| 8Pi assembly and initial listening impressions [message #80298] |
Tue, 26 August 2014 16:13  |
owen kellog
Messages: 8
Registered: December 2013
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Esquire |
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Although the cabinets still need final prepwork and finish, they are otherwise complete and making music! The removable back panels were made from pieces of salvaged 1960's vintage 3/4" plywood- very heavy, very dense.
48 hours in, I can tell you that they have horn virtues in abundance- lightning dynamics, immediacy, and excellent resolution of detail. They start and stop very quickly, resolve individual voices in choruses well, and have that quality of 'aliveness' and 'snap' that high efficiency designs accomplish so effortlessly. The 8's are open and clear, with no honky coloration coming from either horn. My respect and thanks to Wayne for not only a fine acoustical design, but for coming up with a passive crossover that works so well to integrate the drivers and not impose itself on the presentation in an obvious way. The speakers are still breaking-in, but they compare very favorably to our prime in-house references, a large, home-made open baffle design (below, out in the room), and the 'Mikasa's', a single driver full-range double-mouth horn-loaded tower (below, in the room's corners). The full-rangers' use the Fostex Fe126 EN-Squared drivers, while the OB's each use a trio of Eminence Big Ben bass guitar speakers per side, crossed to 'Econowave' horn lenses coupled to B&C DE-250's. The bottom end of any of these setups is handled by 4 cylindrical subwoofers (two of which are in the photos), driven by Crown pro-sound amps. Also in the line-up are a pair of bi-polar 'Metronomes', and a couple of pairs of Magnepans. The Mets' and Maggies are fun in their own ways, but honestly don't compare to any of the horn designs (the 8Pi's, OB's, or Mikasa's) in terms of listener involvement and enjoyment. Not pictured but dragged out on occasion are a pair of Quad ESL-57's.
My brother and I mess around with a lot of speakers, and the 8's, even at this early point in their break-in, are clearly keepers.
The Mikasa's and OB's will now be moved aside for the '8's. Photos below:
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