Interesting Guy,the K/1 appeared to have a 2nd order x-over but according to this article: http://www.stereophile.com/budgetcomponents/191snell/Quote:
Originally Posted by pure sound
the K/II used a 3rd order slope. Different drivers to the K1?
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Interesting Guy,the K/1 appeared to have a 2nd order x-over but according to this article: http://www.stereophile.com/budgetcomponents/191snell/Quote:
Originally Posted by pure sound
the K/II used a 3rd order slope. Different drivers to the K1?
Different drivers & different designer. Kevin Voecks had been drafted in & worked his way through the range changing all of them.
Very interesting stuff.
Guy, which version of the K's do I have?
Yours are original K's with new production Vifa bass drivers and crossovers adjusted to be as close to the reference type K FR plot as I could get them. (my reference being a single, working original type K I had here temporarily & was able to measure.)
Incidentally, if you do nothing else, it is worth replacing that 4.7uF tweeter feed cap with something decent. Be careful as you do it though, there's a fine wire from the HF inductor in amongst all that hotmelt glue & that needs to be re-attached to the new cap.Quote:
Originally Posted by istari_knight
Indeed. I souped up a pair of AP2's last year with Jantzen caps & Mills resistors... You have to be very careful with that inductors wire !
I'm not sure what the plan is yet for these... I'm seriously tempted to build some Snell K/1 crossovers :hmm:
You need some heavier gauge wire for the coils but otherwise why not? I've done it. They can be close-ish if not quite the same. Not sure JPW used as much wadding & the Snell cabinet proportions are somewhat different but it'll be better than the JPW version.Quote:
Originally Posted by istari_knight
The first AP1 'Choice review showed up a few problems, but the second review in 'Choice showed marked improvements. I think the main driver was altered slightly by the manufacturers at around this time, as the Heybrook HB1 definitely changed in sound (I think it used the same bass unit?). The AP3 garnered a good review, my 'Choice copy giving plots as well as positive comments and apart from a gently up-tilted response all the way through, it was smooth and didn't show any obvious nasties.. Old news now, and of course any future AP3's coming up for sale will now cost over double the previous amounts :(
I think that every audio enthusiast ought to have owned some Snell K's or ANKs at some point...or the JPW APs....wonderful speakers. Not sure if there's a mid/woofer that would do the job as well now but sorely tempted to build a pair to the same dimensions. I may well get round to this after my horn speaker project :eyebrows:
I still buy quantities of that Vifa woofer (now made in the old Vifa factory by Scanspeak) for HB1, JPW & Snell customers who want to replace old drivers with perished surrounds. It has a cast magnesium chassis and a smallish magnet, deliberately so as it was intended for sealed box use. I still think it's a very nice sounding driver. Recently I've been partnering it with a newer, slightly more civilised, 19mm tweeter from Scanspeak's own range. There's still alot to be said for an 8" in such a configuration in typical British homes. Preferable (to me anyway) than thrashing the life out of a 5 or 6" in a ported cab.