Parts Express Orian Speaker Review

[im_gumby]

I have, it is not a well-engineered driver. And it isn't even cheap. I have intended to remeasure, but the on-axis performance is very poor, and the off axis has odd behavior as well.
Zaph Audio has measurements:

Zaph|Audio

I was never able to get the tweeter and woofer integrated. I have debated going back and trying DSP crossovers. It isn't an elegant design, and none of the issues inherent to coax seem to have been addressed like proper loading of the tweeter into the woofer cone.

Full range and coaxial are apples to oranges. And a whole new set of tradeoffs.
Seas does make a very competent looking coaxial driver, but it is a midrange only, not a woofer, which solves one of the problems of coaxial speakers (the misnamed Doppler distortion) with the tradeoff being no bass extension.

Not what I said at all!!! Some of the coaxials are a tweeter stuck in the middle of a woofer, coax doesn't magically fix anything, in fact the opposite at times. Genelec has done great with Coax too. Many others too.

Coax doesn't make it easier to build a speaker that sounds good. It is one way to go though.

I checked out the Zaph Audio site... that's from 2008.
Do you think Seas may have fixed the issues in the past 15yrs?

Ok, so I guess the hate for coax is more out of frustration.

 

[ryanosaur]

Ok so it seems like the issue is that if you're starting from scratch, taming a Coax is going to be more of a challenge that just starting w a 2 way design.
But you'll still have a challenge in choosing your drivers and your XO just a lot easier.

It's all trade-offs. A simple 2-way can be a very complex thing. So much depends on the Drivers and the goal you are building for. I did a mod where the crossover went from a handful of components to around 16 or 17 per Speaker. The resulting improvement to the standard Dayton BR-1 Kit was stunning. The original Mod required a new Tweeter, too, but after prices went up, the Designer switched back to the stock Tweet and fixed some XO changes, actually improving on the previous iteration.
Still a lot of components to do it.
But a good example of one company saying, "good enough," while another person said, "I think this can be better."

 

[im_gumby]

Should add.

In terms of coax, I think Tang Bang seems to have the best value.

But w.r.t Seas... then seem to have gone the full range route?

And to your point about a mid range / tweeter coax...
Sure. So do you go 3way or do you go w a separate sub?

 

[DMill]

I think this goes to show why DIY for mainstream designs (any monkey coffin) is a tough proposition these days. Commercial designs are just too good to justify the effort.

For $675 you can have this reasonably decent but flawed 8" coax 3-way. But, you have to build it yourself, paint it yourself, and find an amp to drive it.

Or spend another $120 and get the undeniably superior and very similar active Kali IN-8s and call it a day.

Or even save a few bucks and get a used pair.

I agree. But there is something anmazing about building them. i think of some old Genesis lyric about trusting a country man vs a city man. And trusting a man who works with his hands… They are quite lovely and appreciate the OP and this post.

 

[MAB]

I checked out the Zaph Audio site... that's from 2008.
Do you think Seas may have fixed the issues in the past 15yrs?

Not really. I just think that it’s not the best driver. The discontinuous interface between the tweeter and woofer cone is poor design. It’s not a matter of fixing, it seems bad design. Feel free to ignore though.

Ok, so I guess the hate for coax is more out of frustration.

I have no feelings either way. I have coaxial speakers and non coax that I love to listen to!

 

[RickS]

A year later despite the glowing AH review…

Orian 3-way High Output Bookshelf Speaker Kit Pair With Knock Down Enclosures

Orian 3-way High Output Bookshelf Speaker Kit Pair With Knock Down EnclosuresOrian 3-Way High-Output Bookshelf Speaker Kit Pair With Knock Down EnclosuresThe Orian High Output Bookshelf Speaker Kit’s unique design delivers SPL levels you would normally only expect from larger tower speakers...

www.parts-express.com

 

[im_gumby]

A year later despite the glowing AH review…

Orian 3-way High Output Bookshelf Speaker Kit Pair With Knock Down Enclosures

Orian 3-way High Output Bookshelf Speaker Kit Pair With Knock Down EnclosuresOrian 3-Way High-Output Bookshelf Speaker Kit Pair With Knock Down EnclosuresThe Orian High Output Bookshelf Speaker Kit’s unique design delivers SPL levels you would normally only expect from larger tower speakers...

www.parts-express.com

Huh?
I just checked... no longer available... just ~15 mins after your post.

 

[RickS]

Huh?
I just checked... no longer available... just ~15 mins after your post.

Yes, maybe should have been more explicit, but was pointing out that they are discontinued.

 

[a4eaudio]

The CX150-8 coaxial was discontinued. Some people think that the Orian design was specifically designed to help unload some the existing inventory of the discontinued driver.

 

[im_gumby]

The CX150-8 coaxial was discontinued. Some people think that the Orian design was specifically designed to help unload some the existing inventory of the discontinued driver.

That's kind of a weird thing to say...

W.R.T Parts Express, I kinda prefer Madisound. I live 1/2 between both... and about 1.5 hours when visiting family in Cowlumbus [sic].

There's an 8" Tangband co-ax that they won't stock unless you buy their minimum order of 50 drivers.
To be fair, at last years Axpona I met folks from both of them and they all seemed nice.

 

[a4eaudio]

That's kind of a weird thing to say...

?
As noted the Orian speaker is no longer available. I was pointing out that this is not necessarily due to it being bad or not selling well, but rather that the driver used in the design is no longer produced and no longer available.

 

[im_gumby]

?
As noted the Orian speaker is no longer available. I was pointing out that this is not necessarily due to it being bad or not selling well, but rather that the driver used in the design is no longer produced and no longer available.

I know... but you don't just create a kit to move drivers you want to close out.
Doesn't make sense.

Usually you just dump them (fire sale) , write the cost off and move on. You don't invest in creating a speaker and then a cross over.

 

[alex-z]

I assume Chris Perez was paid to design the crossover and didn't get to pick the drivers. Otherwise the choice to do a 3 way semi-dipole is baffling. $675 could afford a pretty nice traditional 3 way kit with something like an ND25FW + SIG120.

 

[a4eaudio]

I know... but you don't just create a kit to move drivers you want to close out.
Doesn't make sense.

Usually you just dump them (fire sale) , write the cost off and move on. You don't invest in creating a speaker and then a cross over.

1) Dump them at fire sale prices
2) Ask one of your employees to design a crossover and sell some speaker kits for $650 a piece

#2 makes sense to me.
I wouldn't be surprised if Chris Perez did it for fun and it was a creative way to sell some of the coaxial drivers.

 

[RickS]

I know... but you don't just create a kit to move drivers you want to close out.
Doesn't make sense.

Usually you just dump them (fire sale) , write the cost off and move on. You don't invest in creating a speaker and then a cross over.

Agree, fire sale is the typical approach. Would be unusual to try to bury your mistake with yet more investment.

Otoh, if Orian was making great profit, would be easy to justify making more and/or replacing with an upgraded driver. If the designer is salaried employee, already paying for him.

 

[Ktacos]

Not surprised, kit was too expensive.

 

[RickS]

Except…

Apparently the clearance was NOT an end of life event. Just got a new flyer and the Orian is in it!

 

[Wolf]

I saw that too...

 

[otherwillsmith]

I think this goes to show why DIY for mainstream designs (any monkey coffin) is a tough proposition these days. Commercial designs are just too good to justify the effort.

For $675 you can have this reasonably decent but flawed 8" coax 3-way. But, you have to build it yourself, paint it yourself, and find an amp to drive it.

Or spend another $120 and get the undeniably superior and very similar active Kali IN-8s and call it a day.

Or even save a few bucks and get a used pair.

The problem with this argument is that when you’re done, you don’t have a pair of speakers that you’d want to listen to. I built a budget studio for radio station at a community college and spec’d the Kali IN8s. I sent them to my house to break them in for a few months during construction and while they are surprisingly accurate for the price, they’re unbelievably fatiguing to listen to. They reveal every issue you want to correct in a mix, but to the detriment of trying to enjoy music.

When it comes to speakers for the home, dead accuracy is not the end all be all. You have to find something you enjoy listening to. Studio monitors will never be that. That’s not what they’re for. That’s like using your drill to hammer in nails.

I would argue that the value proposition in DIY speakers is very high. You’re going to get components for closer to the cost that big manufacturers pay and avoid the markup for things like construction, warehousing of large bulky finished speakers, a sales network (incredibly expensive in HiFi) as well as the woo factor that traditionally gets attached to “high end” audio gear.

The problem with DIY is that you can’t exercise the most crucial step in speaker purchasing, unless you know someone who has already built them, and built them well, you can’t listen to them. You’re stuck reading and watching reviews, usually by people you don’t know. You have to look for descriptors that sound like characteristics that you value and hope that they mean the same thing to x-influencer.

I personally wanted to build my own speakers and decided on full range drivers to eliminate variables that I wanted to avoid, such as time alignment, phase cohesion and crossover calculation. I landed on the diminutive, Mark Audio Pluvia 7.2 HD. A 4” magnesium cone that is lightning fast and has a frequency range that tops out way above human hearing. I built a pair of back loaded Pensil design enclosures that are tuned down to 38HZ and spent $80 on one sheet of Baltic birch + $125 for a pair of batched drivers.

My research paid off. These finished speakers sound phenomenal as built. No chance of finding anything close for what I paid, I guarantee it.

 

[RickS]

The problem with this argument is that when you’re done, you don’t have a pair of speakers that you’d want to listen to. I built a budget studio for radio station at a community college and spec’d the Kali IN8s. I sent them to my house to break them in for a few months during construction and while they are surprisingly accurate for the price, they’re unbelievably fatiguing to listen to. They reveal every issue you want to correct in a mix, but to the detriment of trying to enjoy music.

When it comes to speakers for the home, dead accuracy is not the end all be all. You have to find something you enjoy listening to. Studio monitors will never be that. That’s not what they’re for. That’s like using your drill to hammer in nails.

I would argue that the value proposition in DIY speakers is very high. You’re going to get components for closer to the cost that big manufacturers pay and avoid the markup for things like construction, warehousing of large bulky finished speakers, a sales network (incredibly expensive in HiFi) as well as the woo factor that traditionally gets attached to “high end” audio gear.

The problem with DIY is that you can’t exercise the most crucial step in speaker purchasing, unless you know someone who has already built them, and built them well, you can’t listen to them. You’re stuck reading and watching reviews, usually by people you don’t know. You have to look for descriptors that sound like characteristics that you value and hope that they mean the same thing to x-influencer.

I personally wanted to build my own speakers and decided on full range drivers to eliminate variables that I wanted to avoid, such as time alignment, phase cohesion and crossover calculation. I landed on the diminutive, Mark Audio Pluvia 7.2 HD. A 4” magnesium cone that is lightning fast and has a frequency range that tops out way above human hearing. I built a pair of back loaded Pensil design enclosures that are tuned down to 38HZ and spent $80 on one sheet of Baltic birch + $125 for a pair of batched drivers.

My research paid off. These finished speakers sound phenomenal as built. No chance of finding anything close for what I paid, I guarantee it.

Welcome to ASR!