[Snegrah]

Danny:
I finally put on the bases last night (while my wife was out).  I also swapped position of the speakers so now the ribbons are on the outside.

Does the base contribute to the bass?  Yeah that's a tough read but you know what I'm asking.  The mid-bass is very prominent.  It was getting there anyway but is more now.  I find myself lowering the volume to compenstate.  Is this what the resistors are for?  How about installing a control to raise or lower the output?  It is also, recording dependent.  On some recordings the bass is overwhelming...and on some perfect.  So, the issue of the bass being soft...forget it.  I think I would like to lessen the db of the mid-bass while retaining the lower bass.  As far as what frequency and what db amount..I have no idea.

The soundstage isn't as deep as the Orions.  But I suspect it will get deeper over time.  The Newform's I had many moons ago took awile to get deep.  Actually, if they don't "deepen", it wouldn't matter because they sound good anyway.

A real strong point of the Alphas is the vocals.  Voices are (when recorded this way) right in the middle and real.  No strain or break-up at any volume.  

Gotta get back to work............
Tom

[Danny Richie]

Does the base contribute to the bass?

Adding the base will stabilize the speaker and make the bottom end a little bit more solid. Adding spiked feet to the base will have this effect too.

Yeah that's a tough read but you know what I'm asking. The mid-bass is very prominent. It was getting there anyway but is more now. I find myself lowering the volume to compenstate. Is this what the resistors are for?

As the woofers loosen up and output level increases, typical room gain is in the 200 to 250Hz range and down.

The resistor values that can be changed out in the bass management system will compensate for that.

You said you had the 39's in there?

That is the first level of control. Try going down to about a 22 ohm level.

How about installing a control to raise or lower the output?

A switch could be installed to allow one to switch from one resistor value to another and all the resistors could be installed at once.

I think I would like to lessen the db of the mid-bass while retaining the lower bass.

Easy. A 550uF capacitor bundle can be added in line with that resistor value that you are playing with and it will still allow you to adjust the gain in the 80 to 200Hz range (centering at 125Hz) while leaving nearly all the first two octaves alone and allowing the Alphas to play that range at full output capabilities.

Continue to play with the resistor values until the mid-bass sounds right for you in your room then call me and I can set you up with everything else you need.

[Snegrah]

Danny:
Why can't you be more informative and helpful?  

Great!

Thanks,
Tom

[MikeR]

Hello Tom...So which speaker do feel is better at this point, the Alpha LS or the Orion?

I ask because I am interested in both speakers.  I heard the Orion a few weeks ago and it was the BEST speaker I have ever heard (and I have heard just about everything, no kidding).  Amazing speaker.  I haven't heard the Alpha LS yet.

Thanks and I look forward to your reply.

...Mike

[Snegrah]

Mike:
That's a real tough question.  If my room was smaller and I could sit closer to the Orions I probably would not have looked any further for a speaker.  But my room is 16' x 27' x 16' peak (in the middle) and I sit maybe 14' away at all times.  I wanted a speaker that gave me a larger, wider and taller soundstage. The Alphas do this with ease. The Orions will do this though, but I have to sit at a shorter distance to them, IN MY ROOM. The Orions give a deeper soundstage, IN MY ROOM.  I am still playing with placement and break-in with the Alphas.  I may achieve a deeper soundstage if I bring them further into the room.

The Orions are the best speaker I've ever heard as well.  I may not get rid of them and may alternate every now and then with the Alphas.
 
Everynow and then when I would crank up the volume on the Orions, the ATI amp would shut off = too much demand.  The Aplhas can get too loud with ease.

The Alphas do much of what the Orions do but larger (physically and soundstage).  I know they are both different technically but the satisfaction can be equal.  

The dipole Orions with their active Xover are simply amazing.  They require 8 amps + many interconnects + many speaker wires.  I am a "tweak junkie" and change wires, cords, interconnects on a semi regular basis.  The Orions do not allow me to do this.  I've tried changing interconnects and heard NO difference.  SL says to use typical wires and they will work just fine.  He's right.  The Alphas with one amp and one set of terminals will allow this "tweak junkie" to play with all sorts of stuff!  

I honestly thought my audio trek was over when I built the Orions.  But many factors got me up and moving again -  1) Room interaction - probably the most important "component" in any audio system.  2) DYI - after building the Orions (my first DYI) I got the bug to do it again. 3) I love LARGE speakers.  4) The "tweak junkie" habit.

I feel like a dog with two bones.  

Is any of this what you're looking for?????

Tom

[azryan]

Good stuff. Thanks.

I knew at the very least you'd find them different as their designs are so drastically diff.

Your comments reinforce my impression that I got from the last CES too...

There's more than one way to make a great speaker.
Radical differences in design don't mean one design is 'right' so the other must be 'wrong'.

Maybe you could say something about the tonality between the two?

They both sound the best to you but do they tonaly sound similar or very diff.?

[MikeR]

Thanks Tom...I haven't heard a speaker that portrayed more REALISTIC imaging/soundstaging than the Orion.  Maybe that is the key to the difference.  I say this because every line array I have ever heard (Wisdom and Pipedreams specifically) portrayed a larger than life image/soundstage that was not realistic (I am not saying this is the case with the Alpha LS of course).  Nothing wrong with this, just depends upon your preference I suppose.  Given your "farfield" listening position, I could see how the Orion presentation would seem "small" compared to the Alpha LS.

In regards to the headroom problem you ran into with the ATI, was this the woofer section running out of steam?  If so, were you running one amp per woofer?  I ask because I was planning on running at least 100W per woofer rather than 65W(?) to avoid this very problem.  In addition, if I go with the Orion, I will have separate subs croosed-over at ~40Hz to take some of the "load" off of the Orion woofers.

As far as tweaking, I do understand where you are coming from, but in my case, if I find my "holy grail" speaker, I could care less what the equipment was.  And would not feel the slightest desire to change it (unless of course I knew for certain that there was something better).

In regards to your comment about liking to try different cables, amps, etc. ...It has always been my contention that the primary reason for folks having the "upgrade"/"change" bug is that the SPEAKERS are the weak link in their system (which they many times will not admit) and by changing components they are voicing the speakers to what they should have been to begin with, that being a totally neutral sonic transducer.  My opinion as to why different components do not make a difference with the Orion is that it is NOT the weak link in the system anymore!  Of course I could be wrong  

I can say one thing for sure, once you hear a properly implemented DIPOLE system, it is hard to listen to anything else.  Makes me wonder if a fully active and fully dipole line array system might be the best of both worlds  

...Mike

[Danny Richie]

I may achieve a deeper soundstage if I bring them further into the room.

No doubt about it. Moving them out into the room will deepen and open up the sound stage.

Have fun, and thanks for posting the feedback.