tvyankee -
hey jim
does this mean the ones you are selling now won't look like the ones in the pic's?
For interim cabinets we can build at this point in time, the black satin lacquer version could look exactly like the prototypes. For the veneered cabinet, we would have to make some adjustments. As you will notice, the prototype cabinets feature a round-over on all the front edges (to minimize diffraction artifacts). This was accomplished by trimming the front edges of the side and top panels with solid wood. We them veneered the cabinets (over this hardwood trim) and after that was accomplished, rounded over the edges, exposing the underlying hardwood.
But this is too labor intensive for a $1495 speaker. So for the pearwood veneered version that we can build right now, we would simply veneer a rectangular cabinet with no solid wood trim. This means we can't round over the front edges without exposing the underlying MDF. But we still want a round-over on the cabinet sides and top in the area of the drivers. The solution is to use an extra MDF baffle on the top section of the cabinet housing the drivers. Since this extra baffle would be finished in black satin lacquer, it could be rounded over.
So the result would be a pearwood cabinet with a black baffle and appropriate edge treatments.
We could always do a cabinet similar to the prototype and eventual production cabinets, but the cost would be higher since more labor would be involved. In essence, this would essentially be the same speaker in a custom cabinet. In that case, it could be done in virtually any veneer you see on any of our other models.
I hope this makes sense, but if not, feel free to ask additional questions.
also could this design be done with a ribbon instead of a dome? and what would be the price difference?
Well, that would be a completely different design and may not even be possible. It would certainly require a different cabinet (to accommodate the ribbon tweeter) and a completely new crossover. We already have a few MTM models with ribbon tweeters, so I'm not certain we need another ribbon-based MTM. For example, the MTM version of our HTS speakers could be done in a floor-standing cabinet and would result in a speaker much like you are asking for.
As for modifying this design to incorporate a ribbon tweeter, it probably wouldn't work anyway. The crossover point is most likely too low for a ribbon. Ribbons are somewhat limited in terms of effective bottom-end extension. This design required the Hiquphon OW2 rather than the OW1 because Dennis needed more extension on the bottom end of the tweeter response than the OW1 would allow. So my guess is that if the OW1 could not play low enough, a ribbon tweeter couldn't either.
That is the nature of speaker design. In order to achieve a great design, the performance of all of the components must match up properly.
sorry about all the ?'s but I'm thinking of getting a pair for myself.
thanks.
Not a problem.
- Jim
