[Nuance]

^ Woohoo!  A custom driver for Salk?  Wow, FAL just moved up a few notches on my coolness scale.    There aren't a lot of companies out there that would customize a product for one company.  Very cool!

I can't wait to see (and especially hear) the new results! 

[zybar]

^ Woohoo!  A custom driver for Salk?  Wow, FAL just moved up a few notches on my coolness scale.    There aren't a lot of companies out there that would customize a product for one company.  Very cool!

I can't wait to see (and especially hear) the new results!

It actually happens fairly frequently and isn't that rare. 

George

[Brucemck]

Is the "Uber 12 Beastly But Slightly Lesser Beast" still coming along nicely?  Will sawdust be flying there soon too?

[jsalk]

Is the "Uber 12 Beastly But Slightly Lesser Beast" still coming along nicely?  Will sawdust be flying there soon too?

Do you mean the 10" version of the woofer cabinet?  If so, we finished the prototype and will be shipping it to Dennis in the next day or so.  By the time the new FAL drivers appear, this version will be ready as well.

- Jim

[funkmonkey]

just thought of another name:

"IT"  as in "this is it," like a hollywood "it" girl

...or not 

[oneinthepipe]

Without going back through the thread, and I would be surprised if this name weren't mentioned more than once, but....  Evolution.  When an improved model comes out, if any, the name could be R-Evolution (i.e., Revolution), placing a designating letter as a prefix, rather than suffix, to the name.  Unfortunately, R appears to be the only suitable prefix, because Jim obviously would not want to name a speaker D-Evolution.

[rajacat]

How about Resolution?

[Mike Nomad]

~

[Nuance]

^ Woohoo!  A custom driver for Salk?  Wow, FAL just moved up a few notches on my coolness scale.    There aren't a lot of companies out there that would customize a product for one company.  Very cool!

I can't wait to see (and especially hear) the new results!

It actually happens fairly frequently and isn't that rare. 

George

Really?  You've got to give me a list of your business associates, then.    I can't think of many audio companies that would do that for one guy (like Salk did for me).  The guys who do actually do that are the ones I'm likely to do business with. 

[zybar]

^ Woohoo!  A custom driver for Salk?  Wow, FAL just moved up a few notches on my coolness scale.    There aren't a lot of companies out there that would customize a product for one company.  Very cool!

I can't wait to see (and especially hear) the new results!

It actually happens fairly frequently and isn't that rare. 

George

Really?  You've got to give me a list of your business associates, then.    I can't think of many audio companies that would do that for one guy (like Salk did for me).  The guys who do actually do that are the ones I'm likely to do business with.

Just to be clear...I am talking about driver vendors who create custom drivers for speaker vendors.  I was not talking about speaker vendors who are willing to customize their products for a specific customer.

Who do you think produces all those custom drivers for various speaker vendors?  All those speakers out their with custom drivers either build them in house (like Wilson Speakers) or have the driver vendor build them to their specs.

While Jim is a super nice guy, you don't think FAL only does this for Jim and the handful of drivers he needs for the HT4's - do you? 

George

[bigbwb]

Brandon,

I believe even the tweeter and midrange drivers in my ascend sierras are modified versions made available by SEAS of norway per Dave F.'s specifications.  They may look identical to the off the shelf sort, but have been tweaked accordingly:)

I think as George mentioned, this is very common in the driver manufacturing world.

Take care!
B

[DMurphy]

^ Woohoo!  A custom driver for Salk?  Wow, FAL just moved up a few notches on my coolness scale.    There aren't a lot of companies out there that would customize a product for one company.  Very cool!

I can't wait to see (and especially hear) the new results!

It actually happens fairly frequently and isn't that rare. 

George

Really?  You've got to give me a list of your business associates, then.    I can't think of many audio companies that would do that for one guy (like Salk did for me).  The guys who do actually do that are the ones I'm likely to do business with.

Just to be clear...I am talking about driver vendors who create custom drivers for speaker vendors.  I was not talking about speaker vendors who are willing to customize their products for a specific customer.

Who do you think produces all those custom drivers for various speaker vendors?  All those speakers out their with custom drivers either build them in house (like Wilson Speakers) or have the driver vendor build them to their specs.

While Jim is a super nice guy, you don't think FAL only does this for Jim and the handful of drivers he needs for the HT4's - do you? 

George

Hmmmm.   I'm actually not sure how to interpret that "wink" closer.  Maybe I'm just tired.  But I'm not aware of any other speaker company using the FAL mid other than FAL itself (and they use it full range with a super tweeter spliced on at the top).  So FAL definitely did the mod specifically for Jim, even though he's not exactly Harman International.   That probably has something to do with the cost per unit, which may be the highest of any mid extant.  Also, it's not like the existing unit is defective by any normal definition.  I've been running a pair of HT4's constantly for past few months using all kinds of program material at high volume (high enough to shake a fairly valuable print off of the wall with severe damage to the frame), and I've never encountered the problem.  I can induce it with a test signal at power levels high enough to induce smoke from a very high quality resistor.  But Jim really is a perfectionist, and he wants the HT4 to be acceptable to everyone, including anyone with a volume fetish or a ball-room size living room. 

[zybar]

Hmmmm.   I'm actually not sure how to interpret that "wink" closer.  Maybe I'm just tired.  But I'm not aware of any other speaker company using the FAL mid other than FAL itself (and they use it full range with a super tweeter spliced on at the top).  So FAL definitely did the mod specifically for Jim, even though he's not exactly Harman International.   That probably has something to do with the cost per unit, which may be the highest of any mid extant.  Also, it's not like the existing unit is defective by any normal definition.  I've been running a pair of HT4's constantly for past few months using all kinds of program material at high volume (high enough to shake a fairly valuable print off of the wall with severe damage to the frame), and I've never encountered the problem.  I can induce it with a test signal at power levels high enough to induce smoke from a very high quality resistor.  But Jim really is a perfectionist, and he wants the HT4 to be acceptable to everyone, including anyone with a volume fetish or a ball-room size living room.

I think you are tired and reading way too much into a wink Dennis. 

If FAL currently isn't modifying their drivers for any other speaker vendor, I apologize for getting that wrong.   

My main point was that it is a common practice for driver vendors to modify their products or produce custom units for speaker vendors.  That comment was in direct response to Nuance's earlier post.

Get some rest.

George

[TF1216]

FWIW, companies like AudioTechnology are setup to do one-offs for small batches.  I was able to source an underhung motor for my 18cm driver which had to be custom made by Per Skaaning himself.   

[DMurphy]

Hmmmm.   I'm actually not sure how to interpret that "wink" closer.  Maybe I'm just tired.  But I'm not aware of any other speaker company using the FAL mid other than FAL itself (and they use it full range with a super tweeter spliced on at the top).  So FAL definitely did the mod specifically for Jim, even though he's not exactly Harman International.   That probably has something to do with the cost per unit, which may be the highest of any mid extant.  Also, it's not like the existing unit is defective by any normal definition.  I've been running a pair of HT4's constantly for past few months using all kinds of program material at high volume (high enough to shake a fairly valuable print off of the wall with severe damage to the frame), and I've never encountered the problem.  I can induce it with a test signal at power levels high enough to induce smoke from a very high quality resistor.  But Jim really is a perfectionist, and he wants the HT4 to be acceptable to everyone, including anyone with a volume fetish or a ball-room size living room.

I think you are tired and reading way too much into a wink Dennis. 

If FAL currently isn't modifying their drivers for any other speaker vendor, I apologize for getting that wrong.   

My main point was that it is a common practice for driver vendors to modify their products or produce custom units for speaker vendors.  That comment was in direct response to Nuance's earlier post.

Get some rest.

George

I still don't get the wink reference.  Maybe we should both look at this again in the morning.  But if you were saying that you doubted FAL would modify a driver just for Jim, then that's just incorrect.  I don't think FAL has any other customers.  If you were just saying that other driver manufacturers regularly produce custom drivers for large manufacturers, then that's obviously true. I'm not sure why that merits a wink.  And I'm not sure the whole exchange merits this post.   Off to bed.   

[Nuance]

I didn't mean just driver companies, but I stand corrected.  I'll just stop talking now. 

[zybar]

And I'm not sure the whole exchange merits this post.   Off to bed.   

Bingo!!

[randybessinger]

^ Woohoo!  A custom driver for Salk?  Wow, FAL just moved up a few notches on my coolness scale.    There aren't a lot of companies out there that would customize a product for one company.  Very cool!

I can't wait to see (and especially hear) the new results!

IIt actually happens fairly frequently and isn't that rare. 

George

Really?  You've got to give me a list of your business associates, then.    I can't think of many audio companies that would do that for one guy (like Salk did for me).  The guys who do actually do that are the ones I'm likely to do business with.

Just to be clear...I am talking about driver vendors who create custom drivers for speaker vendors.  I was not talking about speaker vendors who are willing to customize their products for a specific customer.

Who do you think produces all those custom drivers for various speaker vendors?  All those speakers out their with custom drivers either build them in house (like Wilson Speakers) or have the driver vendor build them to their specs.

While Jim is a super nice guy, you don't think FAL only does this for Jim and the handful of drivers he needs for the HT4's - do you? 

George

I am not sure Wilson builds all of their drivers in house.  I am not really sure they build any although I am sure if they don't they either have someone build to their specs are have them modfiied.

[Mudslide]

Hey Jim,

Are the beasty beauties going to have an official appellation by the time of our Northwest GTG?!    I know you want to........... aa

[Jeff B.]

I am not sure Wilson builds all of their drivers in house.  I am not really sure they build any although I am sure if they don't they either have someone build to their specs are have them modfiied.

Wilson doesn't make any of their drivers. The buy them from Focal, Scanspeak, and SEAS. They claim they are made to their specifications, but from what I can tell, that isn't really the case, unless the vendor does a special sort for Wilson. The only modification I am aware of is that Wilson changes the back loading on the Focal inverted dome tweeter. You don't even want to know about their crossover construction. Their cabinet material is pretty interesting though.