[jrosenth]

Headphones have been my first love... but i tend to cycle through them (grado, beyer, akg, etc.) and jsut haven't been able to find a set up i can stick with.

Speakers on the other hand, I've been pretty faithful to - especially the full-range / single driver sorts (dabbled in electrostats but cam back to single drivers pretty quickly).

Yes, i know they have their faults - and there are many (lack of highs, lack of bass, problems translating complex / busy passages. They also can get screechy (unless using a BSC circuit or doing some EQ-ing in the digital domain with a Behringer or the like or via software such as foobar).

But man i do love them - there's just something that sounds very right about them - creating an experience not unlike what i enjoy about headphones (detail, point source, bang for the buck, etc.).

With the smaller guys and a t-amp they make great desktops systems (used them in many) - and up until now I've had separate systems - one for headphones and one for speakers, etc. - but am currently finding it pretty easy togo back and forth now from the same system (for the first time in a few years dabbling in this) - and i'll be further consolidating (bottlehead integrated amp with headphone jack).

I'm not a huge DIY-er but it's fairly easy with these little guys - your you can have folks make them for not too much cash. The latest i had done in harley davidson orange cabinets for Tekton Designs (no affiliation, just like their stuff) - see pics

i know - not currently in the best listening position or yet with reasonable electronics (just foobar into a pop pulse usb converter to a digital panny - but descent enough for now with changes on the way (will bring out some old acoustic alchemy stuff or a VDAC and a bottlehead

I know at first glance , this isn't exactly apropo for a 1500th post as it's not about headphones per say, but I've finally found a pretty descent set up for enjoying both speakers and headphone so i'm pretty happy and wanted to share

 

[Drag0n]

Only one small speaker in a huge box? What can they possibly sound like?

Theyre pretty though.

 

[jrosenth]

hi,

thanks - the color turned out exactly as i hoped

they sound pretty nifty - it's a fostex 127 in there - pros and cons to splitting up the signal into multiple drivers (less bass, highs, dynamic range) and that's amplified as it's a smaller driver instead of the larger ones you might find in a cain and cain - but better imaging and less beaming (to my ears much more coherent from a single point source and "headphone-like"

also for anyone looking for cheap speakers for desktop of monitors, trying a pair of fostex or the like in a prefab or diy cabinet is worth a shot

i'm toying around with some open baffles

 

[Kawai_man]

very nice man I got some omega grande 6r and tekton 6.5 speakers, I also have some whiplash ions on the way which are single driver speakers with tang band drivers made specifically for t-amps. Single driver speakers definitly have a magic about them that is due to the fact that they dont use crossovers but then theres also the downfalls like you said. Im using mine with a trends t-amp.

Im currently looking into adding an active subwoofer to my setup which will hopefully add bass without taking away from the magic of the single drivers since instead of a crossover ill be splitting the output from DAC so one set goes to my t-amp and the other goes to the sub.

 

[Bigjppop]

It's always great to see people loving the single driver thing. I've only recently gotten into it but so far I'm very impressed. I've got a pair of Omegas as well, but I've been gawking at the Tekton site for about 6 months now. I'm pretty sure I'll end up with something of theirs in due time.

My next purchase/build is going to be a nice sealed sub that I can mate with my Omegas. My speakers only go down to about 55 Hz (pretty sure you're pretty close to that as well with your Tektons) and I think a nice sub would make all the difference. I don't feel like I'm missing anything on the high end with my speakers (same size driver as the 127's).

Anyway, enjoy!

 

[jrosenth]

thanks guys

I love the omegas and think they make some very fine stuff - and had been tempted to try the whiplash with a t-amp

sure they all have downside but what speakers, especially desktop monitors, don't outside spending serious money

I had a hsu mated with some bookshelves tektons and another DIY sealed mated with some other single driver monitors and it was very nice indeed once dialed in

Eric (the tekton guy - again no affiliation) also made me some little yellow voight pipes for the fostex 127s a few years ago and they are really nice

although as of late i'm itching to try something like this:

Wild Burro Audio Labs - DIY Full Range Speakers

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Nice. I need to listen to some full range single driver speakers. 32 Ohm Audio here in Portland OR carries the Omegas and some other single driver speakers. I'll have to give them a listen some time. As headphone fanatics we can get spoiled by the coherency that good headphones can provide. Looking for that same coherency in speakers could easily take you down the road of single driver speakers.

The orange is neat. Not a color that would work in every room or every decor. But if it works it's all good and different than normal.

 

[mrarroyo]

Nice work, they are so different to be very appealing. Been wanting to get a pair of single driver for a long time, maybe one day not to far into the future.

 

[Paul J.]

jronseth,
 
I know this is a pretty old post to bump, but I've been lax at both checking the forums and updating my website, so I thought I'd respond to your itch.  I've been working on a couple of new projects that I haven't yet been able to get up on the page.  The first image is a folded tapered quarter wave tube for my BetsyK driver that has some distinct advantages over a regular vented or sealed box (especially midbass gain and the shape of the bass rolloff).  It is also moderately sized (12x13x44"), easy to place (can be against a wall or in corners), and easy to build.  The image is a SketchUp drawing of the enclosure without sides (and with slightly incorrect dimensions).  I've built a couple of pairs of these cabinets, one for myself and one for my brother and sister in law.  I like them a great deal, and I'm thinking of building at least another pair this summer as a gift for a friend.  
 
More recently, I've been working on a more complicated open baffle setup.  The image below is a prototype for a biamplified speaker that contains the Betsy and a 15" helper woofer.  The Betsy has a single cap at line level (between preamp and amp).  The woofer has a digital signal processor (a diy board from www.miniDSP.com) used as a line level active EQ and crossover.
 
So, let me know if you are still interested and I'd love to help find the right project for you.  Your finishing skills are quite superior to mine, so I'd love to see what you could come up with!
 
Paul
www.wildburroaudio.com