[skiz6151]

If you use the CA15RLY woofers then it will probably look a lot like this with a RAAL ribbon tweeter:

http://www.salksound.com/SongSurround.shtml (SongSurround II, MTM version)

but I'd look into the ER15RLY woofers or the SB Acoustics 5" woofer, just me $.02 

Thanks, Rick did mention that he liked the SB Acoustics better, so I may go that route. As far as the veneer goes, what are my choices?

[Rick Craig]

If you use the CA15RLY woofers then it will probably look a lot like this with a RAAL ribbon tweeter:

http://www.salksound.com/SongSurround.shtml (SongSurround II, MTM version)

but I'd look into the ER15RLY woofers or the SB Acoustics 5" woofer, just me $.02 

Thanks, Rick did mention that he liked the SB Acoustics better, so I may go that route. As far as the veneer goes, what are my choices?

The standard finishes are maple,cherry, and gloss black. We can do a custom veneer as well for an additional charge.

[chrismercurio]

I would be into a (very) high efficiency version. Whatever is required to give me what I am hearing now with a smaller footprint. I love it...so do my friends...but i live with my wife.

The big RAAL with a PHY or Seas Exotic might work. There is also a BIGGER RAAL but it is cost prohibitive for me.

Thanks,

Chris

[Rick Craig]

Rick I am interested in purchasing one of these extreme MTM using RAAL/Seas. This will be my first jump into the high end audio circle, now I'm wondering if there is a sample pic of the speaker? I would like to know what it looks like before purchasing also the size of the thing

I should have some pictures in a week or two. The cabinet size is dependent on whether you have the sealed or vented box option. The sealed box is 20"x8"x14" and the ported box 22"x9"x14 3/4" (both with curved sides that taper to the back).

[skiz6151]

I mostly listen to Rock, but will probably try out some other genre if the speakers is as good as it looks on paper. But it will also be used in HT and gaming.
For the combination of RAALS and your preferred choice of SB Acoustics, which would you suggest, sealed or vented?

I'm still not caught up on all the nuances of the term so could you also explain the benefits of either sealed or vented box?

Of course, now my hardest choice would be the veneer  that's always a hard one

Also I will be adding a sub woofer later on into my setup, not sure if that changes anything but please take that into consideration

[kip_]

Sealed will give you a smoother frequency rolloff for better integration with a subwoofer. Vented boxes are generally larger with deeper low frequency extension, but they tend to drop off rapidly after the tuning point of the port. I'd go sealed with a sub and vented without.

[kip_]

I mostly listen to Rock, but will probably try out some other genre if the speakers is as good as it looks on paper

Just a warning, it's going to be a very revealing speaker so it may pick apart some of your lesser recordings  . The not-so-great recordings will still sound,well, not so great, but the good recordings will sound awesome. My MF7s do this and they're 1/2 the price and nowhere near as detailed! I've been listening to a lot of electronica here lately myself

[cadobhuk]

I would be into a (very) high efficiency version. Whatever is required to give me what I am hearing now with a smaller footprint. I love it...so do my friends...but i live with my wife.

The big RAAL with a PHY or Seas Exotic might work. There is also a BIGGER RAAL but it is cost prohibitive for me.

Thanks,

Chris

What about the acoustic elegance/Lambda woofers? A few people rave about them and they have very high sensitivity.

[Rick Craig]

I mostly listen to Rock, but will probably try out some other genre if the speakers is as good as it looks on paper. But it will also be used in HT and gaming.
For the combination of RAALS and your preferred choice of SB Acoustics, which would you suggest, sealed or vented?

I'm still not caught up on all the nuances of the term so could you also explain the benefits of either sealed or vented box?

Of course, now my hardest choice would be the veneer  that's always a hard one

Also I will be adding a sub woofer later on into my setup, not sure if that changes anything but please take that into consideration

If you're adding a subwoofer it's best to plan for that upfront. That way you'll have good integration with the complete system. The sub's bandwidth will determine your crossover point. With a 5-6" sealed monitor a typical crossover point will be 70-85hz which is fine for a good quality 10-12" sub and a few 15" subs. If your sub has limited bandwidth then a ported box is going to be better and have crossover points in the 50-60hz range.

The sealed cabinets are more compact and have a 12db rolloff for less phase shift. Ported cabinets typically roll off 18-24db; however, some can approach 12db with the right woofer and box tuning. Ported systems tend to "unload" below the box tuning which can increase excursion and distortion if the woofer and / or tuning are not optimal for the design.

We provide nearfield measurements for all of our speakers and subwoofers in order to attain optimum performance. Unfortunately many speaker companies don't show these measurements and that makes it more difficult to have the best system integration.

[Rick Craig]

I would be into a (very) high efficiency version. Whatever is required to give me what I am hearing now with a smaller footprint. I love it...so do my friends...but i live with my wife.

The big RAAL with a PHY or Seas Exotic might work. There is also a BIGGER RAAL but it is cost prohibitive for me.

Thanks,

Chris

What about the acoustic elegance/Lambda woofers? A few people rave about them and they have very high sensitivity.

High sensitivity woofers tend to have very limited low frequency extension unless you have large cones (15"-18") and huge cabinets (not practical for most home systems). I've seen a few speakers using the AE woofers but none of them provided any nearfield measurements to back up their claims. There are also some other issues involved but I would rather not post my opinion here.

[chrismercurio]

agreed. Iron Law strikes again. I didn't think the giant boxes would bother me but they do.

What I came up with was to go with better than average efficiency (91+) with a 70-20xr instead of the 140-15d, and a Seas Exotic woofer, custom AT, or something else. My room isn't large, but I do appreciate the dynamics delivered by higher efficiency.

I'm working on finding out about the something else,

Chris

[skiz6151]

The sub that I am interested in getting would be SVS PB13-Ultra or Epik Conquest, ofcourse these are going to take a bit more saving up for. I am guessing these two woofers would integrate well with the speakers?

[Rick Craig]

The sub that I am interested in getting would be SVS PB13-Ultra or Epik Conquest, ofcourse these are going to take a bit more saving up for. I am guessing these two woofers would integrate well with the speakers?

I haven't heard either sub but the integration should be fine.