Shawn's Exotica 3's in "sinker" cypress

jsalk · « **on:** 27 Sep 2014, 04:01 pm »

Shawn wanted a pair of our brand new Extocia 3 speakers and sent some photos of his eclectic decor (my words, not his). He was looking for something quite unusual that would blend well with his furnishings. He asked if I had ever worked with "sunken" woods. I had not. He came across a batch of veneer with the following description:

"Sinker" Cypress. Also known as Sunken Cypress, Deadhead Cypress, Recovered or Reclaimed Cypress. Laying 60-150 years on a river bottom adds a beautiful greyish band of color and patina to these slow growth virgin Cypress logs. Both the attractive "aged" look and the ecological benefits of reclaiming "lost" timber has added up to growing demand for this American treasure.

It looked like a perfect fit for him, so we went for it. Here are the results...

And a close-up...

I should note that this is the first pair of production pair of these speakers to come out of the shop. Shawn is getting his before I will get mine (although we will finish them very soon).

Happy listening Shawn!

- Jim

robcentola · « **Reply #1 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 04:02 pm »

Wow. Beautiful.

Austin08 · « **Reply #2 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 04:07 pm »

Speechless!!!

mresseguie · « **Reply #3 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 04:45 pm »

Stunning effect! The drivers appear to float in the veneer.

Will2 · « **Reply #4 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 05:49 pm »

And notice the attention to detail with the painted wood finish (at least that's what it looks like to me) on the center of the mid-woofer ....

revision ...... ooops ...... giving too much credit ....... I stand corrected ....... it comes that way ........ shows what I know

PSB Guy · « **Reply #5 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 05:59 pm »

Quote from: Will2 on 27 Sep 2014, 05:49 pm

And notice the attention to detail with the painted wood finish (at least that's what it looks like to me) on the center of the mid-woofer

The Seas Exotic W8 X2-08 mid-woofer comes with that ash phase plug, so the match is coincidental, but it looks neat nonetheless.

Cornelis

JonnyFive · « **Reply #6 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 06:38 pm »

Love it!!

Jim, question. I thought the woofers were going to be moved further down, like right above the Salk emblem?

Jon

JerryM · « **Reply #7 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 06:45 pm »

Beautiful speakers.

They do, however, make BRM's moving boxes somewhat more confusing.

Congrats Shawn!!!

ricardojoa · « **Reply #8 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 06:50 pm »

Moving the woofers away from the midwoofer will affect the integration of the drivers.

sfox7076 · « **Reply #9 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 07:32 pm »

Mixing woods in one room is hard. Jim indulged me. I think they are stunning.

Shawn

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #10 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 07:33 pm »

Way to go different Shawn.

Big Red Machine · « **Reply #11 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 07:35 pm »

Quote from: JerryM on 27 Sep 2014, 06:45 pm

They do, however, make BRM's moving boxes somewhat more confusing.

I'm going 2 piece design Jerry. Separate tops and bottoms with an interconnecting cable running up the backside.

Tomy2Tone · « **Reply #12 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 08:17 pm »

Excellent choice! I was hoping someone would match the phase plug on the mid. Looks awesome, congrats!

JonnyFive · « **Reply #13 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 09:54 pm »

Quote from: ricardojoa on 27 Sep 2014, 06:50 pm

Moving the woofers away from the midwoofer will affect the integration of the drivers.

With how low they are crossed over (110 hz or so), I was under the impression that the goal was to move them down as far as possible to reduce floor bounce.

ricardojoa · « **Reply #14 on:** 27 Sep 2014, 10:41 pm »

There was a discussino in exotica 3 post about the mid range/woofer distance.
Im sure these could be built with the overall drivers a few inches lower, that depends what compromise you want to take.

sfox7076 · « **Reply #15 on:** 30 Sep 2014, 12:00 am »

They will be delivered tomorrow.

sfox7076 · « **Reply #16 on:** 1 Oct 2014, 03:05 am »

They are beautiful. They sound amazing. And I know they still have break in to do. They are much more efficient than the HT2s, so now I have a little static in the right speaker (from the tweeter) when there is no signal. Seems almost like radio signal interference. When I swap the left channel for the right on the speaker cable, the static moves from the right speaker to the left. If I move the preamp out left to right or the amp in left to right, the static doesn't move. Seems like it is in the amp or, possibly, a bad tube (though I never experienced that issue with a bad tube). Hopefully I can sort that out in the next few days. Will cause my rack layout to change in advance of my plans for my 1625 amps, but that is ok. These speakers are so open even compared to the HT2s or the HT3s I have heard (no offense Jim). I think I may want to push the SPL up on the bass a little, but need to run measurements before I do that. They sound awesome though. And yes, they look even better in person than in the pictures Jim posted. The only negative now is dialing in. I have to do it and fix that static. Currently, my wife's seat is the sweet spot!

sfox7076 · « **Reply #17 on:** 1 Oct 2014, 10:43 am »

Switched tubes and static moved with the tubes. Sigh.

Charles Xavier · « **Reply #18 on:** 1 Oct 2014, 01:42 pm »

I'm right up the block from your house I should stop off and cOme for a
listen

fsimms · « **Reply #19 on:** 1 Oct 2014, 03:26 pm »

I am very happy for you!

It looks like you are the first person on the planet to have Exotica 3’s. Thanks for the initial impressions. I hope you continue to give us feedback as you get them set up and broken in.

Bob