curts ns6

[flamethrower1]

Just wondering if anyone else was looking at this and what they thought of it.
I am thinking of doing this for a good winter project.
I wonder what his "referance speakers" are

[---k---]

A link would be helpful. I believe your asking about was/is Stentorians.

Curt does solid work. This design is one that peeked my interested. If I could find a place to put them, I would build them. Curt has a good description of his goals with them and the pros and cons of the design. If you're looking for rock the house for a frat party, these are your speaker. If you're looking to impress your audiophile friends, probably not your speaker.

Curt has said what his reference is. If I recall correctly it has Accuton and Scan Speak drivers.

[flamethrower1]

I have a full Statement surround in my living room and the TriTrix in my bedroom.
I too am running out of places to put speakers but I have been bitten by the bug..
It looks to be a good project that would not break the bank.
I am going in.

[---k---]

Cool. Invite us all over to listen when you're done.

[KnightsOfNi]

I think he means this
Stentorian
It is the first I have heard of this design
Regards
Knights

Edit link fixed

[flamethrower1]

Parts ordered, have to pick up some MDF.
It looks like I will be busy for a while as I have parts for TriTrix and these as well.

[flamethrower1]

sweet, the inductors are not in stock

[---k---]

Well, probably by the time you get the boxes finished, they will be in stock. If not, you could always try Madisound.com or Erseaudio.com .

[fbov]

No, they will only be back in stock the day after you get tired of waiting and spend 2x on the Erse's...
Frank

[Wheels]

maybe check www.mouser.com? they are not audio related, but they have almost everything electronically you can think of. Their prices are always decent.

[flamethrower1]

I am going to get some MDF this weekend and get these going.
The inductors are suppose to be in later this month, so I will wait for a while.
Should I start a thread on the build for anyone else that might be interested in building them?

[exojam]

I think a build thread would be nice for other folks to see. I would like to see one.

James

[Dean100]

Meniscus Audio is another place to get inductors.

http://meniscusaudio.com/

[flamethrower1]

Just in case I get impatient or if I wanted to go to better inductors how close to the exact specs do I need to stay.
The inductors called out are 1.5mh .22DCR.

[BOBinGA]

Erse has them:

http://www.erseaudio.com/Products/IQCoils18Gauge/ELC54-18-1500

-Bob

[flamethrower1]

Thanks for dangling that Erse carrot in front of me, damn I have NO self control.
Only a little over $5.00 each.
I am not going to be able to start these until next weekend, will start a build thread then

[BOBinGA]

I love getting stuff from Erse. Their prices are the lowest I've found and shipping is fast and not marked up at all. But the one problem with them is that they are low on inventory. If something is out of stock, don't wait for them to restock, because that could take months. Just reorder somewhere else and bite the (small) bullet on price. I would see what Erse has and order anything not in stock from PE with your speaker order so you get the free PE shipping.

-Bob

[Curt C]

If you're looking for rock the house for a frat party, these are your speaker. If you're looking to impress your audiophile friends, probably not your speaker.

Thanks for the kind words Ryan. I've been listening to these pretty extensively the last few weeks, and they get nicer and nicer as the woofers break in. Its been a slow break in process since the woofers excursion even at high SPL's is pretty minimal. Bl stays high, and distortion stays low.

Once I found the best placement for them, (up against the front walls and up about 8" from the floor) I'm quite happy with them. No, they are not Accutons, but I don't think anyone will be embarrassed by their performance. I was surprised by the wide, deep soundstage, normally lost with close wall placement, and the imaging was better than I expected as well. These are a bit more forward than I normally voice them, but it doesn't seem to overtly affect the balance.

C

[flamethrower1]

Hey Curt, I was going to build a base for them which would raise them 3.5" off the floor and then some spikes which should be good for another 1" or so.
Do you think that would be high enough off the floor?
Also, what would it take to bi-amp these?

Thanks, Greg

[Curt C]

I'd say it probably will be all right. I can easily experiment with this tomorrow, and let you know.

C

[Curt C]

Late Update: (Late because I did this last weekend, but just now, thanks to a gentle nudge by Greg, got it posted.)

In my room (with a cement front wall) 4 inches of height still held a hint of overripe bass on musical selections that have a preponderance for exacerbating this issue. To be fair, most music was fine at this height. This also may not be as evident if your front wall is the more conventional, stud and drywall construction. Be that as it may, based on my experiences, I’d suggest 5” as a minimum height for near wall placement. Having it adjustable in height would allow one to dial in the ‘correct’ amount of bass for a given room, room placement, and personal preferences. -Spacers under the outriggers, perhaps?

The Stentorians continue go get a lot of playing time on my system, for whatever that’s worth…

C

[Txgrizzly]

Curt,
have you looked at what it would take to make a matching CC for the Stentorians?

[---k---]

Curt,
have you looked at what it would take to make a matching CC for the Stentorians?

Oooh. A full 5.1 system would be fun. Curt should definitely be constantly nudged in this direction until he submits. :twisted:

[enterprise1]

Late Update: (Late because I did this last weekend, but just now, thanks to a gentle nudge by Greg, got it posted.)

In my room (with a cement front wall) 4 inches of height still held a hint of overripe bass on musical selections that have a preponderance for exacerbating this issue. To be fair, most music was fine at this height. This also may not be as evident if your front wall is the more conventional, stud and drywall construction. Be that as it may, based on my experiences, I’d suggest 5” as a minimum height for near wall placement. Having it adjustable in height would allow one to dial in the ‘correct’ amount of bass for a given room, room placement, and personal preferences. -Spacers under the outriggers, perhaps?

The Stentorians continue go get a lot of playing time on my system, for whatever that’s worth…

C

Curt, based on your findings for the near wall placement, would a good option be to build these cabinets 48" tall ( width of one sheet of MDF ) keeping internal dimensions the same of course and having dead space or room for the crossover in base, or do you think you need to leave the option to adjust the height? Just a thought

[evorkahn]

thinking of building these but are waiting for a surround speaker so im just waiting for that to come. will it Curt ? u can use it has a center with tweeter in middle without changing the xo or must you change it. full surround would be awsome for the price i think

[Curt C]

I'm planning on looking into an MTM version when I'm done with my current project.

Here's a question for all interested parties: I can use the 8 ohm version of these drivers and have an 4 ohm impedance, but roughly 4 dB less sysem sensitivity than the floorstanders.

Or: I can use the 4 ohm version drivers in series and have an 8 ohm impedance and roughly 7 dB less system sensitivity then the floorstanders.

Regardless of impedance, both designs will be capable of about 8 db less max SPL, but still will be quite capable in that regard. The 4 ohm version has a lower Qt, which opens the door for a vented enclosure option as well...

So whats most important to you all? impedance or sensitivity? I'm pretty sure I already know the answer, but as always, I value your input.

C

[Txgrizzly]

I'm planning on looking into an MTM version when I'm done with my current project.

Here's a question for all interested parties: I can use the 8 ohm version of these drivers and have an 4 ohm impedance, but roughly 4 dB less sysem sensitivity than the floorstanders.

Or: I can use the 4 ohm version drivers in series and have an 8 ohm impedance and roughly 7 dB less system sensitivity then the floorstanders.

Regardless of impedance, both designs will be capable of about 8 db less max SPL, but still will be quite capable in that regard. The 4 ohm version has a lower Qt, which opens the door for a vented enclosure option as well...

So whats most important to you all? impedance or sensitivity? I'm pretty sure I already know the answer, but as always, I value your input.

C

sensitivity, since i upgraded to my dedicated amp :P

[capww8]

I would like to see another highly efficient speaker...

Sensitivity gets my vote.

[---k---]

I've always thought sensitivity is way overrated. That isn't saying it doesn't have it's place, but that it doesn't live up to the hype some places have given it. Just my humble opinion.

[clubby]

I'm going to go for it. Center channel first because that's lacking in my system. I drew this up in sketchup this afternoon.







I'll post pictures of my actual progress. Parts ordered from PE on Saturday.

[---k---]

Looks good. I see Curt has added the center channel box to his website also. I skimmed the text, I couldn't see if he has changed the crossover or not.

[stuofsci02]

I'm going to go for it. Center channel first because that's lacking in my system. I drew this up in sketchup this afternoon.







I'll post pictures of my actual progress. Parts ordered from PE on Saturday.

I would be big time concerned with off axis performance with that type of horizontal arrangement.

[clubby]

Looks good. I see Curt has added the center channel box to his website also. I skimmed the text, I couldn't see if he has changed the crossover or not.

He said he didn't see a reason to on his site.

[evorkahn]

is there an onwall surroundback coming or not? had been nice with full surround that are easy for the reiever. havent build yet but think i will

[JonMarsh]

I think he means this
Stentorian
It is the first I have heard of this design
Regards
Knights

Edit link fixed

8O Oh my gawd! ..... :E

Reminds me of my mis-spent youth...

I'm sure in the right situation these will be a lot of fun... though a condo like mine wouldn't be that situation! :lol:

[Curt C]

Actually they are a lot of fun, Jon.

Turn them up to 11 with oh, say the intro to Dire Straits Money for Nothing, and watch everything in the room not tied down vibrate onto the floor or into the corner. -Kind of like those 'electronic' hockey or football games we old guys had as kids.

The surprising part: (To me, anyway.) At non-lethal SPL levels, they sound pretty darn good for a bunch of $8 woofers and a $10 tweeter.

And yes, next up on my plate is an MTM variation for surround duties.

C

[clubby]

I can't wait for the surrounds. That will be my next project. All my parts showed up yesterday, including 18 mids that I bought to finish the entire project. Just picked up my lumber. Here's a sketchup of the finished box. Everything is 100% perfect. First time using Sketchup. Used Cutlist with it also, what a great add on.





If anybody wants the sketchup files, I'd be happy to supply them to you. It's not built exactly Curt's site, but the inside dimensions, hole locations, etc are exactly to his spec. I added a 3/8" front baffle out of hardwood and 3/8" hardwood end caps to really dress it up. The only plywood that will shows in the top/bottom (it would be the sides for the mains) and the back.

Thanks Curt, I'll look forward to the surrounds.

[flamethrower1]

My build

Here are a couple of pics of my progress.
I am using MDF and am going to use 1 1/4" baffles.
I modified the lower two window pane braces because I am going to bevel the back of the speaker openings to let them breathe a little easier.

[Curt C]

Lookin Good!

MTM update:
I've cut the panels yesterday, and parts should be arriving this week. Optimistically, I hope to have them up for voicing in a week or so.

C

[djkest]

Sounds like I would really love these speakers, and my wife would hate them. With the 6-driver arrangement, it almost approaches a line-source design- do you think it produces a very wide soundfield? Man, I'd love to hear these. Too bad I can't afford to just buy the NS6s right now...

Also, how strong is the bass response? With all that cone area, could be pretty good. I think your FR plots on speakerdesignworks are truncated at 100 Hz IIRC. Any idea what kind of extension you would get in a fairly typical room?

[Curt C]

These model to have an f6 under 70 Hz, but with gain from the floor/front wall, easily reproduce frequencies down into the 40’s. These can provide acceptable performance for most music, but for full range performance, or HT use, a sub is recommended.

Their sound field is something between an MTM and an array.

C

[flamethrower1]

Ready for veneer

Not much of a "build thread" but here are a couple of pics of my speakers

[---k---]

looks like some good progress. Should be making sound soon.

[Curt C]

The MTM version, called the Sten II, and the Singularities, are now up on my website....

C

[Brendan_L]

Sten II

Curt,
I believe I am the first one to order the Sten II from Madisound.

I have two questions as to the build.
First, you said to drill a .5" hole in the back. Is this an aperiodic vent?

Second, your test boxes have a 45 degree bevel. Is a 3/4 round over also fine?
Or square corners?

Thanks for your efforts!

-Brendan