Line Arrays, ****.

RuSsMaN
RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
edited June 2005 in 2 Channel Audio
Fred Arrays are in the house.

95db, 9 Ohm Nominal, Ten Silver Flute 5" Woofers, One 'Straight Eight' MCM Tweeter, Biampable, twin 4" rear firing ports. Seventy-Two inches tall, all 1" MDF construction with extensive internal bracing. Built by my good friend Fred Thompson (hence the name) of the Lone Star Bottleheads and Houston Audio Society.

It's great to have a speaker that you can run on 3 or 300 watts.

Be you. Be me. Be you wanting to be me. I haven't had this much fun since I brought the SRS 2's home (pictured also ;) )

Cheers,
Russ

(picture taken standing in my chair, only way I could get the entire speaker in frame)
Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
Post edited by RuSsMaN on

Comments

  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited June 2005
    I love the look of line arrays, formidable in height yet unassuming in girth. There is nothing like a speaker that can throw staging full length....although, keep the Martin Logans in the closet.

    It looks like that will be my next foray into audio....if these folks only knew the quality of craftsmanship those arrays have in person.
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
  • hoosier21
    hoosier21 Posts: 4,411
    edited June 2005
    HELL YA, LOOK COOL. HOW DO THEY SOUND?
    Dodd - Battery Preamp
    Monarchy Audio SE100 Delux - mono power amps
    Sony DVP-NS999ES - SACD player
    ADS 1230 - Polk SDA 2B
    DIY Stereo Subwoofer towers w/(4) 12 drivers each
    Crown K1 - Subwoofer amp
    Outlaw ICBM - crossover
    Beringher BFD - sub eq

    Where is the remote? Where is the $%#$% remote!

    "I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us have...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."
  • TroyD
    TroyD Posts: 13,077
    edited June 2005
    pffffffffffft.....Russ was standing on his chair with his Matt Polk labcoat on, wide open just whackin' it.

    BDT
    I plan for the future. - F1Nut
  • AsSiMiLaTeD
    AsSiMiLaTeD Posts: 11,726
    edited June 2005
    Anyone care to educate me on exactly what a line array design is and what it means in terms of sound characteristics?
  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited June 2005
    Simply an array (multiple) drivers in a line. The benefits, LARGE soundstage due to size, great imaging (tall, reasonably thin), usually very efficient (amp friendly), and tight, FAST bass from multiple small(er) drivers, vs one big driver.

    I can't wait to get back home to listen to them.
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
  • unc2701
    unc2701 Posts: 3,587
    edited June 2005
    seeing those reminds me something I've been kicking around for awhile: the biggest ghetto blasters known to man...

    take about 32 of these:
    http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=269-741
    and 16 of these:
    http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&DID=7&Partnumber=269-708

    cut a 4x8 sheet of MDF in half for an open baffle, wire 'em up series-parallel and let 'er rip.

    Total cost would be about $80...

    edit: forgot the 1st order crossover :) ...so throw in 2 capacitors and 2 inductors.
    Gallo Ref 3.1 : Bryston 4b SST : Musical fidelity CD Pre : VPI HW-19
    Gallo Ref AV, Frankengallo Ref 3, LC60i : Bryston 9b SST : Meridian 565
    Jordan JX92s : MF X-T100 : Xray v8
    Backburner:Krell KAV-300i
  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited June 2005
    WHOA! Awesome speakers! Very efficient too. Do they have a flat imp curve?

    Maurice
  • Shizelbs
    Shizelbs Posts: 7,433
    edited June 2005
    Those are some tall mofos. They make the SDA look more like a monitor.
  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited June 2005
    Originally posted by Shizelbs
    Those are some tall mofos. They make the SDA look more like a monitor.

    That's what I was thinking too. But the SDA are more sexy with the bigger waist.

    Maurice
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,801
    edited June 2005
    in my cheesiest Crocodile Dundee accent:

    That's not a line array...
    Now this is a line array!

    1005a.jpg
  • RuSsMaN
    RuSsMaN Posts: 17,987
    edited June 2005
    Ok, let me rephrase:

    "Good sounding line arrays, ****."

    There.

    Edit- Those dolls are spooky man. You guys run a house of wax?
    Check your lips at the door woman. Shake your hips like battleships. Yeah, all the white girls trip when I sing at Sunday service.
  • Early B.
    Early B. Posts: 7,900
    edited June 2005
    I've done a little research, but haven't run across a DIY line array website -- one that walks you through the process of building a pair of these yourself. Anyone have a source?

    I would imagine the crossover in those puppies is quite complex.
    HT/2-channel Rig: Sony 50” LCD TV; Toshiba HD-A2 DVD player; Emotiva LMC-1 pre/pro; Rogue Audio M-120 monoblocks (modded); Placette RVC; Emotiva LPA-1 amp; Bada HD-22 tube CDP (modded); VMPS Tower II SE (fronts); DIY Clearwave Dynamic 4CC (center); Wharfedale Opus Tri-Surrounds (rear); and VMPS 215 sub

    "God grooves with tubes."
  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,801
    edited June 2005
    I agree about the dolls, not to mention the picture on the mantle!

    Those line arrays were built by a (female!) high-school student in CA a few years back using the (in)famous PartsExpress 269-469 fullrange drivers. No idea how they sound, although I suspect they're, if nothing else, impressive: especially from, maybe, 50 to 100 feet away. I CAN say that the drivers themselves sound really quite good, espcecially cosidering that, by the end of the supply, PE was selling them for 69 cents a pop! I paid 95 cents each for my case of 'em.

    113.jpg

    Dr Higgins' physics class site http://www.ratch-h.com is worth perusing for some DIY line array info, too, as would be the forum archive at James Melhuish's "Full-Range Driver Site" www.fullrangedriver.com

    Based on my own (limited!) DIY experience, line arrays are hard to get right. Comb filtering has (IMO) a real impact on imaging unless the listener is way far away from the array. Some of the interesting options for nearfield listening include Bessel arrays and curved arrays.
  • organ
    organ Posts: 4,969
    edited June 2005
    Whoa those are tall. Very cool looking speakers.

    Maurice
  • ohskigod
    ohskigod Posts: 6,502
    edited June 2005
    those are the NSB's (no stinkin badges) right? i wanted to do a computer speaker project with those. i guess those arrays have no crossover, which is intriguing. would love to see how they sound (and how therewired)

    as tolerant as my wife is, divorce would hover over my head if i brought those friggin things into my home

    (especially with that big picture of the face) :D:D:D
    Living Room 2 Channel -
    Schiit SYS Passive Pre. Jolida CD player. Songbird streamer. California Audio Labs Sigma II DAC, DIY 300as1/a1 Ice modules Class D amp. LSi15 with MM842 woofer upgrade, Nordost Blue Heaven and Unity interconnects.

    Upstairs 2 Channel Rig -
    Prometheus Ref. TVC passive pre, SAE A-205 Amp, Wiim pro streamer and Topping E50 DAC, California Audio Labs DX1 CD player, Von Schweikert VR3.5 speakers.

    Studio Rig - Scarlett 18i20(Gen3) DAW, Mac Mini, Aiyma A07 Max (BridgedX2), Totem Mites