Posted by Wayne Parham [ 66.139.43.134 ] on April 14, 2004 at 09:38:44:

In Reply to: Re: Implementation posted by GarMan on April 13, 2004 at 12:22:34:

Me too. I'll be rolling them out like this as time permits. Most of the design work is done, and now I just need to put things on paper and draw up plans. This will happen over the course of the next few months. You can already see the outline of what is coming, and there is enough information to assemble each of the new products already.

I'm planning a lot of incremental changes. Many models will be different, but will retain much that is the same too. One of the priorities for me was a transition that allowed a smooth and smart upgrade path, so that anyone who bought a speaker or kit from me can implement the improvements without penalty. This is true whether your π speakers were made in 1980, 1990 or just last month.

What I mean is that upgrades won't require throwing away a bunch of stuff and starting over. You might toss a capacitor, or you might swap out something for an improved part. But in general, the improvements I'm working on are incremental.

In many cases, existing crossovers won't even need to be replaced; They will be reused almost entirely and with fairly little modification. That was an important design criteria for me. I like being able to at least allow for the possibility of using off-the-shelf assemblies, and re-use of existing components and assemblies where possible. So I think these upgrades are pretty cool.

I plan to merge the Professional and Audiophile Series, implementing the π midhorn with a JBL 2012 on Professional Series seven π and seven π-18 cornerhorn systems. Essentially, the Audiophile Series seven π and the Professional Series seven π-18 speakers will become one and the same, using a JBL 18" woofer and a JBL 10" mid.

I intend to introduce a π cornerhorn family based on the Eminence Magnum Series woofers; These will use the midhorn and will probably adopt the Audiophile Series name. Both Audiophile and Professional Series lines use drivers with flux stabilization, and that was always key in my mind for these designations.

The rest of the π cornerhorns will take advantage of the π midhorn, using an Eminence Delta 10 driver. This is the way the π cornerhorn was originally intended, and while I like the performance of current models, the extra cost and complexity is not all that great. It will increase the cost of each cornerhorn about $200.00, but I think the improvement is worth the price.

To look back, the π cornerhorn and folded horns were originally three-way designs. But some two-way variants were made a long time ago that proved quite popular. Then and now, they are really interesting, with that "where is the sound coming from" all-around-the-room magic. Wives love them because they sound great and they blend into the room. So I'll still offer plans to anyone who requests them (just like the Peavey CH-3 versions from a few years ago). But this year, the cornerhorns go back to being a three-way using the π midhorn.

In this configuration, the woofer becomes essentially a subwoofer, and the midhorn takes most of the load. The mid/high crossover is already worked out, and it can be implemented with existing off-the-shelf components making it a pretty good deal for everyone. So I think it's a winner.

Most people used the ten π purely as a midbass cabinet, as it was originally intended. The new π midhorn can be easily incorporated, and the combination makes an excellent system. My plans here are to leave implementation of the ten π up to the person assembling the system, as it really lends itself to a modular approach. It's a wide-bandwidth midbass horn, and is useful for a variety of applications.

All one π, two π, three π and four π speakers will remain as they are, but the four π-18 will be used only in it's subwoofer configuration, sans mid-tweeter. The box size and tuning of the π-18 speaker cabinet is identical to the subwoofer already.

And finally, there's the new eight π loudspeaker. Many people wanted a hot-rod two π, and this new loudspeaker design satisfies that desire. I think it's a pretty cool "little" speaker. It just sort of happened. You and others were looking at the two π design and wanting to soup-it-up a little, and the midhorn was in the works anyway. So kind of like the chocolate and peanut butter Reese's commercials, the two just sort of fell together in what I think is a really groovy retro-meets-modern design.

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