There are several items that I would like to address in this post. I will do this in no specific order:
I was glad to see your comments about Danny Richie. I just finished building a pair of A/V-3s for a friend of mine and am very impressed with their musical sound, fine soundstage and accurate bass. We preferred them over her Paradigm Studio 60v3s. This was my first experience in DIY speakers and I'm hooked.
Well...Hmmm, I wish to convey what is safe and prudent regarding this. You are not the first customer that has conveyed the results of a a comparison between a good DIY speaker and a Paradigm. A few of my customers have conveyed comparison's between Paradigm speakers and the 1801s too. In all situations the results have been as you conveyed.
I will also convey that the propensity of commercial folks spend more on their binding posts than their capacitors. This is simply because most customers believe a substantial binding post correctates to a quality speaker. It is clear from the picture that Danny invests a considerable quantity of money inside the speaker. I convey this because I believe it matters - significantly.
I may have to start on a pair of one of his latest, the Neo 2X, next.
I feel the need for continued commentary. Danny does good work, but I prefer the sound of Danny's dome tweeters over the NEO planar tweeters. I do understand that various tweeters have a "religious" following and wish to convey that these comments are simply MY subjective opinions. While Danny's silk dome tweeters are a standout product ( I use a pair in my 2nd system ), the NEO planar isn't something that I would live with in my home. Yes, they might have appeal for some folks, but not for me.
In my opinion, if you like the sound of the AV3, add some .1uf sonicap Platinum Bypass Capacitors (6). This may seem like overkill, but the end result will remain less expensive than anything commercial at this price. It appears that Danny already uses some flavor of bypass capacitors, but I am fairly certain that Danny will agree that the .1uf Sonicap Platinum is truly the cats-mow. The sound improvement and change when adding the .1uf Platinum capacitors is ALL GOOD.
How about an update on your progress with the 1801c?
Yes, ooooh, I haven't attended to this string for too long.
Shoot! So the square edge works.
No. The bottom line... I will never purvey, or build a speaker with less than a 1 1/2" radius roundover in the future. If the subjective value of the Sonicap Platinum bypass capacitor implementation is $180, the subjective value of the 1 1/2" radius roundover on all edges of the baffle is $400-$500. This is my conveyance and and the believe of the other local gentlemen who performed the a/b testing during the final stages of the 1801C. I will explain the history and backround.
I made several incorrect assumptions. First, I assumed that if having a large radius roundover on a speaker was important that ALL truly high-end loudspeakers would implement a large radius roundover. This assumption was incorrect. Second, I assumed that a 3/4" roundover should have a some impact, but in very thorough previous testing (objective and subjective). This assumption was incorrect. Third, I assumed that if a large radius roundover was significant, then surely the DIY crowd would implement this in their workshops. This assumption was incorrect.
Several months ago I asked Dave Elledge what he thought of large radius roundovers. I deeply respect Dave's opinion. His commentary and insights are on par with Jeff Glowacki's insights. Over the years, I have eventually learned that many of their opinions are true and valid. Dave conveyed that the radius has to be large to be effective. He further explained that a 1 1/2" radius would be effective and I agreed to try this.
My experiment was setup in my living room using outboard crossovers and two pairs of 1801C loudspeakers. Both pairs of speakers used the Accuton C95 woofer and the Hiquphon OW1 tweeter. As mentioned above, there was no discernable measurable impact. While there were measurable differences, they were very small and nothing that would indicate a difference between the two cabinets. One pair of cabinets was the 1801 floorstanding version having square edges. The other cabinet was the 1801 stand mounted version with a 1 1/2" radius roundover.
I also understand that visual appearance can be a factor in the subjective opinion regarding a loudspeaker. On this subject, the audibly superior cabinets were quite... ugly. The 1801 floorstanding cabinets ware nicely finished with a cherry veneer. The 1801 stand mounted cabinets were raw MDF.
Several pieces of music were used and 3 pairs of ears were subjected to the a/b test on different occasions. The commentary was universally similar. There was a significant difference. The difference was not subtle. The impact of the large radius roundover was easily superior.
At this point, I am certain there will be those who feel the need for a gazillion listeners performing a double-blind test. My response to this is two-fold. First, it doesn't matter how much recorded historical evidence is present, folks will still chose to deny historical evidence. Second, I build speakers for me. I have no interest in spending the time and finances necessary to conduct a thorough scientific examination. // Hmmmm, these comments seem abrupt and my credibility might be at risk. Okay, truthfully, I am from the government and here to help aa.
After my experiment I learned via the rumor-mill that another well respected direct to consumer Loudspeaker vendor in the Midwest verbally conveyed that the radius has to be about 1 1/2" before becoming subjectively affective.
Okay, then what about the 1801C progress??
Objectively - it's done. I have absolutely no desire to tweak or putter with any aspect of the design or performance. And, candidly, I never thought it could sound so good and so right.
However there are some other matters:
1. I need to get the 1801C rhetoric published on my web page.
2. I need to build a pretty pair of speakers (or several). And, I need to take a plethora of photo's during the process. My current speakers are splash painted MDF following an elbow surgery.
3. I need to find a viable solution for pre-cut baffles. Cutting a 1 1/2" roundover requires significant tooling for a single project.
The cost the 1801C kit will be $1400 with Black Hole 5, Continuous Cast internal cable, and the Sonicap Platinum Bypass capacitors. Yes, this is expensive. If I could build a better speaker for less $$ inside the cabinet, I would.
