OB speakers

[Trickie_Dickie]

What are they? Why? :scratch:

[John]

What are OB speakers = Open Baffle speakers
Why having no box means that no colorations to the sound so the effect is to immerse you more in the music
But the main reason why is they sound great give awesome bass when correctly implemented and not to expensive either but can cost crazy money too. Come to Scalford in March there should be a few you can listen too and you may start to understand why some of us love them so much

[Trickie_Dickie]

I'm baffled. (doesn't take much)
Does this mean that both sides of the speaker are open to the room.
I've always thought that would cause the Bass to cancel out. Hence, infinite Baffle or tuned columns, etc. :scratch::scratch:
I need a :cool:

[John]

What happens is the bass becomes dipole instead of bass reflex In practise this gives you a lot more bass infomation in the mid bass region, since upgrading my baffles I hear music in the mid bass region I did not know was there, and I am quite an experienced listener.
This what Dick Olsher wrote about the bass drivers I use but many other options

“It seems to me that many listeners confuse bass weight with bass extension and opt for a subwoofer when bass weight is lacking. The problem typically lies in the upper bass, the octave from 120Hz to 240Hz where much of an orchestra's foundation and acoustic power resides. This is the octave that box woofers have a hard time coping with, basically managing to sound boxy through this range. In contrast, the Augie managed to shine here, elucidating instrumental fundamentals with consummate clarity and 3D realism."
- Dick Olsher @ Enjoy The Music
Here is a more techinical link sorry this mostly goes over my head
http://www.linkwitzlab.com/models.htm
I guess oe of the things I love is how they give you the sense of the drum kit in my room and yet I can hear the bass firmly underpinning everything, for me its an additive listen
I listen to a lot of prog metal so good bass is essential to capture kick drums well. I also listen to a lot of world fusion with fast tablas etc and have no complaints I could never go back to conventional speakers for me dipole bass is so musical

[SPS]

I'm baffled. (doesn't take much)
Does this mean that both sides of the speaker are open to the room.
I've always thought that would cause the Bass to cancel out. Hence, infinite Baffle or tuned columns, etc. :scratch::scratch:
I need a :cool:

thats right. no box does cause the bass to cancel,

the size and shape of the baffle helps, as do large bass drivers help boost the bass

most of us actually like the sound of boxed speaker bass.. it the sound of most hi fi as we know it,

open baffle bass is different, but it can take some getting used to.

my view is the lack of loading on the speaker itself helps.
most open baffle users tend to use more powerfull speakers with larger cones.


there are pro's and cons with all speakers..
and its hard to generalise

cheers
steve.

[John]

agree with the pros and cons no right approach just something that works for you. By the way SPS (Steve) open baffles are pretty impressive

[slate]

If tempted to a little DIY; Troels Gravesen's latest project was the OBL11 speakers http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/OBL11.htm

Some of his earlier thoughts and experiments into OB
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Acapella_WB.htm
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/OB7.htm
http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/OB9.htm

[John]

I agree with his experience on Bass but they really big brutes
Ali has a pair Steve made using the B200 http://www.impactaudio.co.uk/speakers.asp?grp=11&sgrp=68&session=5f46239a156fd4dac5922db0f2bfe67d I cannot remember what bass drivers but I think Ali really likes them

[Trickie_Dickie]

Crikey. I can see that I've a lot to learn when it comes to speakers.
How would the "Grand Canyon Suite" sound through these?
(especially the thunderstorm) :cool:








one of my favourite bits of music.......it really annoys the neighbours.

[Ali Tait]

P
I agree with his experience on Bass but they really big brutes
Ali has a pair Steve made using the B200 http://www.impactaudio.co.uk/speakers.asp?grp=11&sgrp=68&session=5f46239a156fd4dac5922db0f2bfe67d I cannot remember what bass drivers but I think Ali really likes them

Yes, the B200 and a pair of Eminence Alpha 15 inch each side. Since aquiring them I have fitted a pair of phase plugs bought from Planet10 hi fi, a chap called Dave Dlugos, who knows a thing or two about fullrange drivers.

What I like about OB's is lack of colouration in the bass. As has been said, it's a subjective thing, but for me, since becoming accustomed to electrostatics and now OB's, I can now hear the box in one way or another on every conventional speaker I listen to. I would find it difficult to go back to boxes now. Just IMHO of course.

[roob]

Do these things have to be huge and can they work reasonably close ie 12 inches from a rear wall.

[John]

The rear wall distance in my system is quite important , usually somewhere between 24 to 36" but remember in reality this is not much difference to normal speakers, apart from that they not so fussy. They do not have to be so big my first baffles was 37" high by 18" wide and the only thing I would change with that first design would be just to use thicker baffle material and a rear mounting plate.

[selfaddict]

For me the most important factor with OB speakers is that they have no colorization/signature of their own, as much it is possible with the speakers. Secondly they are so revealing that first time I can actually hear what my kit is capable of delivering. This actually could be a negative thing in some systems, because they will play exactly what you feed to them.

Third think why I prefer them is that they are so sensitive that I only need few Watts to get loud enough music and this means using sweet valves :eyebrows:. So no speaker boxes or SS amps to me never ever again :ner:

[jandl100]

Yep - open baffle speakers do it differently.

Done well (or perhaps more correctly, done to my taste!) they are fast, clean, detailed, open, transparent with bags of 'in the room presence'.

Done poorly (i.e. not to my taste!) they can be bright, thin, lack tonal and dynamic heft and just sound pretty damn yuck to listen to!

I've owned Dali Skyline 1000 which are open baffle, and they were quite good. Also you can get hybrids, with a box woofer and open baffle mids and top - SD Acoustics SD1 are like this, and I think they are a fab speaker. Of course, some would say that good OB bass is what it's all about so they probably wouldn't see the sense of a hybrid!

Try some - they are fun and interesting! :)

[John]

Mine are in Jerry first list Fast, open. dynamic as ----- clean, detailed, bass that sounds awesome and give a real sense of scale