$999 DIY Baffle holding its own against $10K Hifi versions!?!? 🤯🤯

This La Dolce Audio / Abx-Audiophile DIY baffle is an INSANE performance for the price.
We heard $10,000 open baffle speakers at the Axpona and Pacific Audio Fest that didn't even sound as good as these baffles... WOW!!! You need to build a set ASAP!!!
Terry at La Dolce Audio - www.ladolceaudio.com/
Contact Terry for drivers and build your own baffles.
Come talk to him live in our Discord...
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ABX Audiophile

[@ronniecramer1252]

I have no doubt that your baffles sound great. I discovered in the past that you can take almost any single full range driver, put in in a piece of plywood, and set it 3-4 feet from the front wall . It will outperform most over the counter speakers in 3-4K range. My latest setup consist of Eminence Alpha 15 in. woofers in the bottom, and 8 in. Tang Band full range up top . The baffles are 22 X 38. I'm driving the bottom with a pair of Maraschino Cherry monos {250 WPC} and a push pull 7 watt tube amp driving the top. The absolute biggest Improvement in the sound came when I replaced the passive crossover with a Marchand electronic one with a 250 Hz. setting. I would put these up against anything i've heard in that 10grand range. I bought the Tang bands and the Marchand used. I have approx. $1200 total in everything. I'm retired now and sometimes listen to this setup for 10-12 hrs straight.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Thats whats up my friend... :) Very nice!! Glad you are here... :)

[@brixvold]

Then imagining using a professional berylium coax instead. High efficiency is king

[@LordShad0w.162]

A solution to your issue with the screws is to cut a ring and glue it up on the back. THis gives you plenty of meat to screw into as well as allowing you to route a nicer bevel in that pulls all the way down to the driver rim. :) Also if you ever want a fast, beautiful finish that is literally a wipe on wipe off affair, use Danish Oil. You can even tint it for a nice range of colors. Either way, very nice job my friend!

[@abxaudiophiles]

Great idea!!! Thanks for sharing

[@daveiacov8858]

absolutely fantastic, love this project, I absolutely need more details as to the drivers you used. the construction makes perfect sense. what I really love is the flexibility as far as the crossover goes, and yea a class A El34 sounds perfect. I'm super stoked. 👌

[@abxaudiophiles]

15" coaxial driver. ASD1001 compression tweeter, Harmony 18" bass driver.... TONS of info in our discord. Check above for links

[@rawheadjim]

I've been fascinated by open baffle designs since I heard about Pure Audio Project speakers, I know this design has been around much longer than that. I built a pair of box speakers about 40 years ago and have wanted to try again, your design sounds like the way to go. You know so much more than I do about this, I just joined the discord and will start learning from you and others on there.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Awesome!! The discord is the soul of all this... Welcome

[@Justwantahover]

If you want a cheap alternative, build speakers with open cone FR driver plus boxed woofer (or 15"open baffle woofer). Run a 5" open FR driver on top of the box and a woofer in the box. Or with the completely open FR driver on top of the baffle. Also cut 8mm slits near and around the center (for the best treble in the worldl! I even have cutaways on the cone to act like a free edge cone (about 3" diameter). But this is not for the faint hearted! Imagine a circle 3" diam on the 5" cone. I made 5 one inch cuts around the circle with gaps that are not cut. Then I made curved cuts from the partial circular cuts, cuts running outside the circle, forming thin banana cutout shapes 4 mm wide at the widest. This makes the cleanest med range you will ever hear! They sound like panel speakers and it's so cheap. I used $40 boxed woofers and $10 5" FR drivers. And an inductor and small resistor on the woofer. The 5" FR driver can be hooked straight up (or you could use a mild filter). The cutaways tend to equilize it (along with the woofer to warm up the sound). The best speakers I heard and holographic off the scale! 😅

[@Entitaet69]

@@Justwantahover What you describe is exactly the way polish Qualio Audio are going with their "Qualio IQ" semi open baffle speakers which they presented last year. A boxed 9,5" woofer with an acrylic baffle on top with a 6,5" midrange driver and an AMT tweeter. The woofer goes up to 600 Hz, the midrange driver performs as full range up to 15 kHz and the AMT serves as an additional super tweeter covering all frequencies above 8 kHz which adds some kind of airiness to the 3D-like holographic soundstage. Since all drivers and crossover components can be purchased off-shelf for about 1.500 € I really think about starting my very first DIY project instead of purchasing a pair of Qualio IQs for about 7.000 € or even the upgrade version for 10k ......

[@Rocker6969]

I learned a bit and enjoyed watching this. Thank you for the info. Look forward to the complete build. +1 sub :)

[@abxaudiophiles]

Hey. Thanks !! 🎉🎉🎉

[@ofb7212]

Good job. Still enjoying my original Hawthorne Audio speakers.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Very nice!! Check out my most recent video with the same thumbnail, just different numbers and a year later. We talk about HA and Darrel a bit. I also have his original silver iris and crossovers here. It's lovely stuff. Our baffles and drivers are a good jump up in quality and performance, all based on the great work he did... PS - Darrel follows this project pretty closely too.. :)

[@bubblehead5394]

Thank you for taking the time to log and share your prototype speakers. Very cool and amazing potential.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Glad you like it!😊😊

[@dapitbull2009]

Awesome video. Love the picture of the old Bush stadium back there.

[@abxaudiophiles]

That's whats up!!

[@MrRonnmaui]

Very cool video! Thanks for all the hard work to show us the way to save $$$ for fine sound.

[@abxaudiophiles]

You’re welcome. For a way deeper dive, jump in our discord.

[@RanTausi]

Very nice and insightful video. Thanks 👍

[@abxaudiophiles]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@caryswansong2197]

That was awesome!!!! Thank you so much!!!!😊😊😊😊

[@abxaudiophiles]

You are so welcome!🎉🎉

[@jeronronnunkoffunk4691]

Awesome awesome video and tutorial, thanks for the lesson I’ve practiced with building 2/3 way speakers and subwoofer systems in the past. I’ve never known the idea or concept about open baffle speakers , I image it might be similar to or better than my old Dalhquist speakers I have currently and maybe some old Magnepans I’ve experienced in past.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Heck yea!! 😊😊👍🏼👍🏼

[@MyFatherLoves]

My brain is so skeptical but I'd love to hear em! Open baffle designs sound incredible when they're implemented well.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Its ok... We hear that alot... But when you hear them, your jaw drops and you forget all about it... hahah

[@user-fv8eh5ov4s]

the beauty of open baffle is no box coloration… you could still add some dampening material to the back of the baffle. or use marine grade plywood - the loaded bass driver *will* put some vibration into the baffle. i would probably have split the baffles for the 18" and the 15" so that the 18" will only rattle it's own baffle (more about this later). the width of the baffle will have a big influence on the bass quality - remember, the bass driver will put the same amount of energy towards the back but in opposite phase. the front and the back wave will eventually meet and cancel each other at all frequencies where the signal is exactely in opposite phase. the wider the baffle, the less cancellation. on old Voice of the Theatre speakers, they often added wings on piano hinges to add bass oomph. one important thing: don't worry about rigidity; our drivers do give enough structural rigidity. what you *should* be concerned with is bracing the panels so they can not move back and forward. you want the driver push air forward into the room and not the speaker baffle backwards, as newton's law of actio est reactio would predict… imagine a 15" driver suspended by nothing but some thin rope from the ceiling. now do a sweep with low frequency sines from 20 to 200 Hz at high SPL. you will notice that the driver will start to swing back and forth and the more it does so, the softer the sound will get - if the resistance of the air is higher than the inertia of the speaker, the bass energy will not move through the air, but instead push the speaker backwards. this not only lowers the efficiency, but it also smears up the sound. you won't notice this until you really brace the baffle so it cannot move at all. the foot of your speaker is way to small to prevent the top heavy baffle from rocking - and yet, you did hear an improvement when you re-seated the baffle from the front of the foot (where it could freely move forwards when it was pushed from behind by a positive rear wave) to the middle. however, with the 15" driver mounted so high up, you would ideally brace the baffle from it's upper edge both, to the back and the front with diagonal struts. i know, this makes the baffles an eye sore and you'll constantly trip across the front mounted struts - but i guarantee you that you will be … uh … baffled by the improvement. instead of bracing it with diagonal struts, you could also brace it against the ceiling. (eg with two vertical 1" aluminum tubes that screw into the upper edge of the baffle and into a threaded plate mounted to the ceiling. yes - this makes your speakers kinda immobile, but that's actually what you want with open baffles. there's no free lunch…) bracing the baffles to the ceiling also ensures they are really in a right angle to the floor i.e. you're actually hearing the frequency band of the midrange/tweeter driver on axis (where it's usually the flattest))

[@johnfisher3929]

I sure would love to see a photo of this setup in your room-or any room!

[@jeronronnunkoffunk4691]

Ok great to know the open baffles are looking way more appealing to me now

[@VEC7ORlt]

Nah, the beauty of the open baffle is its figure 8 radiation pattern - directivity control it provides overshadows any box coloration.

[@nickp8949]

Well done James! Speakers look great

[@abxaudiophiles]

Thanks Nick!!

[@harvestgroup644]

Thank you for sharing 😊

[@abxaudiophiles]

My pleasure 😊

[@ronaldmcdonald2456]

Very smart. VERY! A lot of folks who couldn't otherwise afford to play in this arena will be singing your praises for a long time.

[@abxaudiophiles]

It’s really our discord community. I’m just a sucker for being a guinea pig. 🤣🤣👏🏼👏🏼

[@bujaremini8796]

Thank you so much for luting us know taht we can also make them great video

[@abxaudiophiles]

My pleasure 😊

[@Justwantahover]

30:10 That is such a good idea. PS Audio have extra tweeters at the back of some of their speakers (with deep boxes). And the tweeters are a long way apart. But with using the same tweeter to do front and back it's acoustically way better. No phasing problems, way more defined sound than an extra tweeter at the back. ❤

[@abxaudiophiles]

Well caught kind sir…. Now you see the magic. 🥰🥰😊😊

[@garth56]

Sounds fabulous and this has got me thinking would you want the baffle to resonate or not. Some speakers are designed to resonant and some aren't. We all know there is a product called sorbothane which is horrendously expensive but does work miracles in absorbing vibration. However there is a really cheap product that you paint on that does the same thing yet costs nothing compared to sorbothane. It's called decidamp 150 and you paint a light layer of this on to your wood it almost totally get's rid of any ringing..It's flipping awesome and would be worth some experimentation!!!!

[@abxaudiophiles]

Great idea!!! Would love if you could share a link. I’ll do it.

[@mattlehnardt783]

i was just playing the part. i like how you prototyped the concept on a budget and got great sound without spending 10K$$$

[@abxaudiophiles]

That was our discord communities goal, create the best bang for buck baffle around. At the time we didn’t know it would rival 10K speakers.

[@mattlehnardt783]

@@abxaudiophiles super cool that it did, thanks for posting. great sound for the common man - i used to work at Wilson Audio and Tekton Audio too. HUGE markups.

[@abxaudiophiles]

@@mattlehnardt783 ahh yes, the Wilson’s at Axpona were amazing! One of my favorites of the show outside Joseph Audio and Borresen!! We had tons of fun with this project and a couple handfuls of folks now building them. 😉😉😊😊

[@mattlehnardt783]

cool, ill have to check out those two.

[@joshuasonnier1680]

How did those baffles sound with the lii song f15s you showed part way through the video?

[@abxaudiophiles]

The lii drivers are cool. Vocal rich, limited on full range.

[@dannyshomepainting]

They look great. Super project you build, but I love to hear how they sound.

[@abxaudiophiles]

More to come!

[@Feliciano12v]

Enjoyed this! 👍

[@abxaudiophiles]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@frogmorepipester7490]

A lot of fun. Back in the early 80’s I made a few pairs of open baffle speakers with 51/4 Realistic full range speakers. Sounded great I didn’t even know they were called open baffle speakers.($5 per speaker, scrap plywood) I miss Radio Shack.

[@abxaudiophiles]

That’s what’s up!! 🥰🤗🤗

[@Erelio]

As kids in the early 70’s we would create these speakers 🔊. We called them poor mans HiFi

[@abxaudiophiles]

@@Erelio Heck yea. And with proper design and driver integration you can push WAYYY up the ladder 🪜

[@rtg97229]

Did you do a slight delay on the woofer to compensate for the tweeter distance? It may also be worth looking into optimizing baffle width.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Nah…. Dog chasing the tail in many cases.

[@daviddrake6875]

Thank you for this. Looks pretty easy. Why did you use metal core inductors rather than open core inductors?

[@abxaudiophiles]

From what I have been told, "the problem with air core, and that is they have too much DCR, and eat up sensitivity unnecessarily, more than twice what an iron core choke does. Not to mention the noise insertion."

[@tomfull6637]

Thx! Enjoyed all 36 minutes! Kind regards Anders Sweden

[@abxaudiophiles]

Awesome!! I know if was a long one, and I had others actually say they watched it all as well... SWEET.. :)

[@tomfull6637]

@@abxaudiophiles it needed that time. Was neither tidious nor repetitive so thx for sharing and appropriate presentation! Cheers

[@mfkhometheater7742]

I don't doubt that they sound better than any commercially available conventional box speaker. I started building open baffle in 1994 and I don't know of any conventional box speaker I could enjoy listening to. Open baffle has a lot of advantages such as inherently more uniform polar response and virtual elimination of cabinet resonance issues. They don't have to have lean bass, it all depends on how you EQ them and on whether you have sufficient volume displacement. They can be designed to be bass heavy if you like. Either way, lean or heavy bass, the open baffle bass will always sound more natural than any box design. Great video about a really nice project, keep up the good work and always stay outside the box;-)

[@abxaudiophiles]

Totally!!

[@georgkessler2564]

Fantastic Video👍. I see that it is all about open baffle and I’m a fan of open baffle to too, but is there any experience to use this drivers and this principles to impact on the role off with a close cabinet. I would like to build home cinema speakers and I wonder if I could use this combination. Thanks in advance.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Not that I know of, but we have a few cinema DIY guys in the discord! I suggest jumping in the Home Theater and or DIY channels there. :)

[@superdougie10]

What are the speakers behind him with the twin midrange drivers??? Ive always wanted that in a speaker to make a thicker midrange presence.

[@abxaudiophiles]

That’s the Polk Monitor A10, and those are the main drivers, the larger woofer is a passive radiator. It’s a fully sealed system with the peerless a tweeter. Amazing sound bad imaging. There are some slight phase tweaks they did between the dual main drivers and the holographic soundstage is superb.

[@549of1k]

I collected components for a stereo PA system using two Eminence Beta 12CX speakers with tweeters that screw into the back but am only using a single 18" a LaVoce "Transducer" sub as the BBE Matrix-1500 amplifier only has a single sub port. I'm curiois to know if mounting the single sub on one of the speaker baffle would be preferable to using a separate open baffle or tuned box? Your video was very helpful and I'm happy to steal as many ideas as possible from your success

[@abxaudiophiles]

We are actually discussing all of that in our discord currently!! Great conversations. Separate bass baffles are cool too

[@ericelmore887]

Definitely something I will get into on my next speakers. Have you guy thought about torrefied wood which is used in acoustic guitars, less likely to expand and retract. Also wood glue in combination with screws will make for tighter seams.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Hey Eric, great ideas! - There are lots of discussions in our discord about different baffle materials, densities, and materials used. Almost endless possibilities for sure!! I think so far, none of the builders have chosen the exact same materials. It is really cool to hear and see what everyone is doing and their feedback! What a cool project. 😁

[@1byte4]

I use 2 crown XLS 2502 amps for my open baffle, they have built in DSP control, also allows me to adjust the level of my open baffle sub separately.

[@-MarkWinston-]

What do you use on the 2502 that is useful on your open baffles besides HP/LP?

[@ufarkingicehole]

​@markwinston3119 he is also able to control volume level independently. Other than that I am not sure of the advantage.

[@-MarkWinston-]

@@ufarkingicehole you mean the gain knobs. Havent touched those in a while.

[@ufarkingicehole]

@markwinston3119 yes. I bought the 2502 for sub duty as well. I started with the baby one and honestly didn't like it until I used a Geshelli Labs J2 with it and finally found synergy. It Made it way better so I pulled the trigger on the 2502 for sub duty. Other than HP or LP filter and Gain control, I don't see what can be adjusted using the amps. I will buy a mini dsp 3 or 4 way next.

[@-MarkWinston-]

@@ufarkingicehole Im powering my Aria 948 with the 2502 and using the Topping D70S as a pre. Perfect combination for me.

[@markkilpatrick7951]

I can’t believe you were able to put those bass drivers on your turntable cover without it breaking.

[@abxaudiophiles]

It’s a REGA, they strong 😂😂😂

[@johnfisher3929]

@@abxaudiophilesThey may be strong, but they have no damping: either up or down. At least mine is that way. Every once in awhile I forget and let go 1/3 way down. Plop! Maybe that’s why they’re strong.

[@lwdp74]

What is your surface mounted the driver and milled the edge for a surface mount?

[@abxaudiophiles]

I’m not following.

[@jimdennis5689]

La Dolce Audio site does not have any speaker kit information at this time? Where can I buy speakers, Russian cap etc?

[@abxaudiophiles]

The website looks good to me.. - www.ladolceaudio.com/la-dolce-audio-bass-midbass-open-baffle-coaxial-woofer-coming-soon/

[@ronchinoy]

Can you share where you ordered the L pad and price. Im doing the same with eminence 15 Inch Gama 2 woofers and a CD. PSD2002 Got everything sorted but for the L pad.

[@abxaudiophiles]

It is on Amazon, and it is the 100-watt Eminence L-pad. Hope that helps

[@andyeighttre]

Be interested in how these sound with Lii W 18 and a GR Research Triple Threat. I’m an old school EDM(barf acronym) that loves bass, and OB speakers with their lightning response and reflex make for epic living room dance parties. Great video!

[@abxaudiophiles]

Thank you!! Many options out there in this OB space. We are having fun developing and designing awesome stuff in our Discord... Too much fun.. :)

[@anthonyrondolino8148]

Very cool!

[@abxaudiophiles]

Thank you. 😊😊👍🏼🥰

[@chapwaters9126]

I’m glad they sound great, the wife would never except those in our living room.

[@abxaudiophiles]

It’s a thing. Lol. 😂

[@tothehilt]

I’d love to know when the La Dolce drivers will be available? Do you have any recommendations on similar coaxial that would be OB worthy? We’ll done on this project and thank you!

[@abxaudiophiles]

Soon soon soon!!

[@travis4619]

Where can I find a full build sheet? Currently running an R8, VPI scoutmaster/AT MC cart with a pair of Kef's - I really want to try a pair of open baffles. I can do all the work

[@abxaudiophiles]

Most details and discussions are in our DIY section of our Discord. Come hang out and be part of the group build baffle. 🥰🥰🥰🥰

[@mkshffr4936]

DIY is the tops. Value and the satisfaction of creating something. P.S. You can front mount the drivers and then glue a sheet of black felt the thickness of the basket frame to the front of the baffle so that you have a flush mount and the felt reduces edge diffraction.

[@abxaudiophiles]

All great options... Also, front mount eliminates the ability to slot load easily. But front mounting is also cheap and easy as you don't need a router to cut a perfect hole, jig saw hack job works fine there... :) Always Pros and Cons...

[@mkshffr4936]

@@abxaudiophiles Yeah, I have seen people use a U frame with a slot manifold which looked like an intriguing option. The slot loading might drive the f3 down a little bit.

[@abxaudiophiles]

That it does….! ☺️☺️

[@apgperf]

do you have part list for the system and where i can get them.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Yep. All listed in the discord and our website.

[@itsGnTO]

Would you be able to share a schemtic? I have a oair if 15" Betsy baffles and want to modify...thanks

[@abxaudiophiles]

Everything you can imagine - discord.gg/ZeAfkttK

[@gilbertwashburn7095]

Thanks for the great video I like stuff like that I build my own speakers too have a great day🙃

[@abxaudiophiles]

Thanks for watching!

[@craigenputtock]

How do you know where along the baffle to cut the hole?

[@abxaudiophiles]

We have plans for all the baffles or links to them on the website - abxaudiophiles.org/

[@jvburnes]

How would these compare to classic open baffles like the Alon series from Acarian / NOLA?

[@abxaudiophiles]

I have not heard those.. :)

[@19brendan80]

I'm sure the difference in sound between the baffles most likely has to do with wave cancelation. Wider baffles will generally sound better because they don't allow as much cancelation of lower frequencies. Every frequency has a specific wavelength. That and wider baffles most likely do a better job at projection of some frequencies. Also your distance (placement) from rear walls will also play into this. Maybe a smaller baffle wouldn't be so bad if it was brought further out into the room 🤷🏻‍♂️ who knows. I don't really know enough on the subject. That's why experimenting is fun. What really matters is how they sound and if you like them. Sounds like you do 😎. Enjoy!

[@abxaudiophiles]

Wider baffles dont sound better, they just sound different. Experimenting is fun, everyone should actually do it. 😉👊 awesome stuff.

[@roberthart9886]

Ive owned quite a few speakers over the decades including Magnepan 3.5Rs (meh), Accoustat 2+2s, and Emerald Physics 3.4s- 12" concentric woofer with 1" polyester tweeter outboard XOs- both truly awesome, but the EPs are only ~41" whereas the 2 +2s were ~ 8ft

[@abxaudiophiles]

nice

[@1byte4]

Maybe play some music through them just so we can get an idea of the sound with our headphones.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Damn KZbin and copyright. Lol. Jump in our discord, there’s a hundred videos.

[@Obsfucation]

Why? So you can assess the performance of these with the horrible audio compression from KZbin combine with your cheap earbuds? How exactly does that give an accurate picture of how these sound? I applaud him for NOT falling into that dumb method. It’s pointless and proves nothing.

[@francisdelacruz6439]

@@ObsfucationYou assume that the headphones are cheap? Anyway don’t underestimate the ultimate precision audio instrument to cut through all that processing and get to the essence of sound, your ears.

[@Obsfucation]

@@francisdelacruz6439 No transducer is perfect. A nice pair of Stax gets damn close but, there's always some distortion or coloration added; no matter how good. And there is the issue with the codec used for streaming A/V, especially KZbin. Once the "damage" is done to the signal your ears, and more correctly, your brain can't undo it. Do you judge a video monitor with sun glasses or rose colored ones? My assertion stands; judging a speaker by this method is wrong and pointless.

[@scaryperson27]

You can get an idea of how a speaker reacts with the room and it's tonal qualities via a decent set of headphones through a computer sound card. Obviously it's not the real thing. However, it doesn't leave you clueless either.

[@3rdaxis649]

The best sounding speaker is one that you make yourself...

[@abxaudiophiles]

Totally appreciate the sentiment and yes, they can be… I’ve built some pretty bad sounding speakers tho. 🤣🤣🙌🙌

[@namegoeshere2903]

..proceeds to actually pre-build the baffle....while there in Home Depot.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Literally worked it all out in real time. 🤣🤣🤣

[@geoffreydebrito7934]

Thanks for an interesting video. Open baffle is absolutely the way to go IF you have the room. I don't but hopefully someday I will.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Fingers crossed!

[@terrygesualdo9588]

Actually the Discord group developing this OB speaker based on some soon to be available drivers, is going to develop a bookshelf OB speaker with a frequency response below 50hz. And I am hopeful someone will dare us to try saying that it can't be done.

[@geoffreydebrito7934]

@@terrygesualdo9588 Fully open baffle? Regardless of how capable the woofer, the challenge is overcoming this; longer bass frequencies will wrap around the sides and cancel each other out.

[@terrygesualdo9588]

@@geoffreydebrito7934 Yes and that is what creates the radiation pattern or polar pattern, that is also somewhat frequency dependent. When you slot load, then the way coming from the front and back are different. I would have rather James did a vertical slot or a round slot, but he wanted to try a horizontal slot, And the odd thing is it is working and working very very well. Who would have known, and the measurements prove it is working, and close to the predictions. I did another driver yesterday and the same thing happened. But because I didn't calibrate some things, correctly I don't know exactly what is happening. From more recent experiments, it would appear the driver is more important than the baffle, its Q specifications seem to be more important to how the bass is working than the baffle itself.

[@cobar5342]

Great trick with the routing

[@abxaudiophiles]

It really worked great too.. and CHEAP!!

[@peterjones3657]

Great video thanks. How do you think a single full range driver would perform? Cheers Peter

[@abxaudiophiles]

I have not heard a “full range” driver that I loved. It’s asking too much.

[@dilbyjones]

Whoooo! So grateful man. Just need to get a way to get it all built up. Also how loud you running them?

[@abxaudiophiles]

Ohh when really auditioning gear we will get 100db peaks easy. Average about 80-85db

[@King_Dusty_Of_Pookytopia]

​@@abxaudiophiles"1000db peaks easy"? Now that is funny!...

[@abxaudiophiles]

@@King_Dusty_Of_Pookytopia huh 🤔

[@DesignVisStudios]

Drop the passive cross over, put in a couple of digital amps like Hypex, set a basic fairly steep cross over in the amp, and time alignment in there too, and tune it with dirac or similar room correction.. Super easy to do and you'll have giant killers. I would use the Eminence Textreme carbon compression driver.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Lots of options. 😉

[@nevadagordon7267]

Great job dad! 🎉

[@abxaudiophiles]

Awww.... :)

[@Phloored]

Really fun watching this video. Thank you for sharing. What are some room dimension considerations? Do they require a certain amount of space. Can you help me understand that aspect? I'm kinda considering a single driver transmission line and adding subs but this has me intrigued as well. Thanks again.

[@abxaudiophiles]

One of the main guys that helped design these runs baffles in a 14x13 room with great results. You could always make a smaller baffle. Come get into the discussion with us in our discord.

[@jw191]

Interesting vid, I’m considering an open baffle project in the future. Would you mind sharing what the feet are on your B&W DM604s? I’m running 604s at the moment 👍

[@abxaudiophiles]

Just the cheap Dayton Audio kit. Think it was like $50

[@jw191]

@@abxaudiophiles many thanks, hadn’t seen those before.

[@abxaudiophiles]

@@jw191 they’re really nice. I still use them today. Just make sure to get the right ones. Think there is a small, medium, and large.

[@robertburton295]

I would like to see the diagram to the crossover very interested in building these brother

[@abxaudiophiles]

It’s all on our website and discord. All links in the description

[@r2drone227]

Would love to have heard them! Compared to the more expensive speakers.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Well... One member just put his Zu Druid 6 at $12,000 up for sale and moved the baffles into the throne.. :) I have the $5,500 Evoke 50 here and yet my baffles remain on the throne.. :)

[@abxaudiophiles]

😁😁

[@MJ-fh8fw]

Ok finally finished mine late tonight, don't even have the good green 3.3uf capacitor or suggested better chokes got the stuff from this video, but I did ad horns with same eminence driver. It just doesn't make sense, how amazing they sound not in a fancy box with compartments and all that stuff. Can't wait to get the good chokes and uf capacitor, will upload pics to discord when my old a$$ figures it out. Donald Fagan The Nightly sounds amazing on these speakers. BTW

[@abxaudiophiles]

Well done sir. 🫡😊🤣👍🏼

[@ancc2281]

Mate that was just fantastic. More I listened the more motivated I got. I did an OB project in 2009 and strangely I also found that the WIDE baffle was VERY good. Yet others will say this is wrong. ie you should have folding side fins. Whatever! I am more likely to build what YOU did. From my old experience I believe. I had a good quality audiophile friend hear my 2009 OB's and his comment was "they look like sh*t ( my ones lol ) but sound like HEAVEN! Better than $10,000 speakers" were his words. Do you have a parts list and spec sheet for sizes of the board and the crossover you ended up with? I think I wanna build 'em! :) thanks!

[@abxaudiophiles]

Ha!! Hell yea. All the specs and stuff are on our website and discord. Let me know if I can help!! Our discord is the most effective place, but good info on our website.

[@cruise2023]

Hi! Great stuff, following this set up on Facebook. I get you went el cheapo on the first and amazing what you can get out of them. On the second with the better baffle material and using the same coaxial, why didn't you add a 15" woofer ( considering the down size, the 18" would be too big ) and set it up to get closer to the first in performance ? I can't see ( and as you stated, it didn't sound as good in comparison ) how it could with missing the bass driver ! Just thinking...cheers

[@abxaudiophiles]

We were trying to get something with a little more wife acceptance factor… I also should have flaired the front. I will re visit that baffle for sure later. 😊😊😊

[@cruise2023]

@@abxaudiophiles Thanks...Certainly interested as I have a project to start soon. Consists of a P Audio 15" coaxial married up with a SBA Bianco 15" woofer, on a 600mm x 1200mm solid timber ( similar to butchers block ) baffle so similar ! Have no idea about passive crossovers so will go with a miniDSP SHD with tubes Willsenton R8 for the coaxial and solid state for the woofer, I'm hoping for great sound 😀All experimental 😟

[@abxaudiophiles]

@@cruise2023 awesome!!! Keep us posted.

[@dee1458]

Been researching OB (Spatial Audio, GR Research, etc.) but yes DIY is the plentiful and best value way to go if so. On the hunt then for a one and done, buy and hold, "end game" DIY OB.

[@abxaudiophiles]

This is that baffle. 🫡

[@VEC7ORlt]

Pretty cool project, some things tho - you'd want a proper xo between the compression driver and your bass unit - you don't want to excite those cone breakup artefacts on the upper end - not a lot of drivers are well behaved in that regard. Cap only xo - idk - that will stress the driver a bit, but depends on the power level. Opening the rear of the compression driver is huge no-no - rear chamber is needed for proper loading and acoustic impedance matching, so response, distortion figures will be all over the place. Also flush mounting from the front is better - no surface discontinuity, compared to a chamfer.

[@abxaudiophiles]

All possible approaches and considerations. I think sometimes we like to as audiophiles create roadblocks where there really no “significant” issues. All valid perspectives for sure. 👍🏼. These still are my daily drivers and I’ve had $11,000 speakers in here since this review. I’d say, she’s working well. 😁😁👏🏼😍

[@hificave]

Hell yes !

[@abxaudiophiles]

Let’s go!! 🥰🥰🥰

[@kohnfutner9637]

We need a demo now

[@abxaudiophiles]

We have videos of them on our website - Abxaudiophiles.org :)

[@admireandinspire4525]

This is pure Comedy....😂😂😂 Anybody who thinks this is Quality of some sort Is completely delusional. Since I worked for speaker lab in 1977, Then speaker factory, Then speaker city, Designing and building loudspeakers since 1977 And working with some of the best speaker engineers in the world , this is pure Comedy Thank you I will laugh for the rest of the day.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Well, your views don't really align with the hundreds of people who have actual real-time experience with these open baffles. Sorry, but you are just ignorant about this currently. Maybe that will change in the future; we can only hope so.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Check it out - kzbin.info/www/bejne/pmi0eWmVjLCMhc0si=GNI8jhTfuOTJeERf

[@michaelborza734]

I have to do this!

[@abxaudiophiles]

DO IT!!! It will change your life.

[@michaelborza734]

@@abxaudiophiles It's in the bucket list for sure! I've much to do first. Just retired, looking to move closer to my children and finding the right place that offers a shed, barn or work shop is desired for such projects. I've subscribe to your channel to keep it close to my heart.

[@danbuffington75]

33:23 All things considered, I am happy rolling off at 60Hz. For reference, the lowest note a cello plays is 65.4Hz, which is a C2. Personal preference after many years.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Nice!! Yea, I’ve just realized how much information is gained when you get to 30hz or lower. Adding that clean and resolving bass down that far lifts the entire soundstage in my experience. I as well don’t mind an early roll off, but if I can get to 30hz I’m all about it. 🥰😊😊

[@jjinglenuts]

Im into diy speakers since 80's, i like to hear demo of your speakers,..that will be nice.thanks..

[@abxaudiophiles]

Tons of videos in our discord - Cant post here, copyright and all..

[@jjinglenuts]

@abxaudiophile I understand, thanks. Only Wts-App works .

[@abxaudiophiles]

@@jjinglenuts or better yet, build them and rock out in musical bliss.

[@jjinglenuts]

@abxaudiophile you are 100% correct. Enjoy the best of the best which you can't find in retail. I feel bad for people they buy 50k speakers and still not happy with the sound 👍😅😅,.

[@abxaudiophiles]

@@jjinglenuts Totally. It’s a thing for sure r

[@jordenb9469]

I see you have a bunch of speakers behind you. Are those open baffle better sounding in most areas that all of those?

[@abxaudiophiles]

The open baffle annihilate every speaker I have in my house.

[@richardpowell6096]

This is exactly what I've been looking for can you tell me where i can purchase the components,, Thank you very much Richard

[@abxaudiophiles]

ABXaudiophiles.org - We’ve got a full page on it and all links.

[@firelord675]

Would making the baffles out of granite, produce a better sounding speaker?

[@abxaudiophiles]

@@firelord675 not in our experience. Baffle material is one of the least of the concerns considering hierarchy of what makes a difference. Most important is 1-Drivers 2-Crossover and quality parts 3-Baffle size 4-Baffle material and thickness.

[@user-fz2tl4of1v]

Love open baffles, know how efortless, spacy and even low-deep they can sound, but your "deep" in 100-250 Hz I`m sure reduce energy, punch and attak dramaticaly. If you make somehow a small +2+3 db in this area instead of -4-5 you will be pleasanly surprised;)

[@abxaudiophiles]

Ou baffles are flat all the way from 28hz to 20K... Bass for DAYS...

[@uncola6028]

This video will be super helpful when the lda drivers ship to diyers!

[@abxaudiophiles]

Totally!!! And Terry just updated his website, so the links to the drivers and crossovers are LIVE.

[@JC.LC.]

Looks tempting. How about the off axis performance?

[@abxaudiophiles]

It’s pretty narrow, maybe three people wide.

[@abxaudiophiles]

If you really want the sweet spot. Like we all do 🤣🤣. They sound good almost anywhere, but that magic is a bit narrow as with any speaker. 😂

[@robh9079]

Nice - a 'baltic' birch would be a further improvement and it looks good on the end grain (many more laminations) though is about twice the price.

[@abxaudiophiles]

I’m not sure the baffle materials really matter that much more than size and components. Doubt there would be an audible difference. We’ve messed with all kinds of materials.

[@robh9079]

@@abxaudiophiles Yep - it looks prettier though!

[@abxaudiophiles]

@@robh9079 true. 🥰👏🏼

[@johnfisher3929]

Yes. Pretty is good. Also, any hardwood plywood with edging-but that is the woodworker in me.

[@dougg1075]

This is cool.

[@abxaudiophiles]

It sounds great too.

[@roybertalotto6355]

Red OAK stair tread....Don't think I've ever seen a start read made out of soft cedar.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Correct.

[@cl65captain]

Are you in STL? I see the photo of the old Bush Stadium on the wall.

[@abxaudiophiles]

I’m in Seattle. But an Ironworker by trade, hence the photo 😊😊

[@notmyrealname1437]

The baffle may be acting like the sound board in a piano. The piano I owned had s rather thin sound board made out of a light weight wood. The second smaller baffle had two change: size and thickness. You may also want to experiment with more and less dense woods.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Good thoughts, but no issues here, I would not go any less that 3/4" :) Cheers

[@delvalle9256]

Discord link doesn’t work anymore. When it worked ,there seems to be no specific plan of the build nor crossover schematics . Is it supposed to be that way ie trial and error? It will be super helpful if you can provide a build plan on PDF and share it for a fee 👍.

[@abxaudiophiles]

These are a full DIY specific to our discord. There are no PDF plans yet, Although LDA anticipates making flat packs soon. But really everything needed to build is in the video. Here’s the Discord link - discord.gg/JyDyMasZ come in and or part of the fun. 😊😊

[@delvalle9256]

@@abxaudiophiles for some reason , link says it expired… I was only was able to use the original link once . The day after .. no more access. Anyway thanks for your response

[@abxaudiophiles]

@@delvalle9256 Bummer. Well the link I just posted above was just made today, so should work. Cheers.

[@delvalle9256]

@@abxaudiophiles tried the link. Still doesn’t work . Thanks anyway

[@kdsellman]

Is that a Polk Audio model 10 behind you?

[@abxaudiophiles]

Yes sir. Peerless tweeter. ❤️👌😊

[@202One]

DiY = great build/info & price..! Sandbag below the 18"..? ✌🍾🎉👍

[@abxaudiophiles]

Absolutely🎉😊

[@daviddrake6875]

Do you have an Emotiva XPA-200?

[@abxaudiophiles]

I do not.

[@dosserkelly]

whats the sensitivity of these?

[@abxaudiophiles]

97db

[@tbirdsteve1]

You know damn well that $10k speakers are really $2.5k speakers. Out of $10k rrp at least $5k of that is margin for the distributor and retailer. The manufacturer makes the speaker for around $2.5k and puts a $2.5k profit on it for themselves.

[@abxaudiophiles]

And cost to consumer is cost to consumer regardless 🙂😊👍🏼👍🏼😀

[@mgaming7]

You guys should sell these direct. All the open baffles I have seen are all $5K and up. I want something in the $2k or Less. Sell them for $1800 and buyer pays shipping.

[@abxaudiophiles]

To build the new version. DIY is about $1500. We're a non profit charity, so we won't be selling completed baffles. LDA may at some point in the future, but by then the retail will be $5K probably. There is a smaller version almost done now in the group. Best to jump in the discord and get in on it. We will walk you through all of it.

[@maxchung539]

how to make good solid bass with open baffle?

[@abxaudiophiles]

Follow the guidance in the video. Check us out at abxaudiophiles.org for all the videos and info. 😉😁😁👍🏼👍🏼

[@chrisduhaime5689]

Paper cone speakers are basicly the same . Once had a old CBS engineer tell me a good speaker has no sound it reproduces the sound. Those over the hill prices for a name is marketing. You definitely can build your boxes and select your own driver's.

[@abxaudiophiles]

Some truth in there for sure…😉😉

[@GoPerformanceCars]

The difference between large and small... Is the BSE frequency ☺️

[@abxaudiophiles]

:)

[@chrisdog4319]

I'm seattle I didn't know you guys were local..

[@abxaudiophiles]

We are a Washington non profit cooperation. I’m in puyallup.

[@chrisdog4319]

@@abxaudiophiles yeah I'm a build some a those after I pay off the dentist.. should probably Pm you guys..

[@abxaudiophiles]

@@chrisdog4319 yea man! Hit me up bro. If you wanna come over and hear these you’re more than welcome.

[@abxaudiophiles]

@@chrisdog4319 Feel free to jump in our discord. I have tons of video clips and stuff. We talk about them all day long. New updates coming out all the time.

[@LAKXx]

I bet all my money you are one of those that would adore a 3d printer in their life. Believe me

[@abxaudiophiles]

Never had one. 🤣🤣😊👍

[@abxaudiophiles]

Takes up too much space and I got too many damn speakers. 🤣🤣🤣

[@LAKXx]

@@abxaudiophiles It would be soo useful for your speaker projects though like printing the perfect baffle or designing a driver decoupler, perhaps printing just a inner wall to fill with concrete andor epoxy or something else. The possibilities are endless and its honestly a breeze to get into even when it seems daunting at first! Was looking to convert my floorstanders into a open baffle design since my new room is hella small. i'm currently in the brainstorming phase still and researching so i came across your channel :)

[@chrismiller5938]

HI, do you have a list of the original crossover and your first build crossover parts & crossover parts with and without the bottom bass speaker? Thanks

[@abxaudiophiles]

It is all on our website - Abxaudiophiles.org Cheers

[@chrismiller5938]

Thanks!@@abxaudiophiles

[@jamesdills6720]

Great Work! You don't have to spend a fortune to get a great sound

[@abxaudiophiles]

Very true!