4Pis are back and I wrote a BOOK! [message #69261] |
Thu, 01 September 2011 06:48 |
Bill Epstein
Messages: 1088 Registered: May 2009 Location: Smoky Mts. USA
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Illuminati (2nd Degree) |
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It was suggested to me that the Utah/S-B Acoustics 2-ways weren't imaging well (voices and instruments stuck to the speakers) due to beaming of the 12" woofer at the top of it's range. This was after I raised the crossover point from 2000 to 2800 Hz in hopes of improving the imaging, which didn't help, the opposite of the advice.
I'm going to try going far lower on the tweeter; it's Fs is 600 Hz so my next step is to build a 1200 Hz, 4th Order Link-Witz Riley crossover. Opinions on that???
Much as I like the tonal color of these 2-ways, replacing them yesterday with the 4Pis after about 3 months was a revelation. The last music I listened to before the switch was John Mayall and The Blues Breakers Featuring Eric Clapton. Everything about this original London sounded crisper and more dynamic.
A few days ago I received and played the Bjoerling/Corelli/Scotto Turandot on Angel. It sounded indistinct and far away, something I chalked up to the inferior reputation of the record label. I replayed it yesterday and, guess what? It sounded clear, punchy and dynamic but don't think for a minute that Puccini became John Philip Sousa; the bel cantoaspect of the music was even more bel canto!
I really want the Utahs to work out because I can hear beauty in them and I like the idea of a dynamic tweeter but right now, their flaws exceed their virtues. I'm not prepared to invest in the testing equipment and knowledge building it would take to realise a finished design so I guess I'll just Potz around with them. In between building the Theatre 4 Pis and these current to-the-letter 4Pis, I tried all sorts of variations of cabinets and drivers. No one knows better than I that when Wayne says you can't fool with the Pi parameters without extensive testing, you'd better listen. The 4Pis are just killer speakers: tone, texture, imaging, it's all there. Because it's a tested, finished design based on science and aesthetics.
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