!!!New product Announcement!!! -- Ronin Paper Dipole (RPD)

PaulHilgeman · « **on:** 30 Jul 2007, 08:51 pm »

Well,

The Ronin Paper Dipole or RPD for short is done. I'll briefly get into it here, but the web site will be updated in the next few days and you are more than welcome to ask questions and post comments right here.

Sensitivity is up slightly, as is the minimum impedance, the mid-tweeter crossover point is slightly higher, thus max power handling in the upper midrange has gone up a notch. Bass reach isn't quite as deep, the F3 is now 39 Hz instead of 36Hz. For a sealed speaker with a -12dB per octave roll-off the bass reach is very deep in either situation, providing for a very realistic deep bass experience.

On a tangent, Scott Faller (as seen around here) in his upcoming review of the Sentinel measured an in room -3dB point of 18Hz, and thats with an anechoic -3dB of 54 Hz. The bottom line is that sealed box speakers with F3's below 55Hz or so can definitely provide for tight resolving and non-boomy deep bass, that tends to blend better with most rooms than other alignments.

The midrange is a new coated paper driver from Seas and is part of their Excel lineup. They actually changed the motor and VC from the Magnesium Seas Excel driver, giving even lower inductance than before, better distortion data and a higher overload margin. One great aspect of this driver is that it uses a curvilinear cone, this helps to create a stiffer cone due to geometry rather than material (as in the Magnesium Seas Excel), but also creates a better waveguide for the tweeter. Both the on and off axis presentation is more natural as the on and off axis sonic signatures are even more even through the top octave.

The tweeter stays the same, but the woofer is changed to a model from Peerless of Denmark, again an all around excellent driver, deep bass, low distortion and performance well past it's 250Hz crossover point.

Binding posts have changed from the excellent Furutech posts, to the even better Edison Price Pure copper posts. Usability and slickness might be down a notch, but these are definitely the best sounding binding posts in the industry.

One of the first few out of the shop is headed to 6Moons for a review by Fredric Beudot, so keep your eyes peeled for that early fall.

The existing Ronin will simply be called the RMD "Ronin Magnesium Dipole" and will receive the updated binding posts.

The midrange drivers is actually a very dark gray. In order to truly see these pictures correctly make sure that there is no crushing of your black levels on your monitor, i.e. make sure that your brightness is set high enough to actually be able to see the difference between black and dark gray.

And here is the best part... pricing will be exactly the same.

-Paul

westcoast · « **Reply #1 on:** 1 Aug 2007, 02:36 am »

Lovely speaker, Paul!! Very well done...

PaulHilgeman · « **Reply #2 on:** 1 Aug 2007, 05:41 pm »

Thank you!

Soundbytes · « **Reply #3 on:** 1 Aug 2007, 08:29 pm »

These are really beautiful Paul. I'm glad to see the ongoing refinement of your product. As you know I've been very happy with my Ronin's. The base and the Nomad Audio tag are very nice touches. Is the base more than aesthetic? Can the bases and the tag be retrofitted?

PaulHilgeman · « **Reply #4 on:** 1 Aug 2007, 08:42 pm »

Sure,

Both can be retrofitted fairly easily!

The base is only aesthetic, I think the speaker looks great both ways, and the price of the outriggers doubled in the last year, so that was another driving factor.

With the outriggers, they have a sleek, more mechanical modern look, that actually looks very good with the gray paper midrange driver. The plinth is a bit more refined and graceful looking, but the unfortunate part is that there isn't quite enough left of a 4'x8' sheet of bamboo to make them, but I have *quite* a bit of scrap at this point in time. At a later date I may just have to purchase 1 additional sheet for every 2 or 3 pairs of speakers.

Soundbytes · « **Reply #5 on:** 1 Aug 2007, 08:50 pm »

Great! I'll drop you an email. Again congratulations on your new addition.

poseidonsvoice · « **Reply #6 on:** 1 Aug 2007, 08:57 pm »

Paul,

You do absolutely gorgeous woodwork. Nice job. I might wanna swing by Chicago (I live in Cleveland) for a listen. I've been falling in love with the dipole sound ever since I listened to John K's Nao II dipoles. In fact, I'm on the OB2X demo list and should be in receipt of them in the next 3 weeks. Is that a Dayton aluminum woofer I see? Nice work. Any dipole subwoofers in the future?

Thanks Paul for the eye candy

,

Anand.

PaulHilgeman · « **Reply #7 on:** 2 Aug 2007, 12:25 am »

You are more than welcome to stop by, it would be a pleasure. I would love to hear some of your equipment as well.

Hope to hear from you soon.

NealH · « **Reply #8 on:** 2 Aug 2007, 12:56 am »

I have to agree, that is beautiful workmanship from what I see there. Very easy on the eyes with an understated elegance. I like'em.

gooberdude · « **Reply #9 on:** 2 Aug 2007, 01:04 am »

I've listened to a well-traveled pair of Paul's Ronins and felt those had excellent woodwork. Bamboo really lends itself to a cool look.

You should see the boxes the outboard x-overs are mounted in!!!!

Cacophonix · « **Reply #10 on:** 2 Aug 2007, 04:34 am »

Looks gorgeous, Paul!

Your bamboo speakers inspired me to build mine with bamboo (veneer though - i couldn't get bamboo ply in dallas) I'd love to hear your speakers ...

PaulHilgeman · « **Reply #11 on:** 2 Aug 2007, 01:34 pm »

Quote from: gooberdude on 2 Aug 2007, 01:04 am

I've listened to a well-traveled pair of Paul's Ronins and felt those had excellent woodwork. Bamboo really lends itself to a cool look.

You should see the boxes the outboard x-overs are mounted in!!!!

LOL, those cabinets are a joke as far as workmanship goes, and have been banged around, But the outboard XO's are awesome, about 45lbs, 5 is bamboo, 20 is components, the rest is potting material.

-Paul

gooberdude · « **Reply #12 on:** 2 Aug 2007, 06:45 pm »

ha! i was tryin' to be nice Paul. I figured 'well-traveled' was a better descriptive than 'beat to hell' !!

Its 96 degrees here today, yowzers...

PaulHilgeman · « **Reply #13 on:** 2 Aug 2007, 07:19 pm »

It is pretty hot, but it actually feels like a Chicago summer finally. We had those 2 weeks of upper 70's in the middle of July, it was nice and comfy, but it just didn't have that summertime feel to it.

DavidS · « **Reply #14 on:** 3 Aug 2007, 12:13 am »

Been quietly lusting after Ronins for about a year here. They look great Paul. How would you characterize the sound of the paper dipole ronins compared to your basic Ronins. Have read all the reviews 2-3 times so think I have a sense of them. Sadly in Canada away from ability to demo.

EProvenzano · « **Reply #15 on:** 3 Aug 2007, 06:37 pm »

David where in Canada do you live?

I quietly lusted over the Ronin's too, now I'm quietly enjoying them...immensely

If you're ever near Calgary, you're welcome to have a listen to mine.

I do owe Paul a huge public thank you for the great customer service he's shown me in the past several months. When I eventually have some free time, I plan to share my thoughts in writing...dare I say "review".

I wouldn't call the RMD "basic" at all. In fact it's anything but! I'm very accustomed to metal cone drivers and have owned a few in the past 10 years: Tyler Ref Monitors, Ellis 1801's, and now the Ronins. I believe they share a very similar mid-range refinement. If that suits you, the RMD would be a wise choice. On the other hand, if metal cones aren't to your liking, the RPD might be a better choice.

Best regards,
EP

PaulHilgeman · « **Reply #16 on:** 6 Aug 2007, 04:01 pm »

EProvenzano is certainly correct.

Neither the RPD or RMD is basic by any measure!!!

The RMD using the Seas Excel Magnesium cone midrange has a very similar sound to many other speakers using this driver, especially those that use a low crossover point to the tweeter. The sound is very precise and very clear and open, resolving or neutral some would say, and very easy to listen to.

The RPD offers a different sound. Where the RMD is a transparent window to the music, and equipment etc, the RPD is more of an instrument that plays music. It has some color and character of its own. It still exudes all of the detail and sense of openess and clarity of the RMD, but exhibits tone or body of its own.

Maybe that sounds like there is a big difference, the difference is actually quite small, but if I were to describe it, that is how it would be. Once we enter into the electro-mechanical interface between the electricity and the air that sits between you and the speaker, deciding what is natural or neutral becomes very difficult. The bottom line is that the RMD is as neutral as possible, exhibiting very even power response, flat on axis frequency response, very low distortion, and a time domain signature that is the same on and off axis. The RPD is the same in almost every respect except it trades apples for oranges in the distortion category. The paper cone is not as rigid and flexes a bit in the upper midrange like most non-metal cones, this gives increased distortion. However, I am not required to cross it to the tweeter at as low of a frequency. This eases things up on the tweeter a bit and reduces its distortion (it was low in the RMD, but now it is even lower). The curvilinear paper cone as opposed to the straight cut magnesium cone helps direct the HF energy of the speaker in a more even pattern, this also improves the high frequency (above 5000Hz) response.

All in all, the RPD is probably the speaker that I am going to recommend to most customers. If just shopping for a new speaker, and having lived with and loved a large majority of paper, poly, kevlar fiberglass etc. cone'd speakers before, the RPD is going to take that sound to the highest level possible. If in search of the liquid transparency and complete dedication to raw, uncolored texture and detail that the Magnesium cones offer, thats the speaker for you. It is going to depend on where the customer is coming from and what they are seeking, or if they just know what they want, thats fine too!!

I understand that there are different needs, and thought processes out there on cone type etc. I have created two speakers, with similar goals, and come out with two parallel products. A case could be made for either, and some might make a strong case for either (we have all seen such debates), but they are both very good with some slight differences. With a small company like Nomad Audio and many of the ones here, there usually isn't a great advantage to trying to optimize product lines to increase profit margin, especially when it affects the performance of the end product, or the choices that the customer has.

Hope this helps,
Paul Hilgeman

FB101 · « **Reply #17 on:** 6 Aug 2007, 11:17 pm »

They are really looking great Paul.
I can't wait to see them show up on my doorstep

Frederic@6moons.com

FB101 · « **Reply #18 on:** 27 Aug 2007, 07:53 pm »

The preview is now online

http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/nomad/rpd.html

Enjoy!

Frederic@6moons.com

bpape · « **Reply #19 on:** 27 Aug 2007, 08:11 pm »

Congrats Paul.

I've been enjoying the Sentinels in my system. They're very revealing of what's in front of them.

Bryan