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Happy 4th, DIY Neo8+Open Baffees PLUS a Fat Tire!

Posted by JBen (A) on July 4, 2017 at 20:23:54

Happy 4th gang!

I've been away from most forums along many months this year, due to work/personal reasons. And I've actually had almost no good music listening hours at home either (stuff and "impaired" music sys).

So, ironically, the longest music listening sessions that I've had -- other than live -- have been elsewhere. Back in March, this was at the home of a gentleman whom I met in this forum in February, moniker Aceinc. Since we live close enough, Aceinc, invited me to listen to his (box speaker) system one evening. The occasion was delightful for me in more ways than one.

In a room about 15x25' or perhaps somewhat larger, he had managed to combine several pieces of equipment -- both commercially and DIY made -- and make them play both music and movies rather impressively. Most DIY stuff was box speakers and subs. Clearly, he had gained solid experience with this DIY approach over the years. In addition, judiciously smart purchases of commercial gear completed a solid audio Gestalt.

Beyond the music, I thoroughly enjoyed his youthful enthusiasm and ingenuity in DIY projects, which he successfully made to sound great without making major expenditures. I still laugh recalling that he did forget to get me a cold "Fat Tire" beer, which he had promised earlier. And I never even thought of it as I heard the amusing tales of ongoing projects peppering his workshop tables and shelves.

At the time, I also learned that he was gearing up for his next DIY speaker project: boxes also, but in dipole M-T-M + open baffle bass configuration, including Neo 8 driver clones! This type of planar-magnetic thingie has been in our collective tweaking mindset here for a while. There seems to have been some success stories in our forum which I suddenly regretted not having looked into more closely. Perhaps Aceinc was on to something...

Well, Aceinc did make good progress building the speakers. And so, I had a chance to listen to them this past Sunday. I include a picture of one speaker at the bottom. Please do notice the shapes and wood cuts, which are designed to play a role in the sound.

How well does it all work? Briefly, I could spend hours listening to this. I actually did. It is extremely rare for me to walk into an audio demo room, or listen to anyone's system, and perceive -- at first and still hours later -- that I do not need to control or change anything but the volume. This one was such an event.

It is not that it delivered everything I wished for, for it did not -- and nothing really does. Rather, it "merely" delivered everything it had... EXTREMELY well! Using Neo 8 drivers, more so if clones, forces unavoidable design compromises and these were dealt with very well, though still affecting the extreme top end. The system's minor intrinsic weaknesses may be later tweaked out...or simply lived with...many would not need to do so, especially if price vs. performance is acceptable.

Musically enjoyable, its seamlessness was outstanding, showing no glaring driver conflicts. It was almost like it had said, "Hey, I can't give you everything from A-to-Z, but boy, you are going to flip for my delivery of C-to-W! " And folks, I did.

Anyway, I racked up several hours of very enjoyable listening in great company...and yes, I did get my Fat Tire beer but he had to remind me; after listening for a while, I just wanted to keep listening. Overall, this is a type of system that I would tell a DIY-skilled friend to consider if planars are not proper for a room or "dynamic" enough. Also, I may get a couple of Neo 8 clones to try grafting them into my Maggies later on; no rush but it should be fun!

(I do expand with more comments and pictures HERE . )

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Edits: 07/04/17 07/05/17 07/05/17

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