View Full Version : Bastanis
Hello,
Just finished building my Bastanis
with the 18" dipole bass - and the dipole "Gemenie tweeter
great sound already here after 10 hours of playtime :)
StanleyB
31-08-2010, 13:27
Have the neighbours been round yet to complain:eyebrows:?
No :-) im breaking them in gently
Ali Tait
31-08-2010, 13:40
The speakers or the neighbours?
Nice work the drive units will take about 150 hours to bed in fully
There is a lot more to come
Some thoughts to think about for the future if you ever wish to improve the performance based on my experience with Hawthorne drivers which are similar to the Bastanis
1 If you can decouple speakers from the baffle it will help performance I also found using thicker MDF also helped (now use 40mm)
2 If you use felt on the drive chassis it will help sound too as the metal is pretty thin
Anyway nice bit of work and enjoy
The 18" dipole are great I heard my friends at the weekend you will have great sound stage and lovely clean mids and highs once all bedded in
The speakers or the neighbours?
:lol: Nice one ! (i think my neighbors are broke):ner:
Nice work the drive units will take about 150 hours to bed in fully
There is a lot more to come
Some thoughts to think about for the future if you ever wish to improve the performance based on my experience with Hawthorne drivers which are similar to the Bastanis
1 If you can decouple speakers from the baffle it will help performance I also found using thicker MDF also helped (now use 40mm)
2 If you use felt on the drive chassis it will help sound too as the metal is pretty thin
Anyway nice bit of work and enjoy
The 18" dipole are great I heard my friends at the weekend you will have great sound stage and lovely clean mids and highs once all bedded in
Hello, yes the Hawthornes were also under consideration, but i ended up buying the Bastanis- and is plenty happy about them
Regarding all the tweaking..I want to brake them in before i begin to play with decoupling the baffel and other stuff, its all part of the fun:)
At some point in the break-in you need to really exercise the bass drivers, unless the paper cones have seen some serious movement around the edges they'll remain too stiff.
Enjoy the Proms!
Hello, yes the Hawthornes were also under consideration, but i ended up buying the Bastanis- and is plenty happy about them
Regarding all the tweaking..I want to brake them in before i begin to play with decoupling the baffel and other stuff, its all part of the fun:)
Yes totally agree
I think you made a good choice with The Bastanis the lack of crossover for me is a good advantage. But then I like the coherence of the duel concentric drivers
Clive uses those 18" dipole so I would follow his good advice
Yes totally agree
I think you made a good choice with The Bastanis the lack of crossover for me is a good advantage. But then I like the coherence of the duel concentric drivers
Clive uses those 18" dipole so I would follow his good advice
Yes Dual concentric is nice, I have had some different Tannoys in the home, and they play music !
B regards Nikolaj
At some point in the break-in you need to really exercise the bass drivers, unless the paper cones have seen some serious movement around the edges they'll remain too stiff.
Enjoy the Proms!
Thanks , i`m full of joy :-)
they offer very high value for the money
Before i have owned a pair of Avantgarde Accustics Duo, and the Bastanis are absolutely on level with them, and without the coloring from the horns
great speakers!
Reid Malenfant
31-08-2010, 17:05
Before i have owned a pair of Avantgarde Accustics Duo, and the Bastanis are absolutely on level with them
They must sound rather good then as the Avantgarde horns are very well rated & have received some great reviews in the past.
It's at times like this you wish you knew someone who owned a pair that was just down the road so you could get a listen ;)
Mark you not to far from Vic he is in Bedford and has Bastanis Atlas
http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages/showimage.aspx?gid=716264&image=357561813&images=357561076,357561813,357561132,357561111,357 561684,357561744,357561669,357561645,357561765&formats=0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0&format=0
Reid Malenfant
31-08-2010, 17:26
Ooooh, MTM setup (D'appolito) as well :) Very nice indeed ;)
I think i'd better get on with my present projects before getting any other mad ideas in all honesty :eyebrows:
I thought mad ideas was your specialty;)
Reid Malenfant
31-08-2010, 17:51
I thought mad ideas was your specialty;)
:lolsign: Ok you got me, what i mean is i think i ought to get the present madness completed before taking on any more 2529 Too much & well...2530
:eyebrows:
Back to the speakers in discussion :)
:lolsign: Ok you got me, what i mean is i think i ought to get the present madness completed before taking on any more 2529 Too much & well...2530
:eyebrows:
Back to the speakers in discussion :)
Don't Listen until your ready to purchase :)
In case you not read Clive review of the Atlas
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0907/bastanis_atlas.htm
Mark you not to far from Vic he is in Bedford and has Bastanis Atlas
http://www.auctiva.com/hostedimages/showimage.aspx?gid=716264&image=357561813&images=357561076,357561813,357561132,357561111,357 561684,357561744,357561669,357561645,357561765&formats=0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0,0&format=0
Very nice system he has there
Yes it sounds pretty good
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=7502
Thanks , i`m full of joy :-)
they offer very high value for the money
Before i have owned a pair of Avantgarde Accustics Duo, and the Bastanis are absolutely on level with them, and without the coloring from the horns
great speakers!
I heard some Trios on a trip to Japan, the room was very different but the Bastanis Altas leave me wanting nothing extra.
In case you not read Clive review of the Atlas
http://www.enjoythemusic.com/superioraudio/equipment/0907/bastanis_atlas.htm
Some of the pics are better here, some are missing too...
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=3970&highlight=system&page=2
I heard the Trio Omega once pretty impressive but more than happy with my choices
I heard some Trios on a trip to Japan, the room was very different but the Bastanis Altas leave me wanting nothing extra.
My Avantgarde Duo´s where the Omega variant, the one with Alnico and 16 ohm, very nice speakers, But there is coloring of the sound from the horns
The Bastanis have of course also there own sound/coloring but on a different level ( less)
and they play Music with the same (or maybe better?) level of dynamic
and then at 1/7 part of the price :eyebrows:
Nice...!
I heard the Trio at GT Audiio many moons ago with the Raven AC and Tron phonostage amazing dynamics but would not want to live with it.... I also thought system was to coloured for me, but many people love what they do.
:)Yes they are great speakers those Avantgarde´s, but i Think the Bastanis are better, and if you take there price in to the comparsion, then there is no qustion about what to buy,
Anyways,
one of my main reasons for Buying the Bastanis where that there is the DIY posibillty and i really needed something new in hifi besides buying and selling gear all the time, so i decided to go down the DIY road...:)
hooping that if i soldered my gear myself, then i would keep it for a longer period
and now i have build a pair of LD91MK2 monobloks and a "the vinyl song" riaa from diyhifisupply and a Tap-x pre from Bent audio, and finally the Bastanis
and i am more than satisfied with it all, its a very rewarding "road" the DIY hifi road :)
Yes being part of the creation of your own gear is part of the joy plus the cost performance you get is amazing They create the illusion of the band in your room or in the recoding studio or whatever really well
Just enjoy them they have more burning in to be done before you get the best from them
My speakers took over 4 months before they really started to settle in and I listen to a lot of music
Morning,
John, what tweaks have you done to your Bastanis, decoupling of the baffle, decoupling of the bas box, wiring , dampening of the midband chassis, etc etc......?
I use Hawthornes but have a sense of what the Bastanis do. Principles should be much the same
I found having a open back gives a better bass in the mid region but its hard to be sure as room modes play a role in this too, a way to do it is use a H frame like this http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1859&page=14
I use a more mimilist approach myself 40mm MDF free standing
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6143&highlight=open+baffle It sounds great with the Augee bass drivers
There a good few ideas around decouple here
http://www.hawthorneaudio.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3554&p=49173&hilit=decouple#p49173
I would also add felt to the back housing of the driver both inside and out as the metal pretty thin and will help dampen it
I would wait till those drivers has settled before you do anything
I use Hawthornes but have a sense of what the Bastanis do. Principles should be much the same
I found having a open back gives a better bass in the mid region but its hard to be sure as room modes play a role in this too, a way to do it is use a H frame like this http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=1859&page=14
I use a more mimilist approach myself 40mm MDF free standing
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=6143&highlight=open+baffle It sounds great with the Augee bass drivers
There a good few ideas around decouple here
http://www.hawthorneaudio.com/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=3554&p=49173&hilit=decouple#p49173
I would also add felt to the back housing of the driver both inside and out as the metal pretty thin and will help dampen it
I would wait till those drivers has settled before you do anything
Yes of course, you have the Hawthornes..my fault, sorry
My bass cabinets are the dipole 18"
And i think your rigth its better to wait until they are broken in before tweaking to much around :)
but i think i will play around with different "feets" this week-end and see( hear) what happens
:)
Damping the basket/spider can, as John suggests, be helpful as there will be reflects and resonances due to these. Experimentation is needed as it's important to have just the right amount of damping behind OBs, too much damping smooths the sound but kills the depth of image.
I used self adhesive felt; once you drives are bedded in do this in stages until you hit on the right balance
I used self adhesive felt; once you drives are bedded in do this in stages until you hit on the right balance
Thanks, i will wait until they have been bedded in,and then go gently :)
Hello,
working from my home today, gives one the pleasure of music played loud while working! great concept:-)
I´m spinning a nice record, John Mclaughlin Trio " live at the royal festival hall nov. 27 1989
Great music :-) gives the Bastanis some Bass and Drums to work with :-)
Yep John Mclauglin at full belt would would get those drivers working...I was at that gig
I suggest some Rodrigo Y Gabriela afterwards now that really will get those drivers something to work through
Yep John Mclauglin at full belt would would get those drivers working...I was at that gig
I suggest some Rodrigo Y Gabriela afterwards now that really will get those drivers something to work through
Yes, there is some nice drum work and low bass on that record
and its very well recorded!
You where there...nice:eyebrows: i envy you :eyebrows:
Rodrigo Y Gabriela ? don't know
will tjeck
Thanks,
just heard Rodrigo Y Gabriela
:eek: think that Gabriela is the mexican love child of Larry Graham
she can really work that thump:lol:
i got exhausted
will buy, have they recorded on vinyl ?
Thanks
You can find some of the 12" singles on vinyl "Stairway To Heaven"
and just checked Amazon albums too ... cannot wait to get a TT again
http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/?ie=UTF8&keywords=rodrigo+y+gabriela+vinyl&tag=yahhyd-21&index=aps&hvadid=37613379031&ref=pd_sl_m9lqhxafr_b
Yeah they do throw music at you but just love it
Good morning, have been playing with different decoupling of the baffle from the bass cabs. i have tried with some feet in brass and some in aluminium, DIY pulsar point clones,
the brass ones clearly gave the most "natural" sound, but unfortunately they affected the holografi in a bad way,
the Alu ones, gave a huge sound picture with great preccision in the placement of the different instruments, very nice :-) but unfortunately they also made the tone a little thinner, ?:-/ hmnnm... rigth now i enjoy the holografi of the alu feet,
but have to play a little more with it
it´s really possible to personalize the sound this way
do you use anything between the baffle and the bass cab ?
and if you do, then lets hear what you use ?
I have mine placed on Cardas blocks
the myrtelwood ?
how does it affect the sound ?
Have a Nice sunday
Yes the myrtelwood seemed to tighten the bass up a bit and add a bit more air in the top but no radical changes to the overall sound
The decopling of the drivers and padding to the drivers should have more effect but do this one step at a time so you hearing the differences. Lots of fine tuning to be done I gone for speed and coherence my friends sytem a bit holographic but not quite as scary as mine.
Hello,
Listning to "Romantic Warrior" Chick Corea, oooohhh my good its so scary, i have never before heard bass reproduced as natural, and the pedal work on the drums comes out so fast an natural, :eek: it´s crazy
I guess the 30-40 hours my speakers have been playing now, are beginning really to open them up, it´s fun!
Yes just wait till you get around 200 hours Boy will it rock!
Looking at the music you like its very similar to my taste and it requires music to be produced with lots of speed and agilty I would experment with a open H Frame at some point for the bass it seems to help the effect of using dipole bass (more info in the mid bass compared to the design you using) but I have no idea how this will work on the Bastanis 18" you use but think should be similar principles to my Augees.
I would also think about thickening the wood for me the difference between 20mm birch ply and 40 mm MDF help to tighten things up even more which is great for those speedy guitar lines. yet again its different drivers so might not have the same effect but think it will
What you should get is the drums sounding real and bass underlying everything
Hello,
Have you seen this :stalks: http://www.bastanis.com/lautsprecher_chrystal.html
Robert B. has made new 12" wideband drivers !
And he buys your old ones back, so you can get the new ones with a discount
They are based on exactly the same eminence 12" drivers as the old ones, but they have another treatment of the membrane, it´s a much more visible coating, that makes the membrane shiny to look at
besides that there are no visible difference to the old drivers.
i recieved mine one week ago, trading the old ones back, and have been playing them for app 20 hours now,
right out of the box they have a different tone than the old ones,
the tone, reminds me, of the tone that some Alnico drivers have
a much more natural and pleasing tone, and maybe, just a little "darker" sounding than the older drivers , it´s really really nice:)
They are as dynamic as the old ones,but as i recall it, the new Chrystal Drivers show a higher degree of details than the old drivers did at the same break inn level, and this level of detail together with the VERY natural and pleasing sound is sooooo nice
I must say that i´m quite surprised of the level that Robert have brought these drivers to! in this new Chrystal version, they are sounding so fantastic good, here after only 20 hours of play, really looking forward to hearing them after 2-300 hours of play- cant wait !:-)
Interesting Nikolaj! Mine should arrive next week, I can't wait!
Interesting Nikolaj! Mine should arrive next week, I can't wait!
You have something to look forward to!
They are really good sounding, the Tone is so natural
He is the dark lord of membrane coating, Robert B !:eyebrows:
Vic says the sound a lot more depth more like the Hawthorne that way Not as shouty in treble
Vic says the sound a lot more depth more like the Hawthorne that way Not as shouty in treble
Yes thats true, there is more depth , and the ssss sounds in the treble are not as pronounced, i guess that that is one of the reasons to the overall more "natural" sound ?
but there is also something happening in the lower midrange and upper bass...
but should probably break them inn a little more until the true nature of these drivers is revealed
anyway.. there is no question about the quality of these new drivers, they really take the Bastanis to a different level ( and it`s a higher level :))
and thats easy to hear although mine only have 20 hours of music on them
i feel that they absolutely are are worth the extra €
Yes another 500 hrs before they break in
:violin::guitar::surf: 450 more hours before reaching Nirvana
selfaddict
15-12-2010, 19:33
Hello Nikolaj.
Are you using your Gemini tweeters with Bastanis "back reflection cups" or what ever one have to call them :lol:. These are the plack plastic "cups" that have felt inside. Mine came with my speakers just taped on the back of the Gemini tweeters. I took them off and have not tried the speakers with them yet.
I have 1 hour on my new Chrystals so far. A lot more running in to go before I really dare listen to them.
Juha, if you run without the tweeter rear covers in place you are running them as dipoles, this is the best config. Be careful that the coils don't fall out, you may need some form of ring to secure them.
Hello Nikolaj.
Are you using your Gemini tweeters with Bastanis "back reflection cups" or what ever one have to call them :lol:. These are the plack plastic "cups" that have felt inside. Mine came with my speakers just taped on the back of the Gemini tweeters. I took them off and have not tried the speakers with them yet.
Hello,
I use my Bastanis Gemeni tweeters "open style" i have cut out the back of the plastic cup that is at the back of the tweeter, it is absolutely the way to use them, much better sound and detail level that way !
I have 1 hour on my new Chrystals so far. A lot more running in to go before I really dare listen to them.
Juha, if you run without the tweeter rear covers in place you are running them as dipoles, this is the best config. Be careful that the coils don't fall out, you may need some form of ring to secure them.
congratulations one the Chrystals, hope you like what you hear ! mine are playing now, and it is veeeery nice sound they make here after app 30 hours
I'm at 10 hours now and very much like what I'm hearing, really rich tones. Robert tells me there's loads more to come, at 50 hours or so the suspension should be freer, as long as I use a few high volume blasts on the way.
selfaddict
16-12-2010, 20:50
Hello Clive and Nikolaj.
I just cannot believe how much music detail I have been missing before I got my Bastanis :mental:. There is so much more detail available and the sound in so three dimensional that sometimes it is hard to believe :eek:.
I am most interested hearing your impressions how the Chrystals are breaking in. I have been planning to ad another pair of full band drivers in the future to my Bastanis, but this needs to wait until I get myself another plate amp and active preamp.
Have you discussed with Robert if there is a possibility to use old style full band drivers with Chrystals or is this going to be detrimental the sound and the image?
Hello Clive and Nikolaj.
I just cannot believe how much music detail I have been missing before I got my Bastanis :mental:. There is so much more detail available and the sound in so three dimensional that sometimes it is hard to believe :eek:.
I am most interested hearing your impressions how the Chrystals are breaking in. I have been planning to ad another pair of full band drivers in the future to my Bastanis, but this needs to wait until I get myself another plate amp and active preamp.
Have you discussed with Robert if there is a possibility to use old style full band drivers with Chrystals or is this going to be detrimental the sound and the image?
Hello,
Yes it is a great speaker he has made, him Robert !
I would not mix the old widebands with the Chrystals,they sound different and they play exactly the same frequenziese when you use the Atlas configuration, but ask Robert, he knows what to do!
Update on the new Chrystal drivers in my Bastanis Atlas:
I've not had a lot of time listen properly over Christmas, I'm getting more time now. I have 70 hours on the Chrystals so far. As the sound is richer and fuller I've found I could turn up the bass a lot - this might seem strange but bear with me...... I think with the previous drivers the weaker bass from the widebands (relative to the latest Chrystal drivers) required corresponding bass from the Mandalas so they integrated properly. I used to crossover at 82Hz with negative polarity. I'm now crossing over at 120Hz with positive polarity, this is a big change! The bass has considerably more impact and presence. I'll continue to fine tune the settings, I need to play more with the variable phase too. I realise the drivers need many more hours yet for their finer more detailed attributes to flesh out fully but so far I'm very pleased, very pleased indeed!
Ali Tait
28-12-2010, 13:28
Good stuff Clive. I'd like to hear them sometime.
Good stuff Clive. I'd like to hear them sometime.
You'd be most welcome Ali. The speakers really excelled at Jazz previously though Rock was very good it wasn't up with the performance on Jazz. Now they are level-pegging but it's still very early days; with the cone treatments applied by Robert Bastani they need a few hundred hours to be able to flex at their best.
Good to hear Clive
The Hawthornes are just as bad to bed in, but lovelly depth of sound
Hello,
My Chrystal Drivers now have +100 hours on them now
and they continue to improve,
compared to the old drivers they really are a great upgrade
so much more weight and natural tone, and still more detail and image precision!
these are great drivers , that 100% sure are worth the extra €´s
Have a nice Weekend
I've got around 150 hours on mine now but I must stop counting! They are doing just as you say Nikolaj. Superb - I'm really pleased. I'm doing a comparison of a few silly priced coupling capacitors (review to come), the differences are really easy to hear.
I've got around 150 hours on mine now but I must stop counting! They are doing just as you say Nikolaj. Superb - I'm really pleased. I'm doing a comparison of a few silly priced coupling capacitors (review to come), the differences are really easy to hear.
Hello Clive,
regarding the coupling caps. that is interesting! looking forward to hear your impressions - have you included really silly priced ones like the Audio Note silver foil caps and the Duelund caps. ?
Hello Clive,
regarding the coupling caps. that is interesting! looking forward to hear your impressions - have you included really silly priced ones like the Audio Note silver foil caps and the Duelund caps. ?
Yes to both! The Duelunds are VSF DC Copper. They are in my amps at the moment. I've had AN Silvers for a few years already.
Yes to both! The Duelunds are VSF DC Copper. They are in my amps at the moment. I've had AN Silvers for a few years already.
Nice, i also have the AN Silverfoils in my LD91´s and have used them before in different amps, and also in the x-over of a pair AN-E speakers
i really like them, so looking forward to hear what your impression is compared to the Duelund ( danish design :) witch i havent heard yet
Hello,
Here is a picture of my Chrystal drivers, as you maybe can see it is the same driver as the "classic" Bastani 12" - but it is shiny because of the coating that Robert applies to them,
He uses 8 hours on one pair:respect:
beeroclock
01-02-2011, 14:01
I have my Crystal drivers breaking in at the moment (have taken the top section of my Apollo clones to work where play music all day). To be honest I thought they sounded pretty darn good from the outset.
I will be bringing mine up to the Wam show in March - hopefully have a good few hundred hours on them by then :)
cheers philip
how much does it cost for these BASTANI speakers excuse my ignorance,ive never seen anything like them,this forum has opened up a New world to me:)
aquapiranha
05-02-2011, 21:14
how much does it cost for these BASTANI speakers excuse my ignorance,ive never seen anything like them,this forum has opened up a New world to me:)
http://www.bastanis.com/index.html
:)
http://www.bastanis.com/index.html
:)
thanx for the link steve,it would be great to here them :)regards maria
aquapiranha
05-02-2011, 21:58
Indeed it would be very nice to hear them and to that end I was in contact with clive a good while ago, in fact so long ago he probably wont remember, but he said it was no problem. Unfortunatly I have since moved some distance away making it very hard to get there...
thats a pity:(thanx again for the info,regards maria.
Ali Tait
06-02-2011, 11:04
Not that my speakers will be nearly as good, but if you and your.brother come over sometime, they will give you a good idea of what an open baffle speaker sounds like. They are different to box speakers.
Hearing Ali speakers should give you a good idea of what the Bastansis will be like. If not you have to travel down to Manchester to hear Clive speakers. If you can make Scalford Hall in a few weeks time you should be able to hear a few Open Baffle Loudspeakers
As with all things hifi which speakers are better for a particular room, system and person is not predictable. Ali's speakers will tell you a lot about the OB sound and what it's like to not hear a speaker cabinet. The problem some have after they've heard OB's for a while is sound of speakers in boxes, you notice the box all the time.
Ali's speakers could be wonderful for you, don't assume because they are DIY and not expensive they aren't top quality. Bastanis and Hawthorns are effectively DIY too. I suspect all three will be surprising close in their characteristics with personal preference being most important.
Hello,
just to let you all know !
My Chrystal drivers continue to improve, i´m getting more and more detail, and more organic and natural tone
Rigth now i´m listening to a download of Stanley Clarkes 2007 album
"The Toys of Men" besides being a great album,and with Stanley back in better than ever form! and besides having a great title when your an "audio gear nut",
and besides i´m listening to it on my new all to expensive, but very fine sounding Dac - then i´m really still amazed over the sound of the Bastanis- especially after i got the Chrystals- This is great!
how about the others of you her on the fora, are you still happy with your Bastanis, and your Chrystals ?
New Atlas 4x12" Chrystals
and new Baffels !
a real upgrade :)
If you can move away from the box approach to bass you be amazed at the difference
Speak to Vic about Neo drivers such a big difference and really cobine well with the Crystals
Hello John
yes i have seen Clives new Bastanis/Vic speakers- they are an interresting option, but really, i dont miss bass or quality in the bass
Cheers
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