Do active speakers interest you? Also, let's talk directivity

Go for it. 

Four years ago I demoed (is that a real word?) a pair of Kii's at home.  I was using then horns from Avant Garde  - Duo Beta's. 

Though the duo's used active bass units, it was easy to see what I was missing. Both in terms of deep bass and intelligibility.  Out with the horns, in with the Kii's.

Having said that, and with all the hype about directivity and shaped soundfields (in fairness, the shaping actually does work for bass) and perfect phase, I never bothered with room treatment, thinking it unnecessary.

A few weeks ago a friend insisted I roll up a small carpet and place it at any first reflection point. The effect was immediately obvious.  Now all 10 early reflection points in my room have been treated.  I never imagined this effect... Like focussing a camera.

So to the point which may sound a little crazy: when you finally present your speakers to the world it would be honest (not a good word? No offence meant) to offer 10 X 2 foot square foam abfusers (the new tech ones work in a way I would not have believed before trying) and a little mirror as an optional accessory.  Cost under 100 bucks.  Before making claims that room effects are 'minimised'.

Best wishes

PS Bruno is one of my heroes too.

@inorganic Yes, the famous ATC midrange. >300-3k. They used to sell them, but the mid driver is their bag. Guzauki-Swist is using that driver in a $30k system. Not sure if anyone else is able to get them from ATC at all now.

I have a very different approach to midrange. Midbass and low mid coherence is very important. I'm a baritone vocalist and bass guitarist, so I don't like it when the "power zone" is disembodied from the low midrange.

Most musical fundamentals are found between 150 and 600hz. This is what people people call "warmth" in music (trust that I'm willing to die on this hill, warmth = low midrange). That is the range of the fundamental tones of our voices. 

330hz, the typical crossover point for the famous ATC 3" dome mid, this right in the heart of what we consider to be musical frequency. It is the critical midrange.

My design uses a 5.25" midrange crossed nearly 200hz lower. Of course, such a large midrange will beam if it is crossed too high, and like any 5" or larger driver (that I've found) the response starts to lose precision above 1000hz.

For many people, upper midrange, 1k-3k is the critical zone. Certainly, those frequencies are more present - they are what we call "presence" when we are discussing audio. 

Our tweeter is planar, and we cross it much lower than standard, even lower than Dutch & Dutch 8c. It  covers from 1k - 35khz, a phenomenal range for a single driver. What those numbers don't tell you is the phenomenal resolution of both detail and dynamics. 

The system uses two critically dampened cabinets. We will include an adjustable, non-resonant pole, so that the top will sit at the optimum height. In practice, the mid and top would be fairly close together, as the low driver will be about 20 inches off the ground. There will also be the option of using a very hefty stand and fully decoupling the bass driver from the floor.

Modular approaches are not as easy to market. Fortunately, this is not modular. The active electronics are all contained within the bass unit, and although the top *could* be connected to another amp, this is forbidden, as without the active electronics, the drivers would certainly be damaged. Also, who wants to listen to music without low frequencies?

It can be set up in different ways, depending on what is required. With 1800 watts for the whole system, it could serve as a PA system for a small party. The poles will allow for standing-height listening, although that might be wishful thinking at this point.

I used "phenomenal" twice in a row in that last post. Forgive me! I'm excited.

@aubreybob -

I would never claim to eliminate room problems. What most people don't realize is that your room is actually more important than your speakers. No matter what active electronics are used or DSP "correction" you perform, the shape of the chamber, position of speakers, wall and ceiling materials, and so forth, will ALWAYS play a huge factor. 

The good news is that most rooms can be made to sound good. Most, not all. My house was built in 1930. If you can get a pre-WW2 house, go for it. I know, I know, most people aren't allowed to choose their house based on its acoustics, but to get something built like they used to do it would be wildly expensive now. Traditionally, homes were sealed tight, as heating was simply not a great option. Modern walls DO NOT pass the knock test, and guess what, that matters just as much as your speaker cabinets.

Professional studios that are not purpose-built usually get 2ft of the highest density mineral wool applied to every surface. This is sufficient dampening, and it's not that expensive for the materials, but it's a big pain. In my mastering room, I have 200lbs bass traps in the corners and a heavy diffuser at the first reflection point.

Now, again, some people prefer a live room, and that's fair. A critically dampened room is the goal, and most room are dreadfully resonant. People who listen to omni speakers often prefer lively rooms. 

I'm not going to speak on that too much. I don't want to crap on anyone's preferences. There is no question that listening in an anechoic chamber is anxiety-inducing. That's not the goal, and it's a good thing that it's not, because we won't achieve it in our houses unless we invest millions.

Hi, great discussion.
@mehtayoungs I will certainly be interested in your future speakers/system. Currently I run three separate systems in my main listening room. Stonehouse pre WW2 :-) but not without severe problems in the lower region which makes forceful dsp a necessity. Systems are analog active ATC 150, digital active D&D 8c, passive Revel Gem 2 with ATC subs. Source is normally Roon with added convolution filters. This week I started using the new feature in D&D with direct integration of REW filters. Very smooth.
I really agree that the future is active/digital with the pros much exceeding the cons (if any). Here D&D gives their views of latency in the 8c speakers : https://dutchdutch.com/support/
Comments?

@djones51 You say that you use the 8c all digital. Does that mean you use the ehternet or the digital AES input? Have you found a streamer/source that is both Roon ready and has AES output? Which?