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Poor Man's "Super-Speaker" System

Greetings, thought I'd post some impressions of the experiment I conducted with my main speakers. I had pair of Eminent Technology LFT-8's. Fabulous, economical speaker. I'd say a forerunner in the cost/performance race at a price of well under $2k.
I had read a review of them in which reviewer tried adding a second pair. He likened the sound to the Infinity RSV speakers sytem (at $60,000 in the 80's). That got my attention. So, I did it, bought the second set of speakers and am running them in parallel (the tweeter drivers are center of each pair, surrounded by the midrange, to tighten up the high end).

My system:
Rega Planet 2000 cd
Rogue Magnum 66 pre (configured with tape output internally switched to second pair of line outs)
Audioquest RCA "Y" adapters
Four pair Harmonic Technology interconnects, running into
8 channels of Outlaw Audio amps (Outlaw 755 at 200wpc feeding mid/highs on all speakers, and Outlaw 750 at 165wpc feeding lows on all speakers)
Of course, the four Eminent Tech LFT-8's
2 Vandersteen 2W subs

I have the higher wattage amp feeding mid/highs because it improved the clairity of the soundstage, and I can supplement the lows witht the Vandersteen subs.

Impressions:
POWER! Effortless bass- along with the twin Vandersteen subs, I now am running ten 8" bass drivers. No sweat with any low bass etc.

More 3/D or "holographic" sounding. With the wider sound stage and power one perceives a more live sound. Cymbals seem to be easier to hear decaying, the tiniest taps are audible clearly. Subtle nuances shifting from left to right speaker etc. are easier to catch.

Rock Music ROCKS! It's like a live concert! Thunderous bass, the voice sounds like you're listening to the monitors and you can visualize the guy at the mic...

There is no fatigue from the high end; I used to have Mangepan 1.6QR's and after while listening with the volume up,I'd have to turn it down, just so much shrillness my ears can take. The Eminents are much more forgiving to the ears, and doubling them does not wreck that quality.

There is still a "gravity" even at low listening levels. It sounds full and the detail remains even when playing softly.

Watched the clip from Gone in 60 seconds where Nick Cage gets reacquainted with "Elanore". WOA! Overwhelming presence in movies...

To purists, this may not be the way to go. At times I think I can hear slight nuances of two signals being reproduced, but when I hear a solo instrument, or voice, it sounds dead on like one speaker.

Shortcomings in my equipment may be partly to blame; one set of speaker cables is two foot longer than the other and only 11awg vs. shorter ones being 9awg.
One pair of speakers is about ten years older, the other recently built.
The Outlaw amps are not identical.
The interconnects are all same brand but not same model.
Only one set of speakers on "Sound Anchor" stands - the second set of stands is on the way.
The listening room is obviously small for such an attempt.
It is likely more room tuning is needed (I'm using four Auralex propannels behind the speakers in the corners).
I have not used "set up" discs or analysis to tune the system.


If such limitations due to budget were overcome/corrected, this setup might move from being exciting to being astounding.

I'm going to have some audiophile friends with better ears than me come and give their impressions. I may post them on my virtual system.

I know one thing, I will probably always biamp now that I have tried it. Likewise, would be hard to give up the ultra wide sound stage and visceral presence of the twin speakers now that I've got it. Bigger is definitely better in some respects. I can certainly see how huge speakers with vast arrays of drivers are very enticing. I'm trying to simulate the same experience with a modest outlay greenbacks.

As I said before, this project may not be the straightest line to a flawless signal/listening experience, but if nothing else, I'm getting a ton of fun from the project. I am enjoying attempting to create the poor man's "super-speaker."

Anyone else do anything this crazy?
douglas_schroeder
gmood1
1,251 posts
 
Doug I'm having some fun myself... playing around with this stuff. It may not be a super speaker system to others. But it is for me. My little system is very simple. I use a 6 wpc battery powered amplifier (Clari T amp). It's being fed by a Modded Toshiba 3960 player with a BVaudio SR 10 as a buffer between the two. I had the ClariT upgraded with dual subwoofer outputs.This allows the signal from my cd/dvd player to feed both subwoofers directly.My shunt mode volume control is only a passive attenuator..no active circuit.
The custom made Omega Grande 8's are perched on top of my active subwoofers ( Two Adire Ravas). This places the center of the drivers 36 inches off the floor (pretty close to ear level when sitting).Since my speakers produce their bass at 180 degrees out of phase. I have my subs 180 degrees out of phase. This gives a cleaner faster bass with less if any over hang in my room. It also allows for a seamless blend between the the speakers and subs.

I can put on some Ray Brown and litterly rattle the windows with his bass string plucks if I choose. At the same time hear the strings delineate into the air.
If I didn't point it out. No one would ever believe . I had a integrated amplifier that's small enough to fit in the palm of your hand as the control center.

I'm getting 26 db dynamic swings in some recorded material.
The funny thing is , I have never heard this system clip. At 10 O'clock on the ClariT's dial with most recordings..I can hardly stand to be in the room. It's just too much volume for me to really enjoy.

A year ago I wouldn't have dreamed I could build a system this cheap, that smokes everything I've previously owned.
I feel like I have active near fullrange floorstanders in the room now!

Enjoy your new toys!
bigjoe's avatar
bigjoe
693 posts
 
ive done almost the same thing with my rig,ive found that i much prefer the sound of multiple sets of speakers & speakers with many drivers all in the same rig.

right now im running mcintosh xrt 22's that have 26 drivers per side & a pair of mcintosh ls320 monitors & a jm labs center speaker for a total of 59 drivers in my system.

i hope to run across another pair of xrt 22's within driving distance soon & replace the little mac monitors which would bring me up to 107 drivers in the same system,excessive................. maybee but i am awe struck at how music is presented thru lotsa drivers.

to me there seems to be a little somthing xtra special in the way a system with alot of drivers presents itself that cant be found in a 2 channel rig,so you see your not the only nut on the block.

mike.
sedona
144 posts
 
Doug,

Thanks for sharing your thoughts - two pairs of the ET's with Vandy subs would be an ideal setup. I have to believe the ET's also sound incredible with movies. Congratulations on a great setup - and you did it all for under 2K!!
steuspeed's avatar
steuspeed
501 posts
 
Interesting idea. Similar to the flipped and stacked Quad's and Dahlquist DQ-10's of old. Sounds like a tweekers dream. Have fun.
plato
1,543 posts
 
Way back in the day I set up a crazy system that used Acoustat 1+1 electrostatic speakers flanked by Maggie MG-1 Improved speakers for bass.

The system was biamped and used a custom-built electronic crossover. I had a nice tube preamp feeding a Hafler DH-500 on the slim, 8-ft tall Acoustats; and a highly-modified Dynaco Stereo 70 feeding the bass panels of the MG-1's.

I'll tell you what, the system threw a huge soundstage and really rocked. Even though it was fairly ridiculous and almost defied logic, it was one of the most memorable and fun systems I ever threw together. And of course, back then, vinyl was THE premium-quality playback medium. As I recall, it was an AR ES-1 tt, with a Sumiko MMT arm and a Monster Alpha-1 MC cartridge. :)
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