[DannyBadorine]

I am designing and building a prototype speaker based on the X Statik but I'm using a Bohlender Graebener Neo 3 tweeter and an M130 woofer for mid and high, but the bottom is pretty much the same as the X Statik.  I have already built the prototype and I am testing it for crossover points and slopes so I can design my own passive crossover.  I don't have a CNC router or large table saw so my woodwork is not as exact as I would like.  I would like to find someone who can make me a flatpack based on my design.  Most importantly, I need to get the tweeter recessed the same way as the NX-studio so that the phase is lined up.  Here's a picture of the prototype that I have tried-amped and processed with a miniDSP to figure out the crossover design and tweeter delay.  They are fully closed back (unlike the X Statik).  Does anybody want to help?  I am certainly willing to pay for this service.  Being in Southern California will make things easier.

[Badd99]

With all due respect, why build these and not a kit? I get wanting to design it all and if that's your purpose then more power to you. If you want awesome sound and a fun project a kit is going to be much better as Danny is a hell of a designer.

[subsonic1050]

No I totally get it. I do not like the sound of dome tweeters. I MUCH prefer the sound of ribbon or planar tweeters. In fact, I don't want to go so far as to say I hate the X-Statik's I just built... but I really don't like them. I don't know if this design will work, but I absolutely see the appeal.

[Theronbo]

I think the original X-static  have ribbon tweeters?

I’ve seen some pics of early builds where they did.

[DannyBadorine]

With all due respect, why build these and not a kit? I get wanting to design it all and if that's your purpose then more power to you. If you want awesome sound and a fun project a kit is going to be much better as Danny is a hell of a designer.

I think Danny is an amazing designer but I know what I want and none of his designs are quite that.  The speaker will be too close to the wall to be open baffle and I want a planar tweeter.  I have already constructed most of the speaker in the picture above and everything is really close but the cuts are just not CNC precision and I need a CNC to get the tweeter recessed the perfect amount. 

[DannyBadorine]

No I totally get it. I do not like the sound of dome tweeters. I MUCH prefer the sound of ribbon or planar tweeters. In fact, I don't want to go so far as to say I hate the X-Statik's I just built... but I really don't like them. I don't know if this design will work, but I absolutely see the appeal.

That's exactly what I'm going for.  I don't like dome tweeters as much as ribbons and the X Statik's are open baffle which will not work for my living room.  Plus, I can design the crossover to work precisely for my living room. 
The low end with the sealed design on the X Statik (which is what my speakers are) sounds really amazing and goes much lower than I thought it would. 

[corndog71]

No I totally get it. I do not like the sound of dome tweeters. I MUCH prefer the sound of ribbon or planar tweeters. In fact, I don't want to go so far as to say I hate the X-Statik's I just built... but I really don't like them. I don't know if this design will work, but I absolutely see the appeal.

To be fair to the Statiks, you haven’t maximized their potential.  They can get very close to the pm tweeters with good bypass caps on the tweeter caps and Sonicaps on the midrange.  Better footing such as Isoaccoustics Gaia III can take them up a notch too.

[Hobbsmeerkat]

I think the original X-static  have ribbon tweeters?

I’ve seen some pics of early builds where they did.

It wasn't a prototype it was a model he sold for a while.
The OB-5 and OB-7.
They used the Neo3 with deep cups and 5 or 7 M130 woofers respectively.

There is a prototype OB7 in the shop by the front door.

[mlundy57]

IIRC, when they were developing the Neo3 waveguide there were a number of prototypes cut with different tweaks to the shape to get the response Danny wanted. So reproducing it may not be as straight forward as you think.

[subsonic1050]

To be fair to the Statiks, you haven’t maximized their potential.  They can get very close to the pm tweeters with good bypass caps on the tweeter caps and Sonicaps on the midrange.  Better footing such as Isoaccoustics Gaia III can take them up a notch too.

I actually ordered the kit from Danny with all of the upgrades. Whoever pulled the order must have just seen "sonicaps" and stopped at that - they didn't send me the miflex bypass caps and the schematic they sent me for the crossover didn't have them in it either. It wasn't until after I had it all assembled that I realized something was missing! To Danny's credit, I called about it yesterday and he immediately refunded me the cost of the miflex caps. Excellent customer service! I do have full sonicaps throughout the mid and tweeter circuits though. I'm just hoping the speakers are going to transform pretty substantially with some more break in. They have about 20 hours on them right now, so I expected to have a decent idea of what they would sound like by now. I'm going to run some sweeps later because they seem so hot on the top end - I can only listen to a song or 2 at normal volume before my ears start ringing. Extremely fatiguing right now.

[mlundy57]

I actually ordered the kit from Danny with all of the upgrades. Whoever pulled the order must have just seen "sonicaps" and stopped at that - they didn't send me the miflex bypass caps and the schematic they sent me for the crossover didn't have them in it either. It wasn't until after I had it all assembled that I realized something was missing! To Danny's credit, I called about it yesterday and he immediately refunded me the cost of the miflex caps. Excellent customer service! I do have full sonicaps throughout the mid and tweeter circuits though. I'm just hoping the speakers are going to transform pretty substantially with some more break in. They have about 20 hours on them right now, so I expected to have a decent idea of what they would sound like by now. I'm going to run some sweeps later because they seem so hot on the top end - I can only listen to a song or 2 at normal volume before my ears start ringing. Extremely fatiguing right now.

With the Sonicaps they will continue to improve for up to 200 hours. If at that time you still aren't getting what you want you can add the by-pass caps.

Mike

[subsonic1050]

That's what I'm hoping for Mike. They aren't for me, they're for a friend, but I want him to have some speakers he will love.

[corndog71]

I actually ordered the kit from Danny with all of the upgrades. Whoever pulled the order must have just seen "sonicaps" and stopped at that - they didn't send me the miflex bypass caps and the schematic they sent me for the crossover didn't have them in it either. It wasn't until after I had it all assembled that I realized something was missing! To Danny's credit, I called about it yesterday and he immediately refunded me the cost of the miflex caps. Excellent customer service! I do have full sonicaps throughout the mid and tweeter circuits though. I'm just hoping the speakers are going to transform pretty substantially with some more break in. They have about 20 hours on them right now, so I expected to have a decent idea of what they would sound like by now. I'm going to run some sweeps later because they seem so hot on the top end - I can only listen to a song or 2 at normal volume before my ears start ringing. Extremely fatiguing right now.

Yeah, that sounds weird to me.  The Encore tweeters have never sounded “hot” to me.  Not even with the cheap poly caps AV123 used.  Definitely give them some more break in time and report back.  Also, the more space from the walls you give them the better.  I also found them to balance better facing forward vs toed in.

[subsonic1050]

Good tips Corndog. I do have them about 6 feet from the back wall, and I had them as far as 8 feet out and as close as 4 feet. I've messed with different spacing from the side walls and toe as well. I'm just going to keep letting them burn in and hope that does the trick!

[mlundy57]

That's what I'm hoping for Mike. They aren't for me, they're for a friend, but I want him to have some speakers he will love.

For comparison, I built a pair of the X-LS Encores with the Peerless dome tweeter and a pair of the N1Xs that had the Neo3 PM tweeter. I built both cabinets with the same port and same level of crossover components to get as close a comparison as possible. What I found after letting them fully burn in then doing extensive listening comparisons was that I could not pick a clear preference. The Neo3 tweeter was more detailed and articulate while the Peerless was fuller and more lush. For very detailed music like classical I preferred the Neo3 PM but for smoother music like jazz I preferred the Peerless dome. Since the genre of music I listen to depends on the mood I'm in, you could say the tweeter I preferred depended on my mood.

Mike

[subsonic1050]

Interesting Mike! I have always loved the midrange of the Maggies - particularly vocals. Maybe I'm just a "Maggie" guy. I'm continuing to break in the X-Statiks and we will see where they end up. Now I'm really wishing I could actually hear the NX-Treme, because I have had 2 on order since early May and I'm now wondering if I'd like them.

[mlundy57]

Interesting Mike! I have always loved the midrange of the Maggies - particularly vocals. Maybe I'm just a "Maggie" guy. I'm continuing to break in the X-Statiks and we will see where they end up. Now I'm really wishing I could actually hear the NX-Treme, because I have had 2 on order since early May and I'm now wondering if I'd like them.

The X-Tremes have the Neo3 planar magnetic tweeter. You’ll not only like them, you’ll be blown away

[subsonic1050]

You think so Mike? When I spoke with Danny some months back about the X-Statik, I specifically asked about the comparison with the Magnepan 1.7i's. He seemed to think the X-Statik's were on a completely different level. I understand there is a significant amount of break in to still occur, but I just don't see them ever getting to that level. I think one of my issues is I'm extremely sensitive to bright top ends - it actually hurts my ears - like I'm physically in pain. I had the same issue years ago when I was in an apartment and needed to use headphones. I loved the Audeze LCD-3 and LCD-2's, but hated the Sennheiser HD800 despite it being a more accurate headphone. Also, the maggie's have such a rich, creamy, full, enveloping midrange that so far is not present on the X-Statik. There are many more OF them, but the NX-treme's use 8 of the same drivers that the X-statik's use 4 of. I'd REALLY love to hear your impressions of the X-Statik vs the NX-Treme. There really aren't any comparisons out there about it given that they are in completely different price brackets. My fear is that the NX-Treme will be similar to the X-Statik, but just more. I really want that open, airy, holographic sound and that silky smooth midrange without a bright top end - maybe even trending toward a slightly rolled off top end.

[mlundy57]

I can't stand bright/hot either for the same reasons you mention. The issue you are experiencing with the X-Statiks is that woofers have not broken in enough to open up the bass. This takes 24-50 hours of playing. Until then, they will be bass shy which will excentuate the top end making it sound hotter than it really is. Once the midwoofers start opening up the bass will extend lower which will balance out the top and it will no longer sound hot.

With the NX-Tremes, the M165 woofers are not used as midrange drivers but rather as upper/mid bass drivers and roll off at 200Hz. The M165NQ drivers on either side of the tweeter are the midrange drivers.

Here is a link to the show coverage of Danny's NX-Treme room at the 2019 Lone Star Audio Fest by Part-Time Audiophile

https://parttimeaudiophile.com/2019/06/04/gr-research-dodd-audio-lone-star-audio-fest-2019/

[subsonic1050]

Thanks for the info Mike. I've read so many great things about the NX-tremes as well as the xstatik. You've given me some hope that these will smooth out. I'm still burning them in, so time will tell!

Danny, sorry I didn't mean to hijack your thread. I could probably help you out, the problem is the wave guides. Without knowing the exact dimensions for that they might not sound right.