[TomW16]

How I came to Conclude that the Ellis 1801s were for me:
Let me first preface my impressions by stating that I have been researching DIY speaker designs for some time and made a decision to purchase the Ellis 1801 kit approximately 5 years ago based on my personal preference for what I wanted out of a speaker: a clear, open sound with electrostatic type quickness, good dynamics and a wide dispersion pattern.  Unfortunately, circumstances prevented me from purchasing the Ellis 1801 kit until this past summer when I purchased a "used" kit from someone who did not have the time to build cabinets but had all of the parts which included the tweeters, woofers and 1801 "a" crossovers.  It is said that absence makes the heart grow fonder and I would have to agree because after waiting 5 years for the 1801 speakers to become a reality, I am thrilled with how they sound, and this is with the original "a" crossover version that can sound slightly bass shy when the speakers are placed into the room. 

The Sound with Caveats:
As I mentioned, I am thrilled with the speakers but they are neither final nor optimized yet.  My ultimate goal is to mate the Ellis 1801 with a 10" bass woofer in a 3-way configuration.  The theory is that this should provide additional bass capability and free the Seas Excel woofer from performing bass duties, which should theoretically improve the midrange further.  I mention the word "theoretically" because after listening to the Ellis 1801 through the "a" crossover without the bass woofer, the speaker sounds just like (better than?) I had hoped.  The Ellis 1801 is airy, open, quick and, to my ears, accurate in the mid range.  My biggest surprise was the bass output with the speakers, which was much stronger than I had anticipated given the previous feedback on the “a” crossover. 

The Ellis 1801 speaker sounds transparent and lifts veils from between the listener and the recording artist from what I had been listening to before (old top-of-the-line Mission floor standing speakers).  This was most apparent when listening to unamplified instruments where the ambiance of the setting was readily apparent.  The ambiance and decay of notes was very natural and provided me with a better illusion of hearing live music.  Listening to pop music was better through the Ellis 1801s but didn’t provide the same jump in performance than listening to “natural” type recordings.

The bass on some songs did not have the same slam through the Ellis 1801s that I had experienced with my previous speakers, which had two 8” woofers per speaker.  I guess that there is no getting around the laws of physics when it comes to moving air, however, the bass quality was better with the Ellis 1801s.  The bass limitations on the 1801 were only apparent on certain songs and are likely adequately addressed with the “b” crossover.

Modifications to My Ellis 1801s:
As I mentioned previously, my Ellis1801s are designed to be mated with 10 inch woofer bass cabinets and, therefore, my 1801 cabinets are sealed 16 liter cabinets.  The surprising thing, at least to me, is that the sound quality experienced is without any stuffing in the cabinets!  I hope that further improvements will be gained when the 1801 cabinets are stuffed.

The other modifications that I made to the specified Ellis 1801 cabinets are angled cabinet sides to sit atop the wider bass cabinet and a horizontally centered tweeter over the woofer for aesthetic reasons.  Having not heard a “properly” designed Ellis 1801, I cannot tell you whether my modifications have hindered their performance but from my perspective, I seriously doubt that my modifications had any negative audible impact.  Attached is a picture of the unfinished Ellis 1801 cabinets atop the bass cabinet without its woofer.



Kudos:
I would like to personally thank Mr. Dave Ellis and Dr. Dennis Murphy (crossover designer) for designing such a world class speaker and providing it to DIYers like myself.  Your expertise and generosity are truly appreciated not only by me but also by my family and by everyone who hears the speakers.   Great job gentlemen!

[TomW16]

Woo Hoo!  I figured out how to add a picture!   

I'll update everyone on any sonic improvements once the woofer (and stuffing) are added.  I'll also post another picture once the cabinets are finished, which may take until the summer when I can spray outside 

Tom

[Rob Babcock]

Very nice cabinetry!

[TomW16]

Thanks for the compliment Rob.  The cabinets are in no way complete but I couldn't stand to have the parts available and not have a sneak peak (listen).  Eventually the middle of the cabinets (where the woofers are) will be painted gloss black with automotive paint and the wood sides will be stained a deep red mahogany color, which I hope will contrast well.  The cabinet is a one-off design but I am pleased with the result so far.  Unfortunately, I have to wait until warmer weather to use the spray gun.

I have been enjoying the sound of the speakers for the last few days in the dark so it doesn't matter what they look like 

Tom

[David Ellis]

Very sharp looking work!

will be painted gloss black with automotive paint and the wood sides will be stained a deep red mahogany color,

The only note of caution I may offer is that automotive gloss black will be VERY tedious.  Also, the MDF may eventually show through at the seams.

However, it appears your wood sides may cover up the seems.  This would be wise IMO.

Dave

[TomW16]

The only note of caution I may offer is that automotive gloss black will be VERY tedious.  Also, the MDF may eventually show through at the seams.

Thanks for the caution about the automotive paint Dave.  This is a labor of love so, hopefully, I will have the patience to finish them properly.  Of course, now that the speakers are together, they may never come apart again 

The speaker is a two cabinet design with the upper cabinet sitting on top of the bottom cabinet, similar to the MBOW1 3-way speaker.  The two cabinets will be separated by Sorbothane and a 1" steel plate to minimize cabinet resonances travelling between the cabinets.  Right now the cabinets are simply sitting on top of each other without the steel plate and Sorbothane.  Here is a picture of the design:


The only seam that is currently visible (with the wood side pieces on, which are screwed on from the inside to be changed as interior designs change  ) is where the top cabinet front baffle meets the top of the speaker cabinet, which is on the top of the speaker so that the baffles are prestine.  Hopefully, with enough putty, primer and sanding it will be completely invisible.  We'll see if the MDF moves enough with humidity to crack the automotive paint over time. 

Tom

[Rob Babcock]

Honestly, your's ought to be a standard option!  If they sound 1/2 as good as they look you've got a winner.  Since standmounters always need a stand it's cool to see a stand that seemlessly integrates a sub.

[David Ellis]

Wow!

You have worked through this very completely! 

This should look very sharp when finished!!

Dave

[TomW16]

What 10" driver will you be using?

I will be using the Peerless 850146 CSX 10" driver that Dennis Murphy uses in his MBOW1 3-way design.  As all of the 1801 owners already know, the speaker goes surprisingly deep but I wanted to free up the mid from trying to play the deep bass notes, which should help not only with additional bass capability but also a clearer midrange, assuming the crossover is up to the task.

Dennis Murphy is working on the crossover to integrate the Peerless woofer and I'll post impressions again when I put the woofers in the bass cabinets.

Tom

[DMurphy]

I finished up the crossover today, and really liked the result listening on my software emulator.  I didn't use a tapered upper cabinet, however.  Just the stock 1801 rectangular box.  So Tom's won't measure exactly like my prototype.  I suspect that will be more apparent in the measurements than in actual listening.  We may have to wait awhile for a report--the crossover is kind of, uh, complex.  Send money for crossover parts to Tom at your earliest convenience.

[TomW16]

Thanks to all who provided financial assistance to this crossover project! 

After a VERY long wait for crossover parts, I finally took delivery of the capacitors that were coming from Canada today.  I hope to find time this weekend to wire up the new crossover and report back with an update.  I was shocked with how large some of the the capacitors were.  Attached is a photo of one of the 100 uF caps.  Yes, it's over 3 inches wide!

I may have to plan out how I am going to get the crossover into the cabinet! 

Tom

[ammisco11]

Great to hear everything showed up.   Can't wait to hear your impressions. 
A

[TomW16]

I spent this weekend assembling the new crossovers for the Ellis 1801 3-Way experiment and set them up in my living room just prior to the Superbowl.  Of course I had to have a listen to them before heading off to a Superbowl party but here is a picture and my first impressions:



The bass is much more prominent.  I had previously mentioned that there was potentially a touch of bass shyness in the 1801a crossover but with the 10 inch Peerless woofer incorporated, bass lines are easily followed (eg. Holly Cole Trio album: Don't smoke in bed) and there is much more bass impact to the sound of kick drums (eg. Eagles album: Hell Freezes Over).  The bass is not overwhelming and is in proportion to the rest of the frequencies.  I had an initial impression that male vocals sounded louder in lower frequencies than higher but I think that this was just something that I was missing previously and now am hearing clearly.  I heard the effect with Michael Buble and I'll investigate with other male vocalists to ensure that this is not a real frequency anomaly but something that I am just not used to hearing.  The bass was the biggest and not unexpected change from the 2-way to the 3-way .

The midrange and treble remain as smooth as ever without any harshness.  In fact, in contrast to the 1801a crossover, I had the initial feeling with the 3-way crossover that the mid and treble output may have been reduced but upon critical listening, everthing seems to be in proportion without any frequency range standing out.  I believe that I may be experiencing the psychoacoustical effect of not having fully heard the bass previously and now that I am hearing it, the mid and high frequencies are less prominent than was experienced with 1801a crossover.  Just a theory.  The longer I listened, the more impressed I was.  Another theory about why I liked the sound the longer I listened: some of the capacitors in the mid and tweeter circuit are large and potentially some break-in will be experienced.  Of course, it could have simply been my amplifier warming up too. 

The tweeter - mid crossover is a 4th order slope and the mid - bass crossover is a 2nd order slope and I could not hear any discontinuity between any of the drivers.  Sounds simply emanated from the speakers.  The speakers sound fantastic but be warned I am highly biased!    

The top and bottom cabinets are separated by a 1 inch thick steel slab and 0.5 inch sorbothane pads below and above the steel slab to control vibrations from travelling between the cabinets.  Somehow my calculations were off by half an inch so now I have a 0.5 inch gap between the cabinets rather than the hair line gap that I was going for.  Oh well, it looks a bit more modern now 

I'll provide a follow up as I gain more time with the speakers.

I would like to thank both Dave Ellis for the inspiration to take a world-class speaker and modify it slightly and to Dr. Dennis Murphy for developing a completely custom crossover for the 3-way speaker without which this experiment would not have happened.  I am very grateful for your kindness and generosity.  Thanks!

Tom

[teiki arii]

You must be drank, once again. What is an empty Marbles' "Dom Perignon" bottle of Champagne doing on the cabinet of your beautiful loudspeaker?

[TomW16]

Doesn't everyone know that listening to music with some spirits makes the experience a little more involving; like turning out the lights.  Of course, imbibing in the dark can cause spillage.