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In Reply to: Re: A good match for 97dB speakers? posted by AZ_Gary on November 28, 2006 at 15:55:01:
I try not to be too big a cheerleader for products and or builders who I use and believe in but since it was brought up......Any and every product Don makes is without a doubt a treasure to have. What he builds far exceeds its cost in every audio respect. While his products are clearly not audio jewelery they certainly surpasses every commercial product put up against it in my and many others experience.
I HIGHLY encourage you to do a search here and in high eff asylum on Don and read what others have posted. I posted my email in this thread and can email you pics and info on what I own. I already own a 45 set integrated amp, his phono stage, his turntable, his preamp, a pair of 300b mono blocks he rebuilt, and am about to build speakers of his design which are over 100db eff and with 2 watts can go from 24hz on up.
He can hand build an integrated amp with an output tube of your choice 45,2A3,300B so on.... for "around" $1500 depending on your needs/wants. Or he can build mono blocks and a pre.... you get the idea. He has been great about building me a preamp with 3 outputs, one for my monos, one with a low impedance for a SS sub amp processor and a fixed level tape out to go to my computer. I cant stress enough how happy I am to be able to work with a builder who can build around my needs.
Don is beyond words friendly and to say he is experienced would be an understatement.
Food for thought.
Follow Ups:
$1500 for a custom DIY set amp?In perspective, that is really something that is hard to beat. A set amp like that is sure likely to beat most other types of amps on the market, and it could be really excellent depending on the opts.
Even consider an extra 500 for cobalt or some of the best opts that can be had.
I would also opt for ac on all the tubes if that is available.
This is an example of bargain prices in sound. You really get the most for you money with sets, even if you can get other kinds of amps used at greatly reduced prices. Sets are better if they are not too 'elaborated'.
Dave,Which speakers are you building?
Gary
I see in reading your system setups you own quite a bit of Don gear too. My first item was the phono stage, I was hooked from there.These speakers are by far the most intriguing Don item. I like many other tube/high eff hobbyist have always yearned for a TRUE 2way that could really do low bass. Well after buying all this Don gear and never once having any of it fall short of Dons word or others testimonies, I cant imagine these speakers wont live up to their rep also. Heres the low down of what I understand.
Its a two way system comprised of a 15 inch coax driver. Don himself uses the now discontinued Emminence CX15 driver (I found a pair on the bay) however Don said these new P-Audio 15 inch coax drivers work great also, he has friends in AZ that use these drivers in their speakers with great results. The cabinet is a large ported design however the key is how the inside is treated with 2 different VERY common items. I really cant give the little secret away as much R&D went into this design, however as mentioned in a thread I posted before, these treatments are used by another designer and listed in a well known DIY (paradise) site if you dig into it :-) However the cabinet is half the battle, Don spent much time and energy in developing his “doesnt care xover”. He and a friend hand wind the coils and Don has gone through several versions of the xover to get to the point that its at now. He sells the xovers for $300, a fair price considering the work. So for around $400 for a new pair of P-Audio drivers (depends on the model you want but Don recommends the less expensive ones with the exposed horn in the center) and $300 for his xovers and (if your handy with wood, Im not so Im having a local cabinet maker build my cabs) the cost of the cabinets you get a 100+ db speaker that Don and others claim can go as low as 24hz. I know it sounds nuts as the free air resonance of the drivers is in the mid 40s but these cab treatments along with all the other system aspects really make the difference. I will report back on my findings hopefully around the end of the year. Right now my time is VERY limited and have a few other projects to get out of the way.
I just got off the phone with Don an hr ago. Getting the scoop on my amps and pre that will (hopefully) arrive this Fri. Im so glad I no longer have to play the audio gear guessing game anymore.
All the best
.
However what I wrote is about the sum of it.Is there any specific question you want to know?
Where do I get plans? Do I need to contact Don Allen directly?
Don is an asset to DIY and tube people. Like my other friend Dr Edgar he does try to make a small amount off all his efforts and R&D.Dons Xovers are worth the $300 and if your good with wood, the remaining cost is reasonable.
If youd like to get ahold of Don email me.
In my darkroom system I using a pair of University 12" diffaxial speakers I bought from Don. Have them in some large bookshelf size cabinets he gave me. The speakers have the center horn you speak of. The inside has his treatment.I have a set of speakers to build based on his ideas. On eBay I found a pair of new MCM 55-1125 speakers that he says were probably the Eminence speaker. They have a 99 dB sensitivity. The center horn will have a pair of Eminence or is it Selenium PAD34 drivers at 105 dB. I want to bi-amp with Bottlehead 2A3 and 45 Paramours.
Don't know where you live, but I live in Sun City and have heard Don's system plus some of the ones he has built for others. Truly amazing quality and a great guy to know.
You are going to really love your system with those speakers.
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