[PaulHilgeman]

Well, the Sentinel is to where I want it to be sound-wise.  I hope everyone who has been waiting for these pictures enjoys.  Nothing too sexy here, just a few snapshots.  Probably one of the smallest open baffle speakers available, with real dynamics and bass to boot.

I will post a full web page on it soon, but for now, the first pair in Figured Angire, book matched, with a black baffle.

22 inches tall, 10 wide, and 15 deep. 
Sealed enclosure, F3 of ~54Hz, however I get in-room bass flat down to 30Hz.  No boom at all, smooth, tight and refined.
1 Watt Sensitivity of around 84dB, which seems low, but it is honest.  Thats what it takes to get deep bass out of a small (18 Liter) closed box.

They sound very good, the bass goes MUCH deeper than expected.  They do the same imaging and soundstaging magic of the Ronin, it goes very deep and wide with pinpoint imaging and lifelike scale.  Remember too that this is a three-way design so the mid is not working very hard at all.

I am going to make these as custom as people would like, hardwood baffles, veneer, or just plain bamboo.

I am still thinking about how I want to price these, but the base model just using bamboo for the baffle and box will be less than half of what the Ronin costs... under $2250.  Custom models will run a bit more, but I enjoy custom work, so I will keep it very reasonable.

The next pair will probably feature a figured maple baffle with an ebony inlay around the edge of the baffle, and a figured maple box, but not too sure yet.













Regards,
Paul Hilgeman
Nomad Audio

[bpape]

Hey Paul.

Those look pretty nice.  A couple of questions.

- In the pics it almost looks like they are bolted to the stands.  Are those special stands that come with them or are there just holes to bolt into or am I just imagining things?

- Where are you crossing the woofer over to the coax driver?  Is it the same as on the Ronin?

Bryan

[PaulHilgeman]

The stands have spikes in them.

The stands are not included.

The crossover is a bit higher, 400Hz.  This can be done because the spacing of the drivers is narrower, and the woofer's breakup region is pushed much higher since it is a 22cm cone instead of a 27cm cone.  It also helps keep excursion down on the mid since it has less displacement than the 22cm unit on the Ronin.  Keeping the mid pretty still really helps in transparency and giving the speaker a natural ease and lack of compression.

-Paul

[lonewolfny42]

1 Watt Sensitivity of around 84dB, which seems low, but it is honest.

Nice job Paul !!
So.....what size amp would make these sing ?  Thanks.....
                       
                                   Chris

[shep]

seriously yummy. Sigh...when oh when am I going to finally hear an OB...out here in the boondocks?
The stuff of dreams. Just when I buy a new speaker, lust rears its ugly head. Looking forward to hearing about what I can't hear!

[PaulHilgeman]

Nice job Paul !!
So.....what size amp would make these sing ?  Thanks.....
                       
                                   Chris

Same as what you would expect on most other monitor sized speakers, Salk HT3, Ellis 1801, any of the 2-driver SP Tech speakers.  I'd say they are fine with 100W of SS, but with tubes, you are looking to be more in the Push-Pull KT88 range, but not necessarily depending on room size and listening habits.

I have a little 6L6 PP amplifier that really makes the Ronins sing, and plays loud and dynamically.  With the Sentinels, I listened on it for a bit, but just for tonal accuracy and general auditing of the crossover.  I usually keep the levels pretty moderate at these times, and it certainly drove it just fine.

-Paul

[Brad]

Wow Paul - nice work!

I bet those will look fantastic in your bamboo.
Is the downward slope (top of the woofer enclosure) to shape/direct the rear wave from the mid?

[PaulHilgeman]

Hey Brad,

The slope's purpose is to make a more 'open' baffle for the mid,  reduce resonance in the woofer chamber, and to add 'style' or WAF .

-Paul

[PaulHilgeman]

Pricing:

All Bamboo, or bamboo with black baffle - $2100.00

Almost anything custom (Less lumber and veneer costs) - $2600.00

For example, a solid cherry baffle and cherry veneer would probably come in under $2700 for the pair. 

Doing something crazy could cost more, as some specialty lumbers and veneers get pricey quick.

All on the web-site later today!

-Paul

[yo2tup]

is demo tour with these possible?

[PaulHilgeman]

Possibly,

Where are you located, they wont be free until late April at the earliest due to reviews etc.

-Paul

[yo2tup]

I'm in the San Francisco area.

[SET Man]

Hey!

  Paul, congratulation on your new speaker. The Sentinel looks great!

  I've heard your Ronin and to me it was promising and should perform well in the right set up.

  I see that the Sentinel use the smaller plastic cone coaxial version.

  I have to be honest... I'm not a big fan of metal cone driver. So, with that I would love to hear the Sentinel someday. Maybe you could send then to one of the up coming NY Rave meeting in the future.

   Oh! BTW.... I think I like it better to have all natural bamboo finish.

   Very nice looking speaker.

Take care,
Buddy

[PaulHilgeman]

Hey SET man!

Sure, I'll get one out to you guys for a rave someday.  Scott F down in St. Louis will do a review of them soon, then I will have them sent your way.

Yeah, the natural Bamboo is nice, and is actually the standard finish.  The next pair will be cherry.

As to plastic/metal cone drivers... well they can all sound great when used properly, which I think I have done in both.  The Ronin however really excels at detail retrieval and absolute truth in a resolving midrange.  The Sentinel is a little bit nicer to upstream electronics etc. 

I sometimes don't get why people say that the super resolving speakers out there make bad recordings harder to listen too.... I don't find this to be true.  Even with the Ronin and how exceedingly balanced and neutral it can be, I find that my favorite music is still my favorite regardless of how well it was recorded.  Yes, it is easier to hear the flaws, but at the same time it is easier to hear the music. 

Anyways, I try not to place theory, philosophy and marketing-speak in-between the listener and the speaker, but I guess i just slipped for 4 sentences, oh well, take it for what it is.

Thanks everyone for all of the support through our busy first 8 months of business, I really appreciate this forum and its members.  I truly believe that it is the pinnacle of audio on the internet, and feel honored to be here.

Have an outstanding weekend, and if you are in Chicago, remember, Chicago Audio Society meeting next weekend.

-Paul Hilgeman

[yo2tup]

Since these are open baffle, are they really finicky with placement and distance from the rear wall?

[PaulHilgeman]

Not super finicky, but you need to have them out a few feet.  Minimum of about 2.5 feet, but they can sound better farther away.

They are definitely not a bookshelf speaker, but you wont ever see me build one of those.  If you want to get technical, they are more of a 'monitor' style speaker.

All speakers will sound better properly placed and very few speakers sound that great when they are very close to a boundary, especially the rear wall.

I will tell you this, they are particularly good about being placed close to a side wall, much better than most speakers, IMO of course!

Hope this helps,
Paul

[TomS]

Since these are open baffle, are they really finicky with placement and distance from the rear wall?

I can say from my experience with the Ronins they were not fussy from an open baffle (mid/top end) perspective.  The bass is sealed so that tended to dictate placement more than anything else to get smooth response and good integration to the top end.  I had to break my habits learned from my Merlins and actually move them CLOSER to the front walls and side boundaries in my room.  The more I moved them apart and closer to the sides, the more fill I achieved in the imaging - they were glorious in that regard.  Once I settle the front wall placement (3-4') the bass integrated nicely as well.  It was also much more powerful than I was prepared for given the elegantly executed and nonobtrusive cabinets.

I don't know much about the Sentinel, but I'd expect the upper end to be similar.

Tom

Tom