Sachikos

[electric beach]

Happiness is a pair of warm Sachikos!

Steve/ Aquapiranha built the cabinets and I've just received and installed the drivers yesterday. I've finished them with Danish Oil, the mouths stained Canadian Cedar and Antique Oil. I can't get photos to do the appearance justice yet but I'm really pleased with it; the Scandinavian Birch is very interesting, looks like japanese lacquered wood with a mother of pearl quality. Stunning.

Too soon for critical comment on the sound quality as the drivers need 100 hours to break in but the potential is obvious already. They have a very relaxed presentation, music flows easily into the room. They don't seem to be a problem to position, soundstage is unrestrained, endless and unbelievably these giant speakers disappear completely (honest :stalks:)

The drivers are 8" Fostex FE206En with EnAble treatment by Dave at Planet10 in Canada. Pretty little flowers, eh?

I still have work to do today on the speaker and equipment location. And a trial with a Mini-T amp later... :eyebrows:



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[John]

Look great Steve I hope once they burnt in you write a review they should sound awesome

[Reid Malenfant]

Very nice looking indeed Steve :) They should sound rather special once the Enabled drivers have run in, seen loads of comments on the astonishing difference that treatment makes :stalks:

Loving the horn mouth illumination, get number two done - it looks pretty stunning imo :cool:

[Ali Tait]

Yes they are quite something,they'll pin you to the wall with just a couple of watts!

[electric beach]

Very nice looking indeed Steve :) They should sound rather special once the Enabled drivers have run in, seen loads of comments on the astonishing difference that treatment makes :stalks:

Loving the horn mouth illumination, get number two done - it looks pretty stunning imo :cool:

Thanks for the first vote (positive) on the lighting addition. It was an inspiration meant to integrate them visually. but whether it would be inspired remained to be seen. They're looking damn dramatic and theatrical so far, but in an relaxed way.

[Reid Malenfant]

Indeed, mood lighting from a pair of loudspeakers not only looks good (from your pictures) but i'm sure they'll sound great to ;)

I'd do the second speaker as well, the way it'll illuminate the room will be interesting, the way it brings out the grain structure inside the horn mouths is fantastic :stalks:

[electric beach]

Yes they are quite something,they'll pin you to the wall with just a couple of watts!

Ali, I think they expand to the environment. I know you heard them in a large room and I'm sure they'll go load, but they are neither forward nor forceful and just flow into the room, sounding both dynamic and at the same time quite delicate. Really, really musical though.

Tried them with 35w PP tubes but going to set up 10w of Tripath now. Probably due to the driver break-in but the tube amp was humming along and not sounding too transparent. I think the transparency of the Mini-T is going to be useful, at least at this stage.

[Ali Tait]

They will need a LOT of abuse and thrashing before they're run in imho. BTW,love the lighting idea too,should look great with both done.
Yes I heard a pair at Eggborough in a pretty big room. Volume and scale and impact were amazing with a less than 2 watt spud amp. Qite fancy a pair of these myself. The ones I heard had a supertweeter fitted,which was very worthwhile imho.

[aquapiranha]

Hey they look ( a bit) familiar! good job Steve, I am sure you will be pleased with them as I was. The drivers take a very long time to bed in so don't let first impressions sway you.
~I was using them with a mix of amps, though my favourite with them was the Trends TA.10.1 Tripath (2024) it sounded lovely. Keep the reports coming!
Steve

[Stratmangler]

Just to reiterate things - the drivers need lot of use/abuse before you draw any conclusions.

You may also find a lot of mileage in using supertweeters - the FH-17 is your friend here - it's relatively cheap and pretty clean too. A simple high pass filter with an attenuator will sort things out.
Fostex wide range (I hesitate to call them full range) drivers need a bit of help with the high frequency end of things IME.

[Ali Tait]

Aye.

[Marco]

Nice one - I've heard those in Steve (Aquapiranha's) old place and they're quality! Love how they blend into your room, aesthetically :)

Marco.

[electric beach]

First evening session after a day's faffing about. Looking real cozy and suitably attired for extended aural indulgence over christmas.
Still awaiting one light but you get the idea. Component racks relocated so the speakers can go back a bit, now about a foot from the rear wall. I'll experiment with this more in the future as adjusting the toe-in is making more difference. I have an opening either side so I don't suffer from any first reflection influence (except to lose some bass), or have to consider speaker distance to side walls.

Maximum chillout...

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...and then with uplighters behind the cabinets

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[Ali Tait]

Looks great! Did you feed the cables in through holes in the back for the speaker lights?

[electric beach]

Looks great! Did you feed the cables in through holes in the back for the speaker lights?

Morning Ali,
I tried not to impose on the chamber any more than necessary so the bulb holder and wiring is all on the back, the holder through and flush with the cabinet back panel on the inside, sealed, then only a small 15W pygmy bulb screwed inside.

I can reasonably assume it's down to the eNable treatment but the frequency range seems perfectly balanced and I don't feel the need to extend the top end. Maybe when the drivers break in and the bass becomes stronger :confused:, we'll see. Duncan's dac has a wonderful ability to hang metalic sounds shimmering and ringing in the air. And the Mini-T amp certainly doesn't short change you in the elevated frequencies. :)

[aquapiranha]

I echo Steve's thoughts on the HF. It never even crossed my mind to add a tweeter, it simply didn't need one IMO. Perhaps it is something to with the height of the driver? or maybe the enable treatment? anyway I wouldn't bother myself.

[Ali Tait]

Good stuff. Those drivers will take ages to run in though. Maybe if you're away for a weekend,stick them in the shed with some dub reggae on to loosen them up a little!

[electric beach]

Good stuff. Those drivers will take ages to run in though. Maybe if you're away for a weekend,stick them in the shed with some dub reggae on to loosen them up a little!


I can't stop listening to them !

I did think they wouldn't be so good to start with but Planet10 do put 200 hours low level break in before they make the treatment. They sound pretty stunning now and although the presentation will improve there is no problem enjoying the musical message; the lounge is strewn with CDs, always a good sign ;)