Open Baffle Epiphany!

cptnCanada

Active Member
So its -25 Celcius and the car wont start so of course I started messing around with my gear and came up with what I can only call an epiphany!

I took a pair of Foster (Fostex) FE103 alnicos with Planet-10-HIFI phase plugs that I had lying around and decided to cut up a left over cardboard box from xmas and create some crude open baffle speakers to see what the fuss is about...

WOW!:music:

Of course I have a sub hooked up for the bass.

Ive never heard anything like this in my life! I can hear the echo from the snare drum coming from BEHIND the speakers! Its like the whole front of me is the sound stage! Total open compared to my JBL decade 36, or any other speaker I've heard for that matter.

I like where this is going :D

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Been there, dun dat had the same epiphany :)... Is it the most accurate way to hear a recording - probably not. Is it a glorious way? Yes indeedy!
 
i made a bunch of cardboard versions before i had my OBs built. fun way to explore!

how are you integrating the sub?
 
Damn I wish I had a dedicated listening area.:drool:

I wish I didn't have neighbors.

I would love to crank it up right now and get some air moving, but they're all home right now.

Speaking of OB, the number one speaker on my wish list is open-baffle. That's about all I have to say about that...
 
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The Infinity RSIIs are my first trip down the open baffle road haven't unplugged them yet....
 
The Infinity RSIIs are my first trip down the open baffle road haven't unplugged them yet....

RSII's are open-baffle? Oh, that's right. The top half. Jeez, I forgot about that. Used to seeing them from the front, and that's not so easy to spot in pictures if you don't know to look for it.
 
The open baffle arrangement is interesting, I am giving it a shot myself. In December I bought an open baffle speaker that uses the Hawthorne 10" co-ax driver and two 10" bass drivers per side. It is a nice speaker, and I am working through what it takes to get the best out of them.

So what are you going to do? Going to build proper baffles for them, or experiment with some other arrangements?

Regards
Mister Pig
 
Last year one of the Houston audio members built a pair. I must say they did a lot of things right. That was the first and only pair I have witnessed. For the price, very hard to beat. He was running a 8 Watt set amp. I hope I can check them out with some of my symphony music picks next time.
 
Welcome to the dark side where thinking outside the box is the norm.

Required reading for any convert to "Open Bafflism" is the huge thread on Audio Circle entitled, "Gravity Well of a Darkstar".

The thread was started some years ago by a brilliant physician/audiophile who is a legend at AC. Richard, one of my favorite posters, offers great insight and descriptions of the OB sound.


http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=19253.0
 
I discovered open baffles about two years ago, I have no desire to go back to a box speaker. I know box speakers can sound excellent, but hearing sound without the box coloration was a revelation for me.

OB does especially well in the mid bass to lower mid range. Significantly, these are where many of the musics fundamental frequencies reside.

For me, the dipole affect is secondary. Dipoles do add a wonderful reverberation to the sound, it makes for a very full and open presentation.
 
Looks like a nice setup, by the way. When you are ready to take it to the next level, try some open baffle bass. It is very natural sounding.
 
I'd have to agree about getting a different amp to power the FE103's.

Currently have my eyes on a 300B SET from Rapheliete that I would love to get my hands on. The DIY kit is in my price range!!

http://www.hifiwow.com/tube-amplifiers/raphaelite-sinovt-hi-end-6sj7-300b-se-single-ended-vacuum-tube-amplifier-amp-diy-kit-122.html

Must unload some surplus gear to fund it though! The VSX-D1S in the meantime does a stand up job - very under appreciated receiver!

Question to OB experts...How does bass stand up in open baffle? What are the benefits? I have read that it can be hard to get useable low bass from an open baffle unless you use a huge baffle, which would guarantee non-WAF speakers. I haven't determined what frequency the FE103s go down to in OB but I can tell there is a hole there right now between the sub (which max xover is 150hz) and the FE103's. The current setup is obviously temporary, but I was thinking maybe having the FE103's OB with vented woofers below, possibly bi-amped so I could use the 8W 300B for the FE103's and SS for the woofs?? Thoughts??

Thanks for the links above...some good reading I haven't seen yet about OB! This is definitely a road I am excited to go down!!:music:
 
Those Coral holey baskets are magical.

Absolutely agree :thmbsp:

Everyone watch out for "tunnel reflex" speakers at your local thrift, this is what they come out of. Very cheap and ugly 70's fake wood/particle board crap is what is hiding these gems. They usually go for pennies at the thrifts and nobody picks them up unless they know whats behind the grills.
 
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