[tybee]

Thanks to Darren Thomas, I am now enjoying music and movies using 1801bs!  While they are still burning in, I have already noticed many things that I really like about these speakers.  Out of the box, they have a solid stereo image, fantastic bass in my room, and nice soundstage.  I was also surprized how much more efficient the 1801s were despite Dave's specs, at least in my 14x15 room with 10 ft ceiling.

Last night, I watched the movie Open Range using a Magnum Dynalab Virtual processor for 2 channel HT.  Wow, I had to turn off the subwoofer as it wasn't needed!  The processor really pulled the sound from the 1801s around my room providing a very good HT simulation.  I may get rid of my HT system.

Other equipment:
EE Mini Max Pre-amp with upgraded tubes
Marantz MA 700 mono blocks amps
Sony modified 7700 DVD
Stereovox Digital Cable
Audience cables
SN Tube Dac

Darren did a great job on the cabinets!

[jackman]

Congratulations!  I have listened to hundreds of loudspeakers over the past two years and although several of them really impressed me, I always come back to the 1801's.  The Ellis just sound "right" to me and with some positioning have very good bass.  With a little positioning work, I have never heard speakers play vocals like the Ellis.  

I have a suggestion, get the extra resistors.  I think Dave charges twelve bucks or so.  I tried every combination and would up with 7ohm in series and 12.5 in paralell.  The 8ohm in series /15 ohm paralell sounded good, but gave up a bit too much detail.  The 7 ohm series/15ohm paralell was a bit hot for my room.  Lots of air but a bit too much tweeter for my room.  The 7/12.5 combo was absolute magic.  Perfect amount of detail and air without sounding "hot", even with not so good recordings.  Experiment with toe-in and distance with rear walls to dial the sound in.  You will be surprised at how much better these speakers sound with proper setup.  I also like the sound of DIYcable's Superlative IC's.  I'm thinking about getting a pair of the silver version, but for now, I'm really happy with the warmth of the copper version.  

Post some pictures!  Mine are the pair on Dave's home page.  They are beautiful but don't have the coats of high gloss Dave (and Darren) now uses.  I like the matte finish on mine because it is fingerprint resistant but the high gloss finish of the new models is very sexy.  Darren is a real craftsman!

You have a very nice system.  Best of luck!

Jack

PS- for some reason I want to spell parallel incorrectly.  I'm too lazy to go back and correct it.  I should have said "Parallel".  

[tybee]

J man,

Thanks for the recommendations on the resistors.  I will wait for 1801s to burn in before I pursue your suggestion.  Yes, I like Darren's finishing using the clearcoat over walnut.  

I am quite happy with my current speaker placement roughly 3 feet off the frontwall and sidewalls.  I am also using Eighth Nerve room treatments which helps balance the sound.  Critical placement of the speakers for my virtual processor to work best is essential for sound that appears to becoming out of the TV.  After the speakers burn in more, I will do some more tweaking for optimal performance.  For now, I am very pleased with the results.

[jackman]

I agree.  It sounds like you are on the right track with the Eithth Nerve treatments.  Let them break in for a couple days and ask Darren which resistors he used.  He may have used the ones I'm using.  I liked the 8ohm in series but it lacked the air and detial of the 7ohm.  It was pretty easy to spot the difference.  

I've had my speakers apart so many times that I had to glue dowels into the screw holes because they stripped!  Also, the Response Audio CDP (tubed) sounds amazing with the Ellis speakers.  I picked up one with Bybees and really like the way it sounds.  Smooth with loads of detail and depth.

Cheers,

Jack

[Al Garay]

I am almost certain that Darren used the 1801b crossover. He has been since it was introduced.

Like you, I'm very pleased with the 1801's performance with HT. The clarity of the dialogue is excellent. The presentation is good enough that I forget I'm missing 3 channels of information. The front 2 are darn good.  They play more than loud enough esp. when driven with 100 true watts per side.

Al

[jjb]

Great to finally read some feedback from someone who is using the 1801b for HT, I'm 95% positive that I will be building a set of 180b's this spring. I currently have a set of GR A/V-3 which I love, but I'm in the mood to try something different

[OBF]

One thing to consider, if Darren build the crossovers, and unless he's doing it differently now, the series resistor won't be accessible for swaping as it's back on the main board.  However, the 12.5 parallel can be easily changed out for the 15 so you can still experiment some.