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Open Baffle Epiphany!

Question to all you folks who sound quite knowledgeable about the open baffle concept.

It seems that OB is only good in large'ish spaces and with larger sized drivers...or have I misunderstood what I have reading?

I am thinking about someone living in a smaller condominium.

I have some 5" x 7" oval full range Isophons, and also a pair of EPI 100. Might either of those be turned into either of a bookshelf OB (is there such a thing?) or a small footprint (i.e. taller and skinny) floor standing OB.

I would appreciate any thoughts you might have.

Thanks
 
Tucker99 said:
.......I have some 5" x 7" oval full range Isophons, and also a pair of EPI 100. Might either of those be turned into either of a bookshelf OB (is there such a thing?) or a small footprint (i.e. taller and skinny) floor standing OB.

I would appreciate any thoughts you might have.

Thanks
Click to expand...

Well, I've only made my first (big & crude) OB pair, but I love them!
Thread here:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=588445

Still, I'll offer my thoughts. I've seen some teeny tiny OBs built as computer speakers, so I don't think they have to be ginormous. The biggest issue with the smaller baffle may be your bass response. The wider the baffle, the lower your frequency.

I've never heard the Isophons, but they seem to be well regarded. A quick google image search shows a few in OBs and, given that they were likely originally mounted in old (perforated back) consoles, they should do well in OBs. Since they're full-rangers, you might try them first all by themselves. Corrugated cardboard would get you started as a test mule. Then, depending on the sound, you might add the EPI tweeters for a little sparkle.

Only thing I'm not sure about is the EPI woofs. They were in sealed acoustic suspension cabs, and relied on air as part of their suspension. Free air might not work so well. You'll have to google their T/S parameters (should be out there somewhere), and look at their Q figures. I'm guessing they're not a great driver for OB.

I say, go for it!
 
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Tucker99 said:
Question to all you folks who sound quite knowledgeable about the open baffle concept.



It seems that OB is only good in large'ish spaces and with larger sized drivers...or have I misunderstood what I have reading?



I am thinking about someone living in a smaller condominium.



I have some 5" x 7" oval full range Isophons, and also a pair of EPI 100. Might either of those be turned into either of a bookshelf OB (is there such a thing?) or a small footprint (i.e. taller and skinny) floor standing OB.



I would appreciate any thoughts you might have.



Thanks
Click to expand...


From what I've read and what I have seen so far the answer is, yes! But, it has to do more with the low end (bass).

There are ways to get around that, but one of them is not a true OB, it would be a hybrid; having a woofer in a vented or sealed enclosure and a full range or mid or tweeter or combination of drivers in OB configuration. Not sure if you can get good bass with a 6.5" woofer in a small H OB enclosure; Poultrygeist might be able to answer that.

This threads, http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=651881&highlight=hybrid and http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=663542, might help you. This one of Tekton's past offerings: http://www.enjoythemusic.com/magazine/equipment/0809/tekton_design_ob45.htm This is their most recent one: https://tektondesign.wordpress.com/...esign-open-baffle-hybrid-sigma-available-now/

As for a true bookshelf OB I haven't seen any good ones (doesn't mean there is not one out there). There is a desktop:
http://gainphile.blogspot.com/2009/09/s11-ob-bookshelf-open-baffle-with-seas.html?m=1
 
Back to my favorite thread:biggrin: I'm limited for floor space and was wondering if anyone has done an open baffle from the ceiling, say a fullrange driver hanging above like a BOSE 901 type setup but with the bass driver on the floor.
...or am I :crazy:
 
Tucker99 said:
Question to all you folks who sound quite knowledgeable about the open baffle concept.

It seems that OB is only good in large'ish spaces and with larger sized drivers...or have I misunderstood what I have reading?

I am thinking about someone living in a smaller condominium.

I have some 5" x 7" oval full range Isophons, and also a pair of EPI 100. Might either of those be turned into either of a bookshelf OB (is there such a thing?) or a small footprint (i.e. taller and skinny) floor standing OB.

I would appreciate any thoughts you might have.

Thanks
Click to expand...

A largeish room helps but is not absolutely necessary.
On his website Sigfried Linkwitz suggests that with asymetrical toe-in one can place an open baffle speaker close to one wall and only about 2.5' from the center of the opposite speaker to the wall.
The room I have my OB's in is only about 14' wide and this approach works wonders for me.
Between 3 to 5 feet into the room is necessary for me.

The oval Isophon speakers apparently are well suited to and sound great in OB's.
And they can be had very inexpensively.
I'd try the Isophon drivers first.
I've been tempted by some pairs that have come up locally but I have too many projects on the go already.

Art
 
Just built a pair using 12" audio nirvana drivers. 24 inches wide front with tapered wings. 29 inches tall. the sound is amazing, the bass is fine altho i do boost it a bit at 60 hz. you have to use the floor to reenforce so the driver needs to be low. stunning sound, the baffles cost me 150 or less and i diy. I figured why go with multiple drivers and the ensuing hassles.
 
i'm going to built and OB with eminence alpha 15A and tang bang 1808. I need passive cross over for these driver but not knowledge enough to design by myself. Any body can help me here?
 
Have you been to Martin J. King's website quarter-wave.com? Lots of info there. I'm not running a crossover with aFostex FE126En, although I know I should probably do something, perhaps a capacitor. I'm using a plate amp on the Eminence Alpha's.

Please leave report on how your Tang Bangs turn out!
 
Bonkers60 said:
Eminence Alpha's.
Click to expand...
Yes I read martin design but he design for bi-amp? I want to use for integrated amp. I see Pure Audio they do cross for eminent at 250HZ and L-pad for the full range. My question is it possible to run with my integrate amplifier?
 
Hello all,
First post here. I gotta say, I really like this place. Some of the other DIY audio sites are quite intimidating. This is a very friendly place.....love it!

Ok, so one of Santa's helpers....my wife....got me four brand new GRS 8fr-8 FR'ers for Christmas. Initially, I was going to put a pair into "Half Chang" enclosures and I still might.

But truth be told, I'm really, really, REALLY, wanting to build a pair of open baffle speakers for my listening room.

The thought was, build the Half Chang's, listen to them while I wade through the endless amount of info out there about DIY speaker building. Then I stumbled upon Nelson Pass, then Godzilla's (screen name from another board) Manzinita OB caught my eye, then I was rooting around looking at what little there was to read about the GRS 8fr-8 and stumbled upon this thread.

Back on page three of this thread, the BOFU clones from GRS are mentioned as being not half bad in open baffle. I wonder, could the guys who have used this driver in open baffle please drop a note and relate your experience? Baffle dimensions, subwoof help? Tweeter help? Crossover design? Listening impressions?

It would be a big help. Otherwise, I'll need to save my pennies and buy all new drivers for an open baffle project.

Thanks!
Madcap
 
Well, I finally found someone to do the woodworking I needed. Took my old baffles set up for Duets and split them! Then made a matching third driver board for each and the legs.

Hoping to get them dyed / stained in the next couple weeks then can get the drivers installed.

IMG_20160209_123433.jpg
 
Already have (4) 15" Hawthorne Audio Augie woofers, (2) 15" Hawthorne Audio Sterling midwoofers and a pair of Radian compression drivers.
 
I am trying to catch up with you all and build a pair of open-baffle speakers. What drivers would you recommend, I am thinking about going with about an 8". Wild Burro Betsy drivers seem to be highly regarded, but should I be looking at Audio Nirvana or Fostex or other?

Thanks for any advice!
 
I like the Betsy drivers augmented by Eminence Alphas but I'm sure the AN's are also a good choice although I've never heard any of them. You can't go wrong with building Martin King's flat baffles with the smaller Fostex. Bi-amping solves the problem of matching the full range drivers with the woofers.
 
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