HI David,
Thank you for your post. Good questions, challenging, but good.
"Can the box really be optimised correctly when the volume can be changed from 18L to 28L?
Yes, certainly. It is merely a matter of selecting different settings over a range of recordings and a couple of nights and you will soon work out your preferences.
"Is the speaker mechanically stable? Can it provide tight clean bass without carpet piercing spikes?
Yes, though it's all relative. If you like rock music at high levels, I'd say no, however, a sub is needed to supplement it. It is, after all, a 7" speaker with a 1" tweeter; the laws of physics are immutable and bass to 20Hz is not possible. The 3dB point is 43Hz.
"If the back panel is "floating" doesn't it resonate with the music?
Absolutely not. The back panel is sandwiched between the sides with three beefy metal rods, screwed in hard. There is no resonance or boxiness at all.
"Why doesn't Hugh Dean use them (apparently he uses another Ron Newbound design with a D'Appolito arrangement)?
This is not quite true. The AKSonic was developed after I had already purchased two exceptional speakers, which cater well to my needs for development (rather than listening). Ron designed the crossovers for both, in fact, and I do from time to time use the AKSonics in my system when he lends me his reference, and I have to say that my favourite ears, (belonging to a good friend), feel the AKSonics are better than anything else I've had in my listening room. Personally, I marvel at the extraordinary sound stage they contruct, and the high resolution, particularly at normal listening levels, which is a deficiency in my MTMs, which excel at parties (read: Rock 'n Roll) but fall down on detail and sound stage.
I do plan to build some, actually, and also Ron's sub-woofer which will also be offered as a kitset. Like anyone else, I have to consider the WAF and the dollars!!
"On a practical note can anyone tell me the dimensions of the Aksonics and what sort of efficiency to expect?
Paul kindly gave the measurements; eficiency is 87dB/watt/meter. Load varies across the audio range from 6 to 10 ohms; benign load. With his sub, which we trialled recently, the combination is astonishing, particularly when you consider the price, which may not remain low for too long as it is quite expensive to make the crossovers.
Hope this helps,
Cheers,
Hugh
