New build 2-way stand mount speakers

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Toppsy
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#1 New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by Toppsy »

Thought I'd take a 3-month break from my normal job working for a consultancy practice in Stockport to chill out and enjoy the summer.
Having helped Mark Fenlon and Scott at this years North West Audio Show hifi with exhibiting there new commercial range of Sota Acoustics speakers my mind started to wander towards building a new pair of speakers to alleviate some of the boredom of siting in the garden with a good book and a rather tasty bottle of Shiraz wine. I know life can be a bitch when you are semi-retired :wink: . Untimately Scott and I are working on our first 3-way speaker on similar lines to the venerable Yamaha NS1000 speakers, but using more efficient drivers. So as I had 2-pair of some rather nice true ribbon twtters that were used in the original and subsequently abandoned version of the Norge speakers my mind wandered towards a 2-way stand mount. Having ploughed through loads of 8" mid-woofers I eventually found a rather nice Monacor unit of 90dB efficiency and a very flat and extended frequency range that appeared on paper to couple very nicely with the ribbon. Scott came up with the basic cabinet volume XO filter and port size and I took things over from there. The result being these:

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My initial impressions are very good indeed. I had to attenuate the ribbon a tad due its rising response above 10kHz as when cranking up the volume the HF was swamping the bass and lower midrange. to my ears they are now a very nicely balanced pair of speakers and I have just spent the afternoon listening to the likes of Fats Domino, Muddy Waters, Dream Theater, Nils Lofgren and John Martyn. I reckon these are a keeper and will be form part of our small catalogue of offerings. :lol: :D

I should add that the stands are just a pair I had around from my original prototype 2-way stand mount test speakers using the Mark Fenlon Woofer #6 and tweeter that were eventually used in the original Edingdale builds. Bespoke stands for these new speakers are on the drawing board.
Last edited by Toppsy on Sat Sep 03, 2016 4:10 pm, edited 1 time in total.
chris661
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#2 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by chris661 »

Very nice, Colin, as always.
Will these be coming to the next Owston?

Chris
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#3 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by Toppsy »

Hi Chris,
I hope post graduate life is treating you well.
Yes they will be coming to the next Owston if folk want to hear them?
Scott came over the other day and was bowled-over by how good they sounded. We tried out his new measuring gear and took from FR plot and other measures. In a word they measured really well and Scott may post up some of the plots.
I'm really chuffed with these as they really were only a result of listening to similar speakers at the North West Audio show and not being overly impressed with what I heard for the asking price of the speakers and thinking I'm sure Scott and I can do better for considerably less the price of the offerings at the show. Folk can make up there own mind if and when they get to listen to them.
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#4 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by shane »

Hi Colin, could you give us the dimensions? These do look very interesting!
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#5 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by Toppsy »

Shane,
Overall the cabinets measure 480 x 340 x 270.
I shall be making some bespoke stands for them in the near future in matching wood and I'm also considering a floor standing version with 2 the woofers coupled to the ribbon. But as yet no design has started on these.
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#6 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by zman »

Hi Colin,

Thought you had given up on speaker building. Just kidding! :D

These have come out very nice.

- Zia
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#7 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by Toppsy »

Thought you had given up on speaker building.
Must admit I gave it some serious thought.
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#8 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by zman »

Toppsy wrote:
Thought you had given up on speaker building.
Must admit I gave it some serious thought.
Good thing that you've kept on building after thinking it over! This new pair is beautifully finished - a hallmark of House of Topps productions.

To add to that Colin, your build threads have been an inspiration to me and your finished speakers something of a benchmark of how good the artisan/diy builds get. You've set the bar (really) high.

The commercial business for a small operation can be tough indeed, but wish you more success with your new designs. And look forward to new stuff too. :)

- Zia
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#9 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by Scottmoose »

They're very nice indeed. :) Got an interesting development in the works also.
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#10 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by chris661 »

Scott, how you tease us! Any more details you can share?

Colin, post-grad isn't much fun, but I enjoy myself when I can. I've been doing mostly live sound these days, but I'm doing my absolute best to keep it all as HiFi as possible. I'd love to bring the system to the next Owston to see what you all think.
The 2x8" floorstander sounds interesting. Something similar to the dual Alpair 10 floorstander you did way back?

Chris
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#11 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by Toppsy »

chris661 wrote:Scott, how you tease us! Any more details you can share?

Colin, post-grad isn't much fun, but I enjoy myself when I can. I've been doing mostly live sound these days, but I'm doing my absolute best to keep it all as HiFi as possible. I'd love to bring the system to the next Owston to see what you all think.
The 2x8" floorstander sounds interesting. Something similar to the dual Alpair 10 floorstander you did way back?

Chris
Hi Chris,
Sorry to hear post graduation is proving tough I'm sure with your talents you'll land something that makes all the hard earned degrees worth it.

The only details I can tell you at the moment about the interesting development is, it will be a floor stander using 2 x the same 8" bass units and the same ribbon tweeter. Configuration will not be as the Dual Alpair 7.3 but likely a 2½way. Here is a sneak view of the likely front baffle configuration:

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#12 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by Toppsy »

Latest development on the speakers. They now are bedecked with some grille covers.

In keeping with the 70's look of these speakers I found I had some bamboo weave acoustic transparent cloth from my days of building the ER Audio Electrostatic speakers that I thought perfectly suited the speakers. Just waiting on the delivery of some stick-on badges to complete the look and then next up some bespoke stands.

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#13 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by Mike H »

Can't conribute much to this thread except to say, top notch workmanship as usual. :thumbleft:
 
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#14 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by Scottmoose »

They sound even better. :)
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#15 Re: New build 2-way stand mount speakers

Post by Cressy Snr »

Love those 1960s grilles. 8) 8)
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