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Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 4 [message #1561 is a reply to message #1559]

Tue, 03 May 2005 15:05

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18791
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Brines Acoustics Room

If you've never heard a single driver speaker, then this room would have spoiled you. If you have, then this room might have surprised you. Single driver speakers have often been touted for their coherence and imaging. But the tradeoff usually means limited bass and reduced volume, sometimes some coloration.

Brines' speakers don't have these tradeoffs. You get the single driver magic and the bass. Even from Lowthers. That's right, I said Lowthers. I'm the guy across the atrium running the huge 15" 600 watt woofers in horns and I'm telling you these speakers made some serious bass.

http://greatplainsaudiofest.com/2005/Photos/Brines_Room.jpg

Brines FB-16, FT-1600 and LT-2000 loudspeakers

Deep bass wasn't the only thing that impressed me about these speakers. The overall presentation was good, and tonal balance was right. Bob Brines choses components that have controlled cones so midrange is nice and treble is extended without being shrill. He also uses a compensation network to ensure that the response is just right.

Bob Brines

In the photo below, you see Bob Brines' SP-10 subwoofer, which uses a Peerless 850146 in a 2.0ft3 cabinet tuned to 30Hz. It sounds good with the small FB-16 speakers, but isn't required with the larger ones. They go to 40Hz. On the other hand, crossing over to the mains at 100Hz reduces IMD by reducing bandwidth, so it is an option to consider with any of the models. But the bottom line is that the larger speakers don't need a sub.

http://greatplainsaudiofest.com/2005/Photos/Brines_Room_Jim_Rivers.jpg

Jim Rivers showing his appreciation of Brines' speakers

You'll notice that Bob brought a portable CD player and a Tripath amp, both sitting on top of the sub in the picture above. These are small enough to carry in your shirt pocket, and make plenty of sound. But Bob also connected three nice tube amps, just so we could all hear several system combinations.

The AudioTropic Musical Machine, Nelson Audio Image SE8 and Heart Audio Stoetkit Jr. MkII were played in the Brines room at one point or another. The Musical Machine sounded very nice, and is really a great match for single driver speakers. It's a beautiful amp with lovely sound, but it didn't have quite the power output Bob wanted. I suspect the Walkman didn't drive it to its full level. The Image SE8 is a wonderful little amp, but it didn't do it for Bob, so it was used elsewhere. But the Stoetkit struck a chord.

http://greatplainsaudiofest.com/2005/Photos/Stoetkit_And_Brines_Sub.jpg

Heart Stoetkit Jr. MkII sitting on Brines SP-10 sub

Bob seemed to like the Stoetkit, and I understand because I was smitten by that little amp too. Frank Stuppel provided those to AudioRoundTable.com participants as a group buy last summer, and I fell in love with it right away. You can find more information about the Stoetkit in the FSAudio forum. Here's a closeup view:

http://greatplainsaudiofest.com/2005/Photos/Stoetkit.jpg

Heart Audio Stoetkit Jr. MkII

So there were lots of things to see and hear in the Brines Acoustics room. If you're interested in single driver speakers and you didn't get a chance to hear them, make every effort to audition a pair sometime.

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[Message index]

		Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 1 By: Wayne Parham on Mon, 02 May 2005 14:51
		Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 2 By: Wayne Parham on Mon, 02 May 2005 17:27
		Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 3 By: Wayne Parham on Mon, 02 May 2005 18:03
		Great review and pics By: spkrman57 on Tue, 03 May 2005 07:47
		Re: Great review and pics By: Wayne Parham on Thu, 12 May 2005 05:44
		Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 4 By: Wayne Parham on Tue, 03 May 2005 15:05
		Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 5 By: Wayne Parham on Tue, 03 May 2005 16:08
		Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 6 By: Wayne Parham on Tue, 03 May 2005 23:01
		Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 7 By: Wayne Parham on Wed, 04 May 2005 19:35
		Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 8 By: Wayne Parham on Wed, 04 May 2005 23:44
		Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 9 By: Wayne Parham on Thu, 05 May 2005 16:15
		Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 10 By: Wayne Parham on Thu, 05 May 2005 17:07
		Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 11 By: Wayne Parham on Fri, 06 May 2005 00:02
		Re: Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 11 By: Norris Wilson on Fri, 06 May 2005 00:32
		Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 12 By: Wayne Parham on Fri, 06 May 2005 03:04
		Re: Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 8 By: John Stehno on Mon, 13 June 2005 01:11
		Element Cables Review By: FredT on Thu, 05 May 2005 05:31
		Re: Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 3 By: DRCope on Wed, 04 May 2005 05:50
		Re: Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 3 By: Wayne Parham on Wed, 04 May 2005 11:09
		Demo Gear By: akhilesh on Wed, 04 May 2005 14:48
		Re: Demo Gear By: Wayne Parham on Wed, 04 May 2005 17:40
		Re: Great Plains Audiofest Writeup, Page 1 By: guitarplayer on Sun, 12 June 2005 19:39

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