You've done a nice job on those throats. I've seen a number of the 511E's, and the QC was pretty casual, it seems. It's such an important part of the horn!
Originally Posted by Steve Mac
Just an update on the new horns in the system...enjoy:
http://www.superbadcat.com/images/stereo/511e_6.jpg
http://www.superbadcat.com/images/stereo/511e_5.jpg
http://www.superbadcat.com/images/stereo/511e_1.jpg
http://www.superbadcat.com/images/stereo/511e_2.jpg
http://www.superbadcat.com/images/stereo/511e_3.jpg
http://www.superbadcat.com/images/stereo/511e_4.jpg
Ooops . . :-))! GREAT!
best, Klaus
Superb!
Can I come over to your house? =)
Very nice looking rig. I also like the way you cleaned up the insides of the 511's.
I have a tweak for you that really works - it's a soft termination of the horn lips. You can read more about it here:
diyAudio Forums - Horn Honk and Towels - Page 1
It is very easy to hear the improvement with a soft termination, not hard to measure, either. The hard part is making it look pretty. But you seem pretty crafty, so it may be easy for you.
It's a mod/tweak that I can whole heartedly recommend. And it's cheap!
Uncanny... I was thinking about this today...
I was considering whether I should fold the bell back in a gracious curve and/or consider some type of what you are saying... Has anyone tried this on the web anywhere with 511s? Do you have pics of what you did? Did you take it further than draping towels? I'll go check through that thread in length...thank you very much!
....oh and if you bring beer....you can come over.
klausesser....thanks!
Good Lord, that's one serious set up!
I too am interested in learning about any soft termination mods for the 511!
A quater- or half-roll strip of Armaflex pipe insulation can give you both.
Not the (reflective), stiff junk from HD or Lowes, but real Armaflex (or Rubatex) brand (HVAC/plumbing supply). Slit the desired cross section(s) lengthwise and use contact cement to fix in place. Comes in thicknesses of 3/8" to 1", for 1/2" thru 4" pipe sizes (and flat sheet too). Make a slip-on "boot" for your driver too.
(Use a super-sharp knife for clean cuts).
"[I]We're going all the way, till the wheels fall off and burn[/I]!"
Bob Dylan, from [I]Brownsville Girl[/I]
[I]"Time wounds all heels"[/I]
John Lennon, referring to the Nixon/Hoover deportation fiasco.
So as not to hijack this thread I started another on the subject of the soft lips. =)
[ame=http://www.hostboard.com/forums/showthread.php?p=1775865#post1775865]Horn mouth termination - Hostboard[/ame]
Okay, I'll try to keep you guys up to date on the latest pain.
This new driver is like riding a bronc'ing buc.
Fact 1: The 1" drivers I had were in retrospect easy to play with and it was not too hard to get a decent sound easily.
Fact 2: The sonic quality of the 288 is an order of magnitude higher than the 1" drivers I used.
I doubt I go back ever...it's a HUGE step up...not even close to incremental.
Fact 3: This "quality" comes at a price that I'm unsure yet how to come to grips with.
I spent 3 full days trying to dial in the 288h drivers this past weekend. It was intensely frustrating. I have trueRTA running on my computer and after taking 100s of measurements and playing with EQ...I realized strictly speaking this was not a good way to dial in the speakers. There's no substitute for good ears. But then I also realized I have to make a decision. Do I want a laboratory system or do I want it to sound good? For some reason I have shielded myself from thinking in those direct terms, somehow thinking I could get both. I can get something that's technically decent, but there's so much more than measurements...and that wasn't a BOSE conversation starter.Anyway, after a brief pause and not precluding that technical approaches were invalid I concluded I wanted something that sounds good.
So, for the last two days I have been going through literally hundreds of recordings making tweaks and becoming accustomed to as many edges as I could ride. By that I mean what does changing the slope of a crossover point sound like? What do different crossover frequency settings do to the sound? What does no adjustment sound like? What do different EQ shelves do to the sound? How about a bandpass and the playing with Q change things? And then because of all of these variables what is the systemic effect of all of these things WRT the sound? This last one takes the most time because there are iterations of tweaking and listening to overcome. In effect this last week has been a crash course in acoustic reality.
Now that I've circled the wagons with the system, I am approaching it from a minimalist perspective. How do I continue to keep things as simple as possible?
But with all this I am still having problems getting what I want. When I had the small formats in I now realize they sound like the upper midrange was more pronounced... for example the percussives of strumming guitars are very convincing. WRT this issue I have to first realize that I am hearing much more information and the lower mid range is simply to die for with the 288h, which I was not getting with the small drivers. Matter of fact I have never heard such a sweet sounding mid range ever, before these drivers... But out of the box and into the horn it doesn't do everything automagically. So I am experimenting with shelving some lower mid range out and shelving some high end in. For some reason these dam Junior Brown recordings are good for analyzing this issue.
Another issue is what I am used to hearing with the past system and what either should be carried forward or what was never good to begin with. Additionally these drivers are even more dynamic which affects relative levels in recordings. THAT is interesting and a whole nuther subject.
As far as knowing when to stop, I'm okay with the subs, pleased as punch with mid bass, thrilled with the mid range, happy with the overall sweetness of the presentation...but my ears tell me these drivers with this horn needs EQ and tweaking...I just didn't suspect I would still have so much more to work on.
Steve, didn't I read once you had a pair of tweets laying around ? Time to bring them out. A simple 12 db roll off should work fine. Let the 288's roll of naturally. Hope that this is what your missing.
GK
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