[jsalk]

Yesterday was a watershed day for us.  Dennis Murphy flew in with his "magic comparo" box and six of us spent the day putting prototypes of this new design through their paces.  We had three complete prototype pairs up and running in order to make a final determination as to which midrange would make the cut.

I am very happy to report that it was no contest.  There was a clear, unanimous favorite.

So after three years of planning and almost a year building and testing prototypes, the design is now in the books and we will shortly be announcing this new model.

We are currently building one pair each of the 10" and 12" woofer versions.  As soon as they are finished, we will shoot some pictures, do a complete write-up and post the new design on our web site.  There isn't much more to say about the design until then.

We owe a debt of gratitude to all those who helped make this project possible.  Dennis has invested countless hours in this labor of love and deserves all of the praise which will undoubtedly be heaped upon him.  We probably drove him crazy and I apologize for that.

I'm sure I drove our staff members crazy as well, especially Sam Zioli, John Fallows, Teresa Allen, Juan Luis and Ammar Dabesh.  They put in countless hours on prototype after prototype and I'm sure they wondered if we were pouring money down the drain on a project that would never see the light of day.  Hopefully they will derive the benefits they deserve for their efforts.

Others I would like to give special thanks to include Jeff Bagby for design work on the spectacular woofer section, Paul Kittinger for early work on the TL prototype version of the woofer section (in the end it didn't work out, but his help in reaching that conclusion was invaluable), John Janowitz for building some great woofers, Alex from RAAL for his work on the spectacular ribbon tweeter, FAL for their tireless efforts even though we were unable to use their driver in the end, Mike Vettraino for some very accurate design and CAD work, Bob Bogart for ongoing work on custom-designed polymers which will be used in the final product, Tom Boyer and the staff at Solid Concepts for CNC and milling work, and the list goes on and on. (Are my 45 seconds up yet?)

The point is, this was a huge project in the end - far more complex than imagined when Dennis and I began discussing it about 4 years ago.  And without the help from all these people and more, we would never have reached the finish line.

Personally, I am very pleased with the results.  Along the way, I was often told we were crazy designing a high end flagship model in the middle of challenging economic times.  On those occasions, my response was simple...I'm not really concerned with whether or not we sell enough pairs to recoup our R&D costs. We simply wanted to see what we could accomplish with no restraints.  And now that I have the speakers I wanted personally, I need to thank everyone who made that possible.  You are all the very best.

- Jim

[vintagebob]

Congratulations to you and your team! 

We need pictures.  ; )

The Salk Demo on the West Coast seemed to go very well.

[jsalk]

Congratulations to you and your team! 

We need pictures.  ; )

The Salk Demo on the West Coast seemed to go very well.

Bob -

From the pictures, it looked like a great time was had by all.  Wish we could have been there.

As for pictures from yesterday, BigRedMachine took a few and perhaps he will post them.  But don't look at the speakers.  They were mostly unfinished prototype cabinets.  As soon as we finish the first production pairs, we'll have some pics to post.

- Jim

[JerryM]

Thanks for letting us all be a part of the journey, Jim. It's been fun to see these speakers progress to this point.

I look forward to reading the complete write up and, eventually, listening to them as well.

Congrats to all involved, 
Jerry

[Brucemck]

I'm sure these will turn out to be truly amazing.

What midrange did you settle on?

[DMurphy]

I'm sure these will turn out to be truly amazing.

What midrange did you settle on?

A round one. 

[Brucemck]

A round one.

With a white face and two round black eyes peering back at you?

[Mudslide]

Congrats, team!  The audio loving public are in for a huge treat!

Pepsi cans are still being saved out here.   

[srb]

A round one.

Dennis, was that selection made after careful evaluation of other shapes
 
like OVAL?
 
(just saw a listing on Craigslist for my first component speakers that I had as a youth, the Lafayette Minuette II with 5" X 7" alnico oval midbass)
 

 
or EAR SHAPED (Yamaha)?
 

 
Steve

[polarbare]

Congrats - defintely rewarding to set out on a certain task and succeed - especially after the time you put into it 

[charmerci]

Cool! and congratulations! 

I'll never be able to afford a pair but I am excited nonetheless!

[DMurphy]

Dennis, was that selection made after careful evaluation of other shapes
 
like OVAL?
 
(just saw a listing on Craigslist for my first component speakers that I had as a youth, the Lafayette Minuette II with 5" X 7" alnico oval midbass)
 
 
[Steve

Well, we tried a rounded rectangle, which is about as close as you can get.

[jbtrio]

Maybe something from Audiotechnology, or Thiel and Partner

Well, congrats and best of luck! Looking forward to see the pictures!

Regards,
Joe

[jtwrace]

With a white face and two round black eyes peering back at you?

The "best" mid range in my opinion.  They're awesome!!!

[Big Red Machine]

I've doctored the photos to protect the "innocent".

Yesterday was an absolute blast.  While we waited for John to swing by the shop and pick up the "device", we started out grounding ourselves by listening to the FAL 15 incher mutha.  Then Sam and I had to pick them up and move them out of the way.  argh, dropped a kidney on Mary's floor.  Sorry Mary.




Next we started listening to two pairs of 10 inchers, one with each midrange in final match-up mode to fight for supreme victory and avoid the agony of defeat.  Note the one piece of the Comparo device in the middle of the floor.




Lots of AVA gear in play.  The DEQX was out of the system for this day.




Some close-ups of the Comparo:







So we played various tracks from Doc Severinsen, Stone's Wild Horses with Norah Jones, and some tracks I don't remember.  Then there was the little incident with the greenhouseman rock track......



Yep, that's a blown fuse alright!



I guess a room of "experts" should have noticed the large bunch of bubble wrap over the amp left channel vents holding up the Comparo!!  Let that be a lesson to you kids.



Outboard crossovers in their raw, unadulterated state - not for minors to view!



Have we reached a consensus?



Yes, we have!! Pop that cork!!

[vintagebob]

Thanks for the pics!  Looks like fun.  ; )

[jtwrace]

You seem to only have doctored the first photo, not the second...kinda gave it away.  Great mid!!!   Same mid I use in my speakers. 

[jsalk]

With a white face and two round black eyes peering back at you?

Yes, they stared us down all day, although I don't think that's why we chose them.

- Jim

[jtwrace]

Yes, it stared us down all day, although I don't think that's why we chose it.

- Jim

They're sooo good though.   

[zybar]

You seem to only have doctored the first photo, not the second...kinda gave it away.  Great mid!!!   Same mid I use in my speakers. 

I really love that driver.  Can't say I have ever heard it sound bad.

Great choice!

George