"The Puget Sound!" DIY Speaker Contest 2010

That was fun! Next time I'm eating breakfast first though!

Will,

You could have eaten some of the Non-health food that was provided! I didn't get anything to eat either until about 7 pm and I was hungry!

BTW: Everybody was impressed with the looks and sound of his Super Sevens. I personally thought that they sounded excellent!

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
How about a quick summary, Terry?

Ray,

That would be pretty hard to do, other than to say that there really wasn't a bad speaker there. I nearly lost my standing for entering the least expensive pair of speaker ($26.95), but the fellow spent nearly $2 more!

I haven't been to bed yet, so when I get up I'll probably go into more detail. I'm not trying to promote the diyAudio forum, but they do have pictures.

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
Yeah, I checked it out. Looks like a great event. I wish the PE folks had done blind listening for the judges. I think the results would have been very different.

I think for the sake of consistency you need to poke in the dustcaps on all the drivers in your arrays.
 
Yeah, I checked it out. Looks like a great event. I wish the PE folks had done blind listening for the judges. I think the results would have been very different.

I think for the sake of consistency you need to poke in the dustcaps on all the drivers in your arrays.

Going in reverse

You must have the best vision I've ever heard of or you have some powerful computing power to be able to see those dustcaps! My youngest son did that years ago and I've never bothered to fix them. Lends a little charm to the set-up (maybe very little), but just the same it was my fault for forgetting how curious boys (and girls) can get.

I finally decided to do something with the arrays, so I added a Bass module and my Audio Buddy, Dave Rosgaard wanted a crack at doing a series crossover for them. I used Adire Audio AV 8's in a BR cabinet tuned to 33 Hz. I ended up with a total cost to me of $81.00 for the pair (drivers and crossover parts).

As for the PE event, they have given me so much flack over the way we do our Contest in the past, as well as this year, that I've stopped making any suggestions at all.

Gary Koh, the owner of Genesis Loudspeakers, did a search a couple of years ago and said that from every bit of info he could find, our Contest is totally unique in the amount of rigor exercised in controlling the variables, as well as utilizing totally blind evaluations. It is however, a lot of work and holding it every other year is enough. We started doing it on alternate years so that it wouldn't conflict with VSAC, which was also held every other years.

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
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So I have 2 years to save up... ;)

At the MAF they had each contestant set up his speakers and give a little history as well as the drivers, XO points, tuning, etc. Since the crowd seemed to be mostly made up of "old buddy" types who have been doing this shindig for years I think that there was a bit of inbreeding in the peer voting. I got a comment afterwards of "your speakers sounded really good but I just don't like that midrange".
 
So I have 2 years to save up... ;)

At the MAF they had each contestant set up his speakers and give a little history as well as the drivers, XO points, tuning, etc. Since the crowd seemed to be mostly made up of "old buddy" types who have been doing this shindig for years I think that there was a bit of inbreeding in the peer voting. I got a comment afterwards of "your speakers sounded really good but I just don't like that midrange".

I really don't know for sure, but I get the same feeling about the "inbreeding" part. I've posted over on "that forum" and been treated as though I'm, shall we say, a bit slow. Evidently new people, or those that seldom post, are pretty much scorned by the regulars.
:thumbsdn:

I guess what really bugs me is the combination of profound ignorance and elevated ego, but those people have to go somewhere.

Ray, you'd certainly be welcomed out here as we're very low key and open to new ideas, or even well done old ideas. Most of the really good builders and diy types that I know around here are usually interested (and interesting) people, that are knowledgable in a variety of areas outside of audio.

Best Regards,
Terry
 
How about a quick summary, Terry?

OK Ray, it seems that you've become impatient so here's the standing at the end of the day:

Original Designs

Best 3-Way (under $300) and also Best of Show:

Gary Gesellchen

Dayton 8" woofer
Vifa 4" mid
Seas 3/4" dome tweeter
Crossover: 2nd order L-R @ 250 & 3500 Hz
Cost of components & crossover $240.00

Runner up for both awards (by just a few points):

Dave Rosgaard

Silver Flute W17RC38-08 6.5 inch Wool Cone woofer
Seas 10 F-M 4" treated paper cone midrange
Peerless 811435 1' textile dome tweeter
Crossover: Series 3rd Order electrical @ 900 & 3500 Hz
Cost of components & crossover $195.00

2-Way (Under $200) and third overall in points

Terry Olson

1.5" Radio Shack close-out full range shielded drivers (12 per speaker)
Adire Audio AV8 8" shielded woofer
Series crossover 2nd order highpass, first order lo-pass @ 450 Hz
Cost of components and crossover $81.00

Single Driver (one way)

1-way over $75.00

Howard Grim

Fostex 206E Fullrange plus Passive Radiator
Side or Bottom Firing, Back loaded horn
Cost of components $260.00

1-way under $75.00

Peter Karsborn

Tangband 3"
Bottom Firing Pipe
Cost of Drivers $28.00



Kits

Kit over $375 and top points for kits

Jerry Pomeroy

Kit designer: Kevin Haskins (Exodus Audio)
Exodus Audio 6.1
Usher 1" dome tweeter
Extremis 6.5" midwoofer
Crossover: L-R 4th order Frequency (?)
Cost $400.00

Kit under $175

Carl Ravenscroft

Kit design: 2-way, unknown tapered pipe design
Driver Coaxial Tannoy 1667
Crossover: Stock Tannoy, frequency unknown
Cost: $125.00
 
Very cool stuff
What type of amp(s) are utilized to drive the speakers? Or do you bring your own?
Thanks
JB
 
Very cool stuff
What type of amp(s) are utilized to drive the speakers? Or do you bring your own?
Thanks
JB

We used Genesis Audio Technology I-60 tube amps. They use KT88 tubes, rated at 60 watts/channel and can handle loads down to 1/2 ohms.
These are excellent amps that not only sound great, but deliver powerful, deep and accurate Bass into difficult loads. Many people that aren't familiar with tube amps are quite surprised at the excellent quality of sound that they're able to deliver.

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
I'd like to post a quick note:

Copies of the Judge's evaluation forms for each entry were sent out this afternoon to each contestant. Depending on where you live, I would expect that you'll receive yours either tomorrow (Saturday) or by next Tuesday (after Labor Day).

Best Regards,
TerryO
 
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