Tech & Specs

The Perfect Speaker:

Everyone’s hearing and perceptions are different. Physical hearing damage, genetics, and differences in ear size and shape, pinna, ear canal, ossicles, ear drum, cochlea, auditory nerve, and eustachian tube can all affect the way we hear.

In addition, the electrical interpretation of the auditory signals in our brains varies widely based on upbringing, culture, music training, brain structure, genetics, and even mood.  All of these factors mean that almost everyone on the planet will hear differently, including twins; so no one speaker can ever be “perfect”.

Our goal is to create a speaker that projects a clear, neutral and accurate representation of the recorded music so you can “colour” it to your taste with tone controls, equalizers, synthesizers, and add-ons like sub-woofers.  In addition, all of our speakers have an L-Pad tweeter attenuator (the black knob on the base), which lets you optimize upper frequency volume without having to use a tone control or equalizer. When you receive your speakers, the L-Pad will be pre-set for a neutral response.  You can turn the knob to colour the sound to your preference.

 

 

Speaker Installation Notes and Cautions:

  • Power rating is based on full spectrum white noise. High power in a single frequency may burn out a driver. (Both Tweeter and Woofer have individual auto-resetting fuses but fuses are not foolproof and should not be relied upon for normal usage.)
  • An under-rated amplifier that clips at high power may burn out a driver before it reaches max power specifications.
  • These are 4 ohm speakers: Make sure your amplifier is set to 4 ohms or can dynamically handle 4 ohm loads.
  • These are Open-Baffle speakers, so expect to use 3 times the power (Watts) as a box speaker for the same sound levels because they are 3-Dimensional / Omni-Directional: Sound is going in all directions. (See Technical Notes below for reference material.)
  • Because sound is going in all directions, place these speakers at least 3 feet (1 meter) from a wall or large objects.  Farther away is better.
  • If these speakers will be used as part of a home theatre system or if your preferred music is bass-dominant, a sub-woofer crossing over at 40 Hz is recommended with these speakers for optimum rendition of sub-bass and impact sound.  To get the full dynamic range, an equalizer with at least 6 dB gain should be used to get good bass response down to 22 Hz.
  • Wood for every speaker pair is selected from unique live-edge Big Leaf Maple slabs. Their color, patterns, density, figuring, checking, quilting, etc. will be different for each pair so please refer to the detailed pictures and videos for the specific product(s) you wish to purchase.

 

 

Open Baffle Bookshelf Speaker Specifications:

  • Power: 200 Watts (RMS), 550 Watts (Max), 50 Watts (Min)
  • Frequency Response: 38 Hz to 20 kHz @ +/- 3dB
  • Dynamic Range: 22 Hz to 40 kHz @ +/- 6dB (equalizer recommended)
  • Sensitivity: 83dB 2.83V/1m (Woofer), 92.26 dB 2.83V/1m (Tweeter): Driver Manufacturer Specifications
  • DC Resistance: 4 Ohms
  • Impedance Rating: 4 Ohms @ 2kHz
  • Crossover: 1st Order Linkwitz-Riley (Customized) 3 dB/octave @ 850 Hz
  • L-pad Attenuator: 16 Ohms, +/- 14dB (Tweeter)
  • Dimensions: 11.5” (292mm) Wide, 18.0” (457mm) Tall, 8.5” (216mm) Deep
  • Weight: 21 Lbs. (9.5 kg)
  • Woofer: E150HE 44 https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/specs/295-102–epique-e150he-44-spec-sheet.pdf
  • Tweeter: XT25BG60-04 https://www.parts-express.com/pedocs/specs/264-1012–tymphany-xt25bg60-04-spec-sheet.pdf
  • Note:  The Tweeter and Woofer drivers have been modified from factory specs specifically to work and sound better in an open baffle configuration.
  • Baffle and Base:  2″ thick Big Leaf Maple slab
  • Front Finish: High Gloss/Luster Epoxy flood coat
  • Rear Finish: Satin hard-wax, oil & Poly by Osmo

 

 

Crossover: Custom designed and built in-house

  • 1st Order Customized Solen-Split configuration
  • 850 Hertz crossover point
  • Notch filters to reduce loudness in specific areas
  • Band-Pass, Low-Pass and High-Pass filters to reduce loudness in wide areas
  • L-Pad tweeter attenuator (the black knob on the base) allows you to optimize upper frequency loudness and maintain impedance (AC Resistance). Impedance is important for your amplifier to maintain the correct current level, which maintains the optimum volume level. The L-Pad is factory set for a neutral response from the amplifier.
  • Pure oxygen-free copper (99.99%) inductors
  • Polypropylene (PP) Axial Film Capacitors sourced commercially and tested in-house for precise tolerances
  • Auto-resetting fuses on woofer and tweeter to help prevent accidental damage to electrical components
  • Notch filters ground out irregularities and not in the signal path and constructed with high quality audio electronic components

Reasons to use 1st order crossovers:

  • To minimize changes in phase, timing, or amplitude of the amplifier signal
  • To maintain integrity of the amplifier signal transients
  • To combine HF & LF vector outputs to unity
  • To reduce EMF to the amplifier
  • To provide the widest blend of frequencies between drivers
  • To provide voicing control of midrange timbre around the crossover frequency
  • To allow for greater control and blend of driver dispersion

 

 

Open-Baffle Audiophile Speaker Frequency Response Graph:

Measured results with neutral equalizer and calibrated microphone.

The amplitude variations are smooth and gentle, increasing the accuracy, pleasure and non-fatiguing listening experience.

 

 

Technical Notes: