[
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2008, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]
[ General ] [ Speakers ] [ Tubes ] [ Vinyl ] [ Digital ] [ Hi-Rez ] [ Video Asylum ] [ Cables ] [ Tweaks/DIY ] [ Music ] [ Films ]
98.199.94.105
.....well, if Doc made a source it could be.
My all Bottlehead system has evolved. Yep, the entire chain, with exception of source, is genuine hand-built Bottlehead gear. Late Sunday I rolled the just completed Straight 8s into the system. The rest of my system includes Seduction, Foreplay-III and Paramour-I. I also have the S.E.X. that I built at Doc & PJs class in ’06. Lucky me! All my amp gear is still stock at present.
I scored the Straight 8 unfinished kit in the early summer. The kit came with beautiful custom-built completed cabinets, all sixteen woofers, some magnet wire, two inductors, no caps, the crossover plastic boxes, and only one tweeter. Now, this is the infamous MCM tweeter that has since been discontinued. I did not know that at the time I picked up the kit. The guy had just a little trouble rounding up all the bits. I figured what the heck; a $12 driver, I’ll just order one next week.
Just after I picked up the kit I suffered a severe back condition and was flat on my back for several weeks and otherwise incapacitated for at least three months. I couldn’t even sit up in my listening room just to listen to music for a good while there; much less have the abilities for speaker building. Anyhow, late in the fall I started to get serious about finishing the kits.
About that time it was announced on the Forum that the MCM tweeters were no longer available. Well I could hardly complete my pair of 8s with only one driver. I considered using the Selenium or the Aarum Cantus and contacted Doc and PJ about any crossover tweaks they might have. PJ was pretty insistent on not recommending the Aarum Cantus, but did offer some suggestions for the Selenium. I pondered this idea for a while, but with my limited woodworking skills and lack of proper tools, I decided not to try and hog out the hole for the Selenium driver; risking buggering up those nice cabinets. Getting to the point, I got extremely lucky and scored some gently used MCM tweets from a local Bottlehead, audio guy and speaker builder. You know who you are; thanks a million!
So, I proceeded with the assembly. I didn’t feel like messing with the magnet wire so I got some Cat 5 plenum cable for the internal wiring. I decided to go with the original crossover to start and improve from there. I already had the .68 mH inductors. I picked up a couple of cheap caps for the tweeters and got it all wired up.
The Sunday before I had completed the first one and rolled into the system; this is silly, but I had one Straight 8 on the left side and one Heresy on the right. I couldn’t wait to here it! There is one thing to note, which will lead up to one of my questions; the S8 and the Heresy are about the same efficiency, but with the 8 I had to turn up the volume on the FP about three more clicks to equal the volume of the Heresy. I am running the stock Paramour which has 4 and 8 ohm taps, but not 16. Thus I am losing some efficiency. I knew I was going to have this issue going in, but I bought the 8s for the long haul. I heard Josh’s heavily modded 8s at a Wardsweb meet in late ’06 and fell in love with them. I was lucky on my score of this incomplete kit. I know I will have to upgrade my Paramour transformers to get the most out of the 8s, or probably go with a higher power amp. I was discussing all this with Josh and I mentioned I would probably end up implementing the V3 crossover. He replied back and said the V3 will not work well with the Paramours. I don’t know if he meant the Paramours in the present configuration or also with the upgraded output trannys. He never answered my last query.
Anyone have any thoughts on this? Will I really be able to enjoy the 8s with Paramours or do I need a little more punch? When I heard Josh’s, they were driven by a Manley Stingray; seems like they were 30 or 40 wpc. I am (hopefully) getting a loaner Scott 222c this weekend. It has a 16 ohm output and will put out about 10 wpc at that impedance. It is supposed to be heavily modded; I sure hope he comes through. Also, what about the crossover match? Any comments? I have a parts list for the V3 and it is close to $200. I want to be sure before I order.
Listening impressions: Both 8s are complete and lined up in the front stage. They sound pretty good right away, a little less dynamic than I was expecting. I was just a tad disappointed; however, I quickly reminded myself what I am driving them with and to hold all critical judgment until I get the right amp in place. I also realize this is the stock crossover and I am using a cheap capacitor on top of that. I won’t go into much detail yet on the tone; I think the impedance mismatch is really holding them back. All I will say is that the tone is overall just a little muddy and the bass, although fast, seems too punchy; like it’s trying to reach lower but is somehow being restricted. I am real picky about bass tone, so I will have some work to do in that area.
Other than that, I am pumped! Pictures maybe tomorrow night.
Rick
Follow Ups:
Top of Page ]
[ Contact Us ]
[ Support/Wish List ]
[ Copyright © 2008, Audio Asylum, all rights reserved ]