REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors

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DHawthorne

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    • HawthorneAudio
Re: REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors
« Reply #20 on: 30 Apr 2015, 12:02 pm »
Hey Guys,
 Darrel here.  I normally don’t visit the circle very often but am making an exception today to publicly thank Early for all of the work that he has put into writing this review.  Additionally, I wanted to acknowledge and thank him for taking this leap of faith by being the first customer of these brand new speakers.

I would like to share my design goals and basic design philosophies as they apply to these OBsession monitor speakers.  For the past 10 years we have been focused on making available high end, open baffle specific drivers and finished speakers. One of my personal goals was to make it possible for folks all over the world to build their own high performance OB speakers.  It was important to us to provide purpose built drivers that had been designed from the ground up to excel in free air, open baffle configurations and to make these available on an international basis at very affordable pricing. Starting with these purpose built drivers made it possible for guys with little or no prior speaker building experience to easily construct their own baffles and populate them with these drivers.  What started to happen was that guys all over the world started to experiment with different baffle sizes and shapes as well as different numbers  of drivers in unique and very creative ways.  I provided an on line forum that could be used to showcase and share knowledge specific to using these drivers.  It slowly evolved into a global R&D lab of sorts and this had a positive influence on guys now willing to take a chance on building their own speakers.  By seeing countless examples of what other have built their confidence levels soared.  This was hugely rewarding to me on a personal level as we could see first hand the satisfaction and pride of accomplishment in their testimonials  and finished creations. We started a Hall of fame thread to catalog these builds.

http://www.hawthorneaudio.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3297

I published a paper on the art and science of OB speaker building and shared this over on Enjoy the music.

http://www.enjoythemusic.com/diy/0709/open_baffle.htm

Prior to the release of these OBsession (great name Early!) speakers we had focused exclusively on large format speakers.  Speakers with 10” or 15” drivers many models with several of these large, high displacement style drivers. This was the primary focus with regard product design but always on a back burner was this idea of the countless numbers of potential customers that for various reasons could not benefit from these large speakers.  They either didn’t have room for them or they failed to pass the domestic acceptability mandate of their significant others.  Add to this the cost of building these  and as you can imagine the market share that we could sell into was severely limited.   Profits not being our number one priority we came up with lots of ways to make these more affordable to include making most models field convertible.  This design concept allows one to start with a basic model and evolve it over time as budget permits. We sell all our products direct to the consumer eliminating the middle man further reducing the price of admission. Still, the physical size of our previous offerings stood as a barrier to entrance for too many.  I needed to develop a speaker that could fit into smaller rooms yet have similar performance characteristics to our large format reference grade speakers.

 This proved to be no easy task and has taken this long to finally develop something we think checks off most of the boxes on this particular wish list.  For those of you that know me you understand my love of wish lists.  When we set out to develop these drivers I first made up extensive wish lists of sonic attributes and performance goals we desired these drivers to excel at delivering.   Affordable pricing  to the end user was also high on that list as well as reliability, longevity etc.  Once we had these wish lists in hand we would submit these list to various driver manufactures to see how many boxes they could check off.  Eminence was the first company to agree to work with us and they have been with us since day one.  Radian, Beyma and a few others to remain unnamed have added their names to this list of suppliers.  With regard these OBsession speakers my wish list was long with a strong focus on mimicking our intrinsic house sound but do so in a tiny package.

 In addition to my fondness for wish lists and purpose built products I also openly admit that in my opinion all speakers area compromised.  :o
 These Mini OB speakers are not an exception to this basic view point.  There are things they do exceptionally well and other things that they do less well than our large format speakers.  These are design goal tradeoffs that we must balance to the very best of our abilities but with the knowingness that they will never be perfect for all end users, in all rooms, playing all possible genre of music. 

So…. Define your listening goals.  If you want to recreate large scale works such as Symphony Orchestra, Stadium rock concerts or Motion picture soundtracks at live levels… go with our large formate speakers and configure them with the most displacement you can budget for.  This is a proven strategy for those folks with these performance goals, room size and budget.  Few systems can outperform our large formate reference speakers at anywhere near their price.

If on the other hand you say Darrel,  love your house sound but there is no way I can go with your big speakers.  What do you have for me?   This is was the request these OBsession speakers were developed to address.  Will they effortlessly play Stadium rock concerts at live levels in large room… nope, not going to happen with a pair of 5” mid woofers.  Can they be used for medium scale works in medium scale rooms at convincing, enjoyable SPL levels? Absolutely! In addition and perhaps most importantly they will engage you and sound very musical.  You will be invited deep into the mix and be swept up into the huge soundstage presentation even in the smallest of rooms. 

Over the next few months we will be releasing more models in this series.  Beyma is working on a brand new 8” mid for us that has lower fs and is more OB friendly.  Look for the release of our self powered Sub woofer/ stand modules that double as stands for these monitors to get the tweeters better aligned with your seated ear height for superior imaging presentation but also serve as very powerful sub woofers in a very stealth design  (Wife approved size and aesthetic).  These feature side firing, dual 10” sub woofers that were purpose built for use in these bi-pole force reaction canceling  enclosures. They each will have a high power plate amp built right in.  Plug and play.  These sub/stands will augment and flesh out the bottom end, look very well integrated and matching the mains. These should further reduce the compromise down to very, very low levels and make it possible to truly enjoy most any genre of music at realistically high playback levels all while being very affordable.
I hope this serves to better understand our history, mission statements, design philosophies and goals.  To us, it’s all about making it possible for folks all over the world to experience a high level of performance at easily confront able prices often with a sense of personal accomplishment for those going the DIY route.

One more thank you to Early for taking a chance on us.  This is greatly appreciated and vital to what we do.  R&D is a huge money pit and we strive to fund everything we do internally.  Getting these new products out the door depends on early adopters and guys willing to take that leap of faith. 

Cheers,
Darrel  :D


Early B.

Re: REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors
« Reply #21 on: 30 Apr 2015, 02:21 pm »
Well said, Darrel. Thanks for the extended explanation. By being the first purchaser of the OBsession, it wasn't really much of a leap of faith because Hawthorne Audio's track record speaks for itself.
 
I want to re-emphasize the importance of the design goals. It was fortuitous that I was searching for a speaker with the exact design goals that the OBsession was attempting to address. Aside from the size and aesthetic needs ("domestic acceptability mandate" or "DAMN!" for short -  :lol:), I wanted a pure midrange most of all because the vast majority of my music is vocals. I never play music loud, so concert level sound was not important. Likewise, I don't play rock, hip-hop, or any other type of contemporary music. And I had a sub, so low bass wasn't important, either. I needed a speaker that fit within my clearly defined listening preferences, and the OBsession was perfect and timely. I knew there had to be something special about that AMT tweeter, and the icing on the cake was the ability to tune the highs with the brilliance knob on the back of the speakers.  In short, if I could design and build my own speaker, it would be the OBsession.

In the past, I have purchased speakers with little regard to what sound I really wanted. At one point, I thought large floorstanders were the way to go. So I'm glad I took the time to discover what I really wanted, and was patient enough finally acquire it.

mamba315

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Re: REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors
« Reply #22 on: 2 May 2015, 10:47 pm »
This thread is useless without prices  :icon_twisted: :deadhorse:  :thumb:

Early B.

Re: REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors
« Reply #23 on: 2 May 2015, 11:11 pm »
This thread is useless without prices  :icon_twisted: :deadhorse:  :thumb:

Pricing was provided earlier in the thread:

Check out the fifth post in this thread below
http://www.hawthorneaudio.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=4&t=5157

mamba315

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Re: REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors
« Reply #24 on: 3 May 2015, 06:15 am »
Missed that, my bad.

So I guess the next logical question is, what about the 8"?  28% more woofer area, 14% more dollars.  That's all I know.  Are they considered an overall upgrade?  Do they image differently?  Are they designed with slightly different room applications in mind?
« Last Edit: 4 May 2015, 06:41 pm by mamba315 »

DHawthorne

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    • HawthorneAudio
Re: REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors
« Reply #25 on: 5 May 2015, 12:50 pm »
Missed that, my bad.

So I guess the next logical question is, what about the 8"?  28% more woofer area, 14% more dollars.  That's all I know.  Are they considered an overall upgrade?  Do they image differently?  Are they designed with slightly different room applications in mind?
  Hey mamba315,
The 8” model is being offered for those folks looking for a bit stronger low mid range performance. The sensitivity is slightly higher and the dynamics potential slightly greater, all while maintaing similar size and shape. Here at Hawthorne Audio we are constantly experimenting and learning our craft.  Some models are a huge success and others have a much smaller following and only serve a very select market.  Sort of like Goldilocks, we are constantly searching for that elusive perfect middle product that fulfills the needs and wants of the most potential customers while also pushing the boundaries to see just how far we can run with these ideas.

 This review thread however should remain focused on the Dual 5” model that Early B reviewed.  I really don’t wish to get too far off topic with discussions of other models in this thread but would invite anyone interested in our work to visit our site/forum for updates.


Cheers,
Darrel  :D

Early B.

Re: REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors
« Reply #26 on: 30 Jun 2015, 01:03 pm »
One thing - you might consider building another OB sub and using them as stands for the Hawthornes - It'll take your system from awesome to insane! 

Tyson --

I took your advice and got dual subs. Man, it's insane!



ebag4

Re: REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors
« Reply #27 on: 30 Jun 2015, 02:23 pm »
Tyson --

I took your advice and got dual subs. Man, it's insane!


Yes, yes it is!  :thumb:

InfernoSTi

Re: REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors
« Reply #28 on: 22 Jul 2015, 01:47 am »
Hahaha...yes, you have to experience it before you are forever a believer!!!  Congrats....

John

thetubeguy1954

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Re: REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors
« Reply #29 on: 12 Jul 2016, 06:39 pm »
Great looking speakers and great review!

If you like these you should check out Clayton Shaw's new M3 speakers!  I was so impressed with them I actually replaced the Sachiko double-back-loaded horns I have been using for 7+ years with them.  I'll admit they take between 200 to 400 hours for their compression driver to break-in and loss the harshness you hear when you first install them, but after that, they're amazing!  In fact, they're so revealing I also replaced my GoldNote Stibbert CDP with a YBA Genesis CD4 and my Grover Huffman SR-II's ICs with the friend of mine's IC that uses a gold/silver alloy!  The combination of these 3 upgrades has been an amazing sonic experience that I hope is also experienced by the fellow using with these Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors...

Tyson

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Re: REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors
« Reply #30 on: 13 Jul 2016, 02:11 am »
Tyson --

I took your advice and got dual subs. Man, it's insane!

YES!!!!!!  Nice work :) Seriously, I don't rave about much in audio anymore, I'm pretty jaded.  But OB Servo bass is da bomb!  Until you've spent hours and hours and hours trying to get decent bass from a box sub system, and then turn around and get GREAT bass from an OB/Servo setup, without even trying!  OB subs - just plop them down anywhere and they crush box bass systems.  And they do make great stands.  Can't do that with box subs (well you CAN, but you really shouldn't....).

On the other hand I've heard non-Servo OB bass systems and they are all pretty wimpy in comparison.  Nice and clean and musical?  Yes.  Punch you in the chest with awesome power?  No.  But adding Servo to the OB gives you the best of all worlds. 

I find with my setup that it's hard to feel the itch to upgrade, when there is literally nothing out there that's better....

Early B.

Re: REVIEW: Hawthorne Audio OBsession Reference Monitors
« Reply #31 on: 13 Jul 2016, 03:09 am »
If you like these you should check out Clayton Shaw's new M3 speakers! 

Perhaps a better comparison to my setup is the Spatial Audio Lumina series which uses the exact same OB servo sub setup. However, the Lumina starts at $20,000.

http://www.spatialaudio.us/lumina