Monday 24 March 2008

OPEN BAFFLE ONLY

When I was much younger, I thought loud speakers were boxes.
That was why you called them boxes.
I build quite a few.
And was reasonably happy with the results.

Then I bought 4 huge and old Electro Voice SP15B on E-bay.

They sat there for a while, getting older.
Did not really know what to do with them.
Make a bass unit?
I already built a Klipsch Eckhorn.
You do not need more bass ever egain...

While my tube amps were getting smaller, i needed more efficiency.
Horns!
Yes.
The Klipsch already was a horn.
That would do well with the rest...

I also liked the idea of an open baffle.
I listened to one (not two) in Holland.
What's stereo about a piano or Norah Jones?
Got hooked.
Can you combine these two?
An open horn?



Using a small Fostex all range, the sound was amazing...
It does need the Klipsch though...
Here, next to the BOX boxes...
The horns win.
And I still thought I needed 40 Watts or so...

Still the EV's were looking at me all the time.
And at Vivienne.
Are you going to do something with these things one day?
The answer was: yes.
One day.

Julia is a great artist.
We decided that she'd paint the horns in wood.
She went to a special school in Brussels, the only one in the world, I believe, where they teach this art.
The results are amazing.
She can paint anything in wood or stone motive.
Unless you put your nose straight on to it, you can not make out the difference.
That took a while.

But, once finished...
The result is astonishing!






The next speakers in "marble"?


No problem for Julia
In the mean while:
A good reason to attack the EV's.
The EV's go way up in frequency...
I onlyx needed a food tweeter with a reasonably low change over point.
Fostex again.
Then cut out some wood.
Mounted it all.
And presto.
Absolutely impressive.

Don't need the Klipsch anymore with almost a square metre of low...
And the 1 Watt is more then enough to have all the volume you ever need.


Then I found these very old speaker in a junk yard....
Opened one with nobody watching....
Isophon.
All paper.
Nice.
Bought them both for 20 Chf.
Apart from the tweeters they worked fine.

A new baffle was all that was needed to make these auditorium worth.

Daniel again.
In Wallnut no less!


I even use the old filter, all hand made...


And with the 30cm woofers, with "wizzer" no need for the Klipsch either...

There is still one pair waiting to be finished...
Well 2 pairs actually.
A pair of loud speakers is always worth having lying around.
You never know....