Caintuck Audio The Lii 15 Baffles

Sandals123 · « **Reply #100 on:** 8 Sep 2020, 05:56 pm »

Lol... The waiting game was tough but Randy kept me in the loop and delivery date was bang on! The Lii15 are a work of art and I drive them with a Triode Labs SET 2A3 amp with a Triode Labs Au Pré preamp with 3.5watts and they are glorious. I have never had a speaker that my wife cared to listen to, let alone like the look of, but these are actually welcome in the room.. And with a shot of whiskey its even better!

Budget_Mike · « **Reply #101 on:** 8 Sep 2020, 07:12 pm »

Quote from: Sandals123 on 8 Sep 2020, 05:56 pm

Lol... The waiting game was tough but Randy kept me in the loop and delivery date was bang on! The Lii15 are a work of art and I drive them with a Triode Labs SET 2A3 amp with a Triode Labs Au Pré preamp with 3.5watts and they are glorious. I have never had a speaker that my wife cared to listen to, let alone like the look of, but these are actually welcome in the room.. And with a shot of whiskey its even better!

That wouldn't happen to be a tube amp would it? I'll admit my knowledge in the audiophile world is in it's beginning stages but throughout my research on OB and full range speakers everyone seems to be running them with tube amps. Here I am at home with a recently acquired vintage (1977 ish) Pioneer SX-750 receiver and a music hall classic turntable with an VM540ML cartridge thinking "Man... Did I invest the wrong direction? Will my set-up be lacking in quality? Did I get turned on to OB full range set up too late?"

Sandals123 · « **Reply #102 on:** 8 Sep 2020, 08:03 pm »

NO! Your system will sound FANTASTIC! In all of my years in this crazy hobby I have had old gear, new gear, crap gear, NO GEAR...(The Dark Ages) but, through it all I got to listen to great music. The hobby is really about the journey not the destination, and all to often we (I) get to focused on the gear and not the music...

My current set up is Tube amp, Tube Preamp and a Bluesound Node 2i streamer and it sounds great - the amp output is only 3.5watts and it drives the Lii15 really well.

Budget_Mike · « **Reply #103 on:** 9 Sep 2020, 12:41 pm »

Quote from: Sandals123 on 8 Sep 2020, 08:03 pm

NO! Your system will sound FANTASTIC! In all of my years in this crazy hobby I have had old gear, new gear, crap gear, NO GEAR...(The Dark Ages) but, through it all I got to listen to great music. The hobby is really about the journey not the destination, and all to often we (I) get to focused on the gear and not the music...

My current set up is Tube amp, Tube Preamp and a Bluesound Node 2i streamer and it sounds great - the amp output is only 3.5watts and it drives the Lii15 really well.

Lawd have mercy those tube amps are SEXY. You should just permanently remove that cabinet door, unless you have children or pets >.>

Once the Lii 15's arrive and my little set up is done I'll defintely post some pics (we just moved homes). Might have to resurrect this old thread again with an update

Sandals123 · « **Reply #104 on:** 9 Sep 2020, 03:04 pm »

They are beautiful to look at and really beautiful to listen too. They are both from Frank @ Triode Labs and he is fantastic to deal with. My place is new as well so I am still working on placement and making sure that the grand kids can not damage the music (or themselves I suppose...LOL). In this regard, the Lii15 are fantastic because they weigh about 15lbs and they literally have a handle on the back so that you can just grab them and move them out of the way.

Budget_Mike · « **Reply #105 on:** 10 Sep 2020, 01:07 pm »

Quote from: Sandals123 on 9 Sep 2020, 03:04 pm

They are both from Frank @ Triode Labs and he is fantastic to deal with.

Decided to take a gander and visit Triode labs for more insight on your tube amp/pre amp. All I have to say is ...

that's some exotic top of the line gear there sir. Quite a pretty penny, quite a pretty penny indeed. Keep those cabinet doors closed and locked when the little ones are around

nature boy · « **Reply #106 on:** 10 Sep 2020, 05:30 pm »

I replaced the stock speaker terminals as well. Really opened up the treble and upper frequency range on my Lii Audio F15's. Some change in tonality resulted, but after some minor adjusy to positioning and preamp tubes, they're really singing.

The replacements were KLEI Harmony Naked Binding Posts purchased from PartsConnexion. Very inexpensive and they sound great.

NB

Budget_Mike · « **Reply #107 on:** 11 Sep 2020, 12:45 pm »

Quote from: nature boy on 10 Sep 2020, 05:30 pm

The replacements were KLEI Harmony Naked Binding Posts purchased from PartsConnexion. Very inexpensive and they sound great.
NB

Ah! This was also on my mind, not a fan of the terminal posts that were coming with the Lii 15. Fantastic share! going to purchase these now. Out of curiosity what brand/gauge wiring are you running?

nature boy · « **Reply #108 on:** 11 Sep 2020, 02:02 pm »

Budget-Mike,

They are Dave's ZenWave Audio SMSG 17g speaker cables. I was able to purchase a super nice set from a fellow AC member several years ago. Really love all of Dave's stuff.

NB

Budget_Mike · « **Reply #109 on:** 11 Sep 2020, 05:19 pm »

Quote from: nature boy on 11 Sep 2020, 02:02 pm

Budget-Mike,

They are Dave's ZenWave Audio SMSG 17g speaker cables. I was able to purchase a super nice set from a fellow AC member several years ago. Really love all of Dave's stuff.

NB

Well, well... considering the supporting pieces you and the other gentlemen own I suppose it's safe to conclude that the Lii F15 from Randy was a fantastic investment choice and will live up to expectations.

nature boy · « **Reply #110 on:** 11 Sep 2020, 08:17 pm »

These simple 15" single driver open baffle speakers continually amaze me. They just let the music shine through, especially with tube equipment. One of my most enjoyable audio equipment purchases. Folks don't know what they're missing.

NB

Budget_Mike · « **Reply #111 on:** 14 Sep 2020, 02:51 pm »

Nature Boy,

Seems like I've found the next rabbit hole to dive into it.... Tube amps/pre-amps

Sandals123 · « **Reply #112 on:** 14 Sep 2020, 05:32 pm »

It's a deep rabbit hole.. But a lot of fun too. The Triode Lab 2A3 Classic SET is a great fit IMHO, but there are a tonne of good options out there, my only advice is to try to find a product made in Canada or the US because there is a lot of crap in the marketplace too.

Budget_Mike · « **Reply #113 on:** 15 Sep 2020, 12:51 pm »

Quote from: Sandals123 on 14 Sep 2020, 05:32 pm

It's a deep rabbit hole.. But a lot of fun too. The Triode Lab 2A3 Classic SET is a great fit IMHO, but there are a tonne of good options out there, my only advice is to try to find a product made in Canada or the US because there is a lot of crap in the marketplace too.

I appreciate the guidance!

Newbiee · « **Reply #114 on:** 22 Sep 2020, 11:40 am »

Hello. I came to get help on something I don't know at all, I hope you will help me, thank you in advance for your help.

Lii audio drivers draw my attention, I am still thinking about whether I should buy crystal 10 or f 15. Since open baffle requires positioning and it is difficult to arrange a place for it, I do not intend to use this design. Which one would you recommend me to use with the cabinet? Crystal 10, Crystal 10 + W-15, F-15?

nature boy · « **Reply #115 on:** 22 Sep 2020, 01:47 pm »

The Lii Audio Crystal 10's are actually designed for a cabinet. The F15 drivers for an open baffle like the Caintuck Audio baffles. Check out the Lii Audio website, they have information on cabinet builds for the Crystal 10's. They also make a fully built speaker with cabinet, which is pretty large.

NB

Newbiee · « **Reply #116 on:** 22 Sep 2020, 02:22 pm »

I listened to f15 on decware youtube channel(I know it's not a good idea) I could not find as successful as crystal in detail. How does it sound in real life?

Is it possible to find a design that will run crystal 10 and w-15 in a cabinet?

nature boy · « **Reply #117 on:** 22 Sep 2020, 04:31 pm »

The F15 is very detailed and balanced sounding to my ears. The Crystal 10 has a more extended treble and does not go as low. The F15 treble response can be vastly improved by replacing the stock speaker terminals, which contain a lot of brass. Some drilling and soldering of the speaker coil wire to new terminal posts is required.

I would not pair a Crystal 10 and F15 driver in the same cabinet, you'll get a lot of smearing with two whizzer cones (which reproduce treble frequencies). If your stuck on a two driver compliment for some reason, best bet would be a Crystal 10 in the upper location and a Lii Audio W-15 which is a pure 15" woofer for bass on the lower. A couple of folks have implemented this configuration in their builds. You can find more information on the Decware forums if your interested.

NB

goggle1824 · « **Reply #118 on:** 22 Sep 2020, 04:35 pm »

What NB said.

FullRangeMan · « **Reply #119 on:** 22 Sep 2020, 09:48 pm »

Quote from: Newbiee on 22 Sep 2020, 11:40 am

Hello. I came to get help on something I don't know at all, I hope you will help me, thank you in advance for your help.

Lii audio drivers draw my attention, I am still thinking about whether I should buy crystal 10 or f 15. Since open baffle requires positioning and it is difficult to arrange a place for it, I do not intend to use this design. Which one would you recommend me to use with the cabinet? Crystal 10, Crystal 10 + W-15, F-15?

Hi,
In this case my strong preference are the F15 mainly due the gorgeous range performance from 100 to 400Hz where a big cone shine, not to mention the bass under 100Hz in the suited BR box.

I could suggest the Lii suited box(290L) with 1 or 2 round BR ducts or even better a bigger one.