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In the Forum: Horn-Loaded Speakers
In the Thread: How difficult is it to achieve Vox Olympian sound
Post Subject: My metaphysical BS vs a precise to do list.Posted by Romy the Cat on: 1/4/2018
 martinshorn wrote:
The bass horn for the ak151 is housing a rear chamber slightly open, giving the injector channel - that creates a lot charme, flavor and „heart“ but also 3 dimensional projection.
I need to say that that very much dislike the design of the Olympian upper bass horn. A typical folded banality with loose back chamber. In addition, Kevin reportedly made it with very thin and very resonant wood. Truly nothing to expect and for all intended purpose very unremarkable. Still I need to admit that it works well. You know what also works? I have been telling it from early nineties: try to tap the AK151 driver’s diaphragm and listen how it responds. The sound of the driver is fucking magic and it converts into magic any fucking topology the driver is used with. I put this driver into stupid little sealed boxes and it still sound like magic. A few years back Kevin gave some interview and said that he is not attached to current Olympian drivers and if not Vitavox he would use anything else. I feel that he was kind of cunning in that statement. The S2 has own perks and looking how Olympian uses S2 I feel that it ended might be replaced. The AK151 however could not be substituted in my estimation. 
 martinshorn wrote:
Second: the drivers. As we know the vitavox got a lot of charme. But i also know that they color a bit too much above 5k, the 2nd harmonic increases dramatically.So its absolutely rational to cut it off there and go to a less coloring smaller driver. Funny, Kevin doesn’t seem to approach things so technical, still, for me the measures say „cut it off at 5 latest!“. Well the TAD above then, is really the least coloring driver of all. But the horn isnt. Interesting combination. The slot next on the very top seams to contribute very little. It’s crossed at 15k which means it’s only a cherry on the cake. And the vox palladian proofes that. Totally different tweeters, same sound.
I very much disagree with cutting S2 after 5K, I LOVE what S2 dose atop but I feel that it need to be a bit hold at very top, over 9-10K. The Olympian play with twitters I always found absolutely ridicules and in a way, contradicts a common sense…  Still it works well for Olympian. When I met Kevin, he explained to me why he did it. I still degreed with him then and I disagree now but I truly enjoyed him talking about his reasons.    
 martinshorn wrote:
So, get yourself an approx vitavox oracle from your craftman, vitavox RH330 or similar (fostex H200, TAD H4001), a trumped like jbl 2312 and your horns are done. Buy vitavox ak15x, S2 or S3, TAD 2001/2, and the drivers are done. For the cherry, there are not many tweeters who manage the 45k like the TAd Et703 or Vitavox T9. The JBL 2405 or Fostex T825 have similar horn but only reach 20k. The Fostex T705 or T925 (old version) will manage though.Also the Fostex FD200L has a very similar construction and sound signature to the S3 (low compression 3“ aluminum diaphragm). The 18sound 2080A is similar too but more neutral less of that sound signature. Also similar to AK15x are Fostex PA38, JBL D130,  Fatial 15PR400, AES TD15M ...... as a woofer (strong motor, super light and rigid diaphragm, low Qe, hi VAS, hi Qm)
Josh, here is where I found myself at a very defensive position. I am absolutely convinced that giving to an inexperienced person a laundry list of drivers and horns would serve absolutely nothing besides departing a person to long and aimless journey. You sound like you played with speakers building and when you use a single phrase, let say for instance T705, then other people with speaker building experience get a subliminal message what it might mean. The people who did not deal with all of this crap have no idea what T705 would mean and why the T705 was mentioned in context of this or that conversations.    

What I am saying that if this Newtohorn fellow get all Olympian drivers, the crossover schematics and even the building plans he will not end up with different sound that what Olympian is.  I can write 50 pages why it will be so, not that I insist that I am right but my experience dealing with audio suggests me that it would be the case. The Olympian are not juts combination of drivers but an expression of relatively organized awareness who spent many year to think and to experiment with sound and with few other areas of disciplines. I do not think that juts blind mimicking would bring to a person the same result. 


I always pay a lot of attention how the questions are asked. I do not remember that was neglecting any questions that indicated to me a person with own valuable home working. I do not feel that Newtohorn question was wrong, in fact it was very lucid but I feel that it did not rise to the level when enumeration of drivers, crossover points and  curves profile would provide any meaningful help for Newtohorn at this point.    
You, martinshorn, know well that to get Olympian sound in home is a matter of years, years of own realizations when your own discovery of own relationship with Sound makes you able to consume that “realized sound”. The “realized sound” is not a list of drivers but rather a state of mind…

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