[jslateiv]

Have moved to an active (4th order)  bi-amp setup.  Pass 30.8 on 15"s crossed at 120hz,   Allnic A5000 DHT on the Coax,  low passed at 60hz,  highpass still passive with PAP's crossover.   Starting to play around with active Highpass cross and a 3rd amp (Decware se84-25) as well.  All in all, active bi-amping and moving the bass to SS made a huge difference.   The 'stock' setup for PAP provides alot of overlap between the 15" and 10" in the upper low/ lower mid region.   The 10" is run without low pass and the 15"s cross out ~180hz (1st or 2nd order choice).   I found tightening this area up and removing some of the overlap really helped.   ymmv of course.,
 

[rooze]

Fun little system for the dining room. Lii Audio F-15 with a Dennis Had Inspire KT88 SEP. I’m not certain on the origin of the baffle. It’s a very professional woodworking job but dimensions don’t quite match those on the Decware website. I’m assuming they’re a clone of the Caintuck Betsy but I’m not certain. If anyone recognizes the baffle then please let me know!

(Bought from Craigslist, owner had no clue of origin)

[jslateiv]

Fun little system for the dining room. Lii Audio F-15 with a Dennis Had Inspire KT88 SEP. I’m not certain on the origin of the baffle. It’s a very professional woodworking job but dimensions don’t quite match those on the Decware website. I’m assuming they’re a clone of the Canuck Betsy but I’m not certain. If anyone recognizes the baffle then please let me know!

(Bought from Craigslist, owner had no clue of origin)

These are def. a Caintuck style OB.  Nice score from craigslist and great looking construction!!   I made a pair based off of Decware's ZFL size utilizing the F15.   Excellent speakers.  I found that adding/incorporating a Ribbon with a simple in-line cap (3.3u) added some nice air to the presentation.  You can easily get away with a few 'SE' watts of power.  The speakers are very eff.

[dcbingaman]

Open Baffle fans, here are pictures of the VPE Electrodynamics "Crystal Dipole" Open Baffle speakers.  Note the baffles are comprised of cast 1/2" thick acrylic sheet which has 4 x the damping of plywood.  You can also see through them.  The full-range driver is the new Cube Audio F10 Select, and the bass augmenter is a slot-loaded Eminence 15" Definimax which is driven by a Dayton Audio SPA500DSP Class D amp which includes a parametric crossover filter set and EQ.  They sound awesome and you can buy a pair from VPE Electrodynamics in 2023. See:www.vpeelectrodynamics.com

[Desertratt]

12" EV-SP full rangers
3/4" dome Tweeter above 12kHz
15" Alphas below 100Hz

[Poultrygeist]

Still find myself returning to the Zenith alnico OB's no matter what else I build. I've also rediscovered the original Miniwatt S-1 which drives the highly efficient Zeniths with ease. Has anyone else here tried a pair of the amazing Zenith alnico's? My CZ49s were pulled from a nice old lady's cobra-matic console made in 1957.

[Zoonhollis]

PAP Quintet15 with Voxativ AC-X field coils, actively bi-amped.

[xXEarvinXx]

Open Baffle fans, here are pictures of the VPE Electrodynamics "Crystal Dipole" Open Baffle speakers.  Note the baffles are comprised of cast 1/2" thick acrylic sheet which has 4 x the damping of plywood.  You can also see through them.  The full-range driver is the new Cube Audio F10 Select, and the bass augmenter is a slot-loaded Eminence 15" Definimax which is driven by a Dayton Audio SPA500DSP Class D amp which includes a parametric crossover filter set and EQ.  They sound awesome and you can buy a pair from VPE Electrodynamics in 2023. See:www.vpeelectrodynamics.com




These look so cool with the clear acrylic. Like the drivers is just suspended in the air floating. Definitely going to look more into them.

[mike.spcr]

Inspired by Linkwitz LX521, with different drivers & W-frame for 180 deg. push-pull bass config. This provides amazing vibration cancellation compared to the M-frame used in the LX521. I originally built a pair of the original design "boxes" and didn't like the amount of box vibrations. I wanted to avoid the "bridge stand" for the upper freq drivers baffle, so I tried the W-frame & the amount of panel vibrations is so much less. I decided to bolt the upper baffle to the bass "bin" -- second pic.

Woofers: SBAcoustics SB29NRX75-8 10" x2
LM: Scanspeak 22W/8534G00 Discovery 8"
HM: ScanSpeak Discovery 10F/4424
T: Aurum Cantus AST2560 AMT (w/o mounting plate)

[Bill Baker]

PAP Quintet15 with Voxativ AC-X field coils, actively bi-amped.

Hello Zoonhollis. I am curious if you had different drivers in your PAPs before going with the field coils or did you purchase that way. I would like to hear others comments on the differences experienced going with the field coils. My partner has the Quintet15 with horn1 and Duet15 with vox 1.6.
I have Trio15 Classics with Vox 1.6 on the way now.
Nice setup you have!

[Krillin]

Here are my Jamo R909's. Can go all the way down to 25hz with ease.

[Tyson]

New OB speakers downstairs.  Its a 4 tower setup, with the front 2 towers having 6 midwoofers playing down to 50hz and then the back 2 towers each having 3 twelve inch servo subwoofers going down to 16hz in room:

[HAL]

The Magnetar II wideband planar in an open baffle with two 3x12 open baffle servo subs.  The Monoliths open baffle speaker based on the Super Mini is on top of the two sub cabinets. 

[Poultrygeist]

If I had those acrylic OB's I would add some black trim on the edges to better define their transparency.

[kd4ylq]

Krillin,
         those Jamo 909s are lovely! way ahead of the pack when they first came out. Did you buy them overseas? what amplifer are you using and anything you wish was different?

[Krillin]

Krillin,
         those Jamo 909s are lovely! way ahead of the pack when they first came out. Did you buy them overseas? what amplifer are you using and anything you wish was different?

USA presence
The R909's were purchased here in the USA. I have seen the smaller brother the Jamo R907 which was reviewed in Stereophile for sale in California so Jamo did have a small presence stateside. Very popular in Europe though, now they are owned by Klipsch.

Jamo driver quality and baffle
Open baffle always works better the larger the baffle is and the R909's are the bigger brother here. The Jamo R909 drivers are superior to the R907 though with a Scan-Speak Revelator 9700, and Seas Excel Hexadym midrange which the R907 didn't have. They should still be ahead of most of the pack as Scan-speak knows how to make a tweeter and the Revelator 9700 is very well respected in DIY circles, the Seas is a superb performer (https://audioxpress.com/article/test-bench-seas-w15ch001-5-25-excel-hexadym-motor-midwoofer).

Amplifcation
I have used the McIntosh MHA-150, McIntosh MC-205, and Luxman MA-88 monoblock amplifiers. The MHA-150 and MA-88 tube amplifier were my favorites.

DAC, Preamplifier & Room Correction
Feeding them with a McIntosh MX151, Luxman CL-38, MHA-150 (has pre-outs) and Gustard X26 Pro DAC with dual ES9038PRO chips. I didn't care for the tube preamplifier as it was a low negative feedback type design, the Gustard edged out the MHA-150 but they were very close, and the MX-151 isn't as good as the Gustard or MHA-150 however RoomPerfect  makes it my favorite regardless. I have used a MiniDSP DDRC-22D and while it's not as good as RoomPerfect is still is very good. Only the McIntosh MX151 and DDRC-22D are still in my possession.

My Likes
The speakers are very neutral in tonality. In the midrange it sounds very similar to the Accuton Cell midrange, very clear and accurate. The tweeter was as good as the Dynaudio Esotar2 which is not surprising as both are top tier and fabric domed. Where the difference is most heard is in the bass and midbass especially. Beethoven fills the room like nothing else I have ever heard and these speakers can bring it all the way down to 20-25hz with open baffle bass. Also, the midbass especially good as the two 15 inch woofers have a 21" surface area per speaker. I have never heard a 6-8" woofer play midbass like the Jamo's can. The midbass advantage is most heard in classical or movies which actually have drums, such as Netflix's Kate when Taiko drums are playing.

What I wish were different
The speakers require a lot of space which I cannot give them especially when I move into my next home. I have found my listening habits to be mainly 80/20 in favor of home theater which has caused to to reevaluate why I have such expensive stuff. I don't listen to Beethoven much and when my habits are watching Seal Team and the occasional video game. Which is why my Accuton and Jamo's are in the trading post right now.

[kd4ylq]

Thanks so much for the detailed explanations of your audio journey! I know firsthand how OB speakers can be finicky (i.e. demanding) of high-performance electronics and especially the room setup. I have experimented extensively with placement, absorption and dispersion over the last 5 years or so beginning with my beloved Spatial M3 Turbos, and in the last year with my DIY Lii Audio F15 OB speakers. You've got truly high-end gear and I'm somewhat sad to read that you will go "down-range" in your new home because of room size constraints and the shift to Home Theater. We all do what we need to do for a happy home and I think you'll find folks here totally supportive - perhaps even a well-heeled buyer! Best wishes for you impending changes.

Sincerely,
               Jim kd4ylq

[Radio99]

Nice setup @Poultrygeist !

I'm thinking on something "just" similar, maybe with one W15 and a Fast8

Do you care to share if you F15 is the Lii Audio version, or the Lii Song version? Just reading now about that war and I'm not sure what to expect about the Lii Song ones (that would be the ones I can get here)

Maybe my best open baffles so far: Lowther, F-15, and Eminence Alpha

[Poultrygeist]

My F-15's are the Lii Audio version shipped from their California warehouse. Ordered on 2/21/22 and received two months later. Delayed from China as the company changed over to an improved motor. Lii Audio even sent me a free pair of their 8" drivers to make up for the delay. A great wide band driver and IMO almost the equal of the 12 inch alnico Zenith 49CZ 802/852.

But the hidden gems of wide band drivers are the vintage alnico's pulled from tube consoles and organs. You can see a pair face down in my rack ( also Zenith branded ) which look and sound like larger versions of the amazing Coral Holey Baskets. The CHB's were usually found in TOTL Sony tube reel to reels.

[Poultrygeist]

Here are the wonderful Zenith alnico 8's ( big brothers of the Coral Holey Baskets ) in open baffles. There's something beguiling in the sweet tone of the vintage alnico's that stand out from all the others. Perhaps it's because they were voiced to perform their best when paired with flea watt tube amps.