This is a follow up to the thread that covered this model move through the design and build stages:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=138009.0These are now ready to go. And keep in mind that there is a limited number of these due to the limited number of the custom Neo 3 tweeters that are on hand. These can also be built using the standard Neo 3 pdr. Using the standard Neo 3 pdr omits one resistor and changes one cap value. So if you find or have a pair of the Neo 3 pdr's then I can sell you the whole kit minus the tweeters.
The price for everything is $2,199. This includes all the drivers, crossover parts, wire, connectors, screws, everything all top notch... (parts total $1,349), plus five sheets of No Rez ($200) that are necessary for this design. And the kit includes the CNC cut flat pack ($650). It does not include and upgrades of Platinum by-pass caps or shipping costs. The kit will ship from GR Research and the flat pack will ship from Oroville, WA.
You will also need some of our open baffle servo subs for the lower ranges.
The CNC cut cabinets for these are very impressive and fit together very nicely. I was actually able to tape this pair together and use them for finial measuring, testing, and voicing without having to glue them up. I wanted to hurry up and get the design finalized for everyone that has been waiting on them. Now I can take this pair apart and paint them up nicely to use as a demo pair.
Here are some very funny to see taped up speakers. There didn't appear to be any issues from the taped up panels. They sound great!
I used the lower section of the Super-7's for their open baffle servo subs only. And that worked out real well.
These are actually right up there with the Super-7 on a performance level, and even exceed them in a few areas. So these rank up there in the top four best open baffle speakers that I have ever heard. And they are clearly the best sounding speakers that I have ever released as a kit. I'll even go so far as to say that you can't buy a better sounding kit for any amount of money and will be hard pressed to beat them with any finished speaker for any amount of money. These really are that good.
The wave guide for the tweeter not only physically aligned the diaphragm to the voice coil of the mid-bass woofers, but the wave guide also allowed the tweeter to play much lower than normal. Here is the crossover response that I settled on after listening to them for a while.
The on axis response is better than +/-2db from end to end. Yes, I know they don't look smooth blown up on the scaling that I use (5db scale), but they are really smooth.
And with the really low crossover point the vertical off axis looks great. The output stays more consistent over a wider vertical range than 95% of all of the speakers that I have ever measured.
The off axis response in the horizontal plane looks great too.
The cumulative spectral decay looks super clean too.
And the impedance is an easy load for any amplifier. And with the high sensitivity that these have they are easy to drive with single digit amps too. The sensitivity is 93db.
This model uses a pair of the M165NQ/16 woofers in parallel around the tweeter. These are purpose built drivers just for this open baffle application and there literally is nothing else like them on the market. And the vocal region that these cover is as good as anything or any other driver that I have ever heard.
Down below there are four of the M165 woofers in a series/parallel configuration. They handle the bass down to about 80 to 90Hz (depending on the room) and easily blend with the servo controlled open baffle woofers.
A sub tower of two SW-12-08FR's on each side is recommended. But you could go with three of the SW-12-16FR woofers per side as soon as they become available again.
Jay and Don and making flat packs for those too:
http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=139480.0Don't wait fellows. These won't last long. I'll re-release them again one day when I can get my hands on more of the Neo 3 tweeters (one of these days). But for now, there are a very limited number of them available.
