McBride's eight π's do look nice, don't they? That was the look I was hoping for when I started working on them and drew up the sketches. But Duncan is way out ahead of me, 'cause he's got them almost finished. He purchased crossovers before they or the eight π kits were even available on the π Speakers shopping cart. Looks to me like he'll have his speakers finished and makin' music by the end of the week.You asked my impressions, so here goes. The eight π speakers have been slipped into the Thermionic series. I've listened to eight π prototypes that impressed me a great deal. But the Theater four π speakers are really nice too. My opinion is that the Theater four π speakers and the Thermionic eight π are about an even match. The Theater four π has the more expensive midwoofer but the eight π has the more elaborite cabinet with much deeper horn loading and the reduced distortion it provides.
I really like the interesting appearance of the new eight π speakers and having horn loading over most of the audio band is nice. On the other hand, the Theater four π cabinet offers excellent performance too, and it is much easier for a DIY project since the cabinet is simpler to build. Both are pretty cool. I really like them both, and it's hard for me to say which I like best. Right now it's probably the eight π's cause they're new and neat. I'm interested to see what Duncan thinks as his speakers near completion. They really look cool, that's for sure.
The seven eight π speakers are in another league. They use more expensive woofers, and they now have the midhorn and tweeter horn too. I've always liked the π cornerhorn design. The woofer loading from the room corner's apex works very well, and it is not only simple but very effective.
Since all the π cornerhorns now employ the midhorn, you get the best of both approaches. The woofers aren't asked to perform as midwoofers, so IMD is reduced. Dispersion of all subsystems is 90 x 40, so the "sweet spot" is nice and wide. And the mid and treble horns perform well together, bound seamlessly with the crossover, so it all comes together as a high performance system that looks great. The only disadvantage is that corners are required.
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