[DavidS]

In the early 1980's I spent hard earned part time university student job money on a pair of magneplaners.  Memory is probably sweeter than reality but my recollection was of audio magic - black quiet backgrounds, unheard of detail with mids and highs, and a live like you were there feel right in my old apartment living room.  The usual story through the 80's where other priorities took over my life, my babies beat on my panels, and they were sold for a series of small speakers that lived with books on shelves away from kids and dogs. 

Was reading about these new Jamos in December's Absolute Sound.  Like the Maggies very funky looking but in modern way, but it was the description of the sound that took me back to my 1980 electrostatics plus bass.  These Jamos look like high tech open baffles although I think they get called dipoles?  Not sure about the technical side of this.  Trouble is the Jamo's are $15,000!

Today I own a pair of Ellis 1801s.  Good waf - I think they look great in the living room, great monitor mostly full range sound, tons of detail.  But I still pine for the magic of the maggies.  Home made open baffles aren't going to work in my living room.  Doubt even bringing the old Magneplaners back will work (no not those again!)  So long winded getting to my questions are:

1.  what is the sound of OB speakers like compared to electrostatics - am I looking in the right direction, sniffing around the right tree?
2.  with the interest around some of this new technology will there be a rush to produce these speakers commercially and with more acceptable looks like the Jamos

A link for anyone interested - http://www.jamo.com/

David 

I

[opnly bafld]

Not really new technology, just old tech looked at in new way perhaps.
I think there will be more OB/dipole type speakers from the big (sold through retail stores-lots of ads) names.

On AC there are several speaker manufactures making/coming out with hybrid designs, dipole mids and highs with boxed bass.
Check out GR Research (kits), Nomad Audio, VMPS's new flagship, and Selah Audio.
AV123 is going to have some budget priced, but not budget performing, speakers soon and Selah Audio will build custom designs.

Lin

[DavidS]

so what are dipoles then because what I see on AV123 forum, looks very different from OB's here, and again from electrostatics, and also the Jamos.  Do they all have a similar sound - sounds like more reading is in order.

David

[jeffreybehr]

Dipoles are speakers that radiate to the rear about the same amount as to the front while radiating little to the sides.  IOW, they radiate in a figure-8 pattern.  Because they radiate little to the sides, they can be placed closer to sidewalls than speakers with wide dispersion patterns--Gallo Ref. 3s come to mind here.

Dipoles can be built with cone drivers; here are mine, altho my tweeters are not dipole...


...or with magnetic-planar drivers such as Magnepans, or with electrostatic drivers such as the many Quads.

If the $15K Jamos are a little rich for you, consider the Nemesis from Emerald Physics.  Many of us heard a preproduction prototype at the '06 RMAF and were VERY impressed, as was Robert Harley of 'The Absolute Sound', as he wrote in the February issue.  Clayton Shaw, the owner of Emerald, is redesigning the speaker to be one chunk per channel, using 3 instead of 4 bass drivers and will be demoing that version to the Arizona Audio Video Club in Phoenix late February or early March.  Sorry I don't have a pic.  RR will be c. $5K/pr., I understand.  This system is digitally equalized, crossed over, and time-compensated for driver spacing, and the eq. is included in the price.  It requires 6 channels of amplification but doesn't require expensive amps to sound good--Clayton was using a multichannel home-theater amp in Denver.  E-mail him at clayton@emerald-physics.com if you're interested.  (I have NO interest in this man or his product other than as a music-loving audiofool and audio/video-club president.)

[duggie]

hey jeff, are those hi-vi research ribbons?  i have heard a coupla speakers w/that driver, (including a pair of coincident research victory's which i own, that use a version of it), & i think they're one of the best, (if not the best?), tweets around.  curious about the mid-woofs you are using, x-over points, etc...

thanks...

[scorpion]

Davids,

Just look around in the OB-circle and in the Darkstar thread over at Red Wine Audio. Build a pair of B200 OBs and live happily thereafter. 
Of course the Jamos are OB designs. And OB is for Space and Islamic Era speakers.

/Erling

[jeffreybehr]

duggie: "hey jeff, are those hi-vi research ribbons?  i have heard a coupla speakers w/that driver, (including a pair of coincident research victory's which i own, that use a version of it), & i think they're one of the best, (if not the best?), tweets around.  curious about the mid-woofs you are using, x-over points, etc..."

Those are the c. $30 Dayton mag.-planar tweeters from Parts Express.  http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=275-085  I've yet to get them to sound as good as I want them to.

The 6-1/2" B/MR drivers are from Sonic Craft.  See http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=32172.0 and subsequent threads in the OB circle for lots of info.  I've wired the 4-Ohm drivers in series/parallel for an 8-Ohm load, and I'm using a 0.39mH choke for a 2800Hz lo-pass filterpoint.  The unfiltered drivers have substantial output thru about 8KHz, but of course those large drivers don't do treble well, sounding a bit hard when driven hard in the treble.

[jeffreybehr]

Erling, what on earth does "And OB is for Space and Islamic Era speakers" mean?

[duggie]

jeff, thanks for the update.  the dayton's look quite similar to the hi-vi planar ribbon drivers, albeit a lot more reasonably priced; i wonder if they are sourced from hi-vi.  you may wanna try the x-over at ~4khz...

best of luck; keep us posted - it looks extremely promising...