[nicksgem10s]

Nice review and great project Mike.  I heard the Summa at Dr. Geddes home and am sure your speakers sound incredible based on the experience I had listening to the Summa speakers.

The B&C DE250 sounded excellent the only time I had the pleasure of hearing it.  The multiple sub arrangement really proved to be an eye/ear opener for me.

If I was going to be building a kit these would be at the top of the list. 

The dynamics were top notch.  High efficiency designs that do not distort when pushed make for a seriously cool musical event. 

That was the real lesson for me when listening to Dr. Geddes speakers.  When the sound levels went up the sound quality stayed pure and unstrained.  That is no small feat.

It made me realize the limitations in almost every loudpeaker I heard at concert or near concert levels.  I also believe that relieving the main two channel speakers/amp of the lowest bass duties is also a huge plus.

Great job Mike!

[turkey]

Here is a post with links to data comparing the B&C and Beyma CDs.  Judge for yourself. 

I would certainly do that if I were designing my own speakers. I'm not, so it's irrelevant.

Sorry, but I'm looking at this solely in light of the GedLee kits. That's what I'm interested in, and what the thread is about.

[turkey]

It made me realize the limitations in almost every loudpeaker I heard at concert or near concert levels.  I also believe that relieving the main two channel speakers/amp of the lowest bass duties is also a huge plus.

They aren't really relieved of it, it's just that the speakers don't have much output at low frequencies. They roll off rapidly. The amp still does as much work at low frequencies, it just doesn't get out into the room.

[JoshK]

Here is a post with links to data comparing the B&C and Beyma CDs.  Judge for yourself. 

I would certainly do that if I were designing my own speakers. I'm not, so it's irrelevant.

Sorry, but I'm looking at this solely in light of the GedLee kits. That's what I'm interested in, and what they thread is about.

My response was intended for Ric Schultz's comments that the Beyma was better. 

[turkey]

Here is a post with links to data comparing the B&C and Beyma CDs.  Judge for yourself. 

I would certainly do that if I were designing my own speakers. I'm not, so it's irrelevant.

Sorry, but I'm looking at this solely in light of the GedLee kits. That's what I'm interested in, and what they thread is about.

My response was intended for Ric Schultz's comments that the Beyma was better. 

Fair enough.

[studley]

Mike
I should be getting my Abbey12a baffles from Earl within the next few weeks.  I'm going to be using PU board for the sides, tops and bottom like he now does, except I shall be using 1" thick boards as that is all I can get in the UK.

I've read your great article on ETM but if you have any other gems of advice or tweaks - now you have the benefit of experience and hindsight - then i'd love to hear it!
Thanks

[mgalusha]

I've read your great article on ETM but if you have any other gems of advice or tweaks - now you have the benefit of experience and hindsight - then i'd love to hear it!

I have not really had any desire to tweak them. About a year ago I lined the cabinets with No-Rez from GR Research. This made things a bit cleaner, probably because the cabinets became somewhat less resonant, or at least the resonant frequency changed for the better, whatever it is. I also tried removing the foam Earl supplied from behind the woofer after installing the No-Rez and thought the speakers had a more natural tone on things like a kick drum, perhaps it was a bit over damped with both the No-Rez and Earl's foam.

Since you are using heavy PU I'd think your cabinet resonances would be much less than with the MDF mine are built from so I'd likely go with whatever Earl is suggesting for stuffing.

Since you are building the 12a version, the crossover is a little different. I have not made the upgrade but heard from a friend this week who did. Part of his comment to me was "What I heard was a subtle smoothing of the frequency response around the crossover point most noticeable on the high registers of female vocalists and a small improvement in bass resolution.  Again, I would rate the difference as subtle, but I'm pleased I made it.". Given this, I may take the plunge and rebuild my Abbey crossovers to the 12a spec but I'm in no hurry to make any changes as I still enjoy them very much.

mike

[studley]

Thanks Mike

[jtwrace]

Very interesting.

What do the Abbey's sound like?  Tone?  Balance? 

Who else is using them?

[zydeco]

Also interested. What's been learnt from the extended use of the speakers? And how wide is the room? My own room is quite narrow (12' with short-wall set-up) so I'm interested in an option to minimise sidewall reflections.

Regards,
Zydeco

[jtwrace]

Also interested. What's been learnt from the extended use of the speakers? And how wide is the room? My own room is quite narrow (12' with short-wall set-up) so I'm interested in an option to minimise sidewall reflections.

Regards,
Zydeco

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=86403.0

[mgalusha]

Also interested. What's been learnt from the extended use of the speakers? And how wide is the room? My own room is quite narrow (12' with short-wall set-up) so I'm interested in an option to minimise sidewall reflections.

My room is 14' x 20' x 8.5', I have the Abbeys on the short wall, perhaps 3' from each side.