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  1. J

    Martin Logan Theater Panel Rebuild

    Hi all, I just rebuilt the stat panel in a Martin Logan Theater center channel speaker. These speakers are no longer supported by ML, so anyone who had one with a dead panel was SOL. But that ain't necessarily so... I attempted to copy/paste the write-up from my blog page to here but the...
  2. J

    Is Your Loudspeaker Perfect For You?

    I'm wondering if that's a commercially marketed speaker or a one-off that some very talented person built. I'm guessing it's electrically segmented (otherwise it's flat panel would be very beamy). It's a beautiful speaker, driven with a valve amp and it probably sounds as good as it looks...
  3. J

    Is Your Loudspeaker Perfect For You?

    I can't say that I've ever heard a "perfect" speaker but... yes, I can say that my speakers are perfect for me. That is; balanced, sufficiently dynamic, and spooky-real clarity. And the fact that I designed and built them myself is pretty rewarding too. I've been a music lover and wanna-be...
  4. J

    Do you owe it to yourself to audition the latest ESL designs?

    Ahh; YES. No speaker is perfect but I do wish everyone could hear some the the better ESL designs. I'm sure many would find their sound addictive. I must first disclose my bias favoring ESLs, which I've championed for years, and in particular my latest DIY design referenced below. In my...
  5. J

    Yet another DIY Ripol sub project

    Yes, I will sell them at a good price but shipping would likely be quite costly. You can PM me for the price. I can't quote shipping but in the US, the materials cost for a pair of these subs is $868, not including labor.
  6. J

    Yet another DIY Ripol sub project

    I've received requests for an easier-to-build version of my Ripole sub so I've drawn one up that omits the rounded edge members; living the plywood edges exposed. Below is a screenshot of the drawing. If anyone wants the CAD drawing just PM me an email address.
  7. J

    Yet another DIY Ripol sub project

    FYI: I recently learned of a German company, Modal Akustik, marketing a Ripol subwoofer in collaboration with the inventor, Axel Ridtahler. And it happens that the Modal Akustik sub and my sub use the same Peerless SLS 12 woofers. Six Moons Audio reviewed the Modal Akustik sub and said this...
  8. J

    Yet another DIY Ripol sub project

    Yes, but it's perhaps better described as s modified H-baffle, insofar as the ESL's triangular-H base is integral to the baffle. Here's a video from a few years ago of my Jazzman MkIII ESLs playing with my first/much larger Ripole subs:
  9. J

    Yet another DIY Ripol sub project

    I am aware of the Ripole's characteristic chamber resonance, which is rather loud and peaks at around 250Hz in Ripole the size of mine. Some builders add a passive notch filter to tame the chamber resonance but I prefer to avoid exciting it by crossing mine over at 80Hz using the 48db/octave...
  10. J

    Yet another DIY Ripol sub project

    Update Thursday 12/15/22: My new Ripole subs are finally finished and I've been playing some very demanding bass tracks this evening...from Malia & Boris' album Convergence to Bela Fleck's Flight of the Cosmic Hippo-- and they sound ridiculously good. As with every Ripole I've heard; I can't...
  11. J

    Yet another DIY Ripol sub project

    I'm quite impressed with the Peerless SLS woofers, which just seem to do everything well. That is; they have a very low FS with good excursion needed for subs, yet they still play cleanly to 1KHz. They also have progressive suspension that prevents them from being damaged when they bottom out at...
  12. J

    Yet another DIY Ripol sub project

    Update Wednesday 12/14/22 Waiting for the woofers to arrive--- I think the new/smaller Ripoles will look very nice :cool:
  13. J

    Yet another DIY Ripol sub project

    Update Monday 12/12/22 All pieces were stained yesterday and this morning sprayed with the first coat of clear satin polyurethane.
  14. J

    Yet another DIY Ripol sub project

    Hi All, I'm building a new pair of Ripol subs for a friend. I've built several pairs previously but these will be a bit smaller/more compact. Height and depth are reduced by 1/2” and width reduced by 1/8". The woofers are the same 12” Peerless SLS’s. Ripol physics seem counter-intuitive at...
  15. J

    Craig’s Humble System

    I too had an opportunity to hear Craig's system a couple of years ago, when he still had the big Mac's powering the Strad's. The system and room synergy was something to behold. I could listen all day without fatigue... simply amazing! Especially impressive was the seamless integration of...
  16. J

    DIY Speaker Transport Cases

    Hi all, I needed a way to protect my Jazzman Mk III ESL speakers during the annual trek to CarverFest, so I built these transport cases. Now I can carry them in the bed of my truck, even if it's raining. The cases are two-piece clamshells made from light-weight 3/16 plywood, with some added...
  17. J

    What SONG are you listening to right now?

  18. J

    Finally gonna do something about my room...

    My room was not bad as it was but the acoustic treatments gave it a nice balance... not too dead and not too live. The biggest improvement came from damping the early reflections that were bouncing off the wall behind my listening position on the couch. Since adding the room treatments I've...
  19. J

    DBX Drive Rack Venu 360

    I recently replaced the Behringer DEQ2496 EQ & DCX2496 crossover driving my homebuilt hybrid electrostats & Ripole subs, with a DBX Driverack Venu 360 crossover/EQ. I opted for the Venu 360 over the PA2 only for its digital inputs, which allows me to feed in the digital out from my Logitech...
  20. J

    Carver & DIY ESL two channel system

    Tom, In 2015 (or maybe it was 2016) I brought the big beam-splitter ESL's to Carverfest, which you may have heard. But I believe the speakers I brought to Carverfest two years ago were the ones I built for Martin Fringe, which were the prototypes for the new ones shown above (and below)-- but...
  21. J

    Carver & DIY ESL two channel system

    Yes, I'm very happy with my new speakers... they are the culmination of 13 years and many iterations of building ESLs. The Ripole subs also use the Peerless SLS 12 woofer. For a cheap woofer, the SLS is quite impressive-- just does everything well. They are advertised as subwoofers (fs 27Hz)...
  22. J

    Carver & DIY ESL two channel system

    I just built my dream speakers for life and I'm updating my system post to show them: I've sold my old beam-splitter transmission line ESLs and my new system is now fully dipole, with OB mid-bass woofers and Ripol subs. The panels are wide-dispersion, symmetrically segmented wire-stator...
  23. J

    The big lie - Dispersion Horizontal: 30 Degrees

    I'm wondering if the Essence panel is segmented. If so; it would have significantly wider dispersion than a non-segmented flat panel, or perhaps even 30-degree-arc curved panel. Does anyone know?
  24. J

    Yet Another Hybrid ESL Project

    Hi all, This project (all four speaker pairs) is finally completed, so this will be my last post on this thread unless it's in response to others. I resolved the issue with the grill covers bowing and they turned out gorgeous. I finally now have my dream speakers for life, and I'm sure...
  25. J

    Yet Another Hybrid ESL Project

    Update 3/26/20: Having a lot of problems with the grill frames. They looked great the day I built them but they bowed after a couple of days and I'm having to redo them. The first time I used white pine stiffeners on the hardboard frames, the second time I used poplar. Both bowed but the...
  26. J

    Yet Another Hybrid ESL Project

    Update 3/23/20: All four pairs of speakers are fully completed except for the magnetically attached grills, which I started building today. I spent the weekend sound testing every pair, and they all play to ridiculous volume with no apparent issues. For a $77 woofer; I'm pretty impressed with...
  27. J

    Yet Another Hybrid ESL Project

    Today I got "first sound". That is; I completed and played one pair of speakers today. I have to order the woofers for the other three pairs. On the pair I finished today I'm using Peerless SLS 12's and my fist impression says these inexpensive woofers are going to work fine. At the moment I...
  28. J

    Yet Another Hybrid ESL Project

    Update Tuesday evening, March 3: The speaker frames have been completed for weeks. I've just completed assembling all eight ESL panels. I'm about halfway thru assembling the (16) segmentation resistor networks. Still have to buy the woofers and build the magnetically attached grills. I...
  29. J

    Yet Another Hybrid ESL Project

    Yes, I think I spent more effort designing that stator jig that I did designing the speaker, lol. The project is coming along.. all the panels are built and now soldering up the segmentation networks, and then I will do the grill covers. These will be the prettiest speakers I've ever built...
  30. J

    Yet Another Hybrid ESL Project

    The Maggies are fine speakers; although they use a different drive principle than electrostats. I have no education beyond high school so; self taught. I've had a lot of help over the years from the online community of ESL builders that post on the DIY Audio Forum, planar section. There's...

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