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| Information about π Speakers [message #61986 is a reply to message #61984] |
Thu, 04 March 2010 20:59   |
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Wayne Parham
Messages: 18676
Registered: January 2001
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Illuminati (33rd Degree) |
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The sonic differences between models is mostly set by their woofers. The six π and seven π cornerhorns are exactly the same in every respect except their woofers. Also, don't forget that both models have options; The six π can use the Eminence Delta 12LF or the AE TD12S and the seven π can use the Eminence 15A or the JBL 2226H. It's the woofers that make the difference.
Sometimes when I tell this to people, I sense that they mentally minimize the significance of this. Don't. The woofer is where it's all at, or at least a lot of it, where sound quality is concerned. Not to say the tweeter isn't important, but the woofer is the foundation, and more than just bass, it is responsible for a large part of what you hear as midrange. Even in the six π and seven π cornerhorns, with their large midhorns pushed as low as they could possibly go, the woofer still runs up beyond middle C. That's a pretty big part of the fundamentals of many instruments and male voices. And on the large DI-matched two-way speakers, the three π and four π (and eight π) speakers, the midwoofer is responsible for even more - it covers all the midrange, even up into the overtone region, in addition to the bass.
What I'm trying to say is the woofer is responsible, to a large degree, for a good portion of the sonic character of all my speakers. This is true of most loudspeakers, for that matter. You really want a driver that has a motor capable, doesn't become non-linear at moderate power levels and has good thermal qualities. Equally important, it should have a cone/suspension that is well damped, free of upper-frequency resonances that introduce breakup. This is what separates the good from the bad, and the great from the good. It really is the heart of the loudspeaker, and many times I see people glaze over it. All the work in crossover design and horn pattern control is lost if you use a crummy woofer. Well, maybe not all, but you get the idea. I've put a lot of effort into making these things perfect, so I like to see them implemented with the best parts.
Beyond that, I'll explain the differences in system configurations, and that will take a little bit of π Speakers history.
For years, I've had only the small two-ways, the larger controlled-directivity two-ways and the constant-directivity cornerhorns. The little two-ways were the one π and two π, with 8" and 10" woofers, respectively. The larger two-ways offered horns with uniform-directivity, being the three π with a 12" midwoofer and four π with a 15" midwoofer. The cornerhorns were the five π with 10" woofer, the six π with 12" woofer and seven π with 15" woofer. In each of these, the midrange and tweeter subsystems were similar, although the model number was tied to woofer size. That's just how it has always been.
The thing is, for all of the 1980's and most of the 1990's, the cornerhorns were three way speakers with direct-radiating midrange. The idea was that the corner would provide the directivity for the midrange, just like it did for the woofer, at least from the Schroeder frequency (about 100Hz to 150Hz or so) upwards. I made them two-ways for a few years, as an experiment, but the point is that in each case, where there was a midrange driver or drivers, it was usually 5" or 6" driver(s), and never larger than an 8". So having a five π model cornerhorn with 10" woofer and 5" midrange made sense.
In 2003, when I started making the current models with large midhorns, I decided rather than making a five π cornerhorn with a 10" woofer, instead I'd make a two-way, something like a miniture version of the VOTT. That's where the eight π was born. I could have used a 10" woofer in the traditional π cornerhorn bass bin, and put the midhorn and tweeter on top, but I chose not to do that. So the eight π really takes the place of what would have been a five π cornerhorn. You can place the eight π in the corners, but you don't have to.
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