Bottlehead Forum
Other Gear => Speakers => Topic started by: docbob52 on May 10, 2015, 02:16:11 PM
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Need advise. Have Lowther dx3 speakers here but no idea what cabinets to buy or build for them. Martin J. King loves them in a TL quarter wave. Do any of you have any ideas about this?
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The quarter wave TL is probably going to be a lot easier to build than many other options. Typically these drivers use back loaded horn enclosures to get the best results.
-PB
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Need advise. Have Lowther dx3 speakers here but no idea what cabinets to buy or build for them. Martin J. King loves them in a TL quarter wave. Do any of you have any ideas about this?
I built a pair of transmission line boxes for my Lowther DX-4s. They sounded very good. Then I built a pair of Lowther America Medallions with an extra inch or so in height to accommodate 12 inch Rythmic servo subs in the bottom (facing down). In my opinion the Medallions are perfect for Lowthers. Far better than the transmission line boxes. The Medallions are 'BIG' speakers, but my listening room is very large. Many people including a guy that owns a hifi store have said they are the finest they have ever heard. I drive them with a Stereomour. The sub amps input is the output of the Stereomour.
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Yup, Lowthers running full range really like to be horn loaded. IME TLs and vented boxes generally aren't as optimal. If you don't want a big horn you might try them on an open baffle and use a sub.
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Yup, Lowthers running full range really like to be horn loaded. IME TLs and vented boxes generally aren't as optimal. If you don't want a big horn you might try them on an open baffle and use a sub.
That is what Jon VerHalen of Lowther America does. He uses a PM5A ($$$) in an open baffle with an active cross over by Nelson Pass. The open baffle only goes down to 150 Hz, so a good sub is mandatory. The problem with open baffles is they are pretty big and need to be far from the back wall. Four feet IIRC. Check them out at the Lowther America web site.
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Yes, I have shown with Jon a few times. His are among the better Lowther executions.
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Jon is a very nice, laid back guy. I spoke with him for about 20 minutes at VSAC 2008. Here are a couple of shots. First his two speakers.
(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi244.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fgg7%2FGrainger49%2FVSAC%25202008%2FIMG_0071_zpsmozbpzcq.jpg&hash=7615f4cadb1756272757a72ac2d8f1e3b4436f64)
And now a shot of the amplifier he built for them. Note the lack of base:
(https://forum.bottlehead.com/proxy.php?request=http%3A%2F%2Fi244.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fgg7%2FGrainger49%2FVSAC%25202008%2FIMG_0074_zpsm239ky34.jpg&hash=f06f479115c3baa9ab0b8b4624ecfb52dfaf4325)
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The Open baffles sounded really good, I think my favored of the show.
I remember that amp, makes my "Breadboards of Death" seem positively tame...John
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I remember that amp, makes my "Breadboards of Death" seem positively tame...John
Not a recommended arrangement if someone has small children or pets. ;)
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I count 24 transformers, 12 caps, and 2 variacs, and thats not counting the board in the background. I would to see a schematic to figure out what exactly i'm looking at...
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Jon is a nice guy, you might try contacting him.
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Don't rule out the approach I have taken. Stick with horns and a small active sub unless you have a lot of space. I am using factory-built Acousta 115s. Bought these 8 years ago on Ebay for £280 sterling complete with a pair of PM7C drivers. The "nice old radio" styling fits well with the rest of our decor. Factory 115s still turn up from time to time on Ebay and usually sell for far less than than it would cost to build a pair. The 115s beam and have a smaller hot spot than more modern designs BUT their (relatively) low height and shallow depth fit much better into my small (12ft square) listening room than the modern designs. Currently using silver-coiled DX3s they will work in my room with any Bottlehead power amps. They are inclined to be brutally revealing but that's not a bad thing if you're giving them the right signal.
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Lowthers are on my bucket list. I have Paramours just setting in the closet. They don't work well with my Triton 1s.
As an aside I bet Bottlehead could do bangup job with something like KT88 monos.
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Thank you all for giving good advise. Would love to try some open baffles as they are so easy to build, but won't do in my small 14' x16'listening room as they would have to be intrusively back from the wall. Would love to build some Medallions, or other such , but they way exceed my carpentry skills.
Any advise on where to get some flat packs for back loaded horn cabinets?
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Thank you all for giving good advise. Would love to try some open baffles as they are so easy to build, but won't do in my small 14' x16'listening room as they would have to be intrusively back from the wall. Would love to build some Medallions, or other such , but they way exceed my carpentry skills.
Any advise on where to get some flat packs for back loaded horn cabinets?
Here is one. https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/full-range-speaker-kits/ (https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/full-range-speaker-kits/)
I was going to build the BK-16 at one point. Then I bought an Orca pair with subs and now I'm content.