[Tangram]

https://josephcrowe.com/blogs/news/speaker-system-no-1695-15-open-baffle-2-5-way

I think this is my first post on this circle but I’ve been a happy owner of Spatial Audio M3 Sapphires for several years and usually check in there.

I’d be interested in people’s thoughts on this design, which incorporates a horn tweeter into an open baffle, a somewhat unusual design. Strictly based on comparing specs, I like these three things about the Joseph Crowe design that address the few small issues I have with the Spatials:

1) higher sensitivity (95 vs. 91db);
2) 8 ohm vs. 4 ohm; and
3) steel braces for the baffles that should reduce baffle movement.

Thanks in advance for your input.

[Early B.]

I'll let others speak on the technicalities, but these are my dream speakers. I've been salivating over them ever since Don Sachs took delivery. I'd buy these in a heartbeat if I needed to replace my speakers. The price is reasonable, but shipping to the USA will be ridiculous.

Full disclosure -- Joseph built the horns for my DIY speakers:

[opnly bafld]

1) higher sensitivity (95 vs. 91db);
2) 8 ohm vs. 4 ohm

Very difficult to compare these numbers from different sources.

[Tangram]

Update: I took delivery of these speakers just before Christmas - Joseph Crowe Project 1695 Open Baffle Speakers. Paired with my Pass Labs XA25. Two months in, I’m a happy camper.

[jk@home]

Beautiful speakers and nice looking room too. I see your projector is facing 90 degrees, is the HT setup on one of the side walls, making it a dual purpose room?

[Photon46]

Not having heard them, I can't speak to the sound quality but those are the best looking open baffle speakers I've ever seen. Very, very good design work and woodworking.

[Tangram]

Beautiful speakers and nice looking room too. I see your projector is facing 90 degrees, is the HT setup on one of the side walls, making it a dual purpose room?

Good eye. Yes, stereo speakers on the long wall. The stereo and HT are separate from one another. I move the stereo speakers closer to the wall when we want to watch a movie using the projector which, TBH, we rarely do now that we have no kids at home.

[Tangram]

Not having heard them, I can't speak to the sound quality but those are the best looking open baffle speakers I've ever seen. Very, very good design work and woodworking.

Thanks. Taste is a personal thing but I really like the look. The baffle is cnc-milled, which enables the complex beveling. The designer, Troy Crowe said the baffle shape is an homage to another Canadian speaker company, Waveform, which was located in a nearby town. Here’s a screen grab of a Waveform prototype from the 80’s. Not open baffle but you can see the similarity in shape.

https://johnotvos.wordpress.com/2018/01/13/waveform-pt1-of-3/

[Kshen888]

Hey Tangram,

Im curious to hear more about your experience with 1695's! what are your overall impressions, how do they compare to your M3s and/or any other speakers you may have owned?

I recently came into possession of Don Sachs pre-production Raven and Blackbird 300B Preamp/amps. First off these things are jaw dropping amazing! I exchanged a few texts with Don and he mentioned Joseph Crowe and the 1695 speakers he collaborated with him on...Don said they were his endgame speakers!

unfortunately I cant afford the 1695's (all my rainy day funds went to the purchase of the above mentioned kit), so I have been thinking about trying out Josephs DIY 1695 Kit. I haven't run across any other mentions of these speakers online so hoping you can add some impressions/comparisons?

Thanks!

[Tangram]

I posted a “review” on the Joseph Crowe website a week ago that may be useful:

I've followed Troy’s custom speaker builds for several years, but when he produced his first open baffles, my attention was piqued. Let me explain. My basement listening room is medium-sized (14’X16’) but has a low ceiling (6.5’) owing to the age of the home. The small volume means ported box speakers overload it even at moderate listening volumes. After experimenting with four pairs of speakers, I purchased some open baffles from a U.S. manufacturer that have detailed, punchy bass without any bloat or overhang. It was a genuine audio revelation the first time I heard them in my room. I happily lived with these speakers for four years, but there were several things I thought held them back. Troy’s open baffles appeared to address these concerns. Knowing I would be purchasing the speakers without the benefit of a demo, I reached out to amp designer Don Sachs, who bought Troy's first pair and who coincidentally had moved from the same brand I owned. My wife and I then visited Troy’s shop to pick a wood (cherry) and finish (natural). Taste is personal but to me. these speakers are functional works of art. The proportions are eye-pleasing, the baffle is finished on both sides to a beautiful furniture-grade satin sheen, and the black powder-coated steel brackets are attractive while providing a solid platform that minimizes baffle movement. IsoAcoustics Gaia footers and Neutrik binding posts round out the package. So, how are they after living with them for two months? In a word, delightful. Balanced from top to bottom, seamless driver integration, rich tone, with the sort of sound you can enjoy for hours without any listening fatigue. Female vocals, even on some torture test tracks, are pleasant and devoid of any “peakiness’. Bass, while not the last word in detail, is plentiful and realistic (I was at a small venue concert this past week that had good sound, so I keyed in on the bass guitar and thought, “yes, that’s the sound of my speakers”). There’s no room overload issues whatsoever, thanks to the side wave bass cancellation inherent in open baffle designs. Dynamics are short of "horn-like” but, dependent on the source material, still capable of making me jump if I’m not paying attention. The biggest “wow factor” the 1695s deliver is the wide, full soundstage and stellar imaging. The speakers are eight feet apart tweeter to tweeter, but the stage can extend several feet beyond the baffles. On some songs you can even hear percussive sounds directly to the left and right of my listening chair! Very cool. Note that I am using a 25W Class A solid state amp with lots of headroom and a high damping factor, which I prefer over my 20W ultralinear tube amp. I listen to most music genres except classical and the speakers have no trouble keeping up, even when things get complicated. If you are looking for pleasing bass, if you like a “sophisticated” full-range sound that's thrilling yet easy to live with, if you care about quality and if can pull your speakers a minimum of three feet off the wall, I encourage you to consider Troy’s open baffles. I’m certainly glad I did.

[Kshen888]

Hey Tangram,

Thanks for the amazing details! I have Don's system feeding my Dynaudio S5.4 speakers in a pretty big open plan living room with high vaulted ceilings, and the 300B Mono's are doing a pretty admirable job pushing these notoriously difficult to drive speakers. The sound that the 300Bs produce is insane, WIDE and TALL sound stage and a holographic, like floating in midair, vocal presentation and AMAZING detail (with ZERO fatigue)!....its really pretty crazy, I honestly don't know how it gets much better but I want to try some more efficient speakers to see what difference it makes.

I had been driving my system with a Pass Labs X250.8 coupled with a Pass Labs XP20 and a Simaudio P8 pre amp. I went back and forth between the XP20 and P8, the XP20 gave a wide holographic soundstage but didnt have as much detail or bass control. the P8 on the other hand had a iron fisted grip on the low end (the difference between the bass with the XP20 and P8 was really remarkable to hear), had every nuance of detail, but lacked the soundstage and air that the XP20 had. I think I mostly leaned to the sound of the P8, but it did get a little fatiguing after a while.

Don's system on the other hand captures all the best parts of the XP20 and P8, and expands on the soundstage and air of the XP20 while keeping all the detail of the P8! ...it does lack the low end control of the P8 tho, but that might have a lot to do with not being a good match with my Dynaudio speakers...I still need to try hooking up the Raven Preamp with the X250.8 just to see what that sounds like.

I would recommend checking out the Raven and Blackbird if you have the opportunity!