Large speakers (as in large)

[Scottmoose]

Given the very positive response (or so I gather) to the current WD kits, and Peter pointing out the merits of large drivers, perhaps this would be a good time to think about a really big speaker. Not necessarily with a profusion of drivers, a 2 way would be fine, but just a nice, big cabinet, like the best of the Goodmans, Tannoy and Wharfedale jobs from the 1960s. Idiotic for a big commerical manufacturer like Mission in today's rather tragic climate with its obsession with appearence over sound quality, but perhaps not such an impossible proposition for the DIY enthusiast. Cubic capacity usually wins out after all is said and done. A big Tannoy-style enclosure for those of us who know we'll never be able to afford Tannoy's Prestige range could be a really interesting option.

Forgive my terrible humour in the Poll by the way. If you simply don't need any speakers, just choose option 2, though views are invited generally, as always of course.

[John7]

Would quite like a 3-way. (Yes, I know...)

John7

[Baggy Trousers]

This is an interesting topic. Firstly, in my view, one has to define "large".

In the 1960s, Tannoy manufactured a cabinet having dimensions of 33"H X 24"W X 16"D and known as the Lancaster. By today's standards, this probably would be regarded as "large" but it was the smallest box made for the 15" driver and was little more than an entry level model whose principal function was to sell the speaker inside. Sonically, the Lancaster was inferior to other models having larger dimensions, although its performance was better than most of the tat offered today.

Contemporary thinking did not regard speaker cabinets as becoming "large" until one reached something like the York (45" X 32") or the GRF(46" X 40"). The top of the range was the Autograph which was 58"H X 43"W X 27"D and even back in the '60s was considered "very large". I suspect that the market for such a huge cabinet today would be limited to those who could afford the best and were able to domestically accommodate the beast - a market size of commercial insignificance in current times. However, size of itself does not guarantee audio quality as the Electro-Voice "Patrician" series demonstrated so adequately to american hi-fi devotees in the late 'fifties.

Another thing to consider is that Tannoy's preference, other factors being equal, was for horn loaded cabinets since it was in these that their marvellous Dual Concentric drivers performed best. Horns necessarily are big and therefore qualify as "large", regardless of how the adjective is defined. Remember also that the ranges from Tannoy and their competitors produced in the early 'sixties had their genesis in pre-stereo times when a large box could quite easily be fitted into a corner and where the adjacent walls could be employed as horn extension. Getting two of these things into the average living room and positioned to provide some semblance of imagery whilst maintaining a degree of matrimonial harmony was something else altogether.

In any event, I'm not sure that Tannoy is a representative example; Goodmans, Wharfedale, Whiteley, Vitavox, Hartley or Bakers might be better.

I suspect that the world may be ready for a return to "proper" loudspeakers after becoming weary of the over-hyped, under-performing, minimalist designer boutique creations of the past twenty five years. The Goodmans Axiom was one of the best speakers I have owned and a modern equivalent of ninety-something dB and 8 Ohms in the right box could just catch on.

Bring them on!

Richard.

[bigbill]

A way of adjusting the response (level, roll off frequency etc) like the big Tannoys have would be good too. Firstly to accommodate different tastes and room acoustics, and secondly because DIY-ers need to have things to fiddle with...

Steve

(if it ain't broke, fix it till it is)

[Black Stuart]

Scottmoose,
a big two way is exactly what I'm trying to build now.

My problem is to find a 15" woofer to marry with the Grand Heils. OK I've found a suitable woofer, I just don't like paying the airfreight charges.

Thing is, the Heils don't like being enclosed but need to be sited above the bass cabinet. It's only unproven theory but I feel it has to be better to seperate entirely the Heils from the bass cabinet. I have a design in mind for that and of course it makes placement for best sound much easier to acheive.

This of course makes for a smaller bass cabinet - I did say smaller, not small.

And yes you've highlighted the problem that many new build houses have midget lounges/front rooms. I think that WAF is a big problem for some as well.

But two way have to be better don't they, from a simplicity point of view.

Apparently - active x/overs are a contentious subject as well but if you look at the theory that has come from practise they should'nt be. I shall use an s/s unit to start with but given that quite a few are expressing interest in this type of unit - who knows there are enough people on this forum alone who have the knowledge to design a valve version.

Black Stuart

[Paul Welsby]

I went for the no option and will continue to do so until i win the lottery and can afford a house the size of a football player.

With the small sizes of houses in this country having LARGE speakers in your living room is like living with 2 fridge freezers in family room. Not for me.

Paul

Richard (Trousers)
You mentioned Hartley speakers, do you have any info. on them, all I have is a couple of pics.

[Toppsy]

Scottmoose,

would these speakers be big enough for you? I know they are Electrostaic but they sound Oh so good.

Regards

Toppsy

[Baggy Trousers]

Originally Posted by Will Cowen

Richard (Trousers)
You mentioned Hartley speakers, do you have any info. on them, all I have is a couple of pics.

Well, what can I tell you? - or more pertinently, what can I remember?

H A Hartley was an early "audio engineer" and is credited with having invented the term "High Fidelity" which he applied to some piece of apparatus in, I think, 1927 - a year after Guy Fountain founded Tannoy. Soon after, in partnership with Peter Turner, he founded Hartley Products Ltd and developed a reputation for high quality speakers which the company enjoyed for many years although Hartley was never as well known as his contemporaries, Lowther and Voight.

The Hartley was usually a 12" driver but the company did make a few smaller units as well as the 24" "Super Woofer". Like most speaker designers of the time, Hartley felt that a full range unit could satisfactorily cover the audio spectrum and this his products sought to do; and did so very effectively from my experience which extends to having heard as many as three Hartleys in sixty years! They were not common.

Hartley wrote a book on Hi-Fi (can't remember the title) and also on astrology which was another of his interests. He sold the company to the american distributor in the late 'forties and I believe this importer, one Richard Scmetterer, still runs the company under the Hartley name.

This sort of aside brings back so many memories - I once went to buy a speaker from Bakers of Selhurst but the Sales Manager and I were defend by the noise - Crystal Palace were playing at home - so we repaired to the local boozer . . . . .

This has all got a bit off topic - sorry.

Richard.

[Shane]

Didn't he write a book on fly fishing? Or was that his brother, J R...