be pretty similar to Silver-10 for OB use around 400Hz or so. Hifi Cave tried it OB with W15's and said the performance was breathtaking so I've no reason to think it won't work exceptionally well  

This will be expensive yes.... But possibly the best money you ever spend in terms of speakers. On another note put some silly money into an Audio-GD R7HE Mk2 + OCXO clock. Speakers will end up costing a bit more but not much more.  

Guys,

Are the hole cut-out for these the same size as the Silver 10?

All I can say is every time I sit down and listen to them I get a smile on my face. Their uncanny realism , expansive soundstage, and clarity are nothing short of stunning. The thing I really like is these can play pretty darn loud without any break-up. A good friend of mine whom has a pair of Zu Soul Supremes listened to these for the first time this last weekend and he was ready to take them home with him.

And especially at this cost.
Just anxious for Steve's new cabinets.
These sound really good in the original Origin cabinets. Increase in mid and low bass over the S10 drivers. I'm sure Steve's design will improve on the low bass even more.

Today a new power cord landed on my doorstep, so of course I had to put it together and give it a listen. Now please bare with me, my intension here is not to send this thread in a different direction, but to give an idea of how well the speakers respond to upstream changes.

I've been reading a lot about clean power and how much difference it makes. There's so many different directions to go. Portable powered generator? New fuse? New PC? Or do I send money on a new rack, or stabilization. Or anything else I have discovered yet.

I ended up going with a Furutech DPS 4.1 cable and their NCF R plug on both ends. I did it DIY, and even though it turn out to be very rewarding, it was a big PITA to put together. Definitely not a knock on the product or the company, because the parts are all built very well. You can tell pride goes into their engineering and execution of the products.

What this cable did was put another gear into energizing this system. It removed a vail and welcomed in a whole newness to the sound. It smoothed everything out so I'm able to turn the volume up without sounding necessarily that much louder, it's much more dense. The music is so much cleaner- clarity is the key word. Separation, dynamics micro and macro, depth, width and height of the soundstage expanded immensely. I couldn't;t be happier with this change.

The thing about the P10's is that they are sensitive enough to really let changes like this shine though. They're neutrality and ability to remove themselves effort he equation is remarkable.

Happy listening everyone-  

OK- I just got sucked up in a time warp and was transported to The Hirsch Center NY in 2014 to witness Alexis Cole record her album "Kiss in the Dark". This is a spacious hall that is perfectly fitted for this style of music. I've never really listened much to swing music, and this is the first time I've heard this album, or artist. It seems like any time I would try to visit music I wasn't familure with, I would have listened for a bit, but moved on after a song, or two. But, with what I am hearing out of these speakers, I find myself sitting through the whole performance, and enjoying every bit of it.

Her voice is perfectly center and comes out from the speakers like a good hug. The whole venue is portrayed in realism.The bass has punch and just sings. The bassist (Pat O'Leary) sounds like he's standing a good 5 ft to the back right of the band. The clarinet and saxophone are positioned to the right as well, but closer in. Guitar is positioned lo the left, directly across from the woodwinds. The spacial cues, reverb, and echo of the hall put you right there.

I need to clarify that I would look like a bored teenager sloshed down on the couch, but with a smile on my face and taping my toes.Not the angry version who looks annoyed with everything.

The thing that gets be about these drivers, is they keep getting better, which shouldn't surprise me, but I guess I wasn't ready for how much better. Granted, I'm sure some of that has to do with the introduction of a new power cord, but this is like going from watching Avatar on your TV at home to going to the theatre and watching in 3D on a big screen. As good as the S10's these are truly are at another level. I would go as far and say they are in a different league.

When I was in grade school my buddy Andy had an all Technics system, receiver, turntable and speakers. which at the time Technics was know for putting out good sounding equipment, especially for a grade school kid. I always enjoyed hanging out at his house, listening to music until we just couldn't anymore. Definitely rock n roll back then. That's a time when bands like Zeppelin, AC/DC, Joe Walsh, the Eagles, Stones, so many more were releasing new music. Between the two of use we were able to keep up with buying new music to feed our addiction.The excitement of cutting off the cellophane wrapper, and slowly turning over the cover so the album doesn't fall out on to the floor. Only to be one of those albums that you couldn't get the darn thing out. From that time on I was hooked. My whole life I've been working to get a system of this magnitude. These drivers are a perfect piece of the puzzle to take me back to excitement I got when I first listened as a kid.

Music now just exists in my room. Listening to Celestial Echo by Malia, Boris Blank starts off with three big bass drums being struck that sit about 6 feet high. One to the left, one on center and to the right. The skin of the drum has meat and weight to it as it's being struck. Not in a slow syrupy way. You get presented the whole range of sound that makes up this musical note. From the tactile strike of the skin to the deep vibration that continues, which echoes through the whole soundstage. Way beyond the outside edges of the speakers. This is a new life experience revived.


arigato smileys

I can't wait to hear more reviews on these drivers. Please send picks and let us know your experience with how they sound. I'm sure you'll be very pleased.

I wonder when Steve's DIY cabinet designs will be available for Lii Platinum 10s.  I have Silver 10 speakers, but I'd rather have dedicated ones for the Platinum

The big 467L cabinets I have being made for mine are specifically for the PT-10. Should give great results. Leo and Lii Song indicated to me that any cabinet with sufficient internal volume and port tuned should give phenomenal results hence my going down this path even though I love the sound of back loaded horns..... Besides, achieving that volume with a back loaded horn would have likely taken more space than I have to play with.

With some luck they'll be completed next week and be ready to deliver the following week  ;)

I know Geno is planning this for his OB—are you planning the same Tom? I’m very interested to know your impressions, if so.

I’m also in touch with Randy to discuss the possibility to listen to the Platinum 10 in a Caintuck baffle during this years Decfest.  Long shot, but worth a try if early reports are positive.  I don’t intend to go back to a cabinet design anytime soon.

Hi Tom and Kamran. Yep, the descriptions of the Platinum 10’s were just too good not to try them.

The Crystals are so good, there was not a reason in the world to want to do something different. I have listened to a whole lot of music thru them, and enjoyed every minute of it. It does not take much for the upgrade bug to bite.

I’m really excited about this change. You prolly saw my questions on Facebook about shipping and driver size compared to the older 10’s. Sounds like a few more weeks before they might have some in stock. And not sure about the cut out in the baffles working for the new.

It will be interesting to see how these work in open baffles with the much lower Qts. Even with the 15’s matched with them. I saw where the Lii Facebook page moderator Bas, plans to use one of Leon’s other designs for his forthcoming Platinums. He said he was matching them with two 12” bass drivers in each speaker.

Tom, Is there reason to think that the “magic cables” need to be modified with the driver change, or would the same resistor be ok?

Best,

Geno

Yeah Geno, I did notice your post—sorry about the delay.  Hopefully, it won’t be too long.

Tom—lucky dawg! Great timing for the windfall!

I have it on good authority that at least the Platinum 15 won’t fit the existing cut outs of the Caintuck baffle. I think the same may apply for the Platinum 10.  That said, I’m not necessarily in a rush as I am still very much in my honeymoon period with the Fast 15s, but watching this space closely.  The question I ask myself (or future me) is whether to remain with Lii Audio or try the PAP Duets that Guttenberg uses as his reference.  The latter being significantly more expensive does give me pause  and I do want to audition them but I don’t think any dealers carry them and apart from Steve, there aren’t many reviews out there.

Maybe I can try to convince Guttenberg to let me come over for a listen one of these days (Brooklyn being an hour and change from my place)….you never know until you try….

Quote:


I noticed that too. It looks like the flange is wider. The fact that it is a “10 inch” driver, I’m hoping that the cone on the PT-10 is the same size as the C-10, and therefore fit in the opening. But if not, it won’t be that hard to resize the cutout a bit.

I did find this in another thread:


As for hole, it's 288 mm outer and 258 mm inner diameter.

I'm more concerned about the outer which is around 11.3".   I got the original Crystal 10 specs.  273 vs 288 so more than 1/2" or 1/4" all around.  I might have that but likely I will have to do some routing.

Although I find these speakers very easy to place, they will definitely will let know know when you have some work to do in getting to their final destination.
I put new footers on them to lift them up a bit so I don't have crouch down when I'm listening.
After putting them back in what I thought was the same place, my initial thought was what the heck did I do, this sounds horrible. I gave it a little time to make sure it wasn't just me. Tried clearing my ears, knocking myself on the head to loosen up what ever it was that was doing this to me. It was definitely a sad moment.
The sound stage sounded anemic, it was a little brittle, and disconnected. Whoa, what now? I tried not to panic, and blame it all on the new footers.
I moved the left speaker in a bit, ok a little better, then adjusted the toe in on each back, and forth until I found their home. Viola- it was back, and I was very happy.
I think the reason I find these easy to place, is because they really let you know when we've found where they like to be. Now it's time to enjoy the ride again.

Drew, all really interesting to hear and thanks for sharing.

how does rock music sound with the new P driver in the origin cabinets at higher volumes?

Something like queen - these are the days of my life, or def leopard - hysteria, or eagles - hotel California, or big sugar - heart refuse to pound, etc.  Do they lose it a bit at higher volumes or does it make you want to listen through the song?

Trying to understand how balanced that new frequency range is and how much more midrange density and bass there is?

Were you using Steve’s small network with your origins?

Thanks for all.
John