Do Physicists Or Musicians Design Better Speakers?


While looking at and listening to various speakers, I notice that the designers behind the speakers often fall into two distinct camps: They either have impressive academic credentials, usually in physics or mathematics and design speakers from a technical perspective. Or, they are musicians, or have a musical backround, and design from an artistic standpoint. I've heard speakers designed by scientists that sounded great and not so great and by musicians also with divergent results. Wondering which backround consistently results in great speakers.
steinway57

Showing 7 responses by bartokfan

D'Appolito, a physicist designed the Seas'Thors, a MTM design.
Take a look at the neato crossover, + look at the Seas' drivers.
This might help with the answer.
When I first laid sight on the Seas drivers and the D Appolito (sp ck please) I knew right away this was something special.
btw I had a DIY design a speaker for me from Madisound's web, Rick Craig, what a bomb, a waste of $2K.
Stick with Da Man
D'Appolito

Seas, best drivers in the world.
You won't see anyone contesting that fact.

Paul
Baton Rouge
SEas/Thor/Apollito only worked with the best drivers.
The man was a genius to figure out the proper crossover in this MTM design.

I can't wait to get the proper amp to these beauties to see just what the potential is.
The Jadis Orch Ref delivers some super clean, ZERO fatigue, imaging, but I'm confident these speakers have even more to offer.
My dream amp is the Cayin 500 with the GU29 tubes.
I couldn't imagine what the monoblocks that Cayin offers would make the Thors perform.
Other than that, I'd like the Jadis DA60 or their lateest top intergrated. But compared to Cayin, Jadis is over priced, by alot.

I'll keep everyone posted if/when I get the big Cayin, from overseas.
Until, its anyones guess just what these Thors hold , locked away.
Zero fatigue, mission accomplished. Of course we are not talking wall banging volume, but who here actually listens to uncomfortably loud music.
Do you?
Do you ever walk into a listening room and the salesman gives you slam volume.
Hideous noise as far as I'm concerned. Especially if you take that speaker to your home.

The Thors are only sold as a kit. But trust me if I can figure the solder points out, anyone can. But you need a high quality solder gun.
Richard Grey soldered mine in 45 minutes for both!!!
The guy is fast.
It would have taken me and a friend maybe 3 hours+.
To assemble the speaker drivers takes 2 hours/less. Just screw them in.
feel free to email me on questions.
I'll take a look at Dynaudio, GPL(?), Morel.
Morels?
You gotta be joking, right?
The Scan Speak are the cheap line of Seas.
When you get the Seas in your hand , you'll know what you have.
Go ahead take that driver out your cabinet, and compare it to the Seas.
No brainer

I've had the Thors for 3 yrs now.
There's nothing on the commercial maket/walk in store pre-made stuff/that can touch em for under $5..IMHO at any price, within reason of course.
The Tyler;'s as well look very interesting, but not sure how the crossover is worked out.

Paul
Baton Rouge
Evita the Egg speaker looks like one of those big speakers from the 1970's era.
Remember those?
Guess before your time.
Anyway I'm not impressed by a high number of drivers in a cabinet.
I make exceptions to that rule with the interesting Tyler designes, but only when he uses the Seas, not with the cheap Scan Speak tweet.
Alos I see Ty incorporates the W22 Seas in a few of his designs for added depth to bass.
Yet how he has that 3 3 crossed, I'm not sure, I really should take a trip to Kentucky to hear them. Which i plan to do in about 2 yrs.
Also Ty uses the super Seas W26 in a design, a 3 way.
Most of his big designs are way out my budget and way too big for what I need. Thou I do have a very big cathedreal room, now that katrina pushed into baton rouge.
Still his big boys are too much for the size tube amp I plan to upgrade with.
I'm keeping to these Thors, "my last speaker"
I listen to all classical so the MTM offers me much more than one of the 3 way Ty offers. I do not need the 8 inch, 10 inch woofer for bass, the W17's offers sufficient, + the 2 7 inch mids deliver a cleaner midrange and fuller mids , excellent for all the winds/brass/strings in orch/piano solo/chamber.
The Thor IMHO is the ideal speaker for classical, even jazz.

btw I see the Egg's want $2800+ ship JUST to upgrade the 1's to the 11's model.
Don't even tell me the asking price.
The Thors with upgrade xover cost me...$2K includes ship if I recall. $2K for the pair.
Not bad
Seas world's best drivers for the $.
Period.
The Skannings of course are like $700/each. I believe those are Seas as well. I've heard the Seas's are better than the Skann's. That I doubt as far as bass goes, but in the low mids the copper center design in the Seas are "as good as it gets"

Paul
Baton Rouge
With the Thors you get to see the guts of the thing. And let me tell you the xover is a real beauty. Dr Appolito was a genius in speaker xover design. Nothing like his work.
btw the picture of the Seas' Excel drivers do not do justice to the actual product.
You need to hold one in your hand to realize the tech craftwork it truly is.
Then to hear it.
If I can desribe it, I would use say, pure neutrality.
Another way to describe the image, high fidelity. (as my old Philips were called, 1980)

Paul
Baton Rouge
Sure the design is free. But how many here can read a schematic and have the necessary time and tools to do it. ?
The kit comes preassembled and takes about 8 hours/less with help from a friend.

"its not the drive units...that ULTIMATELY make or break a speaker"
"there are excellent drivers offered from many manufactures from all over the world that equal Seas' Excel"

"all depends on how they are wired and boxed, anyone can do what D'Appolito did, its nothing special about this man"

Care to explain and make specific mention of these "equally good drivers"

Name me one design under $3K that matches Thors
Other than The Tylers?

Paul
I knew my comments would draw challenges to the Seas' quality.
"there are hundreds of other drivers JUST as good IF NOT better"

"the driver is only half the equation, the way the bos is designed is as important"
and other such comments.

Eton's? Compared to seas?
You gotta be joking?

North Creek USES THE SEAS' W18.
So where does it come about that the North SEas Excel is better than the Seas Thor Excel
Its the sane driver.

btw go to manufacture list here on the gon.
Look up North Creek
click on Pegasus and Prometheus link

"Combing THE LOWEST DISTORTION WOOFER EVER BUILT...."

Then scroll down and read more about the Excel and Dennis Murphy's comments.

Here's more comments I expect to get here:

"no speaker is perfect, not even the Thor's, they will have their faults just like every other speaker..."

Then someone has to go blast the Jadis.
Everyone here is a couch critic w/o bothering to do a bit of research themselves.
Come on down to Baton Rouge and bring a few of your cds, give my system a test.
For what i have invested I've very very happy.
I could have done alot worse.
Best bang for the buck.
I'd put these speakers against any speaker under $5K.

Now how are we going to judge?
Well if we are unbias and truthful we will arrive at a true comparison with your top 2 speakers vs the Thors.
Thats if we are honest, which I'm afraid may not be the situation.
So lets all keep to our opinions and move on. IMHO the Thor is my ideal speaker, but have temptations for the big Tylers.
"oh now you say ideal, before you said perfect...duh which is man ..well ...huh?"

Look if you want perfection, you are on the wrong planet.
Or maybe in the future.
I just know from my experience, 25+ lines of speakers, the Thor's deliver what I personally like best.
Maybe not for you, but for me its ideal.
When I get to Tyler's showroom in 2 yrs, I'll post a comparison.

"you are off topic...its not about drivers"
Not sure what that is suppose to mean.

Paul
Well South, which is the spaeker that does reproduce?
Names please?.....

Off topic , one thing I can't stand is "this is the best speaker we have heard"
refering to sales pitch from dealers and owners trying to dump their speaker here on the used maket at the gon.
Look at a few of the JM labs Utopia ads.
I had the opportunity to hear the utopia's at the new orleans audio club meeting at a shop in metairie.
My experience: a wall of sound, better a blast of noise.
The experience took me back to 1974 to the big box era.
Seems like all things return in cycles.
Even crap speakers, but now 4X's the price.

I apologize to those trying to dump the LM's

Kindly

Paul
Baton Rouge