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Over the past few years I have auditioned a number of speakers spanning the universe of prices. One of my favorites was the Eggleston Andra - version one. While not the most uncolored speaker I've heard it's performance from 1000 hz down was excellent. The Dynaudio 30W driver handled the lowest frequencies with authority and musicality. Further the dynamic range was impressive, easily handling live Diana Krall and Mickey Hart's Planet Drum at realistic play-back levels.
Having read the Stereophile article, which was glowing, I was skeptical based on 1) their habit of loving exciting (read as: colored) sound, and 2) the freq response graphs showing a massive suck out from ~1500 - 3000 hz. To my surprise the human voice seemed very natural. On the other hand the piano on the Diana Krall disc sounded unnatural. When I commented to a friend accompanying me the best description we developed was plastic sounding. I know not very enlightening.
Regardless of this limitation I have been contemplating a pseudo-clone. The mids are Morel MW166 - no problem acquiring them in 4 or 8 ohm variety. Dynaudio drivers are unavailable save for the eBay route so I'm excluding them as a possibility. The Morel Supremes received an extremely favorable report in Voice Coil and owe some of their lineage to Dynaudio. At this point they are my selection for the tweeter. The 30W is an undersized 12 inch driver with an Sd of 62 sq inches (400 sq. cm) according to Dynaudio literature. Morel does not have an equivalent. Eton's 11 inch looked promising but not from an economic perspective. The new Dayton RS 10 and 12 hi fidelity subwoofers look like they may fit the bill. Low Le and the first cone break up mode is above 1500 hz. This should allow it to work with a 2nd order low pass at 150 - 200 hz with either a notch filter or cascaded with another 2nd order low pass filter at ~600 - 800 hz.
It is my contention an optimized XO can make this driver combination something special. While I have not modelled anything in LspCad my first thought is to 3rd order high pass the Supreme at ~1900. The upper MW166 will receive a 2nd order low pass at a similar frequency. The lower MW166 will be crossed in at 2nd order at ~400 - 600 effectively forming a 2.5 way speaker. Both MW166s will be high-passed at 150 -200 hz using a first or second filter. The Dayton 12HF will be XO'ed as mentioned above and loaded in an vented box. They will not be employed an isobaric arrangement.
Any feedback regarding driver selection or XO choice would be appreciated. Even those loaded with caveats or negative comments! Note this project, other than enclosure and XO modeling, probably will not start until end the end of this year.
Having read the Stereophile article, which was glowing, I was skeptical based on 1) their habit of loving exciting (read as: colored) sound, and 2) the freq response graphs showing a massive suck out from ~1500 - 3000 hz. To my surprise the human voice seemed very natural. On the other hand the piano on the Diana Krall disc sounded unnatural. When I commented to a friend accompanying me the best description we developed was plastic sounding. I know not very enlightening.
Regardless of this limitation I have been contemplating a pseudo-clone. The mids are Morel MW166 - no problem acquiring them in 4 or 8 ohm variety. Dynaudio drivers are unavailable save for the eBay route so I'm excluding them as a possibility. The Morel Supremes received an extremely favorable report in Voice Coil and owe some of their lineage to Dynaudio. At this point they are my selection for the tweeter. The 30W is an undersized 12 inch driver with an Sd of 62 sq inches (400 sq. cm) according to Dynaudio literature. Morel does not have an equivalent. Eton's 11 inch looked promising but not from an economic perspective. The new Dayton RS 10 and 12 hi fidelity subwoofers look like they may fit the bill. Low Le and the first cone break up mode is above 1500 hz. This should allow it to work with a 2nd order low pass at 150 - 200 hz with either a notch filter or cascaded with another 2nd order low pass filter at ~600 - 800 hz.
It is my contention an optimized XO can make this driver combination something special. While I have not modelled anything in LspCad my first thought is to 3rd order high pass the Supreme at ~1900. The upper MW166 will receive a 2nd order low pass at a similar frequency. The lower MW166 will be crossed in at 2nd order at ~400 - 600 effectively forming a 2.5 way speaker. Both MW166s will be high-passed at 150 -200 hz using a first or second filter. The Dayton 12HF will be XO'ed as mentioned above and loaded in an vented box. They will not be employed an isobaric arrangement.
Any feedback regarding driver selection or XO choice would be appreciated. Even those loaded with caveats or negative comments! Note this project, other than enclosure and XO modeling, probably will not start until end the end of this year.
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