Satori/ Illuminator project completed

Garyh · « **on:** 25 Jun 2016, 01:56 am »

I finally finished this project. Initial listening is very positive. Doing a little break in before moving them to our living room. Very happy weth the results. Thanks Rick for the great design.

richidoo · « **Reply #1 on:** 25 Jun 2016, 03:26 am »

Hi Gary, welcome to AudioCircle! Congrats on your successful speaker project.

Did you build those beautiful boxes?

Please let us know how you like them after they break in and when you get the new system settled. Thanks!

Is that the new MR16P-4 midrange driver?

mresseguie · « **Reply #2 on:** 25 Jun 2016, 03:50 am »

Hello, Gary.

Details. Please. We're detail freaks. Both Richidoo and I have Satori two-way speakers and we love them.

Listening impressions....feelings.....anything... .

Nice cabinets.

Michael

maxboy00 · « **Reply #3 on:** 25 Jun 2016, 08:51 am »

Congrats on completing your project, must say the speaker look very impressive, but please spill the beans on the details.

Garyh · « **Reply #4 on:** 25 Jun 2016, 10:56 am »

I have a two way that uses the Satori drivers that I really like but I was wanting a set of towers too. After studying the Revelators and illuminator woofers I decided that the Satori would be my best choice. I contacted Rick inquiring about his TRT design and told him that I really liked the Satori drivers. Rick suggested a 3 way using the beryllium Illuminator tweeter. So, we ended up at two 7.5" woofers and a 5". The 5" is the Satori woofer, not the new mid which I don't think is available yet. Rick designed the crossovers and put together a kit for me. It was a great experience.
As far as the cabinets. In order to get them up and running faster, I decided to have some cabinets built. Lee Taylor was the maker of the cabinets. They are built like a tank. 1" mdf with 1.25" sides. They are rear ported.
I chose Lee because I live close enough that I could pick them up. Lee is a fine gentleman that shares my enthusiasm for speakers and he even has some pretty great designs himself. Overall, I am very pleased with this build.

richidoo · « **Reply #5 on:** 25 Jun 2016, 11:03 am »

Excellent info, thanks Gary! Yeah, that looks like Lee's style with the horizontal wood grain. Very distinctive.
Looking forward to your listening impressions later on.

Garyh · « **Reply #6 on:** 25 Jun 2016, 02:50 pm »

Quote from: mresseguie on 25 Jun 2016, 03:50 am

Hello, Gary.

Details. Please. We're detail freaks. Both Richidoo and I have Satori two-way speakers and we love them.

Listening impressions....feelings.....anything... .

Nice cabinets.

Michael

I also have the Kairo's sister the Adelphos by Jeff Bagby. Those are very fine speakers too. These tower at first listen seem to have a larger soundstage and more oomph in the low end. The tweeters are very detailed and airy. Kind of in between a fabric and aluminum dome. Very airy without being harsh.
I am also considering building the bass addition for the Adelphos just to compare to these.

Rick Craig · « **Reply #7 on:** 25 Jun 2016, 07:02 pm »

Quote from: Garyh on 25 Jun 2016, 01:56 am

I finally finished this project. Initial listening is very positive. Doing a little break in before moving them to our living room. Very happy weth the results. Thanks Rick for the great design.

Ah I thought those looked like Lee Taylor's cabinet style

Garyh · « **Reply #8 on:** 25 Jun 2016, 08:20 pm »

Yeah Rick, I live close enough to pick them up and saved shipping. He does nice work. Really enjoying the design and sound. Thanks again!

richidoo · « **Reply #9 on:** 25 Jun 2016, 09:31 pm »

Quote from: Garyh on 25 Jun 2016, 02:50 pm

I am also considering building the bass addition for the Adelphos just to compare to these.

I'm curious about that too. But I wanted to mention that the adding of a bass driver to an existing 2 way speaker has some issues. The Kairos already has baffle step correction built-in to its crossover and that BSC reduces the kairos' senstivity which you don't get back by adding the bass module. Also the high pass filter uses a very large cap which the signal for satori tweeter will flow through, so cap quality vs price is something to consider before committing to the project. I'm not sure if the tweeter signal can bypass the big HP cap without messing up the tweeter phase a little. Your Selah 3way is conceived and optimized to be a 3 way from the beginning, so no such issues arise, it is more of a purebred. But if you have Kairos like many of us, then adding the woofer per Jeffs recipe is the easiest and cheapest way to squeeze more juice from Kairos/Adelphos/Continuum/etc, cap be damned and watts are cheap!

Garyh · « **Reply #10 on:** 26 Jun 2016, 11:59 am »

I moved these into our bedroom last night. Listened to them till late then woke up this morning listening again. I don' t see myself trying to upgrade the Adelphos. You are correct in the purebread analogy. These are pretty awesome.

audioguy213 · « **Reply #11 on:** 26 Jun 2016, 03:26 pm »

These look amazing.
I bet the bass is amazing.
I would love to know more about this kit or speaker, and I hope Rick makes it available to the public.

Garyh · « **Reply #12 on:** 26 Jun 2016, 03:58 pm »

Thanks! The bass is great but the highs and mids are superb. A joy to listen to. I think Rick would sell you a kit. Call him.

audioguy213 · « **Reply #13 on:** 26 Jun 2016, 04:00 pm »

I want to save time and take yours

Garyh · « **Reply #14 on:** 26 Jun 2016, 06:11 pm »

Rick Craig · « **Reply #15 on:** 26 Jun 2016, 11:56 pm »

Quote from: richidoo on 25 Jun 2016, 03:26 am

Hi Gary, welcome to AudioCircle! Congrats on your successful speaker project.

Did you build those beautiful boxes?

Please let us know how you like them after they break in and when you get the new system settled. Thanks!

Is that the new MR16P-4 midrange driver?

Rich,

As Gary mentioned this is the MW13 and the new midranges aren't available yet. This design is a true 90db in sensitivity so the upcoming model really doesn't offer any advantages with the tweeter here being 90db.

Rick Craig · « **Reply #16 on:** 27 Jun 2016, 12:38 am »

Quote from: audioguy213 on 26 Jun 2016, 03:26 pm

These look amazing.
I bet the bass is amazing.
I would love to know more about this kit or speaker, and I hope Rick makes it available to the public.

The cabinet design is 40" x 9" x 15" and houses dual Satori MW19 woofers, a Satori MW13 midbass, and Scan-Speak beryllium dome. With a 4-ohm impedance and 90db sensitivity they will play LOUD with a minimal amount of power. The design can be front or rear ported for easy placement. A kit is $1,700 /pair (just add cabinets and damping material) or assembled for around $5,000/pair (both prices include shipping to the mainland USA).

Garyh · « **Reply #17 on:** 28 Jun 2016, 12:15 pm »

Rick is correct about the sensitivity. I am currently using a Sonos Amp with them and they will play loud. I have ordered a Red Dragon amp to use with a Sonos Connect. I am hoping they will sound even better.
Very pleased with them.

richidoo · « **Reply #18 on:** 15 Aug 2016, 12:37 am »

Gary, what's the latest with your Satori TRTs? How do you like them now after a few weeks? Did things change a lot after break in? Did you get the new amp?

Garyh · « **Reply #19 on:** 22 Aug 2016, 06:13 pm »

I have been enjoying them immensely. They are well broken in now and the bass is powerful and deep. The mids are extremely clear and the highs are very detailed with a sweetness that I would compare to some ribbons that I have heard. We are thoroughly satisfied with them and feel that their total cost was well worth it. I am driving them with a Red Dragon audio S500 amp and it too has been surprising. It provides plenty of power and is very clean. The amp has plenty of power for these towers and is very easy to move around. I was originally using a Sonos amp with these and it was ok but the Red Dragon gives the extra boost that these towers need. I highly recommend this kit. Rick really knows how to design a kit and suggest drivers that will work well together. I contacted him with some ideas on drivers and he made some tweeter suggestions. The result is a nice system that is very pleasing.
I know some may hesitate trying an untested design but Rick has the knowledge to help make good choices in driver choices and cabinet design.