[Louis O]

Hello,

Here are the new pictures of the Super 3BPC. The speaker now has the partition and the double sets of binding posts. Now the speaker can be switched from Bipole, Dipole and Monopole. The finish is cherry.

 

Thanks again and Best Regards,
Louis

[Seeker]

Hello Louis,

The little Super 3's are growing up, and they look very nice.

I have a separate music room from my home theater set up and would be more inclined to focus on the original Super 3R's.

I have a few questions.  I have a pair of Proac Response 1 Sc's that totally disappear and image like crazy;  they don't have the large flat front that your Super 3's do.  I don't quite understand the physics that allow your larger speaker enclosures to do the same.  Could you enlighten me a bit?

Also, I don't understand how the front wave of sound would enlarge from a mono-pole design, to a little more on a bi-pole design, to the much larger wave front of the di-polar design as shown in your diagram.  (I used to own a pair of Mirage M3's that were bi-polar and the image always sounded blurry, but they did fill a large room with sound.

In spite of my questions, I know that testing provides the facts whether something tests like I expected it to or not.  (I'm a design engineer at 3M and I'm often surprised concerning test results.)

Is there a ball park price for these new speakers yet?

[Bill Baker]

HI Seeker,
  I think to a point you are correct about the imaging of a wide baffle speaker design but as you mentioned, we are sometimes surprised about the results. The key here is placement for a good center image. I have the TS3 and the Super 3 and I am quite amazed of the pinpoint imaging that is possible from these speakers (Super 3).

 In General, the bipole design is keyed more towards a spacious soundtage throwing music everywhere. It is more of a ambiance feeling than anything else allowing the speakers to dissapear. Again, with proper placement, a nice well centered presentation can also be obtained. Give them a large room with lots of space around them  and you will forget you even have speakers.

[Louis O]

Hi Seeker,

Many Thanks.

Bill is correct about the imaging between the TS3 and the Super 3. I was quite surprised too when I first tested them. The reason behind the wide baffle was to get a bit more fullness in the bass and also a more natural midrange. I was a little worried about imaging, but when I first listened to the test boxes I was very surprised   . It has a lot to due with it being a single driver system, a close to perfect point source with a single radiation pattern.

The new speakers in Bipole and Dipole do throw a huge soundstage and is not blurry at all. This has a lot to do with the single point source as mentioned before about the Super 3s. The speakers do disappear and the soundstage is very deep, wide, and not at all forward. Whats really nice about this speaker when testing is that I can switch from Bipole/Dipole to Monopole right away to evaluate the presentation in all formats and hear the differences in imaging right away.

I am going to bring them home to try them in a smaller room than the one at the shop and give some more info (bass differences and positioning ). I'm still working on the prices and trying to get some of the materials at lower prices to keep them very affordable. I will post the price very soon.



Many Thanks,
Louis

[Bosh]

The reason behind the wide baffle was to get a bit more fullness in the bass and also a more natural midrange. I was a little worried about imaging, but when I first listened to the test boxes I was very surprised   . It has a lot to due with it being a single driver system, a close to perfect point source with a single radiation pattern.
...

Hi Lou:

I've been thinking about this "wide baffles can't image" thing (which having heard the Super 3s in my own system, I know is not true).

There's a writer, perhaps Roy Gregory, who's a contributer to the  excellent UK audio magazine HiFi+.  This reviewer (Roy or not) has mentioned on more than a few occasions how "in wall" drivers, while seldom practical and almost never done properly, are the only ideal solution to everything from standing waves to sidewall reflections to cabinet colorations etc (especially if your "wall" happens to be brick, but that's another story).

I's occured to me that your wide baffle designs, which plant fairly tiny drivers in the center of a large, flat plane, could be a sort of "portable in-wall" system.

Maybe you can offer a "Brick" laminate?

Cheers

Bosh

[wunderlast]

That small a driver in that large a baffle starts to approach the concept of an infinite baffle, but in this case, with tuned ports for bass reinforcement.