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That low end does seem dubious.
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IO DESIGN NAKED RS Loudspeakers
- Thread starter Pearljam5000
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Probably costs about the same.
These type of open baffle driver layouts never seem to integrate correctly. Im not sure its possible from a physics standpoint. The off axis response will be probably be a mess where the driver cancellations occer from the back wave. $120k.......ha! I would be a lot more charitable if it were sub $10k speakers.....
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My idea of naked loudspeakers, FWIW.
I will say this, my first audition of a pair of Altec Duplexes (604C with the stock Altec XOs) was au naturel. They were just sitting on the floor, driven by a SE 45 amplifier (a little more than 2 watts per channel). Ella Fitzgerald (via CD) -- and I was hooked. They're even better in appropriate (large) vented boxes.
Not the above-mentioned epiphany. This is a photo of a functional test of one of my pair of 604E Duplexes (with Doug Sax's MasteringLabs XOs) when I got them (quite a few years ago, now). SE 2A3 amplification (ca. 3.5 watts). They did, and do, both work fine, I am pleased to report.
I will say this, my first audition of a pair of Altec Duplexes (604C with the stock Altec XOs) was au naturel. They were just sitting on the floor, driven by a SE 45 amplifier (a little more than 2 watts per channel). Ella Fitzgerald (via CD) -- and I was hooked. They're even better in appropriate (large) vented boxes.
Not the above-mentioned epiphany.
This is a photo of a functional test of one of my pair of 604E Duplexes (with Doug Sax's MasteringLabs XOs) when I got them (quite a few years ago, now). SE 2A3 amplification (ca. 3.5 watts). They did, and do, both work fine, I am pleased to report. Soundspace
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It looks terrible, but sounds is just amazing!!
fpitas
Master Contributor
I'm sure the cones do move.
Brian Beck
New Member
I should have replied sooner, as I heard these extensively at the Munich show in 2023.
Despite dubious low-bass claims and a few gimmicky features, these speakers were drop-dead stunning to listen to. Easily the best sound of the whole show, and I heard all the big guys there. But the IO Designs distributor only had a tiny temporary set-up room away from the big rooms and they were not drawing a huge crowd. I was tipped off by YouTuber “The Audiophile Junkie”. He gushed with disbelief and praise, and told me I HAD to go hear them. You can find his videos about this speaker on YT. So, as an old skeptical audiophile having serious doubts (“I’ve heard this before”), I decided to head over to the IO Designs “room”.
Well, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard such immediacy, palpability and a “reach out and touch” “you are there” presentation. Details were among the best I’ve ever heard. Imaging and soundstaging were spot-on. I could detect no peaks that might cause exaggerated detail; the sound was smooth, warm and inviting. The timbres and colors of instruments and voices seemed natural. Ypsilon provided the amps; I don’t recall the digital source.
The open back cone woofers probably play the old trick of placing a high-Q resonance at a frequency where this peak approximately compensates for the front-to-back cancellation. Flat to 22 Hz? Ahh…Nope.
So the nay-sayers who have never heard these speakers can say what they want, but I’m telling you these were wonderful speakers. I have no idea what’s next for them. They ARE crazy expensive.
Despite dubious low-bass claims and a few gimmicky features, these speakers were drop-dead stunning to listen to. Easily the best sound of the whole show, and I heard all the big guys there. But the IO Designs distributor only had a tiny temporary set-up room away from the big rooms and they were not drawing a huge crowd. I was tipped off by YouTuber “The Audiophile Junkie”. He gushed with disbelief and praise, and told me I HAD to go hear them. You can find his videos about this speaker on YT. So, as an old skeptical audiophile having serious doubts (“I’ve heard this before”), I decided to head over to the IO Designs “room”.
Well, I don’t know that I’ve ever heard such immediacy, palpability and a “reach out and touch” “you are there” presentation. Details were among the best I’ve ever heard. Imaging and soundstaging were spot-on. I could detect no peaks that might cause exaggerated detail; the sound was smooth, warm and inviting. The timbres and colors of instruments and voices seemed natural. Ypsilon provided the amps; I don’t recall the digital source.
The open back cone woofers probably play the old trick of placing a high-Q resonance at a frequency where this peak approximately compensates for the front-to-back cancellation. Flat to 22 Hz? Ahh…Nope.
So the nay-sayers who have never heard these speakers can say what they want, but I’m telling you these were wonderful speakers. I have no idea what’s next for them. They ARE crazy expensive.
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