The dream speaker thread

[Sal1950]

Anyone had the opportunity to listen to the Emerald Physics line of speakers?
I find something like the EP 4.8 to check many of the boxes for things I've found important in speaker designs.
http://www.emeraldphysics.com/products/ep-48

 

[oivavoi]

Anyone had the opportunity to listen to the Emerald Physics line of speakers?
I find something like the EP 4.8 to check many of the boxes for things I've found important in speaker designs.
http://www.emeraldphysics.com/products/ep-48

Looks interesting!

 

[watchnerd]

Just curious - what in the specifications for the Revel, and those JBLs would tell the naive newcomer to the audio scene that the Revels are superior?

Revel doesn't have any active designs, unless I missed something, so real apples and oranges.

 

[Dynamix]

Looks interesting!

These other guys aren't gonna know what this means, but on the subject of dream speakers: Have you checked out "Sluket" and "Emokid" on HFS. Looks like dream speakers to me...

 

[watchnerd]

Here's the voodoo question:

If you're going to use an active speaker with a built-in ADC and heavy DSP, is there any point in spending big money on a DAC if it's just going to get put through an ADC, anyway?

 

[Dynamix]

Revel doesn't have any active designs, unless I missed something, so real apples and oranges.

Those new affordable Revel's sure looks nice though.

 

[RayDunzl]

Here's the voodoo question

Does it decode MQA?

 

[Dynamix]

Here's the voodoo question:

If you're going to use an active speaker with a built-in ADC and heavy DSP, is there any point in spending big money on a DAC if it's just going to get put through an ADC, anyway?

I'd say the question is, is there any point in spending big money on a dac, period?

 

[Blumlein 88]

Here's the voodoo question:

If you're going to use an active speaker with a built-in ADC and heavy DSP, is there any point in spending big money on a DAC if it's just going to get put through an ADC, anyway?

Is there any reason to spend big money on any DAC whatever it will be used for? Big money isn't required for big time DAC performance.


EDIT: Dynamix beat me to it by a few seconds.

 

[Dynamix]

Is there any reason to spend big money on any DAC whatever it will be used for? Big money isn't required for big time DAC performance.


EDIT: Dynamix beat me to it by a few seconds.

Hehe, great minds think alike. Or idiots are idiots. Whateva, I guess.

 

[ChrisH]

Interesting. Care to say a bit more about your system?

I purchased a kit from Selah Audio, the Tempesta. It's a stand mount utilizing a Raal tweeter, Accuton mid, and a Scanspeak Illuminator woofer. With help from the designer, we turned the speaker active. We use very steep 96db/octave linear phase slopes. With the DEQX you also get time alignment as well. They measure very flat, +/-1 or so, but I'm not the best at measuring yet. My enclosures are made from plate aluminum. I run them using 3 stereo amps from ClassDaudio in California, they are kits as well. They run about 80 watts per driver.

As someone who became an audiophile because of music, these are a revelation to me.

 

[Dynamix]

I purchased a kit from Selah Audio, the Tempesta. It's a stand mount utilizing a Raal tweeter, Accuton mid, and a Scanspeak Illuminator woofer. With help from the designer, we turned the speaker active. We use very steep 96db/octave linear phase slopes. With the DEQX you also get time alignment as well. They measure very flat, +/-1 or so, but I'm not the best at measuring yet. My enclosures are made from plate aluminum. I run them using 3 stereo amps from ClassDaudio in California, they are kits as well. They run about 80 watts per driver.

As someone who became an audiophile because of music, these are a revelation to me.

That seems like some pretty sweet speakers.

 

[Dynamix]

I'm just saying...

 

[oivavoi]

These other guys aren't gonna know what this means, but on the subject of dream speakers: Have you checked out "Sluket" and "Emokid" on HFS. Looks like dream speakers to me...

I know. I hope to get to listen their systems one day. If I had a dedicated listening room, I would probably go for something like that.
(to the rest of the gang: they have very oversized horn systems)

 

[oivavoi]

I purchased a kit from Selah Audio, the Tempesta. It's a stand mount utilizing a Raal tweeter, Accuton mid, and a Scanspeak Illuminator woofer. With help from the designer, we turned the speaker active. We use very steep 96db/octave linear phase slopes. With the DEQX you also get time alignment as well. They measure very flat, +/-1 or so, but I'm not the best at measuring yet. My enclosures are made from plate aluminum. I run them using 3 stereo amps from ClassDaudio in California, they are kits as well. They run about 80 watts per driver.

As someone who became an audiophile because of music, these are a revelation to me.

Yes. Based on the specifications of the system and the quality of the components/drivers, this should indeed sound very good.

 

[Phelonious Ponk]

Active crossovers is obviously a superior and logical solution. I know that there is market demand etc, but still: Why does the industry stick with doing something that just peforms worse? I just can't get my head around it.

But: it's not the only thing that matters. There is also the quality of the drivers, the construction of the cabinet, the dispersion pattern, etc. My impression is also that passive crossovers create much more havoc in the lower price ranges. When you get to really expensive speakers, they seem to be able somehow to create passive crossovers which function better. Plus that very expensive speakers often are driven by very good amplifiers, and these amplifiers may manage the load of the passive crossovers better than budget amplifiers.

So I wouldn't necessarily assume that these JBLs would sound better than a pair of TADs which cost 100 times more. But the TADs would probably sound even better if they were driven actively.

It is Harman's r&d methodology and design goals that would cause me to assume they would be better. Simply put, they want to be more accurate, not more audiophile, and put a tremendous amount of time, money and expertise into achieving that goal.

 

[dallasjustice]

I think I just lost 2 grand...

Tim

The JBL 708P loox like the speaker you've requested JBL make for you.

I bet it sounds better than the kii audio speakers.

 

[Thomas savage]

The JBL 708P loox like the speaker you've requested JBL make for you.

I bet it sounds better than the kii audio speakers.

God damn the cheeeeeeek!

 

[dallasjustice]

God damn the cheeeeeeek!

Now's the best time to buy them. Trump is going to slap a 35% import tax on Harman for making their gear across the border and selling it in the U.S.

 

[oivavoi]

Now's the best time to buy them. Trump is going to slap a 35% import tax on Harman for making their gear across the border and selling it in the U.S.

Harman wins at making speakers. In fact, they win so much speaker-wise that they get tired of winning. And it's not only me saying that, lots of people are saying the same thing.