Anybody heard Van L's new speakers The Silhouette in Chicago yet?

[Danddd]

I was in the Chicago proper today and stopped by Van L Speakerworks. I was dropping off something for repair and as anybody knows who has been in John's shop, it's fun to talk to the proprietor.

John was showing me his new speaker design, The Silhouette. After listening, I was very impressed. Solid 1" deep maple fronts, wood cone woofer, very unique. If your around the Chicago north side, I hope you'll check them out.

 

[gonzothegreat]

Transmission line design?

 

[just dave]

What's the deal with the woofers,wood grain?

 

[Danddd]

John has a guy in Michigan who makes the woofers. Won't say what wood it is. John was looking for a material as stiff as titanium.

The speakers are kind of cool, where you can widen the soundstage with an interconnect that goes between the the two speakers. Lot of technology that is currently beyond my understanding. Sound great though.

More info here: http://www.vanlspeakerworks.com/silhouette.html

John doesn't do a good job selling on the website.

 

[automojo]

Midwest Speaker has the same type of wood cone drivers-I think they are made by MN based Misco
http://w.mawebcenters.com/midwestsp...d-cone-woofers/mw-audio-wood-cone-woofer.html

http://miscospeakers.com/speakers/LC62W-8B

 

[Robie]

Van L's owner is a really nice guy. I met him years ago but have read other AKers having good experiences with him.

 

[JimPA]

Van L Speakerworks is using a dual voice version for use with the M.A.R.S..

I knew he would have to have some new drivers sourced after he ran out of the Gefco drivers no longer available.

 

[Danddd]

Midwest Speaker has the same type of wood cone drivers-I think they are made by MN based Misco
http://w.mawebcenters.com/midwestsp...d-cone-woofers/mw-audio-wood-cone-woofer.html

http://miscospeakers.com/speakers/LC62W-8B

That's exactly what the cones look like. Sound wise, they sound great. John has been working on this a long time. I have to give him kudos on his latest design. Very tight sound with a broad soundstage. It's one of those things where you have to hear the speakers perform.

The thing with John is he is not good at self promotion.

 

[gonzothegreat]

The ambience recovery system sounds like an interesting variation of Carver Sonic Holography though wouldn't the Polk SDA method have advantages due to the physical spacing of the difference signal drivers?

 

[hifitommy]

i think for van L to call the drivers BINAURAL may be the wrong usage of the word binauaral. perhaps that thought could be expanded upon.

 

[gonzothegreat]

i think for van L to call the drivers BINAURAL may be the wrong usage of the word binauaral. perhaps that thought could be expanded upon.

Binaural just means having or relating to two ears so the usage isn't strictly confined to dummy head recordings. These speakers use a dual voice coil woofer to add a Carver-like difference signal. There are probably tweaks to the concept but I'd bet the design might have trouble if either Carver or Polk decided to call in the lawyers.

 

[Gang-Twanger]

What's the deal with the woofers,wood grain?

He bookmatches the veneer of the speaker-cone to the veneer on the cab (so it flowwwwws... ).

 

[just dave]

Midwest Speaker has the same type of wood cone drivers-I think they are made by MN based Misco
http://w.mawebcenters.com/midwestsp...d-cone-woofers/mw-audio-wood-cone-woofer.html

http://miscospeakers.com/speakers/LC62W-8B

Those are pretty cool.I guess if you can make a cone from paper a wood one would be even better.Then you can say,"my woofer's got wood"

 

[Tom Brennan]

There are probably tweaks to the concept but I'd bet the design might have trouble if either Carver or Polk decided to call in the lawyers.

Those things were a long time ago and patents from them that might apply are probably out of date.

 

[kirk57]

Van L Speakerworks is using a dual voice version for use with the M.A.R.S..

I knew he would have to have some new drivers sourced after he ran out of the Gefco drivers no longer available.

John's been using titanium coned dual VC drivers in the Quartet for a couple of years now. Pretty sure that is not a Gefco driver.

I've heard the Silhouettes, and quite like them, but have not compared them to my Quartets, yet, but I will soon..

Both use Chuck McShane's circuit.

 

[hifitommy]

gonzo,

in hifi, we use the word binaural to refer to recordings made with a head space and mass between microphones, sometimes placed in canal or little vestibules to simulate ear pinnae.

right now, chesky records is producing recordings such as this for playback on speakers.

the definition of binaural only refers to two ears but common usage in our chosen hobby refers to the special recording technique.

a speaker manufacturer should honor such usage and come up with their own descriptive terminology. polk, carver, and delphi imagers did so and show great integrity for doing it.

perhaps Van L didn't think it out far enough. i am sure they aren't trying to deceive anybody.

 

[JimPA]

John's been using titanium coned dual VC drivers in the Quartet for a couple of years now. Pretty sure that is not a Gefco driver.

I've heard the Silhouettes, and quite like them, but have not compared them to my Quartets, yet, but I will soon..

Both use Chuck McShane's circuit.

The original Quartet back in the mid 90's is when Van L used the Gefco drivers.
I am not sure if the cone material was exactly the same as the version Fried used.
I know he used a 5" and maybe an 8" in the original. I called him on the phone a few times since I knew he was involved in the collaboration of the M.A.R.S. with Fried. IRC the 5" frames were not round but more of a square frame.

I never heard any of his speakers since he is based in the fine city of Chicago.

 

[frommerstop]

The ambience recovery system sounds like an interesting variation of Carver Sonic Holography though wouldn't the Polk SDA method have advantages due to the physical spacing of the difference signal drivers?

Really, I think closer to the old Hafler phase cancelling system... pretty much what Polk did, just using a single driver with two voicecoils rather than two distinct drivers. All those systems seemed a bit "gimmicky" to me, they do work to some extent, but it rarely sounded natural, and the effect only works in an incredibly small "sweet spot". And this coming from an electrostat/panel speaker fan. When I claim it has a small sweet spot, it's SMALL!

They do look very nice though, I'd love to hear them someday.

 

[JohnVF]

Whether there are similarities in the approach or not, the Van L speakers' ambience recovery sounds much more natural than Carver's Sonic Holographry effect. I've heard both and thought the Carver thing sounded a bit goofy. For lack of a more scientific term. Not terrible just not natural.

 

[kirk57]

While I grant you that I may not be the most objective person on this subject (see my sig) the effect is not gimmicky at all. Everybody who's heard them seems to be quite taken with them.