X-LS Encores in Spectacular Padauk Wood Finish- Crafted by Mike Lundy .......

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Cut-Throat

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This is not a review of the X-LS Encores, as there are plenty of those around. Although they do sound spectacular. And I went with all of the Crossover upgrades etc. This is mostly a review of the Craftsmanship of Mike Lundy that just finished my Pair in Gorgeous Padauk wood. They don't come easy as you have to wait for Mike to perform his Magic. I ordered mine in June, 2024 and received them this week, About 9 months. So, if you're interested, figure about a 1 Year lead time and you won't be disappointed. This would depend on Mike's backlog, which could vary. The price he quoted me for these was $2,950 back in June, 2024, which included everything as well as shipping.


They are dwarfed in my Listening Room by my Big Horn System. 
 










jmimac351

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Wow, those are 1 of a kind!  Beautiful. 

tremrej65


Tyson

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😵😵😵😵😳😳😳😳😳

Amazing.  Love your room, too!

goggle1824

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Wow! Well done Mike!

What are you powering them with?

Cut-Throat

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Wow! Well done Mike!

What are you powering them with?

An AE-25 Super Amp. Class 'A' -  In Triode Mode - KT88 Power tubes. - I built this over 20 years ago from a Kit.







https://www.soundstagenetwork.com/revequip/aes_ae25_superamp.htm


« Last Edit: 24 Mar 2025, 04:05 pm by Cut-Throat »

czechm8

Very nice speakers!

PumaCat

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This is not a review of the X-LS Encores, as there are plenty of those around. Although they do sound spectacular. And I went with all of the Crossover upgrades etc. This is mostly a review of the Craftsmanship of Mike Lundy that just finished my Pair in Gorgeous Padauk wood. They don't come easy as you have to wait for Mike to perform his Magic. I ordered mine in June, 2024 and received them this week, About 9 months. So, if you're interested, figure about a 1 Year lead time and you won't be disappointed. This would depend on Mike's backlog, which could vary. The price he quoted me for these was $2,950 back in June, 2024, which included everything as well as shipping.

They are dwarfed in my Listening Room by my Big Horn System. 
 






Those are absolutely lovely. Congratulations. I have a pair of X-LS Encores that one of Danny's employees built up the cabinets and veneered for me back in the day, but they're not at that level of finish. I've seen Mike Lundy's work on his YT channel, and he does beautiful craftsmanship on his cabinets.

If you're open to some suggestions that will improve the audio quality of your lovely Encores, I can provide some recommendations for your consideration, including higher-quality speaker cables. Looks like you're using zip cord or Monster Cable presently. At the very least, I'd recommend you get the speaker cables up off the floor with some speaker cable lifts. I'll just add that I was skeptical about the benefits provided by elevating the speakers cables off the floor, until I did an experiment*, and found out first-hand the improvements in transparency and clarity that elevating the speaker cables off the floor can provide. It's NOT subtle. I can also provide some suggestions for both speaker cables and speaker cable lifts at various price points, if you're open to that.

Cheers and enjoy your beautiful Encores.

*-I'm a scientist by profession, and scientists do experiments. What can I say? This is how we roll. ;)

jmimac351

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If you're open to some suggestions that will improve the audio quality of your lovely Encores, I can provide some recommendations for your consideration, including higher-quality speaker cables. Looks like you're using zip cord or Monster Cable presently. At the very least, I'd recommend you get the speaker cables up off the floor with some speaker cable lifts.

C-T, your speakers are beautiful.

For those wondering... I'll caution you - if you click the link below it could lead you down a road that will cost $$$, but you may also like it. 

If you want more, after this video... find the one where he makes wire vibrate like guitar strings while simulating A/C flowing thru it. 

Resonances / Timing / Noise...

https://youtu.be/9uhobsHs-_o

PumaCat

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C-T, your speakers are beautiful.

For those wondering... I'll caution you - if you click the link below it could lead you down a road that will cost $$$, but you may also like it. 

If you want more, after this video... find the one where he makes wire vibrate like guitar strings while simulating A/C flowing thru it. 

Resonances / Timing / Noise...

https://youtu.be/9uhobsHs-_o

Exactly right, jmimac351  :thumb:

And there you have a clear example with DATA depicting the importance of elevating the cables off the floor and also the influence the composition that the dielectric can have on the signal. Well done, George!

With respect to the electromagnetic wave that George Cardas was referring to: many folks think that the signal flows through the conductor like marbles rolling in a tube or water flowing through a hose. This is not what happens.

The signal is an electromagnetic wave that propagates along the conductor. Moreover, there are TWO EM waves that propagate along the conductor: a vertical longitudinal wave, and a horizontal transverse wave, as shown here:



And, that's what George was effectively showing in his demo using the 'scope: That the signal DOES NOT flow through the conductor like water in a hose or marbles in a tube; this is not what is occurring with respect to the physics of electromagnetic signal transduction.

And here's something that most folks don't know: the SIGNAL is actually the red TRANSVERSE wave, the blue longitudinal EM wave shown above is a NOISE FACTOR* (*-and this is what the TAP devices, Trans-Axial Polarizer, in Shunyata signal cables are designed to remove)

Moreover, the cable's audio quality is also very susceptible to vibration imparted to the cable's dielectric (insulation) from resting on the floor. Remember: drywall resonates at 70Hz. This vibration couples to the floor and causes noise imparted to the cable dielectric, which adds NOISE to the signal EM wave. This noise can is oftern characterized by listeners as "blur and slur". This is why having your speaker cables resting on the floor imparts noise to the signal, and has a clearly discernible negative impact on audio quality.

Using cable elevators e.g. the ones I linked to, or the wooden Cardas cable elevators shown in George's video will remove that blur and slur because it removes that floor-borne vibration imparted to the cable dielectric. This is exactly what George was demonstrating WITH DATA on the oscilloscope.

Again...it's physics at the end of the day. The goal here is to remove as much NOISE as possible to maximize the quality of the SIGNAL.

jmimac351, thanks again for posting the link to George's video. This was very informative. Cheers.

maty

[Grok 3, DeeperSearch] Verify what is stated, research on the Internet, analyze, synthesize and summarize... And there you have a clear example with DATA depicting the importance of elevating the cables off the floor and also the influence the composition that the dielectric can have on the signal...

-> https://x.com/i/grok/share/OkNU1anf1XU7IQO05iSOJVEog

PumaCat

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[Grok 3, DeeperSearch] Verify what is stated, research on the Internet, analyze, synthesize and summarize... And there you have a clear example with DATA depicting the importance of elevating the cables off the floor and also the influence the composition that the dielectric can have on the signal...

-> https://x.com/i/grok/share/OkNU1anf1XU7IQO05iSOJVEog

What a nonsensical response, good lord. When AI can unify Quantum Mechanics and General Relativity with statistical rigor, maybe then I'd consider giving it some scientific credibility. Until then...hard pass.

dpatters

Let’s get back to the thread please.
Your room and speakers look absolutely fantastic. Thanks for posting.

Don P

Danny Richie

Wow, those are some of the best looking X-LS Encores that I have ever seen.

PumaCat

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Wow, those are some of the best looking X-LS Encores that I have ever seen.

Agreed, they're gorgeous.

jmimac351

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I just bought my very first table saw (I'm a big boy!) and joined a woodworking group on FB.  Very nice people... and it's amazing how many little sawmills are in the area.  Something I've found that's beautiful... Black Walnut... and other woods as well.  There are Imeca locations here (I'd never heard of them) and they sell 12 ply Baltic Birch as well.  I got a sheet of that for $75+tax, no patches and it looks great. 

I haven't visited one of the sawmills yet, but they all appear to be small, mom and pop outfits that just want to take care of customers and sell some beautiful wood.  For smaller speakers like Encore, and special places available for wood... stuff just like this can be really special. 

These Encore speakers are exceptional.  Really, really good... a benchmark for what right sounds like... for me.

Listen to Kenny... "It's the wood that makes it good."  8) :green:

robwm

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Amazing! Really well done!

How did you finish these cabinets?

mlundy57

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Amazing! Really well done!

How did you finish these cabinets?

Rubio Monocoat Pure 2C oil then
Rubio Monocoat Sheen Plus followed by
N3 Nano ceramic hardcoat and topcoat then finished by
2 coats of Briwax

PumaCat

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Rubio Monocoat Pure 2C oil then
Rubio Monocoat Sheen Plus followed by
N3 Nano ceramic hardcoat and topcoat then finished by
2 coats of Briwax

They're absolutely gorgeous, Mike. Well done.