[smithy666]

Thought I would finally post pics of my ScanSpeak 23W subwoofer which I've built to go with the 1801bs. I crossed at 100Hz and adds some nice deep bass.

[oneinthepipe]

Very nice. 

[rajacat]

Beautiful! Excellent parallelogram design. Nice to see something other than the ubiquitous box.

-Roy

[TomW16]

Very nice.  I really like how the subwoofer matches with the speaker stands.

Great job!

Tom

[EDS_]

Absolutely outstanding!

[brj]

Very nice!

What is the wood species of the veneer?

Would you mind posting some additional pictures of your 1801 stands?  They look really impressive as well!  If that is veneered wood, as it appears, I'd love to know how you made the twisting shape!

[smithy666]

Thanks all for your kind comments.
The subwoofer box is made from 1" MDF sandwiched to 0.5" Fiddleback Stringybark (an Australian Eucalypt species). The fiddleback is very strong, giving deep 3-D ripples, which the photos don't bring out that well.
I am using a Borbely All-FET crossover, 24dB slope at 100Hz, which feeds 2 x Stochino 100W monoblocks for the 1801s and an Aussieamplifiers (Anthony Holton) 200W NX150 monoblock to drive the Scan-Speak 23W sub. There is a unity gain buffer at then end of the filter, which I am changing to provide 6dB of gain to better match the inefficient sub with the 1801s (As a sidepoint, Erno Borbely is not only a great audio designer, but also a really nice guy who goes out of his way to help and offer advice)
The 1801 stands are veneered with Tasmanian Blackwood. but I can't take any credit for these, as they were built by a friend who is a furniture maker. I will take some more photos of the stands and post them tonight.

[satfrat]

How tall are those stands Smitty? I always thought that the tweeters should be at ear level for full effect of the high frequency's. What do you think and was there a specific reason for having them so high? Thanks.

I do love the design of both the stands and the subwoofer. I'd love to hear the effects of having them 1801's that high up though, more 3 dimensional maybe? I love a deep sound stage myself.

Cheers,
Robin

[smithy666]

Hi Robin
The stands take the 1801s to about 6ft from the ground. They face into our kitchen/dining room, so were designed so we can listen while cooking etc (ie standing up most of the time), plus they needed to clear the kitchen benchtops. I know, it is an unusual configuration, but actually makes them quite an interesting talking point (and when you turn them on, another talking point  ). The sound stage is very good + vocals are outstanding (IMO female vocals really shine through the 1801s - well recorded ones that is).
My other spekares in my living room are Dynaudio Finale - they are big imposing speakers and I am yet to hear bass which matches the clean, tightness and depth of the 12" Dynaudio woofers/passive radiator. But I think the 1801s do vocals better than the Dynaudios.

[satfrat]

Gotsha,,, and it even makes sense. I actually use a 40" solid oak pedestal pub table with swivel captain chairs in my dining room which is adjacent to my music/HT room so I could watch sports while I was eating. The bar chairs sit high enough to clear the recliners so I understand where you're coming from.

Cheers,
robin

[smithy666]

I've just adjusted the crossover to provide 6dB of gain in the LP output buffer and the result is sweet. The integration between the 1801s and the 23W is very good and I got goosebumps again 

[David Ellis]

Good work!!

This looks like a very smart setup!  Having the speakers mounted high and facing the kitchen would be perfect - in my opinion.  Our home won't accommodate this, but it would be idea.  I spend far more time in the kitchen than in the listening chair!

And, having the subwoofer somewhat centered on the back wall is very smart too.  This should create very little bass soundstage smear.

Dave

[smithy666]

Hi Dave
Good to hear from you. Over the past 24 hours I have been listening to more material, and the combination of the 1801s and the 23W sub is amazing. The integration of the two in my view couldn't be better and the sound stage is really awesome - the significant separation (height and setback) of the two does as you say - creates very little bass soundstage smear. When I first set it up with the LP filter at unity gain it still lacked that something special - changing to 6dB gain gave me what I was looking for. I honestly haven't been able to wipe the smile off my face every time I play something - it really does sound that good. I also think crossing at 100Hz frees up the W18 so it can really focus on what it is exceptional at.