[Guy 13]

I choose this topic, (Open Baffle Speakers)
I hope I made the right choice ?
I had the choice between the following:
Single drive (Omega 7F)
Open Baffle Speakers (That's what they are...)
Enclosures (To me more like closed or bass reflex enclosure ?)
The acoustic circle (Not much acoustic treatment in my listening room)
Sooooo, l'm going with Open Baffle Enclosures topic.
Below are two pictures of before and after, the after being the angle set up.
The system is exactly the same, all the same components.
For the benefit of the newbies (Quite a few lately here on AudioCircle)
please have a look at my system description.
With the new set-up arrangement is there an improvement in the sound ?
Very difficult to say, because for more than a year I was away from my system.
(My system is on planet Vietnam and I was in Montreal, Canada)
Yesterday and today, I've listen to both set-up
and I can't tell the difference between the two,
minds you, seems that the new set up sound better ????
One thing is sure, that's the best sounding system I've owned in the past 48 years.
I would recommend without any hesitation the Omega 7F driver, but of course in Louis
beautifull funish cabinets and the Decware SE84 from Steve, 2wpc is enough for me.
One thing I have notice with the new set-up is that the sound stage is much wider,
I would say 3 feet on both sides.
For the depth it's goes just maybe one foot behind the speakers.
Sooooo, my set-up will stay like that, unless I win the jack pot at the lottery,
then I will add some room acoustic treatment, minds you, right now it's not bad at all
because I listen in the near field mode.
My speakers are 3 feet from the back wall and 6 feet apart and 6 feet from me.
Well that all folks.

Guy 13






   

[JohnR]

Guy, could you please give your thread a meaningful/relevant title.

[Guy 13]

Guy, could you please give your thread a meaningful/relevant title.

It's done, it should be better now.
Sorry about that, thanks for the suggestion ?

Guy 13

[Brad]

Looks to me like you've got a much better room for listening now, from what I remember seeing of your old room.

Thanks for sharing.    The setup I'm using now is remarkably similar, except for the driver, and I have a massive FOUR wpc instead of the two you're settling for. 
(my alternate amp is a SET 45, so that one IS a little under 2wpc)

[mcgsxr]

Is it the same room but now you have corner loaded the setup vs along a flat wall?

I did that when my basement was unfinished and I was running the huge DIY Visaton OB's.  I found that corner loading worked very well for me.

I do however prefer the current setup - my bathroom is now in that corner!

[Guy 13]

Looks to me like you've got a much better room for listening now, from what I remember seeing of your old room.

Thanks for sharing.    The setup I'm using now is remarkably similar, except for the driver, and I have a massive FOUR wpc instead of the two you're settling for. 
(my alternate amp is a SET 45, so that one IS a little under 2wpc)

Hi Brad,
thanks for your comments.
I would like to have a Decware 6wpc - EL34
instead of my little 2wpc EL84
but like they say:
No money, no candy in this case no amplifier.
In addition of having (The impression of) better sound,
I also have more room, my listening room feel more spacious.
By the way, I do have a more powerfull amplifier, it's a Niteshade Audio
with 10wpc - 6L6 penthode configuration,
but unfortunately it sounds terrible far from the sound of the Decware SET.
Anyway, I am happy for now with what I have, unçtil I get a huge amount of $$$
from an unexpected source ????

Guy 13

[Guy 13]

Is it the same room but now you have corner loaded the setup vs along a flat wall?

I did that when my basement was unfinished and I was running the huge DIY Visaton OB's.  I found that corner loading worked very well for me.

I do however prefer the current setup - my bathroom is now in that corner!

Soooo what you are telling me-us is that the bathroom is more important
than the sound of your system?
Well, I agree with that. 
Each time I have to go to the bathroom,
I need to run downstairs...

Guy 13

[mcgsxr]

Yes, I am saying that my family prioritized another bathroom vs my continued optimal audio setup!

I cannot argue with them.  It is awesome to have one in the basement when playing pool or when the kids have friends over etc.

[YashN]

Looks like a solid combination to me: the Decware gear is a gem. A combo with open baffles should be awesome. Are you bi-amping and using another amp for the bass/sub?

If you're going for acoustic room treatment (in an organic way rather than DSP), I recommend you use a good microphone and the free R.E.W. for room diagnosis. You can easily DIY the panels and bass traps.

Another question: the woofers appears to be in an H-frame. If the H-frame is the red part, what are the darker, thicker squares at the front? Is it some foam and what is its function?

Here is a couple of things I suggest you try for a radical upgrade in overall sound:

- I see support arrangements with spikes everywhere. Replace these with a ball-and-cup arrangement, together with a hard, very smooth metal surface underneath the equipment (use the equipment bottom if that's possible). For the ball-and-cup, ideally use some metal like Chrome/Steel balls, and for the cup, try to find a shallow, concave but hard and smooth metal surface. Here again, DIY is a good option. Try this with your DAC, Amp and Speakers, start with one and listen closely. Spikes will only couple to lower surfaces and hence will also transmit any seismic (natural or induced) to your components, whereas the ball-and-cup will provide a fair amount of proper isolation.

- Not sure you're using an AC conditioner/Filter box. This, together with chassis grounding can do wonders, especially if combined with the first suggestion.

People underestimate the SQ of low-wattage amps, mine, a DIY Single-Ended Tride Tube Amp must hover around 7W or so but I can say it sounds better and way more powerful in many ways than my SS amp which apparently can do 100W.   

I am currently gathering info, learning and designing high-efficiency open-baffle speakers for my SET amp to provide it with the best way to express its magic. 

[Poultrygeist]

Very nice!

I always enjoy seeing and reading about your gear.

[henri960]

Hi guy,
I would like to ask you if you had ever try a comparison between the p.audio bm8 and your last OB omega 7f?
i follow your posts since couple of years. I was in touch with Danny for the set up of my v2, upgraded with sd440 open.
i'm very pleased with these loudspeakers. i just regret a slight roughness on the female voices.
do you believe that this omega speaker will give me more satisfaction?
what about the energy in the highs?
thanks for your reply
marc

[Guy 13]

Looks like a solid combination to me: the Decware gear is a gem. A combo with open baffles should be awesome. Are you bi-amping and using another amp for the bass/sub?

If you're going for acoustic room treatment (in an organic way rather than DSP), I recommend you use a good microphone and the free R.E.W. for room diagnosis. You can easily DIY the panels and bass traps.

Another question: the woofers appears to be in an H-frame. If the H-frame is the red part, what are the darker, thicker squares at the front? Is it some foam and what is its function?

Here is a couple of things I suggest you try for a radical upgrade in overall sound:

- I see support arrangements with spikes everywhere. Replace these with a ball-and-cup arrangement, together with a hard, very smooth metal surface underneath the equipment (use the equipment bottom if that's possible). For the ball-and-cup, ideally use some metal like Chrome/Steel balls, and for the cup, try to find a shallow, concave but hard and smooth metal surface. Here again, DIY is a good option. Try this with your DAC, Amp and Speakers, start with one and listen closely. Spikes will only couple to lower surfaces and hence will also transmit any seismic (natural or induced) to your components, whereas the ball-and-cup will provide a fair amount of proper isolation.

- Not sure you're using an AC conditioner/Filter box. This, together with chassis grounding can do wonders, especially if combined with the first suggestion.

People underestimate the SQ of low-wattage amps, mine, a DIY Single-Ended Tride Tube Amp must hover around 7W or so but I can say it sounds better and way more powerful in many ways than my SS amp which apparently can do 100W.   

I am currently gathering info, learning and designing high-efficiency open-baffle speakers for my SET amp to provide it with the best way to express its magic. 

Hi YashN,
sorry for not answering earlier, my only and real excuse is that I did not see your post,
so now that I (Just) saw it, I will answer and comment.
Yes, my set up is bi-amplified. The Omega 7F full range with the Decware SE84C+ (2wpc)
and the two Eminence 12'' Acoustinator (Bought from Danny Ritchie) wired in parallel
and driven by a GR Research SA-1 (Now discountinued) with 240 watts at 4 Ohms.
I did some acoustic measurements and found out some small problems with my listening room
acoustic, but very difficult on planet Vietnam to get raw material to build absorber and bass trap,
so it's staying the way it is.

The inside of the H frame is high density foam everywhere, front and back and
it's for stiffening the MDF and absorption.
I tried different types of spikes, rubber feet, etc... I never heard any improvement
between them.

I have and use a PI Audio Magik Buss line conditionner.

I'm done with my search for better....
I am happy with what I have,
at 68 years, I am less demanding when it comes to sound quality
and finally, I am broke, no more money...
End of search.

Guy 13 

[Guy 13]

Very nice!

I always enjoy seeing and reading about your gear.

Poultrygeist,
are you talking about my Guy 13 audio gear - set up ???
If yes, thanks for your comment.

Guy 13

[Guy 13]

Hi guy,
I would like to ask you if you had ever try a comparison between the p.audio bm8 and your last OB omega 7f?
i follow your posts since couple of years. I was in touch with Danny for the set up of my v2, upgraded with sd440 open.
i'm very pleased with these loudspeakers. i just regret a slight roughness on the female voices.
do you believe that this omega speaker will give me more satisfaction?
what about the energy in the highs?
thanks for your reply
marc

Hi marc,
I did try my V1 12'' PAudio coaxial, my V2 8'' PAudio coaxial and my Omega 7F
all in open baffle dipole configuration.
My Omega 7F is the one that sounds the best to my 68 years old ears.
The 12'' and 8'' sound very good, they are very linear but they lack something.
To me,they are missing something, like liveness...
Seem that harmonics are not there, with my Omega 7F it's very revealing without any
or very little peak around the critical frequency of 1KHz to 3KHz.
I don"t know about the sd440, but I must say that Louis does not sell drivers only anymore,
only bass reflex driver in cabinet.
A lot of AudioCircle members are happy with the sound of his enclosures,
so they must be good, however, they are not open baffle.
I don't want to suggest or recommend something I have and use and something that I am happy with,
because your ears are not my ears and my brain process music in a different matter than yours.
As far as the energy in the highs, not sure exactly what ou mean,
but I can say that the highs are clear and not shouty.
The highs are smooth.
If you need more information or clarification,
please get back to me, I will do my best to share with you my experience.

Guy 13

[Dieterle Tool]

That is a great looking OB design you have Guy. I have always loved the Super V's, your design looks more suited for your room size however. Nice job.

Dieter

[Guy 13]

That is a great looking OB design you have Guy. I have always loved the Super V's, your design looks more suited for your room size however. Nice job.

Dieter

Thanks Dieter,
it was design and partially built by me, for me and only for me.
However, some like the look and some like the sound of it.

Guy 13

[ebag4]

Great thread Guy, thanks for sharing.

Best,
Ed