12-02-2023:

Hello Troels,
 
It is getting close to two years since I bought my kit. Life gets in the way of hobbies leading to an on and off build effort. The entire experience was no less rewarding. I really enjoyed the process. I found the kit instructions were very well put together and easy to follow. Thank you.
 
It is rewarding to listen to speakers one has built. I imagine even more so for you as the designer. The only trouble is, it is hard to not think back and be critical of every step. I am left wondering if it was done right or could have been done better. I followed the plans to the best of my abilities as originally designed. One variation being the plywood available in my area. Baltic birch euro ply is hard to come by so I ended up with slightly thinner but the best cabinet grade plywood I could get locally. All cuts were made with a circular saw and a homemade guide. This setup creates a challenge to make perfectly square cuts, not always perfect, but I am pleased with the result. 
 
Here are a few of my listening notes for anyone that might be interested. Sound is subjective, so others may not hear what I hear. I must say upfront I am very happy with the over all sound. I recommend the build.
 
One thing I thought was striking is how much the dynamic range of talk talk's spirit of eden displayed itself while playing on LP. It sounded more natural compared to my previous speakers. I think this goes to show the magic of higher sensitivity speakers or maybe lower distortion and the overall quality of design. 
 
Listening to the piano of Dario Lessing's Moonchild. The tones are represented beautifully, and the subtle sounds of the room and atmosphere bring life to the recording I believe the artist intended me to experience. These subtleties can get lost on other speakers I have heard. The experience this provides me brings joy in feeling this build was well worth it. 
 
I had an opportunity to show off my vinyl pressing of Earthless - Live in the Mojave Desert while i had some friends over. With the volume cranked up to fill the house, the guitars screamed with no distortion, or should i say beautiful distortion. Yes! These speakers can rock! Very impressive. 
 
On some recordings, I find the cymbals and female voices to be harsh/sibilant, on other recordings, I call it clarity. My previous build with ribbon tweeter possibly lacked a little sparkle in this range. I find this harshness less noticeable after break in and listening time. My friend comments on how he really liked the tweeter. 
 
I initially found myself looking for a little more punch on the lower half of the percussion. The drums seemed a little distant in the mix. Room acoustics play a large role here. Perhaps this bass response is struggling with room/speaker position issues. Hopefully it isn't related to my construction abilities. I had to increase subwoofer gain and play around with sub position and phase to help match the more efficient speakers in their current placement. I ended up building some stands that are lower to the ground that tilt back at an angle like the position of the JBL and KLH. After this positioning, giving them a little more room to breathe, and a month of play time, the bass response is much improved. Listening to Tool's Fear Inoculum, the drums are represented well on an incredible sound stage.
 
Living in Tennessee, I have the opportunity to collect some great bluegrass albums. I played Magnum Banjo with dueling banjos in stereo. You get the sense they are standing right there in your room clear as can be. The mid range on these speakers is just wonderful. 
 
I built some grills with metal frames sold for window screen replacements and covered them with acoustically transparent cloth. I think they sound and look good with the grills but they usually stay off. The drivers are just too cool.
 
My analog playback is Rega P1>Parasound P5>emotive SS Amp. Digital goes through my toppings D50s dac into the parasound. The low end is supplemented with SVS sb1000 subwoofer.
 
Jesse


26-02-2024:
I was sitting back with the speakers cranked up enough to fill the entire house with sound. I was playing that Mac Miller record. Feeling good, and really enjoying the moment. I felt compelled to share. Thanks again. 
 
I added some feet to my stands which helps a lot. They aren't the stiffest build but seem to do OK. I found in my listening position a little toe out helps Soundstage a smooth response. I did a little more tweaking on sub crossover and bass tone controls and they sound full and even barring some tricky nodes in my open living room. 
 
My next project is going to be a record storage console with drawers for the records. After that maybe a center channel but one thing at a time.