Towers with dual 10" Woofers

[Irvrobinson]

Groundplane measurements wouldn't be that hard to run on those things, so long as you have a way of taking them to a test site. Free-air measurements would be the problem with those. They would have to be elevated off the ground by at least five feet. I suppose that could be done with a forklift.

Yeah, I bet a forklift would help get the job done. I didn't realize you had access to one.

I have heard the Blades and Blade 2 speakers. I don't remember exactly how they sounded but I don't remember them being light on bass. However, bass is so heavily dependent on placement. Some speakers are made for boundary loading, but others aren't. Whatever perceived lack of bass you heard from them may well have been a setup issue.

I heard the Blades at a dealer, and I just expected more bass than I heard for that size and price. Subjective I know, but seemed obviously less than the Salon2s on familiar recordings (including ones I made myself). The dealer did have them about four feet out from the back wall. I heard the Blade2s at a Porsche event. KEF has some sort of joint marketing arrangement with Porsche. The KEF rep seemed enthused that I even knew what they were. He said he thinks they sound best no more than two feet from the back wall, I think he had them a little closer than that, but they still lacked some weight on a recording of a Bosendorfer Imperial Grand piano to my experienced ears. The specs on the Blade2 say -6db at 34Hz, and I'd say that's how they sound. Both Blades were subjectively easily a match for the Salon2s on the mids and highs.

 

[mazersteven]

Bosendorfer Imperial Grand

My Dream Piano!!!

 

[Verdinut]

I used to have three Altec 416-8A 15" woofers, the same drivers used in the "Voice of the Theater" cabinets in large venues and theaters. Those were installed in my front cabinets until I decided to go with the Dayton Reference Series 15" RSS390-HF4 subs and install them in the same 7.5 cf cabinets.

Let me confirm that, although the Altec drivers were outstanding woofers, they were limited in low frequency response because of their low Qts. Now, with the Dayton subs, the bass is as clean and as tight and natural sounding, with the addition of more than a full octave down to infrasonic frequencies. I just have to EQ the bass response because of room gain and that should be taken care of a little later.

 

[Verdinut]

If someone is interested in building a couple of towers with dual 10 inch woofers, I have a good suggestion. I once thought of actually using a pair of them for a friend who finally changed his mind about the project. He's one of those audiophiles who are never satisfied with what they have.
IMO, it would have been a killer bass performer in a 200 liter enclosure, with an F3 at 18 Hz and with a combined sensitivity of 92 dB. Try to find a commercial speaker enclosures with that kind of performance, you may not find one:

Volt Loudspeakers

Volt manufacture loudspeakers for PA, Studio and HiFi applications. If you take a no compromise attitude on quality then browse our range to see what suits you.

voltloudspeakers.co.uk

Unfortunately, the product does not sell in the US. However, Solen carries the line in Canada.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Seems that Tekton have a few

dual 10"s:
Pendragon $1950/pr currently
Double Impact $3000/pr
2-10 Perfect SET $2000/pr
Encore $7000/pr (down from $8k)

dual 12"s
Moab $4500/pr
Ulfbehrts $9000/pr (down from $12k)

dual 15"s
Polycell 15 $3500/pr

Yeah, I forgot about Tekton. I wonder how most people feel about them as a whole.

Here is the Stereophile measurements of the Enzo XL with dual 10” woofers, which produces some low bass, but the response is like +/-4dB.

Tekton Design Enzo XL loudspeaker Measurements

Sidebar 3: Measurements I used DRA Labs' MLSSA system and a calibrated DPA 4006 microphone to measure the Tekton Enzo XL's frequency response in the farfield; and an Earthworks QTC-40, with its small, ¼"-diameter capsule, for the nearfield responses.

www.stereophile.com

But I still give kudos to Tekton for making a few speakers with dual 10", dual 12" and dual 15" woofers!

 

[Ponzio]

Just buy a pair of Focal Grande Utopia EVO's and call it a day. A relative bargain at $260K, give or take a few thousand for a custom veneer.
https://www.focal.com/en/home-audio/high-fidelity-speakers/utopia-iii-evo/floorstanding-speakers/grande-utopia-em-evo

I demoed a pair, pre-EVO, in 2012 at Overture in Wilmington, DE. Hands down the greatest speaker I've ever heard or demoed to date. They simply disappeared in the room; which is hard to do, since they stand at 6'5". I thought the artist/band was right in front of me. Amazing.

 

[Mikado463]

if your pockets are deep enough Wilson and Magico can accommodate your wishes.

 

[VMPS-TIII]

I used to have three Altec 416-8A 15" woofers, the same drivers used in the "Voice of the Theater" cabinets in large venues and theaters. Those were installed in my front cabinets until I decided to go with the Dayton Reference Series 15" RSS390-HF4 subs and install them in the same 7.5 cf cabinets.

18 to 800 Hz nice

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

Some of you guys are just dreaming way too big.

Going from $2-3K Klipsch RF-7-III and Tekton to $200K+ KEF Muon and Focal Grande Utopia!

 

[Movie2099]

Break-in is a myth. I've heard the Blades, and they are light on bass for that price. Did you hear the Blades or the Blades 2?

I will have to disagree with you on "Break-in being a myth". Plenty of research out there to prove it.

BB had the Blades on display and hooked up to some very nice McIntosh equipment. I'd say the entire 2 channel setup was around $80-$100k. I'm sure they used all upper end AudioQuest cables and AudioQuest power conditioners.

 

[Movie2099]

Some of you guys are just dreaming way too big.

Going from $2-3K Klipsch RF-7-III and Tekton to $200K+ KEF Muon and Focal Grande Utopia!

Dreaming! Heck, KEF is flying me down to their HQ's to give me the full Muon tour! They told me they could give me a deal for $220K. It's only like $5k less, but still $5k is $5k. Totally worth it! I might be able to get them to thrown in some AudioQuest Diamond cables. They said it will increase sound awesomeness by 100points.

 

[Irvrobinson]

I will have to disagree with you on "Break-in being a myth". Plenty of research out there to prove it.

BB had the Blades on display and hooked up to some very nice McIntosh equipment. I'd say the entire 2 channel setup was around $80-$100k. I'm sure they used all upper end AudioQuest cables and AudioQuest power conditioners.

Loudspeaker Break In: Fact or Fiction?

The debate on loudspeaker break-in persists, sparking arguments from both sides. This article examines the topic with objective measurements to reveal the truth behind the claim.

www.audioholics.com

 

[Movie2099]

Loudspeaker Break In: Fact or Fiction?

The debate on loudspeaker break-in persists, sparking arguments from both sides. This article examines the topic with objective measurements to reveal the truth behind the claim.

www.audioholics.com

Interesting article, but it still doesn't conclusively say that there isn't a break-in period for some speakers.

Speaker Break-in

Speaker break-in is no myth and something significant really does happen. All speakers are built to meet certain specifications, and we work diligently through QC efforts during and after production to ensure that happens. Every component used in a speaker has tolerances, which can relate to...

www.eminence.com

 

[Irvrobinson]

Interesting article, but it still doesn't conclusively say that there isn't a break-in period for some speakers.

Speaker Break-in

Speaker break-in is no myth and something significant really does happen. All speakers are built to meet certain specifications, and we work diligently through QC efforts during and after production to ensure that happens. Every component used in a speaker has tolerances, which can relate to...

www.eminence.com

Oh yeah, that was a highly technical "tech talk" article, not. Comparing drivers to shoes breaking in? That article was about as convincing as an Audioquest advertisement.

 

[Trell]

Oh yeah, that was a highly technical "tech talk" article, not. Comparing drivers to shoes breaking in? That article was about as convincing as an Audioquest advertisement.

Thank you for reading the article so I didn't have to!

 

[Ponzio]

Thank you for reading the article so I didn't have to!

So I take it you won't be buying any Diamond cables either.

 

[Irvrobinson]

So I take it you won't be buying any Diamond cables either.

When I worked in Irvine, the I-405N Jamboree Rd exit I took to get to the office gave me a view of the Audioquest building at the exit's traffic signal everyday. I think I shook my head in disgust every time.

 

[AcuDefTechGuy]

When I worked in Irvine, the I-405N Jamboree Rd exit I took to get to the office gave me a view of the Audioquest building at the exit's traffic signal everyday. I think I shook my head in disgust every time.

The Audioquest Rocket 88 speaker cables are only about $1,700/pair from Crutchfield. Unfortunately, they are in such high demand that they are currently out of stock. But you can "Reserve Yours Today"!

AudioQuest Speaker Wire with Connectors at Crutchfield

Shopping for AudioQuest Speaker Wire with Connectors? Our Virginia-based experts love helping folks find the right gear. Get FREE 2-day shipping and free lifetime tech support with your order.

www.crutchfield.com

 

[Movie2099]

The Audioquest Rocket 88 speaker cables are only about $1,700/pair from Crutchfield. Unfortunately, they are in such high demand that they are currently out of stock. But you can "Reserve Yours Today"!

AudioQuest Speaker Wire with Connectors at Crutchfield

Shopping for AudioQuest Speaker Wire with Connectors? Our Virginia-based experts love helping folks find the right gear. Get FREE 2-day shipping and free lifetime tech support with your order.

www.crutchfield.com

$1700 are for newbies. To play the game you'll need at least $7k/pair speaker cables. I've used all my $50k worth of speaker wire testing equipment to come to the conclusion that $7k/pair AudioQuest cables are hands down the best investment one could make. Of course, they sounded the best after their break-in period. Don't worry, I used all my Dynamical Systems and Numerical Analysis math equations to make sure everything was correct and accurate.

 

[Irvrobinson]

The Audioquest Rocket 88 speaker cables are only about $1,700/pair from Crutchfield. Unfortunately, they are in such high demand that they are currently out of stock. But you can "Reserve Yours Today"!

AudioQuest Speaker Wire with Connectors at Crutchfield

Shopping for AudioQuest Speaker Wire with Connectors? Our Virginia-based experts love helping folks find the right gear. Get FREE 2-day shipping and free lifetime tech support with your order.

www.crutchfield.com

Where's that barf emoji when you need it?