Acoustic Elegance TD15M hifi woofer Test and Review (redo)

[@bogie1971]

Forget the speaker. What an incredible view you have from your backyard. The mountains in the background are beautiful

[@Mike-qo4kp]

Never, ever start a video by referring to yourself as an idiot. Anyway liked the video. Detailed and thorough.

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Lol. It was a mistake and was being a bit self deprecating. 🤣

[@audioaficionado9494]

Thanx Ryan. This was well worth the wait. It looks like I could actually get away with a 2-way active XO to pair my TD15Ms with my TPL150H AMTs. I was told that the TD15Ms would beam too much above 800Hz.

[@rickg8015]

Thanks for the revised reupload.. I hope you publish a project with these. Maybe with Iwata 300’s and Be large format drivers up top.

[@chriskoeplin6085]

Thank you for creating this review. I was thinking of pairing TD15M in a 3cf sealed box below a BMS 4595HE on JBL 2352 horn for LCR behind AT screen mounted in a baffle wall for dedicated home theater. Your review suggests/affirms TD15M as a top choice. Definitely would use subs below 70hz. Thanks again. Nice work.

[@eng-3998]

Great video Ryan going to share it in our Facebook group. Love this driver!!

[@markbushinski1198]

Thanks for making these videos they are very informative. I would like to see the diysg magnum 1 meter @92db distortion measurements as a comparison.

[@davidperry4013]

I want to build 2 way floor standing speakers with those woofers, cantus G1 ribbon tweeters, 4th order LR crossovers with copper foil inductors and polypropylene caps, and a 38Hz port tune.

[@jimbower4249]

I've worked at the post office hauling mail. The packaging appears adequate. When something has weight the handler is less likely to toss it like a basketball into a bin. Now if it weighed 5lbs and it was in a box that big it would have a much higher chance of being tossed. The trucks come in at the docks to get unloaded. There's bins that are about 4' square. The people are rushing to sort the packages into their appropriate bins. So I've seen them toss packages 5 to 8 feet daily. They assume if it's light there's a towel or something in the box. You have to remember someone could be shipping a bowling ball or something. That package can be put on top of what your shipping. I always tried to put the heavy packages on the bottom. My rule for packaging has always been if i can drop it from waste high without worrying it's good. But I always get insurance and keep my fingers crossed.

[@getahanddown]

I've just recently found your channel and been looking at some Mark Audio drivers, just what to do about the lows? These look like they would match so well with the new wide dispersion drivers

[@hifiman4562]

Ah yes, my dream midbass.

[@tarekz9992]

Off topic: I've always been curios how good the RS270-4 is, I don't see many designs using them. I would imagine it would sound great in a 3 way.

[@jenniferwhitewolf3784]

Bravo on the re-do. These are great components. Can you get some Great Plains Audio ( former Altec) 515-8LF 16" drivers? Slightly different design philosophy, but also excellent execution.

[@cardiod]

What is the mark on the magnet at 2:08?

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Mark D it looks like a chip to me. I know ferrite can be easily chipped. And when the magnets go together they can be hard to handle. Probably got chipped. Shouldn’t affect performance but...

[@justkiddin1980]

Hey man for the price they are asking for these woofers they should be packaged better...shipping companies have no respect for your 400 or 500 dollar woofers and a little foam is not going to cut it when they drop them...Fully enclosed styrofoam would be a better way to go and not much more expensive..

[@jaredbolo3650]

John knows what he's doing. If he had a high rate of shipping failure, he wouldn't be using the system he does.

[@brettus9115]

After seeing them measured I thought two way LCR's for the home theatre no worries and then saw the price...next!

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Brettus ya they don’t come cheap that’s for sure.

[@8bit1992]

Thank you very much for your review Can you do another one for faital 15pr400? I heard they are not worse than td15m while are a lot cheaper

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Andrew Grynkiv sorry but I don’t own a pair of those and can’t make that a priority at the moment. If a pair was made available I’d be interested.

[@pliedtka]

Ah, different stuffing inside the box. Thanks for the update (only an idiot wouldn't admit that he made mistake). Question: the one with a lot of wiggles in impedance measurement used polyfill if I understand correctly. Did you ever tried Rockwoll, Safe'n'Sound insulation as stuffing - supposedly it works better than fiberglass. 40Hz tuning, but like you mentioned the current one might do depending on the room - I actually like shallower slope than, say, the QB3, it sounds nicer, and is less of an issue in problematic room with boomy upper bass. I just wonder how it would work in big back loaded horn - huge box yes, but bass quality could be better than BR. The free field SPL measurements are on top of 8' lather I understand - how far is the mic? And, why the ground plane measurement is only good to 100Hz in your case. I always thought that ground plane can be almost as good as the free field in the midrange, but now after your video I have doubts. (Damn, what a shame to live in Ottawa and be unable to use NRCs anechoic chamber 😉)

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

pliedtka yes I have used Rockwool but I’ve never tested it or used it much. It should perform well though. I think I used polyfill and not enough. The mic was 1m distance. With GP you can use it higher than 100hz but you have to be far from buildings. And be sure the mic is flush with the ground. I didn’t do that. Also, you have to tip the speaker forward to be on axis and back up the mic to 2m. There’s a few things. Even so I’ve never been convinced the way a true free field measurement works.

[@pliedtka]

@@ImpulseAudioSpeakers Thanks. As always, it's a pleasure to exchange ideas with you.

[@DMC428]

Hey hey @Impulse Audio, how are you doing? Hope you and your family are fine. Are there any news from your extension of your house? When can we expect a life sign from you? Have a good time! Hope, we'll hear soon from you! :) Greetings from Middle Franconia, Bavaria, Germany (the part of the world with the highest density of breweries - in case anyone cares...)

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Actually I just started a new video. Hopefully won’t be long. Still lots of work to do on the house so the videos will be slow.

[@erikhansson8989]

SÅ JÄVLA DÅLIG

[@kaedeschulz5422]

Those woofers are insane! And as always a very nice Video. BTW: What Facebook group is this?

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Schulze Designs the group is something like speaker project pad or something like that.

[@kaedeschulz5422]

@@ImpulseAudioSpeakers Found it. Thanks!

[@bingoberra18]

Hello, are you working on any new videos? Id like to hear your thoughts on open baffle setups, or just about anything else youve got in store :)

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

bingoberra18 I actually do have a video being edited right now. But it’s short and simple and not about OB. I’m not a huge OB fan because to do them right they are very complex. Most are done wrong. They introduce a lot of issues and even when done right they’re very inefficient.

[@bingoberra18]

@@ImpulseAudioSpeakers Cool looking forward to it! If you would like to express a more detailed explanation to what you said about OB it would be much appreciated. I get the impression from multiple channels that OB gives a really impressive response and that therefore they are the ultimate hifi speakers if you get them right.

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

bingoberra18 that may be true. They have qualities that are very important to good sound. Specifically the figure 8 polar pattern and boxless sound. The biggest problem is efficiency. Without the box you lose incredible amounts of bass efficiency. I think a good compromise due to this is a boxed woofer and then an OB midwoofer and mid. Then finding a tweeter that shares the same polar pattern as an OB mid is the next problem. There are some dipole tweeters out there, but not many. A waveguide tweeter (small one) can come close in the forward direction, but has no rearward response. Rear mounting a tweeter introduces a time delay that the OB mids don’t have so that’s a bad match. It’s quite a puzzle really. And not one I’m an expert on. I know enough to know it’s a very difficult challenge. Check out John Kreskovsky for someone who knows how to do it properly. The guy is an OB genius.

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

bingoberra18 hmm, seems John’s website is gone 😬

[@bingoberra18]

@@ImpulseAudioSpeakers Thanks, i´ll have to read up on polar patterns! I was inspired by Danny Richie from GR-Research who has touched a lot on OB designs on "New record day"s channel for example the video "Open baffle basics". As well as the channel "Pssound" who recently uploaded a few videos of his home audio DIY setup where all speakers including subs are open baffle. Theyre a good watch! I think for tweeters Pssound adresses that issue that he needed an extra tweeter facing rearwards, but then swapped them out for ribbon tweeters that have an open back which sort of deals with the problem. Danny Richie also talks highly of the ribbon tweeters design. This made me eagar to plan a OB system, but your hesitation makes me a bit nervous, as I am very much in the beginning of this whole hifi world. In the house I am currently building, I will have an opportunity to put any number of drivers (thinking about two 18" drivers) in the side wall, as an OB design. The back of the woofers would face the hallway(under the stairs). so would be relatively separated from the listening space. Anyway, maybe this would inspire you as well to try some OB design and maybe it ends up as a very informative video! Thanks for all your previous ones!

[@audioaficionado9494]

Hi again Ryan. How's the room addition going? Hope your summer is drier than this spring is going. What were the Vb of those enclosures you built for those TD15M drivers? Also what was the final tuning frequency you settled on? Thx again for testing these.

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Audio Aficionado hey thanks. It’s going ok all things considered. Vb was about 125L iirc. Tuning about 35L. Lower than necessary and it’s not like they hit super hard down there. I will still use subs often. And if I never used subs I’d tune around 40 or 45hz to be honest.

[@audioaficionado9494]

@@ImpulseAudioSpeakers I've been playing around in bass box and the sweet spot is 256L and 40Hz, but at PE 500W it just gets too close to xmec of 10mm. Xmax is 6mm. I'll have to shrink Vb and use active filtering to high pass above 40Hz.

[@ianhames2465]

great test. How did you set up the test equipment, if you don't mind me asking, what equipment did you use?

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

I use a mini dsp microphone that is calibrated by Cross Spectrum. The software is SoundEasy. For impedance I use an old WT3 jig. That’s pretty much it.

[@ianhames2465]

Hello again, I have another question if you don't mind. Can an aging 'aluminium' HF compression driver lose its ability to reproduce its higher bandwidth due to fatigue, i.e. hardening around the edge of the diaphragm where the suspension is fixed to the driver body? A bit of an odd one I know.

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

I don’t think this would happen for a very long time, but maybe. I’m not really sure to be honest.

[@lextr3110]

while i would need to judge by ear and i'm not an expert.. personnaly I dont like long CSD like this in the midrange and distortion in the low and midrange doesnt seem to be that good but i might be mistaken.. i guess one could work with no high crossover on it tho.. using the natural slope of the driver instead.. but over 500hz might have directivity mismatch and ctc to long with tweeter 2 low mass 10inch midrange or 3 8inch between 40hz and 1hz would solve all this... also not sure why you dont use it sealed if its a midrange.. how does it compare to motu UH250PW1 between 100hz and 1khz? CSD seem to be fast in that passband

[@ze_german2921]

How does it all sound like? Subwoofer required?

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Not required, but not super deep bass. Depends on the type of music. I like without a sub for most.

[@anandshah71]

Any suggestion for a woofer like AE but cheaper AE is too expensive want to make in OB

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Anand Shah I would check out eminence woofers. Amazing value just not as pretty.

[@anandshah71]

It would be great if you can suggest a model no for OB and Bookshelf 2 projects I have

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Anand Shah alpha 15a for OB. Not sure what your budget it. Take a look at their line up and see what you like. Not much they make isn’t good. Hard to go wrong.

[@habdulahsalam]

Hello Ryan, any news on this project?

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Mihai C it’s for sale. Unfortunately I can’t complete it because we’re going to be doing an addition to the house. So I’m trying to pair down all my stuff. If it doesn’t sell I’ll resume the project later.

[@markbushinski1198]

For sound quality ( low distortion and low stored energy) would you choose these or the diysg magnums? I'm plannig to go from 20hz-500hz

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Mark Bushinski for 20-500 I wouldn’t use these. I’d use either the magnum if you want it a bit smaller or the TD15S as they’re both suited for lower frequencies a bit better. If you’re looking for 50-800hz this thing is really hard to beat. BTW, I’m selling these because of space issues white I do an addition to our house. If they don’t sell I’ll do some more with them on the channel.

[@MS-ug3gm]

Unfortunately unavailable in Europe :( US Hi End speakers 💘. I wish you good health 👍 I ceep my fingers crossed for you Americans.

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

My Sy I’m Canadian but close enough 😁 Thank you.

[@jasongamet3056]

if you are really interested in getting some AE speakers contact him. aespeakers.com/acoustic-elegance-international-orders-faq/

[@mattroadfeldt9012]

What software where you using?

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Matt Roadfeldt it is SoundEasy V21. I don’t like it. Not worth the money.

[@lextr3110]

@@ImpulseAudioSpeakers what would you use instead.. ?

[@MrArnand]

@@ImpulseAudioSpeakers I reccomend taking a look to Vituixcad. It has a lot of features and is free to download! Lot's of support on diyaudio as well.

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

lex Tr3 REW and HolmImpulse or if paying then Omnimic. For crossover work I use Xsim.

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Arnand de Jager I have looked into it a bit. I bought SE before Vituix was around. I don’t think Victuix has a measurement component though? For XO design I mostly use Xsim as its really straight forward and easy to use.

[@FSXgta]

Did you break in the drivers before doing these tests? Also this woofer looks alot like a PA woofer, but what makes it a hifi woofer?

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

FSXgta⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻⸻ yes I always break them in. A PA woofer can also be a hifi woofer. And a woofer that looks hifi can be lowfi. This is definitely hifi with the best PA properties going for it :D

[@BH4x0r]

i'm sorry, but higher impedance doesn't necessarily make it more efficient. if you look at pro audio drivers, IF they have multiple ohm versions (say 8 and 16) they'll have the same efficiency with maybe 0.1 -0.2 dB @ 1w difference, efficiency is .. dB at 1w a watt is a watt no matter what impedance you're using.

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

BH4x0r I’m sorry you’ve made a mistake. They’ll have the same efficiency but the 16ohm driver will have 3db less sensitivity. Therefore they are both the same efficiency. If both had the same sensitivity the 16ohm driver would then be 3db more efficient due to its 8ohm higher impedance.

[@BH4x0r]

@@ImpulseAudioSpeakers it wont have 3dB less efficiency, power = volt * amps, if you're using exactly the same voltage then yes, you're right, but efficiency is about power, and since power is volt * amps, a watt is still a watt, and drivers are efficiency rated at dB @ 1w, 2.83v is used at 8 Ohms because that's exactly 1w at 8 Ohms. if you use an amp thats 1kW at 8 ohms and it doesn't have some special impedance matching shit like rockford fosgate BD car amps (which will both output the same power at 1 ohms as at 2 ohms) and you have it at exactly the same power, the amp will put 125W into a 16 Ohm load and it will put 250W into an 8 ohm load as an example, so technically you're not putting twice the amount of power into the 16 ohm driver, actually half the amount so they're as efficient at the same power if your setup is done correctly, there's no power wasted as you're not putting it into the driver so it's as efficient

[@wilhelmbeck8498]

@@BH4x0r But still, for hi-fi diy (and pro), sensitivity is of more interest to most builders. Efficiency, is of interest when designing PA gear ( -: Peace

[@BH4x0r]

@@wilhelmbeck8498 efficiency and sensitivity are basically the same thing, sensitivity .. dB at 1w dependant on the manufacturer its either called efficiency or sensitivity

[@wilhelmbeck8498]

The manufacturers ( the cheap ones ) don't give a f... If you're an engineer - and/or a discerning diy'er, you know the difference - and what difference it makes ( ! )

[@tomasjr1564]

Im a grown man but, 3:20 Thats what she said.......

[@РуфатШиралиев-п9и]

Hallo Mr.! Mr. You are very thin! How is your health? All right? This speaker is good, alas, it does not have the lowest resonant frequency, but it is very fast because the diffuser is very light.

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Руфат Ширалиев hey thank you for your concern. I’ve lost a lot of weight since starting this channel. I am very healthy now. No need to worry. I run and cycle often to stay athletic.

[@РуфатШиралиев-п9и]

@@ImpulseAudioSpeakers I am very happy to hear that! Be always healthy! You are a wonderful person! Mister, look at this Italian speaker, you will be interested. This is one of the best 5" speakers in the World! www.dibirama.altervista.org/home-page/mid-woofer/410-sica-5f1-5cp-8-mid-woofer-5-8-ohm-200-wmax.html

[@РуфатШиралиев-п9и]

@@ImpulseAudioSpeakers Mr. Dayton Audio cf120-4 very good little speaker and Tang Band W4-1805S.

[@camploismyalias]

You never show'd the Theile specs you received from the DATS measurements...Disappointing

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

I don’t think I took them for this driver. I can’t recall. I only measured the result in the box.

[@magdalenaklepacka6943]

Hi, can you give me your contact email? I have jus bought a pair of AE dipole18 and I have some problem with measurements results.

[@ImpulseAudioSpeakers]

Ania Szewczyk My contact is [e-mail] but I generally can’t help with these kinds of requests. I focus my time on the videos as I have 3 kids and a house under a lot of work at the moment.

[@magdalenaklepacka6943]

@@ImpulseAudioSpeakers Thx. I'v sent you an email, but if you will not have time to look at it don't worry I completly understand.