It looks like DC people found for themselves a new audio show, it call Capital Audiofest

http://www.capitalaudiofest.com/

I am sure the West Wing Preamplifier, Capitol Hill LP cleaning fluid and Supreme Court cable elevator are coming…
What I am interested in audio has not a lot of to do with audio shows. Audio shows are ways to sell not the ways to demonstrate Sound, unfortunately. Still, for people who have interest in horn the audio shows are good opportunity to look at the pictures and to see what people are trying to do out there.

So, let look what the Capital people offers at their show last summer. There were two horn systems.

http://www.capitalaudiofest.com/p513.html

“Aspara Acoustics Speakers in the High Water room.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ctbarker32/CapitalAudiofest2010June1113#5481901812521149042

As I understand High Water is a distributor who brings to US different European finds. 

Aspara Acoustics us UK company, that does “no compromise solution for the serious and dedicated listener”:

http://www.asparaacoustics.co.uk/hl1_concept.php

http://www.capitalaudiofest.com/images/IMG_4369.JPG?s=1277754854

It is 2 way with 800Hz crossover point with absolutely idiotic MF horn. Yes, they claim “incorporate advanced audio research and horn technology” but my experience with horn suggests that the Aspara MF horn deserves to be stuck in the ass of the horn designer. This distributed CD horn with peripheral edges is a clear indication that “nobody home” in the head of people behind the Aspara Acoustics.

There was Goto room, as I understand by Ming Su, USA Goto distributor.

http://picasaweb.google.com/ctbarker32/CapitalAudiofest2010June1113#5481902144930828290

http://picasaweb.google.com/ctbarker32/CapitalAudiofest2010June1113#5481902110133730210

http://www.capitalaudiofest.com/images/P6129452.JPG?s=1276663529

It is 4 ways with semi-dipole , I do not know how crossed, but I do not see a digital crossover on the shelves.  I do not like this setup. It is too contrived and not elegant.  The system screams about absence of a proper MF horn. I can see efforts that Ming spent to put it together but it is not there yet. He needs to do more sketching, moiré modeling different idea and preferably to stay as far as possible from Goto own ideas how design systems and how use horns with this drivers – Goto own design ideas are absolutely retarded.

There is however a good sign that I see in Goto demonstration at Capital Audiofest. It looks like Ming Su stopped idiotic marketing Goto drivers as some kind of Robb Report Jewelry and is trying to assumable some kind demonstrable system and to show off his drivers. This is a good sight in my view. I still would take a properly assembled playback with 2440 driver instead of a pile of wrongly used Goto drivers but the knowledge (or more important the understanding) how to make the whole thing work together does not come right the way. Ming Su home setup with his large midbass horn looks absentminded and ridicules. This Capital Audiofest’s setup is not fur from there but it is an indication that Ming is looking at different options. Let see what it will lead him to. So far among ANY of Gotot installations among those that I have see publish on web I found none of them were stimulating from design idea. I do not know why but I have feeling that Ming Su begins to undusted it. I wonder, if Cessaro designer had objective to use Goto drivers then what he will end up with? Acals I know the answer, and it is time for Mr. Su to “get” it.

That was the 4 way system designed by John Sheerin using GOTO drivers on my request.  The tweeter is GOTO 160 with S3000 horn xover at 5kHz.  The high mid is GOTO SG370DX with S600 horn xover at 1kHz-5kHz.  The low mid is GOTO 505TT with S150 horn xover at 200Hz - 1kHz.  The bass use two GOTO SG38WNS woofer in a back-loaded horn.  The system run with a 4 way passive crossover also designed by John Sheerin.  The alternative choice of bass is to use same cabinet but with GPA 416-8B woofer, of course, the crossover will need to be modified to run with GPA 416-8B woofer.  Some update.  I am in the process of re-design the support stand for the S150 horn.

BTW - there was no digital xover used at CAF2010.  That was a LCR phono preamp display unit.  I belive it was the power supply chassis in the picture of your link.

For this 4 way speaker system that shown in your link, my goal is to create a turn-key plug-n-play horn speaker system that use GOTO driver.  The size has to be small enough to fit into most listening room - 48"x28"x40' (WxDxH of the bass cabonet) and that is why I choose to use BLH for the 200Hz down. 

FYI -  I am working on another FLH design with double woofer but the size will be much bigger for most listen room - 50"x65"x55" (WxDxH).

But for CAF 2011, I am going to show a prototype 3 way horn system using Feastrex, GOTO and PD2150 driver.  Still working on it and hope to complete it before the July CAF.
It will be very similar to the Oris horn setup but with different horn profile and use different driver.  200Hz up will be FLH. 200Hz down will be PD2150 woofer in OB U-frame.  The goal of this system is to provide a less expensive model for a turn-key plug-n-play system.  Small enough to fit small listen room but can also fit 25'x20'x9' room.

Come down for the CAF in July and you can judge it for yourself in person.

As for my own listening room setup, I am running out of space so everything have to compromise by the available space that I have.  I do have a LMF horn that cover 200Hz down to 70Hz but the position of the horn were limited by the available space of my listen room.

As for the sound, I enjoy it and so are many of my visitors.  It is not perfect but with the limited space that I have, I think it is the best solution that I can have.

Love to hear your system someday!

Ming

John Sheerin? I have come across what this character does on-line. I am not familiar with him personally but I am NOT a big fun of what he does. He moves his hands in space and sometimes as the resume of his hands moment some horn are built up. However, making Sound to sound is not about building horn but purposefully organizing atomic micro-solution into one unified expressive consciousness. I did not see this in Sheerin systems, as many of them as he built they all are like a very drunk driver: there is some absurd movement but there is no sense of purpose or direction. The setup he assembled foe you for your CAF 2010 show is a good illustration of it….

As I said, I am glad that your are trying to make a complete setup with your Goto driver. Are you planning to finalize it into some kind of system, freeze the design and to make it as available commercial product of you juts mingling with horn and driver for your own pleasure? If you are planning to make the result of your experiments as off the shelf commercial products the you need start to develop a gateway to market your creation. Here is what you need to do. Find for yourself some kind of marketing pimp who use speakers more the 6 month from the same company and who endorse the company more than 3 years. Begin to suck his dick, wash his car, doe his laundry, send food for his god, find what religion he has and get converted into the same. Then some early prototype, give it to your marketing guy, convinced him that your you got is better then what will be available commercially and command him “fetch”.  He will begin to pollute the feeble audio minds with his stories that your setup made him to rejuvenate his age, brought his long gone grandmother back  from the death, cured cancer in his wife, made his son to be eligible for parole and made his another son to wake up next morning to speak Esperanto. I am sure you will be overwhelmed with orders in a few months….

About your plans for CAF 2011. It is very sad that you decided to go for Feastrex. Feastrex is very bad driver and it popularize was inverted by the very same scenario that I described above. You might use it in VERY narrow band however but then what do you need Feastrex to do so. Nevertheless your interest to develop a “turn-key plug-n-play system” is a good direction: it might give more exposure for your Goto trade and it might give to me more opportunity to bitch about what you do. My only concern is that you will be burned out very soon in this direction as you will find that it is not gratifying, not to mention economically non-feasible. As I understand you do it all yours with any support from Goto. This is shame as what you are trying to do is what Goto had to be doing years back. If they did them they would learn a lot how to make own drivers beter…