[seadogs1]

Pete, outside of the weight ,do you have the other dimensions H x W x D? It looks like the port is in the front, does that mean the speakers can be placed close to the front wall? Thanks!

[Pete Schumacher]

Pete, outside of the weight ,do you have the other dimensions H x W x D? It looks like the port is in the front, does that mean the speakers can be placed close to the front wall? Thanks!

Overall height, from floor to point, is right around 53".  At its widest, I think it's about 19".  The overall depth from the deepest part of the curve to the bottom of the baffle is around 24", but I'll take another measurement today to confirm that.  You should be able to put these fairly close to the front wall, but there's always a bit of a penalty for doing so.  The "Allison effect" is still in play, so there will be some amount of response modification due to the proximity of a boundary.  The further you can get the baffle from the front wall, the smoother the midbass response will be.  Usually, four to six feet is what I target myself for the baffle distance from the wall behind the speakers.  Acoustic panels definitely help in that regard.

[cheap-Jack]

Hi.

(1) What allows an SET amp to work with a massive speaker like this is the high sensitivity that such a design offers.

If the SET has transformers capable of delivering low frequencies, the Acoustic Elegance woofer, with its massive motor, will respond with ease.   With a predicted 32Hz -3dB point, room loading will augment the system to some extent, allowing in-room response into the 20s.

(2) There are undoubtedly different methods for building a lighter weight enclosure that can deliver lows into the 20s.  One way is to substitute sensitivity for extension, build a smaller enclosure, tune it low, and throw a lot more power at it.  Of course, that puts SETs out of the running.

(1) It is not my intention to challenge any loudspeaker manufacturers on their design.

(2) Not many audio fans can accommodate huge loudspeakers as yours at home let alone
     the cost to own it & being challenged by the other half.
     
     Another more 'modern' way to deliver LF response down 25Hz or so, is to let an active sub to do the job. That's what I am using: a 100W 10" driven by the signal fed from my stereo  phono-preamp delivers subsonic LF without sweats while my 2-way bookshelvers handle the mainstream music easily.

The key technical issue is how to interface the stereo preamp to the active sub properly as there is no such subwoofer O/P port from any stereo preamp, brandnames or DIYs. I spent enough time to figure out how to resolve it without using any active LF X-over & I think I have done it right.

c-J

[sharpsuxx]

Dayum those are sexy, excited to see Vapor getting into floor standing speakers.  After hearing the Joule, I can only imagine what you guys are going to be able to do with more cabinet volume.  Can't wait to come over an hear it.

[jackman]

Cheap jack,
If you checked their website, these guys have several monitor options that can be paired with subs.  This speaker represents a very ambitious option for people who want a big, full range speaker.  I commend Vapor for developing something as attractive and complex as this new design. 

This design is not for everyone (and I'm guessing you are not in the target market) but for the person looking for a large full range speaker, this represents a very interesting and attractive option.  Crapping on a thread and offering idiotic and unsolicited advice is rude.

[Pete Schumacher]

Hi.
(1) It is not my intention to challenge any loudspeaker manufacturers on their design.

(2) Not many audio fans can accommodate huge loudspeakers as yours at home let alone
     the cost to own it & being challenged by the other half.
     
     Another more 'modern' way to deliver LF response down 25Hz or so, is to let an active sub to do the job. That's what I am using: a 100W 10" driven by the signal fed from my stereo  phono-preamp delivers subsonic LF without sweats while my 2-way bookshelvers handle the mainstream music easily.

The key technical issue is how to interface the stereo preamp to the active sub properly as there is no such subwoofer O/P port from any stereo preamp, brandnames or DIYs. I spent enough time to figure out how to resolve it without using any active LF X-over & I think I have done it right.

c-J

1.  Don't worry, I didn't feel you were challenging anything.  One thing to keep in mind about large speakers and small amps is to simply recall "Voice of the Theater" or "Klipschorn."  The size of both of those speakers dwarf the Nimbus, and both could be driven with as little as 1W to quite loud levels.  It's not about the weight or size of a speaker that makes it a difficult load for an amp.  It's all about the type of electrical load it presents to the amplifier and how efficient the speaker is at converting the electrical energy to sound.  At 92dB/1W, the Nimbus is still quite a bit lower sensitivity than those two speakers I cited.  But when you realize how loud 92dB actually is, and that there will be two speakers playing, yes, even 10W SETs should be able to produce satisfying levels for most people in a more typical listening room.

2.  It is a given that not everyone likes huge, heavy and full range speakers like this.  They aren't for everyone.  Those who like the styling, appreciate the dynamics that they'll be capable of, and have the room that can accommodate them, are those people that will gravitate to them.  We have the Breeze, a .38 cubic foot stand mount monitor, for those who don't want a 250 pound thunderstorm in their living room.  If WAF is truly a consideration, and the hobbyist is limited by other considerations, we've got you covered.  If you like integrating your own sub, we've got you covered.

Nimbus is a true, full-range, floor stander that does not require a sub.  It does not require the crossover and amplifier that a dedicated sub requires.  A pair of them, in your room, will be capable of floor shaking transients while simultaneously delivering effortless detail.  We know that Acoustic Elegance is a perfect name for the quality of sound the TD15H can deliver from first hand experience in the Vapor Audio Arcus.  Adding that Acoustic Elegance component to the performance of our Stiff Breeze monitor just made sense. 

Joule and Arcus, with their higher sensitivity and dynamic capacity, moved us to push in the "higher sensitivity" direction.  Our original vision for Nimbus featured dual 8" woofers and passive radiators in a smaller sculpted cabinet.  But at best, only 86dB sensitive, like our Breeze model.  To achieve the impact of Nimbus with 40W, you'd need 160W pushing the smaller cabinet.  That precluded the use of most tube amps as suitable for anything but lower volume listening. 

We didn't want tube amplification to be a limitation with Nimbus.  In more typical environments, where you're sitting less than 15' away, and the room isn't larger than maybe 600 square feet, you'd be hard pressed to push a 50W amp to its limits before chest pounding music fills the room.  25W KT88s are now in play.   In 400 square foot rooms, when you're sitting only 10' away, 300B amps might be all you need.

Low power class A amps are not a limiting factor either.

In larger rooms, when you're sitting further away, Nimbus will be right at home with any 500W amplifier.  And with 500W driving such a dynamic woofer, a solid launch platform is required, and a big "box" was not an aesthetic option; we wanted a titanic loudspeaker that didn't have to look like a mini refrigerator.  It's big, it's heavy, and in a typical living room with 500W at your disposal, you will be able to cause cranial compression and blurred vision like you've rarely experienced.   

[Pete Schumacher]

Pete, outside of the weight ,do you have the other dimensions H x W x D? It looks like the port is in the front, does that mean the speakers can be placed close to the front wall? Thanks!

I updated the earlier post with the actual dimensions, right below the approximate weight.

[Vapor Audio]

Here's a nice shot of the internal bracing.  The walls are already thick pre-tensioned panels, and covered inside with our 'inversion layer', so the bracing is overkill ... but that's what we do.

[SlushPuppy]

Here's a nice shot of the internal bracing.  The walls are already thick pre-tensioned panels, and covered inside with our 'inversion layer', so the bracing is overkill ... but that's what we do.

I frickin' love the name (I've been in the business since 1984). I wonder how many will get it? 

[Vapor Audio]

I frickin' love the name (I've been in the business since 1984). I wonder how many will get it? 

"In the business" how exactly?  I doubt many will get it, or our other naming choices ... like Sundog whose cabinets come from the inside of Cirrus cabinets, or why it's Joule instead of Jewel.  But it amuses me, and that's what's most important 

[SlushPuppy]

"In the business" how exactly?  I doubt many will get it, or our other naming choices ... like Sundog whose cabinets come from the inside of Cirrus cabinets, or why it's Joule instead of Jewel.  But it amuses me, and that's what's most important 

I've been in the weather community since 1984. Meteorologist since 1991. All your designs are named upon some kind of weather phenomena. I know what an "inversion layer" is.

[newzooreview]

"In the business" how exactly?  I doubt many will get it, or our other naming choices ... like Sundog whose cabinets come from the inside of Cirrus cabinets, or why it's Joule instead of Jewel.  But it amuses me, and that's what's most important 

Don't despair, Ryan! I have a Ph.D. in geochemistry and as a cousin in the Earth sciences I truly enjoy the speaker names. I have fond memories of cirrus clouds over the Beartooth range in Montana during geology field camp in college. And now my speakers evoke the ephemeral beauty of those days.

[Vapor Audio]

I've been in the weather community since 1984. Meteorologist since 1991. All your designs are named upon some kind of weather phenomena. I know what an "inversion layer" is.

So I'm not the only Meteorologist-Audiophile afterall    Hopefully you and I will meet someday at a show, we can geek out on weather.  If there were more of us I could get away with speaker names Istentropic Lift, Low Level Jet, or Theta-E Advection.

[Vapor Audio]

Don't despair, Ryan! I have a Ph.D. in geochemistry and as a cousin in the Earth sciences I truly enjoy the speaker names. I have fond memories of cirrus clouds over the Beartooth range in Montana during geology field camp in college. And now my speakers evoke the ephemeral beauty of those days.

 

Ever see any Lenticular clouds while stationed out West?  That's one I'd love to see, along with the Morning Glory clouds in Australia.

[SlushPuppy]

So I'm not the only Meteorologist-Audiophile afterall    Hopefully you and I will meet someday at a show, we can geek out on weather.  If there were more of us I could get away with speaker names Istentropic Lift, Low Level Jet, or Theta-E Advection.

 

I'd love to hear your loudspeakers someday. Meeting at a show and and telling a few weather stories would be way cool. I just hope you're a kind man and don't name any future products after the Skew-T diagram. I worked for a Navy commander back in the mid-90's who made me plot and analyze one every day during a six month deployment. I cried happy tears the day he transferred.

[Pete Schumacher]

Maybe the Breeze can blow through your town and you'd get a chance to hear one of Ryan's speakers.

Check the Breeze tour thread schedule.  Maybe it comes close by.

[jimdgoulding]

Oh wow.  Most impressive so far.  Look out world.  Love the name.  Plus it's 92db sensitivity.

[Vapor Audio]

Oh wow.  Most impressive so far.  Look out world.  Love the name.  Plus it's 92db sensitivity.

Thanks Jim!  We have a feeling this is a speaker that's going to really turn some heads ... although we're not exactly looking forward to lugging them around during each build 

[sharpsuxx]

wow. That back panel arching gracefully up to the top piece, which then facets back down into the teardrop styled sides...has the builder studied at the Louvre? Has Leonardo daVinci been reanimated? These have transcended the physical world and have entered the elemental! Does the master find inspiration from his Koi pond? The elements of water (teardrop shape) and the Earth stretching for the heavens (the faceted top) are strongly represented. Visually stunning...expect calls from exclusive art galleries worldwide!

Keep it in your pants man... . 

I can't wait to see these finished, they really are going to be that rare meshpoint of form following function with an eye for the aesthetic.  I hope the same level of attention goes into sonics, I really hope these speakers keep with the midrange and treble refinement and precise imaging within the vast soundstage that usually comes with a Vapor speaker. 

So many "statement" speakers are just that wall of sound dynamics and impact without the refinement that the smaller truly "audiophile" companies deliver, I am really excited that Vapor is having the kind of success that allows them to experiment with what is possible with audio.  I can't wait to hear them, all very capable drivers with a very capable designer and builders. 

Are these first pair going to be whites or blacks?

[Pete Schumacher]

Details . . .

Almost ready for their paint job.