Affordable lifelike reproduction of music is my primary goal. It is possible to build full-range dipole loudspeakers with lifelike reproduction capability at relatively low cost. These speakers are built under $500 and well under $1000 as complete systems including one with active 4-way analog crossovers and 8-channel amplifications. There is clear benefit on the accuracy of the drive signals by using active system. Measurable transducer distortions and maximum SPL output are tradeoffs with such budget, yet the loudspeakers are uncolored and dynamic enough to provide listeners with enjoyable presentation.
Gainphile
Melbourne, Australia
Reference candidates:
One day I will document thoroughly these systems.
The S12 provides most faithful dipolar radiation pattern and is the most realistic sounding. However it has limitation on low-frequency output in their present form. The S9 maintains smooth radiation pattern and allows more low-frequency output due to H-Frame and potential addition of dipole bass array. The S11 is a refined desktop open baffle speaker designed for near-field listening.
S12 OB - Open baffle simplicity
A true open baffle with its simplicity (no h/w/u -frame etc.) I have observed that there is something about them which other variations simply can't match due to very uniform polar response.
This is the most refined dipole speakers that I have built to date. They project very transparent, holographic soundstage.
A Dipole Bass Array below could be used to increase the absolute bass SPL of these loudspeakers using 8 additional woofers, effectively making them 4-way system.
more...
S9 Open Baffle Speakers
This build was to revisit the previous design which measured and sounded most natural and smooth. So much that the further effort to obtain dipole bass quantity had to be scrapped.
The wide, pistonic dispersion of small 5" drivers combined with narrow baffle allows very smooth and uniform polar response to 2.5kHz, which is almost one octave above the high xo frequency. The loudspeakers are actively driven using 6 separate amplifier channels and allows potential addition of woofers for more low-frequency output. These are my main system.
more...
S11 Desktop Open Baffle
The wide, pistonic dispersion of small 5" drivers combined with narrow baffle allows very smooth and uniform polar response to 2.5kHz, which is almost one octave above the high xo frequency. The loudspeakers are actively driven using 6 separate amplifier channels and allows potential addition of woofers for more low-frequency output. These are my main system.
more...
S11 Desktop Open Baffle
These are open baffle speakers for the desktop. They are 2-way system with active crossover and eq circuitry. The woofers are Seas L21 and the tweeters are TangBand W3-1364. They are designed to produce 40Hz dipole bass.
The distance to rear wall is about 35cm. I could not hear any faults despite general requirements for dipole speakers to be away from walls. This could be due to the nearfield listening location and that the relative distance is more important than the absolute one. Comparing to my living room dipoles (which is 1m from rear wall), maybe a bit less soundstage, but that's really nitpicking. Phantom image is very scary, almost like the speakers making no sound and the music comes out of the wall. Listening to some classical recording I got goosebumps. If there is one best thing that stands out from them, it's the midrange.
more...
Concepts and Work in Progress:
Dipole Bass Array
An investigation to double the number of woofers in a dipole system, which would provide additional 6dB of maximum output.
Other successful projects:
Linkwitzlab Pluto Clone
A genius Omni-Directional speaker design by Sigfried Linkwitz. They sound as open as dipole speakers with some superiority in the imaging area. However my clone lacks the transparency and clean sound of the open baffle.
Cheap and accurate loudspeaker measurement tool
Never embark in loudspeaker projects without adequate measurement tool. The ears are not to be trusted. The good news is a set of measurement tool can be build for under $70, including the soundcard!
DIY Linux-based Audiophile media centre
My high-resolution music collection has been growing, mostly sourced from Vinyl/LP rips. They are superior than normal CDs which are recorded at 16/44.1kHz.
Off-the-shelf audiophile media center or server are very expensive (read: Linn DS is $15,000!). Comparable solution could be built for under $400, including the sound card and Laptop.
Other/Past projects:
S13 OB
This was an unsuccessful attempt to use fullrange drivers as dipole tweeters. Constant directivity was achieved up to excellent 10khz, yet the system did not sound coherent.
S10 OB - Seas L21RNXP
When I saw someone was selling a pair of Seas L21RNXP really cheap on ebay I couldn't resist having a go at rigid piston driver. The most interesting finding was that S9 and S10 sounds similar, albeit the difference in xo point, baffle width, and cone/driver material. I was therefore convinced sthat if the design goals are met (frequency response, polar response, etc.) then speakers would sound similar. I prefer the S9 above for cost and aesthetics as they are smaller.
S8 OB
Dipole speakers with 6x 10" woofers as their main strength. It gives great bass, but unfortunately the 5" P13WH midrange is acoustically to small for the 30cm baffle, and hence do not sound smooth. I have since went back to slim baffle as the S9. These speakers were presented at local Australian hifi hobbyist meeting (SNA).
S7 Open Baffle
Discovery of narrow baffles and their excellent polar response
S6 Open Baffle
Experiments with large 15" Eminence Alpha woofers. I have since learnt that better result would be obtained by smaller drivers.
S4 OB
Pushing 15" woofer in a 2-way dipole configuration. Many problems were encountered here.
Stealth, Stealth 2, and Stealth3
Various attempts for a low-frequency extension desktop Open Baffle speakers. They were huge and not aesthetically pleasing.
First open baffle system
The genesis of my dipole speaker designs. It was passive and utilised wide baffles. Even with all the inperfection I felt this was the right direction. There is a youtube clip of them here.
Loudspeaker journey
Various undocumented speakers built in the past for fun, amusements, and curiosity
Linux-Based Media Centre using Ubuntu, MMS, and SoundBlaster Live! 24bit
Emerald Physics S2 Clone
Failed project to clone Emerald Physics' CS2, a refresingly new take on commercial loudspeaker design.
4-Channel Gainclone
My amplifier to driver the active dipole loudspeakers
The distance to rear wall is about 35cm. I could not hear any faults despite general requirements for dipole speakers to be away from walls. This could be due to the nearfield listening location and that the relative distance is more important than the absolute one. Comparing to my living room dipoles (which is 1m from rear wall), maybe a bit less soundstage, but that's really nitpicking. Phantom image is very scary, almost like the speakers making no sound and the music comes out of the wall. Listening to some classical recording I got goosebumps. If there is one best thing that stands out from them, it's the midrange.
more...
Concepts and Work in Progress:
Dipole Bass Array
An investigation to double the number of woofers in a dipole system, which would provide additional 6dB of maximum output.Other successful projects:
Linkwitzlab Pluto Clone
A genius Omni-Directional speaker design by Sigfried Linkwitz. They sound as open as dipole speakers with some superiority in the imaging area. However my clone lacks the transparency and clean sound of the open baffle.
Cheap and accurate loudspeaker measurement tool
Never embark in loudspeaker projects without adequate measurement tool. The ears are not to be trusted. The good news is a set of measurement tool can be build for under $70, including the soundcard!
DIY Linux-based Audiophile media centre
My high-resolution music collection has been growing, mostly sourced from Vinyl/LP rips. They are superior than normal CDs which are recorded at 16/44.1kHz.
Off-the-shelf audiophile media center or server are very expensive (read: Linn DS is $15,000!). Comparable solution could be built for under $400, including the sound card and Laptop.
Other/Past projects:
S13 OB
This was an unsuccessful attempt to use fullrange drivers as dipole tweeters. Constant directivity was achieved up to excellent 10khz, yet the system did not sound coherent.
S10 OB - Seas L21RNXP
When I saw someone was selling a pair of Seas L21RNXP really cheap on ebay I couldn't resist having a go at rigid piston driver. The most interesting finding was that S9 and S10 sounds similar, albeit the difference in xo point, baffle width, and cone/driver material. I was therefore convinced sthat if the design goals are met (frequency response, polar response, etc.) then speakers would sound similar. I prefer the S9 above for cost and aesthetics as they are smaller.
S8 OB
Dipole speakers with 6x 10" woofers as their main strength. It gives great bass, but unfortunately the 5" P13WH midrange is acoustically to small for the 30cm baffle, and hence do not sound smooth. I have since went back to slim baffle as the S9. These speakers were presented at local Australian hifi hobbyist meeting (SNA).
S7 Open Baffle
Discovery of narrow baffles and their excellent polar response
S6 Open Baffle
Experiments with large 15" Eminence Alpha woofers. I have since learnt that better result would be obtained by smaller drivers.
S4 OB
Pushing 15" woofer in a 2-way dipole configuration. Many problems were encountered here.
Stealth, Stealth 2, and Stealth3
Various attempts for a low-frequency extension desktop Open Baffle speakers. They were huge and not aesthetically pleasing.
First open baffle system
The genesis of my dipole speaker designs. It was passive and utilised wide baffles. Even with all the inperfection I felt this was the right direction. There is a youtube clip of them here.
Loudspeaker journey
Various undocumented speakers built in the past for fun, amusements, and curiosity
Linux-Based Media Centre using Ubuntu, MMS, and SoundBlaster Live! 24bit
Emerald Physics S2 Clone
Failed project to clone Emerald Physics' CS2, a refresingly new take on commercial loudspeaker design.
4-Channel Gainclone
My amplifier to driver the active dipole loudspeakers
