X-Statix DIY Kit

EndersShadow

So to keep this post short, I will say the following: Over thanksgiving I had the opportunity to go listen to Mark (CoolJazz's) Open Baffle speaker setup. It consists of 3 8" Tang Bang Full Range Drivers per speaker running full range without a crossover. He also had 4 10" Goldwin sub drivers crossed over at 65hz. All these were purchased from Parts Express.

The total cost for his open baffle system is a bit out of my reach to say the least (each 8" driver was 210 and each 10" was 15) lol.... But I cant get how it sounded out of my head. It was one of the most AWESOME sounds ever and I have been somewhat searching for how to get that sound in my home office ever since.

So I have been looking at trying out some Open Baffle stuff in my office. I was talking to a forum member on another site (PDR on TheCarverSite) and he steered me toward some Open Baffle speaker designed by Dannie Ritchie (formerly of AV123 now with GR Research). These speakers were originally marketed under the now defunct AV123 brand but are still availible as a kit with just the drivers and crossovers you build the cabinets from plans.

As I have relatives who happen to be carpenters so I am sure I could have them build them for me out of whatever material I want/need as well as finish them for me.

The kit runs 379 for a pair plus shipping. They can be ordered here.

Given the spec's you still need some sort of sub in the mix as the speakers only go down to 65 hz, but overall they look like they could be good.

I am looking to know if anyone has seen/heard these, if so what impressions they have of them, and/or if they know of a kit or DIY suggestion around the same price.

Mark (CoolJazz) and I have gone over some other driver options that are cheaper than the TangBang's and I still may end up going that route, but these speakers just look to be pretty good at what they do (from all the reviews I have read) and are a MUCH smaller footprint than what I would be looking at if I was using 8" drivers.

P.S. I already thought about having Trey (VR3) build the crossovers for me either using the parts he has access to, or possibly the parts that come with the kit, but I havent nailed down any kind of pricing.

So thoughts/suggestions/things to consider would be appreciated.

EndersShadow

As an aside Mark and I have gone over just about all the full range drivers on Parts Express website and the ones we somewhat narrowed things down to on spec's and cost per driver were the 5" Tang Band W5-1611SAF , the 3" Peerless 830986 Full Range Woofer, and the 8" Visaton 3020 BG20.

We were looking for full range drivers that can dig below 65 hz decently, realizing I would still need to augment just about all of these with a sub, and at minimum use 4 drivers per side (with the 3" drivers I would need to use TONS to get a good cone surface) and use increments of 2 so as to wire them in parallel.

We didnt want to have to use a tweeter at all and I wanted originally to avoid using a crossover at all, but the X-Statix looks intriguing so I wanted to take a deeper look at it, especially given that it was recommended to me by another member that has a ridiculous OB setup himself (that I could never afford however).

For those interested in how Marks setup looks, I stole this pic of Marks setup from a Carverfest thread elsewhere. I hope he's ok with me showing off his work :biggrin:

teamjhertz

I have been real close to ordering that kit lately. Danny swears by the tweeter and highly recommends that particular speaker package. The crossover could be improved but it does include a sonic cap in the tweeter circuit. Just keep in mind the finished speaker needs to be at least 3 feet away from the back wall and that no rez is recommended for the enclosure for best results. I may be ordering the kit in the next couple of weeks.

doctorcilantro

Are those Tang Band W-1808? I wonder what the efficiency is running 3?

EndersShadow

doctorcilantro wrote: »

Are those Tang Band W-1808? I wonder what the efficiency is running 3?

IIRC the 8" drivers are Tang Bang W8-1772's and the woofer sections are Goldwood GW-210's (not sure if they are 4 or 8 ohm models).

If you really want to know exactly I can look at the bunch of emails we exchanged, Mark has used multiple 8" full range drivers from 20 dollars a pop to the 200 dollars a pop Tang Bangs. He said he found a set of cheaper drivers (~30 bucks a driver IIRC) that in a set of 6 per side get to about 90% of the sound of the Tang Bangs.

I can post more info if interested....

ZLTFUL

I have been considering a similar project. At first, it started out as a pair of simple MTMs but has grown to be a plan similar to Mark's.
Definitely let us know how it goes.

EndersShadow

ZLTFUL wrote: »

I have been considering a similar project. At first, it started out as a pair of simple MTMs but has grown to be a plan similar to Mark's.
Definitely let us know how it goes.

I am not going to do this project currently as I picked up the RTA 11TL's. I know someone on another forum who will be building the X-Statix's later this year and am looking forward to his thoughts.

I did find a set of these from AV123 with the skiing ninja crossover upgrades (the first ones ever done BTW) for 1k nearby but dont want to drop the coin.

When I get a bigger room I will be copying Marks design almost to a T with possibly some smaller drivers. Hopefully he has figured it all out by then

zingo

I have almost purchased GR Research kits a few times, but then remembered I'm not great at wood work.

ZLTFUL

zingo, just sub out the cabinets. Most quality cabinet makers will do the labor *fairly* cheap. Or even better, just find someone you know who does woodworking and provide them with the plans and materials.
I have access to a full service woodshop that is only short of one thing...cnc wood routers. lol.

EndersShadow

DSkip wrote: »

Sounds like a good plan. I think you should continue focusing on the chain to the speakers until you do get a larger room. I've often thought about trying different speaker designs in my room, but I really doubt any of them will work and still stay out of the way of the PJ screen.

Thats what I plan on doing. I am currently going to be pretty happy with my chain source wise once my pre comes in along with the Denon 3910. I will be focusing on IC's and SC's next and lastly on a good USB DAC for my computer (as the one I am using now will eventually go with me to work).

I also plan on doing some small mods to my RTA's like dynamat the passives, ensure the cabinet is sealed by re-caulking it and adding armacell gaskets to the drivers. Rings and a x-over upgrade may happen in the future but they will be the absolute last things I do as the rest of the items IMHO are better upgrades as they will be useable no matter what speakers I use

If I had more room to store speakers I would be more into collecting a couple different sets, but I dont have the room for that.

And like I said just like Maggies (another speaker I would love and the wife would let me get for once) Open Baffle speakers need room to breathe I simply dont have so I need to stick with "coffins" for now....