Dan,
I'm surprized that you'd egg on the mob like that, unless you are
getting ready to sell something. Quasi-science indeed. I bet you
didn't say that when you met with Mr. Linkwitz, and you know that
all my stuff related to OB bass is directly from his technical info put
into laymen's terms. Did you get a chance to listen to his Orions
while you were there? Did you ask him why he uses 2 10's and plus
a sub at the very bottom, when he could simply use a B200 and
get "tons of bass"?
What pray tell is the reference to using your Hafler? Headroom and
plenty of current on tap is great, but we all know that throwing more
than a handful of watts at a B200 running full range on OB is going
to send it into over-excursion unless you're playing something like
violin solos or other music with little content below 60hz or so.
John,
I don't know what you're laughing about. You added an extra driver
to help with the bass, and you'll be adding more later too, once you're
on to your next greatest thing since sliced bread. BTW, not once have
I said that I didn't like the B200. I wouldn't have purchased a second
pair if I didn't. I'm just realistic in working around their compromises,
and all drivers have compromises, especially once you talk about freeing
them of their boxes.
Bjorn,
Don't give up so quickly on your beautiful baffles. Even small wings
on relatively narrow baffles can form surfaces of reflection if you don't
address the issue. Now that you've heard the difference, just tweak
it out. Plus, you need the extra material to create an appropriate
round over at the baffle's edge. A recent topic elsewhere indicates
that edge diffraction is twice as much of an issue with OB's than
with boxes. This supports my personal results in this area, and it
means that unless you use about a 4" thick baffle there's no way to
address it with a flat baffle. Even then you'd still have to address
the "closed in sound" resulting from the driver cutout. Add edge
diffraction to my list of why OB's are considered to not image as well
as small boxes.
If you give up the structural rigidity your current wings give you,
then you'd be introducing a new compromise unless you go with a
magnet mount and isolation from the baffle, for which Nigel (OldTimer
here) sets a great example. Bracing and damping will clear up the
resonance issue in your woofer section.
Scorpion,
I agree that SL could improve the Orion's construction, but the only
change I'd make which is related to side panel depth is to get rid of
that lip on the front side. The only reason I suspect it's there is for
the grill cover, so that's a conscious form over function decision. I'd
also address those little backside wings for the mids, which act as
reflection points and add significant bracing in the woofer section. He
talks about matrix bracing needed every 4" or so in his literature, but
completely forgets it on the Orion.
Sure the B200 and a handful of other drivers can sound great all alone
on a largish flat baffle, and even provide a reasonable amount of bass.
However, we mustn't lose sight of the fact that the most DIYers are
under the false impression that large baffles are a requirement of OB's.
This is the most common excuse for not trying something so simple.
Without additional drivers, the only way around a large baffle is to use
wings, but with wings a number of other issues come into play. If you
address these issues properly, then you can retain the sonic advantages
of flat baffles and enjoy some key audible advantages over them.
