[Tliner]

Hi Dayne,

Alignment equipment to tune crossovers is used to arrive at the desired solution much quicker than the trial and error method. Although the trial and error method is used during the final tweeking phase. Needless to say an experienced designer has very good intuition on the amounts to alter the values of various components. Alignment equipment usually consists of a signal generator which can produce white and pink noise which is used to determine if the drivers are seamless at the crossover point and that there are no unacceptable sound spikes from say 20Hz to 40000Hz.

It is virtually impossible to predict the way sound is coloured by an listening room sight?? unseen. However, a top quality speaker will invariably sound good in the average room. If a room has cathedral (bath room) qualities there are various remedies. Floor coverings, heavy wall and window drapes will reduce reflections from hard expansive surfaces. Usually reflections colour the sound and can often make the sound rather diffuse, not a good thing since the speaker designer attempts to create spot-on imaging and definition which echos and reverberations can stuff up. That said, it is possible to have speakers tailor made to suit the listening room at a price. And the price is elastic as a very stretchy rubber band. The standard equipment is used in a test room known to the designer for uniformity of performance. Usually a speaker designer will have a proven design to A/B test the new creation against.

Hope the explaination helps a bit.


Cheers,
 Tliner.

[AKSA]

Hi Dayne,

I arrived back in Melbourne just hours ago, and will speak with Laurie tomorrow.  I will endeavour, within reasonable commercial limits, to let you know how he's done what he's done.  I can assure you, however, that this speaker is a corker of the high end variety, and they call to mind the Bastanis I heard at RMAF which have comparable resolution and very, very good bass.

Thanks Tliner - good post!! 

Cheers,

Hugh

[Sparkie]

Hi All,

I visited a relation at Blackburn during the weekend. So while I was in the area I called in on Laurie to see what is the latest with the V-sonics and for another musical fix. Wow! a further improvement. The speakers have been lifted up another notch or two. The sound is stunningly real from the highs all way through to the lowest low. They are so smooth without any areas for criticism at all. Instrument definition and sound stage is more impressive, needle sharp. Somehow I feel that the bass is more musical and lifelike. It is uncanny that the way blues/rock comes over with the power as if one was at a live performance and yet classical strings and acoustic has all the delicacy one would expect.

Interestingly , one soon becomes absorbed in the music, even forgetting that one is hearing reproduced music. I think that the amp and speakers make music that good. I can't say more than that.

I hope that I'm not stealing any ones thunder here but I believe all that listen to these V-sonics will be very appreciative of a local design. Congratulations to Hugh for the Lifeforce amp and to you both for the joint collaboration with the V-sonics. I am sure that the Aspen system could well become a Hi Fi icon.

cheers,

Barry.

[Sparkie]

Hi All,

Well the new speaker kit has been released a few weeks ago. I was fortunate to hear the Vsonics powered by a modded LifeForce 100 Mk 2 a few days ago. The prototype VSonics have not been altered singe last October but I think the amp has been since I heard it last after Hugh had "a go at it" before Christmas. Now the system is simply stunning at all criteria of evaluation. For a kit speaker the Vsonics are in a league all of their own. I spent over 20 years in the HI Fi retail game and I have to admit I would have loved to have sold the Vsonics. I will go so far to say that Laurie's design and Hugh's LifeForce and the latest Soraya amp (which I have not had the pleasure to hear yet) could soon become a design icons. I have not heard the system since last October and so with fresh ears I was still amazed at the accuracy of imaging' detail within the imaging and particularly the sound stage. One can hear the placements of individual instruments within a section of an orchestra on well recorded CD's. I have only heard that sort of detail and imaging in over $AUS 10,000 speakers. If the AKSA saystem was marketed for its real price the price tag would be $1000's higher, no doubt about that. I believe that details of the Vsonics are on the AKSA web site.

Looking forward to my next listen of a truly top end system.   

Best of luck Aksa.

Barry.

[AKSA]

Thank you Barry,

That's very nice of you - Laurie, take a bow (be sure to brace that bung ankle first!!).

These speakers have consumed huge time and expertise resources, with, as usual, the last 20% consuming 80% of the time.  I now feel that they are truly 'finished'.  Four have been despatched in a week;  long may this continue, and I am very proud of Laurie's work, he's been very patient, very obsessive, and very clever with them.  My part has been strictly as an onlooker, presenting the brief to begin with and a smidgeon on the crossover.

This week post Easter will be an extremely busy one.  I have a great many things to do - and a few amp orders to despatch.

Cheers,

Hugh

[JLM]

Glad to see you went the floorstanding route.  Nice touch to angle the pieces directly behind the drivers (to redirect sound from re-emerging through the cone material).

I'd be interested to know how the new speaker models on Martin King's MathCad software application. 

Will the kit instructions advise how best to handle those angled joints?

[AKSA]

Hi JLM,

I'd be interested to know how the new speaker models on Martin King's MathCad software application.

We took a different approach, using Xover Pro to model our early concepts, then realising this was not going to give us the right answer, moving forward laboriously with emprical trials.  It took a long time, with a lot of work going into variable geometry boxes so we could alter configurations 'on the fly'.

We won't be publishing internal build dimensions publicly, of course.

Will the kit instructions advise how best to handle those angled joints

Oh yes, count on it, this is all extremely well explained, with many diagrams and photographs.  Some of the difficult concepts are explained twice using different words to maximise understanding.  There are 21 pages and 5,700 words in the instructions!!

Cheers,

Hugh

[zybar]

Any updates on this Hugh?

George

[AKSA]

Hi George,

Thanks for posting.

Several kits were sold two months ago, still in build I understand, but more information is posted on the website here:

http://www.aksaonline.com/products/products_Vsonics.html

The designer, Laurie, puts the crossovers together at this stage, and I've just made contact through Wayne with Denver Woodworking, who now have a copy of the enclosure instructions.  They will hopefully be able to build a pair of exhibit speakers for Wayne's use at RMAF, so it's all looking positive.  They are not difficult to build, but the issue doubtless comes back to the 'look' on that all important front panel.

I'm also working on a new amp for Denver, a 200W beast which I believe will be my best yet.

Thanks for the interest!   

Cheers,

Hugh