Hello!
Well it?s time to ask the questions of the people that will know best. The other day I had the pleasure of listening to a pair of 604E?s in big sealed boxes. The buddy that has them put the system together back in the 70?s. I was floored and knew these were the speakers for me. After doing some research I?ve decided (having not listened to them of course) on either the GPA H-II or the Iconic version of this driver. Now for the enclosure and this is where I need the help. Here is my system and listening needs.

I?m active duty Navy and move every few years and will for the next decade or so. The enclosure will need to be something within size, weight and proportions that it can be shipped and be fairly flexible in different rooms. Currently my room is 10? x 22? x 9?. I listen in the near field at about 7? with the speakers a couple of feet out from the back and side walls with in a triangular placement at about 40? ear to floor. I?m not able to use corner placement now and probably will not until my wife and I settle down somewhere.

I listen to everything really but primarily, vocals, classical to include organ works, large and small orchestration, chamber pieces, etc. Strings and piano are important, piano especially so for the wife, opera (love it and still learning), classic rock, jazz, ambient and other music that fits my fancy at the moment. Attack and decay need to be right as should imaging and soundstage (which these speakers do so well), quality dynamics, fast and accurate musical bass (doesn?t need to hit 20hz or even 30hz for that matter, quality over quantity) and vocals that will make you feel as if the singer is in the room.

Associated equipment: Thorens TD 124 table, Slim Devices Transporter, Meridian 508.24 CD, McIntosh MR 71 tuner, McIntosh C22 preamp, Pass Labs Aleph 30 power amp, McIntosh MC75 power amps, and I would like to build a couple lower powered SET amps this year to get the SET experience.

That same buddy loaned me a copy of ?Hi-Fi Loudspeakers and Enclosures? for a little light reading and can highly recommend it if you haven?t picked it up yourself. I?m an alright woodworker, have access to the military wood shop and have friends that are much better than I am. I?m not opposed to buying a prebuilt enclosure if the quality is right and it was designed for this speaker (a good price is important too). With the knowledge I?m picking up from this book and some test equipment at home (signal generator, spl meter), I?m pretty sure I could tune the enclosure enough and not screw it up.

GM, thank you for turning me on to this site and I?ve been doing my homework. I?m comfortable with a 9-15 cf cab or in that range, as long as it will get through a door, can be shipped by the military and is flexible with placement in the room. I would prefer not to use a subwoofer but again, don?t need low bass, just quality bass (though low would be nice). The enclosures that have stood out so far are the mysterious MLTL designs, Altec 620 series, and the Stonehenge V. The Stonehenge seems like the right shape, tall over wide and if it fits my listening requirements might be the cab of choice but need your experiences. I would like to do this right the first time as we all do. Thanks in advance for your help!

Aaron