Thanks for the very nice rewiew. We are happy to be a part of the project, by supplying the mid-woofers. You do Jeff great honor😊 Per Skaaning - Audiotechnology ApS Denmark
Too bad Meniscus Audio closed. If anyone is looking for alternatives, with similar drivers, Troels Gravesen has several DIY kits featuring Audiotechnology or Scanspeak drivers.
Excellent video and review of the Spirit Winds. I was fortunate to know Jeff and hear his original Spirit Winds. He was a great designer and even better friend. His contributions to the DIY community were incredible. I've shared your video with his widow and son.
Great speaker review, Srbo. Jeff Bagby was a great designer who made an enormous contribution to the DIY community. Props to Meniscus audio for an exceptional service as well!
This is the most unique and best from you so far. There's not many reviewers out there that can do what you have done here. You assembled a DIY speaker and telling us how well it out performs REL subwoofer in the bass region..😍 and out performs KEF, Dynaudio speakers 😍😍..wow wow wow thats says something. I will definately put all my efforts in DIY this Spirit Wind. Thank you so much for bringing it to light.
Thanks , great to have the Spirit Winds finally reviewed. I thought they would be good and in all it depends on the quality of the materials and your room. I do want to build a pair of monitors but for now I have bought the Troels Gravesen " Revelator 851 " kit which I will build in January, not cheap at over 2,000 eurs but it will be worth it. Troels uses all Jantzen crossover parts, in the tweeter section it uses the Alumen Z cap , higher cost than in the Spirit Winds, The Tweeter is the Scan-speak D3004/660000 again more expensive. I really look forward to building them... Check him out if you haven't already done so, another great designer...Cheers.
I am so happy you built a pair of DIY speakers! And especially from Denmark! I am currently assembling a Scanspeak 2.5 Way (Troels Gravesen) with Jantzen Alumen and Silver X-Overs. Cannot wait! That you mostly listened to the KEF LS50 in the past - which is a top & midrange-focused speaker made me a little worried that your reviews were seen through that "lens". Anyway, very happy that you are sharing the DIY options with the community 🎶🎶
Od mora videa o audio opremi na youtubeu koje sam tijekom godina pogledao, od testova komercijalne opreme do DIY rjesenja, ovo je daleko najbolji uradak koji sam pogledao i svako malo iznova pogledam bez konkretnog cilja ili namjere upustanja u ovako zahtijevan podhvat… sam nacin na koji je sadrzaj iznesen, na strucan i pitak nacin, do emocije kojom je opis prozet… gust je vidjet nekog tko nesebicno djeli svoje iskustvo i iskreno uziva u postignucu. Prekrasan zvucnik i cestitam.
Great review and a great build, Srbo. I have been lucky to listen to the Winds in two different systems in two different spaces. Although there were differences that even I could hear between those two systems, the common denominator is the wast soundstage, extraordinarily wide and deep. Great speakers, one of the best I have heard.
Those look great, very thankful that Jeff made his designs public and shared them with the world. I built the Adelphos some 7-8 years ago, still have them, pretty good speakers, about a tie with my Kef LS50 overall I felt.
Re tweeter difference, it's the high quality crossover parts that tamed the 2905-9900. Can't go wrong with that, with top quality parts. Congratulations iiWi!
The angled baffle with very low diffraction plus the high-quality crossover parts makes the world of difference, the reason I think the tweeter is performing so well. Happy holidays, Montreal Canada.
Wow, they are extremely high-end crossover parts! I’m a DIY guy, a kind of, a sort of, and I’m using Janzen Superior Z-cap. It’s good enough for me, and I have to satisfy with this. Silver Z-cap is a dream. Good for you.
I have used Silver-z and i think from what im hearing superior-z is better, if you value smooth listenability. I had to bypass silver-z caps with PIO to get rid of annoying sterile quality from them. But everyone hears differently so your mind may vary..
@@jarkkokinnunen9963 I’m using Superior-Z paralleled with HVL (Hovland?) blue to Satori tweeter and it’s clear but not harsh. I wondered what will happen if I replaced to Silver-Z, but maybe I should consider well. Thanks for your experienced information.
Very inspiring. I currently vote you as number 1 internet reviewer because you look at things with a technical and musical perspective neither pointless budget nor stupidly expensive. Most reviewers use clickbait constantly running between the latest and imagined best until 2 days later there is something better - they are audiophile bimbos. Your English is much better than you credit yourself with and your word choice is much better than the extravagant meaningless sentences employed by most others. For the moment I will be looking into the following four - Kef L50 meta, Kef R3 meta, Focal Aria 906 and Amphion Argon 3S but I think your build is likely to satisfy my needs better. I ,live in France and it is not easy to find a physical shop. Can you tell me how big the sweet spot is for your Spirit Winds build both vertically and horizontally - they are important to me because I like to be mobile and I think you answered my other questions. If I can find what I want from my 4 auditions I will stop there otherwise I will hunt down the plans for yours!
SW has a very good dispersion and wide sweet spot. I was surprised to find out its better than KEF LS50 that features a dual concentric driver known to be great at that. I belive great Scanspeak tweeter with a small waveguide is helping with that, but also great Jeff's design.
@@iiWiReviews Unfortunately Meniscus has gone out of business so I guess the design has died with the death of Jeff Bagby and the going out of business of Meniscus. Do you rate any other designers that have similar designs?
Being able to control the expense applied to crossover components, as in, spending big on quality crossover components, can be the most rewarding aspect of DIY'ing. This is an area where commercial manufacturers, inevitable, boost their margins. It would be interesting comparing against an identical build but with 'standard' crossover components. (I'm using Mundof MCap Supreme EVOs and a variety of bypass caps, in my Open Baffle DIYs.)
wow great to see a pair of Spirit Winds made after jeff bagby passed away R.I.P. I'm sure they are just about as high end as you can get with those two drivers
It's great that you made them. I have two different pairs of over 50 liter three-way floor standing speakers that are DIY. They are a pleasure to listen to because there is enough precision and authority. According to my information, there are many construction kits sold in various European countries, from which you can choose the one you like the most. Happy listening!
Awesome channel! You provide lots of information and knowledge. Willing to share with others 👍. Unlike some other channels such as Thabhamar, Thomas and Stereo, Jay Iyagi, yada yada yada... They talk nothing except how expensive the gear they are testing. It's like they are so pricey and they must be good. Thank you Srbo.
Great stuff! Your build looks great - impossible to tell that it is not a commercial speakers. I have just finished my DIY projects and have very similar experience as yours - VERY satisfied that I have chosen this route. I was brave enough to make DIY preamp (Whayne Coulburne's - PASS Labs - WHAMMY); DIY FirstWatt F6 power amp (from Maestro Nelson Pass) and DIY loudspeakers - Troels Gravesen's Discovery 861 (ScanSpeak's drivers). Speakers and power amp have been finished less than two weeks ago. It was not easy, took me a while - about 4 years from first thoughts and completely no experience. Patience and willing to learn new things helped me a lot. It is difficult to describe how happy I am nowadays. Discovery 861 are great speakers. Pleasant, easy listening with full of details and deep, extremely controlled bass, crispy highs. Can listen for hours and hours, with no fatigue. Obviously, the rest of the system plays very important role, not only the speakers. Goddamn, that system provides so much details... just incredible. I spent about 1k euro for the speakers, but only ordered CNC cut of MDF, from my own drawings (damn, had to learn even AutoCAD basics...). A cheaper version of crossover was chosen, but components are very high quality - Superior Z caps for twitter (most critical place), Standard Z and CrossCaps for the rest. And they sound WONDERFUL. Check out Troel's projects: troelsgravesen - DOT- dk, great guy. So happy to find his projects. Form what I have heard, commercial speakers costs ~10-20% from it's retail price. Imagine what you can do, investing a few thousands $ into DIY speakers from a good designer... but you will get entry-level in high-end speakers if you buy new for that money. You should also consider DIY preamp, amp, DAC and even turntable. Last two are on my TO DO list =)
Love that you have used threaded inserts to mount the drivers instead of the usual thing of just screws into the wood, which is found on even high end designs and annoys me whenever I see it. The cost of a few threaded inserts cannot be much and it stops any possibility of chewing up the wood which is all too easy with just plain screws. That walnut veneer is very nice too, they look classy.
Hi very interesting comment I would like to do the same on my speakers that have screws now The wood is mdf Speakers are old Musical Fidelity MC2 with newer woofers from Seas Do you think that there could be also a little improvement in sound? I think that a better connection with the baffle can be a good thing Kind regards Gino
@@CC-xu2yz Hi thank you very much for the kind advice The cabinet looks made out of chipboard I am thinking to rebuild it from MDF The tweeters look very nice Kind regards, gino
DIY done right, gives SO much back to the music and the pleasure of building them and then say, I build these and they sound awesome! Correct me if you can! No one want to compare….
Thanks for the nice video! You're right about the subwoofer. The minimum REL for your speakers is the S/510. By your description of the sound performance, that speaker is like my Dynaudio Heritage Specials - a speaker that you basically cannot point anything bad about it except it's actual size (and price for the Dynaudio's). It takes a marginally big, fast and detailed sub to match it, but once you match you won't take it out. Two even better :)
I've been very interested in the Sprit Wind speakers and couldn't find a ton of reviews or much information about them. I was completely surprised that you had a whole detailed video about them, the only one on CZcams!
For me, I had about €1000 to spend on speakers last year. It just wasn't enough budget for really good DIY speakers, I couldn't find good value kits in Europe. I slightly regret not saving up more money and hope to build these in the future. However my wharfedale Evo 4.3s that I got cheap aren't too bad really. P.S Jantzen make probably the best cost to quality ratio components available. Apart from capacitors, I got some of their large binding posts recently for my DIY amplifier. They cost €6 each, top quality, look like they came from a premium luxury amp.
congratulation to this fine project. I agree quallity parts in the cross over is verry important. I have build famos ARA Kit from SB Accoustics with satori drivers and also upgrates Quallity in the X over. i think i have the same impression of soundquallity as You when listening.
very cool, love your speakers. Next, you have to try dedicated 10awg wire circuits to each component. or at minimum 1x 10awg circuit for the amp, 1x 10awg circuit for the rest. It made a big difference in my system!
Outstanding piece, and a great way to start Sunday morning. I use the 5 1/4” Arum Cantus drivers that are used in Bagby’s Continuum design, albeit in a different design and with crossovers a few levels below yours. Mine aren’t going anywhere, and I can imagine how great the Spirit’s must be with the component upgrades and a proven design.
Very nice video! It is so intresting to see the crossover, the very high quality of the parts and how it relates to the performance of the speakers in all aspects, tonality, soundstage, dynamic impact, etc, etc. Bravo!
Perhaps the time has come for this particular conversation to start with the MiniDSP Flex. Certainly it's an attractive idea and you don't have to trust some else's design. Lot to learn though.
Awesome review as always! I have been playing with the idea on and off with going with DIY speakers. There are some good values in audio DIY out there. I have heard some glowing reviews of various brands and models but they are never as articulate and detailed as yours. I am going to take a deeper look into these and research some local wood workers for the cabs.
If you do not know the cabinet is directly taken from the Avalon speakers, with the way the front is cut. Nothing wrong with that, but just Think the credit shall go where Jeff obviously have been inspired from. Have 2 models of Them myself. The old model Arcus and one from the new Line, the Idea. Both excellent speakers with no obvious faults. Very revealing and no fatigue whatsoever🙌🤗 Looks nice with the cabinetwork🙌
This shape is used to some extent with several speaker brands because it's proven that it brings acoustic benefits - less diffraction, better soundstaging and the feeling that boxes themselves disappear from the sound. Only question really is why more manufacturers don't do it (this or round edges).
Yes, there are more and more using it. But this is so close to Avalon as its not just a coincidence, and an Avalon trademark is excactly there freedom from boxiness and imaging. Some Call Them an electrostat in a box😊 But still nothing wrong with anyone being inspired to directly copy a good concept🙌
Burazeru, ne mogu da verujem da si iz Srbije. 🤣 Danas baš gledam jedan od tvojih klipova, reč je o tvom review-u o Topping D30, i razmišljam da bih te po akcentu lagano smestio negde u istočnu Evropu, i sada gledam ovaj video i ne mogu da verujem. Kao audio entuzijasta već duže vreme gledam tvoje klipove, samo tako nastavi. Sad mi je jasno zašto mi se oduvek dopadao tvoj stil opisivanja koji je koncizan i bez previše proseravanja.
@@iiWiReviews Nećeš me se tako lako rešiti. Otvorio si Pandorinu kutiju. 😈 Imam dva pitanja, možda bi mogao da mi pomogneš. Imam dva para nemačkih Vintage zvučnika iz 80-ih. Reč je o Quadral Amun MK IV i Shogun MK IV koje nemaju neku tržišnu vrednost, ali sam sentimentalno vezan za njih. Voleo bih da im osvežim kućišta kod nekog stolara koji ima iskustvo sa zvučnicima. Gde si ti radio tvoje, ako nije tajna? Severozapad Srbije i centralna Srbija dolaze u obzir kao destinacija (uključujući Beograd i Novi Sad). Sledeći problem je što sam na teži način naučio koliko je bitno imati stabilizator struje. Na dva para zvučnika sam spržio visokotonce. Čitao sam da u nekim slučajevima zvučnici mogu da se poprave u nekim ne. Voleo bih sa nekim majstorom da se posavetujem da li bi mi se popravka isplatila, pošto je jako teško naći originalne komponente, a da nisu preskupe. Znaš li neku radionicu koja popravlja zvučnike, a da nisu preskupi? Hvala ti unapred!
This is my favorite IIWI review. How is late night listening on this speaker? What is the lowest volume (decibels) you enjoy listening to these speakers?
Low volume listening is decent but not as good as with some speakers with that bass bump I talked about in the video. That's due to our own hearing sensitivity (at lower volumes we notice midrange more, bass and treble less). So very neutral speakers at day-level listening are not going to sound as good as slightly V-shaped ones at low volumes. Loudness button on older amps solved this problem but it's not popular nowadays. 😊
SRBOLJUB,🎉🎉🎉 CONGRATS YOU HAVE DONE A BEAUTIFUL 🤩 🤩 JOB AND NOT CUTTING CORNERS 👍👏👏👏 YOU NOW HAVE A GREAT SPEAKER,THAT YOU CAN ENJOY FOR YEARS TO COME, AND THE SATISFACTION OF YOUR LABORS 👍😎🤗💚💚💚
Looks similar to the Musician Audio Knight 1 Loudspeaker. Wondering if they are the same design. Sonically, it sounds similar to the cheaper CSS 1TDX kit that I have in my system.
Thank you for this excellent video. It was very helpful in many aspects for me. One that was missing was the comparison to other speakers. I totally agree that comparison to commercial speakers is not in place. Why not compare them to similar price DIY speakers ? for example from CSS audio or GR research...
Hello Srbo I follow and enjoy all your reviews. I have built many diy speakers over the years starting with transmission lines and folded horns. It’s surprising to many how much effect box design and composition along with crossover parts quality can have on the outcome…even with the same speaker components. I particularly was surprised by the positive effect of wire gauge in air core inductors. Can you please post the source for your copper connectors? Best Regards.
Copper connectors and wiring came from VBS Audio: facebook.com/people/VBS-Audio/100057252078271/ It's a small and unique production, but there's usually a waiting time involved since its popularity has risen sharply lately.
Given that Meniscus has closed down here in the US not long after you posted this video, do you know how I can get access to the cabinet dimensions and design, and also the crossover design? Seems that if I knew who to contact, I could make a contribution to the family, and get a copy. Have you communicated at all with Seth Horton who worked with Jeff on this design?
Great review and outcome for your diy project build. Your channel has a very interesting collection of equipment and intelligent reviews. You have a great talent for explaining sound. You have also found opportunity; Build Spirit Wing design quality speakers. Start a business, employ your fellow Serbs. God speed. Cheers from the US.
Amazing video, SilverZ Caps are rather bright sounding caps and that maybe a trick with these dark sounding drivers, did you try to ad a small bypass like 0.1uf Miflex KPCU to the main tweeter Z Silver cap ? It could sweeten up the sound and made it more organic and lush , long long breakin period for it to open up fully as they tend to lose the highs after 20 hrs to get it all back with superb tone definition and detail harmonics at 300hrs or so .... Have fun with it.
I did add Miflex bypass to both tweeter caps eventually. It made the midrange and tone timbre richer. I also changed the wiring to Duelund in cotton and oil, and binding posts to WBT next gen. Now they're truly amazing.
Great review! I have never heard of these diy speakers so it’s really appreciated, as I plan on building speakers in the future. I’d be interested to see all the components you’ve found that pair well with them. I use the Dynaudio Focus XD 200s, and like that darker tone as well. Cheers!
They should pair well with any component. The beauty of DIY is you can tailor the sound. Jeff usually suggests a few values for resistors/caps to make minor adjustments to tweeter level. The only real limitation for components will be the SPL, so I wouldn't use less than 20W amp.
Very well presented video! I, myself have relied on DIY speaker building projects to get the most "bang for your buck"! I have built 7 speaker pairs using the best components (Dynaudio, Scanspeak, Accuton, Mundorf (Silver/Oil) Caps, Hoviland Caps, etc.) to achieve the highest sound quality. This is the best way to pay for the tools and components to ensure the fun and $$ to build for yourself the BEST audio speakers possible! My questions to you: 1.) Did you have to "break in" your new speakers to delvelope its neutral response? 2.) And, if you did, how many hrs. did you allow? 3.) How important is it to use a quality amp, or can a vintage amp do (marantz, Luxman, or even a Denon 7:1 surround sound integrated receiver? Thank you for your time.
Mark and Chad from Meniscus Audio retired about the time this video was uploaded ☹️and since they were unable to receive an acceptable offer to the purchase of the business, their inventory it appears was also sold off. To bad Part Express or Madisound or even CSS Audio did not pick up the business and fold it into their existing company. I wonder where all of the design, licensing agreements and intellectual property that Meniscus had the rights to will now revert to??
Great video! I too went DIY after reading info on “cost of goods sold” for speakers. Most people consider a cost of 30% as the MAXIMUM that actually is spent and the cabinet is 1/2 of that! I went with the CSS audio 2TD-x and they have renewed my love of audio. I also went with the crossover upgrade with Jensen Superior caps but not because I thought one Cap sounds better over another but because the tighter component values would more exactly hit the crossover frequency. While my speakers sound phenomenal, I have some room effects I need to deal with. I noticed you have dispersion behind your speakers--why? Do a video? Most systems I have seen use absorption directly behind the speakers. Again, great job! Mabe
Spending a $300 on crossovers doesn't look like that much compared to everything that would go into a fully active DSP. Also, I'm just not ready to tackle that topic yet, but I do think about it as a possible end-game sometimes down the road. As for diffusion, it just sounds really good here, deepening the soundstage, and making tones appear more clearly without negative effects. Absorption in that same spot, in my experience, makes cleaner sound but skews the tonal balance towards dry and analytical. I had different experience for first reflection left and right where I find absorption much more attractive. Anyways, I'll talk about these panels sometimes in the future.
Is it possible to list the components used for the crossover and speaker taps so I could reproduce what you have built? I see they offer upgraded caps but not to the level you have assembled. BTW thank you, excellent video! Seems the MoFi SourcePoint 10 maybe inspired from these.
As mentioned in the video, I can't list the exact crossover values since that's a MeniscusAudio project. Still, you can see what I used in the video from 10:25 - Jantzen Silver-Z caps, Jantzen coils, Mills resistor as shunt, and PathAudio resistor in line with a tweeter. VBS Audio wires and binding posts (facebook.com/people/VBS-Audio/100057252078271/). I link only the last one because it is a small handmade stuff from Serbia, the rest is easily found online.
OMG..That's the way to usher in the new year. 👍👍 You mentioned in the review that you added some -------- filing inside ? I couldn't hear it. Thanks in advance
Pozdrav Srboljube, pre svega svaka čast na review, generalno svega što je testirano. Pristup temi bez previše tehnikalija, približavanje najbitnije stvari tj zvuka, ono što nam u principu najviše treba. Već par puta gledam ovaj video i počinjem ozbiljno da razmišljam o projektu, inače sam veliki ljubitelj samogradnje. Želeo bih da te pitam par stvari u vezi toga, da li postoji način kontaktiranja van YT? Već sam probao sa meniscusaudio ali izgleda da su ugasili sajt zbog nerentabilnosti i malog odziva. Zato sam hteo tebe da pitam za par smernica. Svaka čast još jednom i hvala ti na načinu prezentovanja.
Awesome! This is a new territory for you my friend. Making your own speakers are great and they have some personal attachment as well. But I wonder will these be your main / primary speakers for a substantial amount of time? I guess, only time can tell.
Why don't you build a floor-standers? As far as I can see, you have a pretty big room. Some high-efficient 3-Way with 15'' bass driver should be very interesting.
Was thinking the same, I'm very pleased with the 13cm mid drivers in my 3 way design. The midrange is incredible fast and clear, they image like crazy, almost impossible to obtain with a 6'' or bigger driver. They also disappear better then my bookshelves while still deeper bass from the 10'' woofer..
Jantzen is pronounced with 'j' the same as in 'just'. Think of the English word 'chance' with a 'j' in front - like 'jance' or ladies name 'Janice'. The 'ce' is spoken similar to Russian 'tse'. The 'j' is also somewhat similar to 'zh' in Russian, but not exactly. Then, the last 'en' is simply pronouced like English 'in'. My wife is Ukrainian, btw.
So let me see if I can be tought. 🙂 Final pronunciation should be close to Jen (like short from Jennifer) and seen, so Jen-seen. But J has a slight French twist on it like when they say Josephine?
Even though this video was long, I watched every second. I love this design. I have a few pair of speakers and have been considering the DIY. This looks like a winner. I love the cabinet design. I like the fact the BOM is super high quality. I may be doing this soon. Ill watch this again. But quick question, the box was this part of there design or you? I do not recall if you mentioned that part. Anyway keep this up, you are getting way better. Happy Holidays JJ
Thanks! Cabinet design inside the project is same in terms of volume and dimensions. We just pimped up the front panel with chamfered edges (not that necessary function-wise since tweeter has a small wawe guide and it is not as sensitive to this tweak as some others... But I like how it looks - it makes it look less blocky in my opinion). Happy holidays to you too! 🎄
Walls themselves are made of five layers glued together under the press. They're then coated in a thick layer of liquid bitumen (I don't know the exact name of that product) that needs to dry for 24h. This damps wall vibrations but doesn't do much for standing waves inside the box. For that I filled the box with Mundorf Angel Hair filling (almost all of it except the space that needs to be clear between the bass driver and the bass reflex port). Jeff Bagby suggested dacron filling for this, but I used this Mundorf stuff instead. It serves the same purpose but with supposedly better absorption. He didn't use or suggest any sort of additional felt dampening on the walls the way Troels does for example. But Troels doesn't suggest this much inner filling... Which are both acoustic wave absorbers... My friend made the same pair of speakers and lined the walls with felt later on (one friend persuaded him it's needed) but we didn't notice any significant difference after that action. I suppose that 1" thick layered walls with bitumen and Mundorf filling (that he already had, the same as me) were doing a sufficiently good job already. Boxes do feel very inert this way. Certainly more than most commercially made ones with sane prices.
Amazing! I wonder about the raw exposed copper speaker terminals? Pure copper corrodes (green patina) exposed to air. Electroplating gold or rhodium is fairly easy to give the surface protection.
I wonder how Bagby's designs compare to Troels ones. Also, I don't know if it's still possible to get the Spirit Wind blueprints easily from Meniscus Audio. 😢
Thanks! I don't have a correct info but everything points to ~85 db/W/1m sensitivity. That was the sensitivity of Kairos speakers, and Jeff somewhere mentioned that these two are very similar that way. Regarding power, I do feel that they prefer powerful amps.
They look decent but very promising end game speaker design wrt bookshelves going flat to 35hz. I don't understand how sources improve soundstage when the driver and cabinet design almost always dictate that but I do understand how timbre, imaging and instrument seperation could be perceived based on the source. This is my experience so far. In any case LS50 meta has 70deg horizontal directivity and 60deg vertical directivity as measured by amir (asr) and ls50wireless is 50deg Hor and 50deg Vert as measured by erins(erinsaudio). ls50meta distorts at 96db upto 1khz >3% but the newer wireless version has compression under 0.5% for 96db. clearly they can be driven in a large room.
Thanks for the very nice rewiew.
We are happy to be a part of the project, by supplying the mid-woofers.
You do Jeff great honor😊
Per Skaaning - Audiotechnology ApS Denmark
Too bad Meniscus Audio closed. If anyone is looking for alternatives, with similar drivers, Troels Gravesen has several DIY kits featuring Audiotechnology or Scanspeak drivers.
Does anyone know how we can get access to this design now that Meniscus closed?
Excellent video and review of the Spirit Winds. I was fortunate to know Jeff and hear his original Spirit Winds. He was a great designer and even better friend. His contributions to the DIY community were incredible. I've shared your video with his widow and son.
This is the Best Audiophile review video of the year. Cool runnings
You did an incredible job with the cabinet. It’s beautiful.
Is the box price included in the 1900?
@@stephenclark5218 Of course, and they throw in a fully furnished living room, too. 🙄
Great speaker review, Srbo. Jeff Bagby was a great designer who made an enormous contribution to the DIY community. Props to Meniscus audio for an exceptional service as well!
This is the most unique and best from you so far. There's not many reviewers out there that can do what you have done here. You assembled a DIY speaker and telling us how well it out performs REL subwoofer in the bass region..😍 and out performs KEF, Dynaudio speakers 😍😍..wow wow wow thats says something. I will definately put all my efforts in DIY this Spirit Wind.
Thank you so much for bringing it to light.
Excellent video! Instead of simply reviewing something you help us experience it with you. What a gift...and what beautiful speakers!
Thanks , great to have the Spirit Winds finally reviewed. I thought they would be good and in all it depends on the quality of the materials and your room. I do want to build a pair of monitors but for now I have bought the Troels Gravesen " Revelator 851 " kit which I will build in January, not cheap at over 2,000 eurs but it will be worth it. Troels uses all Jantzen crossover parts, in the tweeter section it uses the Alumen Z cap , higher cost than in the Spirit Winds, The Tweeter is the Scan-speak D3004/660000 again more expensive. I really look forward to building them... Check him out if you haven't already done so, another great designer...Cheers.
I have made many speakers, this speaker was done so well. This is a 10,000 dollar speaker.
I am so happy you built a pair of DIY speakers! And especially from Denmark! I am currently assembling a Scanspeak 2.5 Way (Troels Gravesen) with Jantzen Alumen and Silver X-Overs. Cannot wait! That you mostly listened to the KEF LS50 in the past - which is a top & midrange-focused speaker made me a little worried that your reviews were seen through that "lens". Anyway, very happy that you are sharing the DIY options with the community 🎶🎶
Od mora videa o audio opremi na youtubeu koje sam tijekom godina pogledao, od testova komercijalne opreme do DIY rjesenja, ovo je daleko najbolji uradak koji sam pogledao i svako malo iznova pogledam bez konkretnog cilja ili namjere upustanja u ovako zahtijevan podhvat… sam nacin na koji je sadrzaj iznesen, na strucan i pitak nacin, do emocije kojom je opis prozet… gust je vidjet nekog tko nesebicno djeli svoje iskustvo i iskreno uziva u postignucu. Prekrasan zvucnik i cestitam.
Hvala puno na deljenju tako pozitivnog utiska. Jeste pravljeno za dušu pa mi je drago da tako i deluje. Pozdrav!
Great review and a great build, Srbo.
I have been lucky to listen to the Winds in two different systems in two different spaces.
Although there were differences that even I could hear between those two systems, the common denominator is the wast soundstage, extraordinarily wide and deep. Great speakers, one of the best I have heard.
Those look great, very thankful that Jeff made his designs public and shared them with the world. I built the Adelphos some 7-8 years ago, still have them, pretty good speakers, about a tie with my Kef LS50 overall I felt.
Re tweeter difference, it's the high quality crossover parts that tamed the 2905-9900. Can't go wrong with that, with top quality parts. Congratulations iiWi!
The angled baffle with very low diffraction plus the high-quality crossover parts makes the world of difference, the reason I think the tweeter is performing so well. Happy holidays, Montreal Canada.
Happy holidays to you too from Serbia! 🎄🎄🎄
WOW…What an incredible effort on your part to make the very best of a DIY Design! You deserve praise! 👍🏼
Well done. You have come a long way in your audio journey! :-)
Meniscus Audio Has Permanently Closed.
Thanks so much for your business
Wow, they are extremely high-end crossover parts! I’m a DIY guy, a kind of, a sort of, and I’m using Janzen Superior Z-cap. It’s good enough for me, and I have to satisfy with this. Silver Z-cap is a dream. Good for you.
I recapped my vintage 1997 B&W Matrix 805s with Jantzen Superior Z caps. They took an already great speaker to a whole new level.
I have used Silver-z and i think from what im hearing superior-z is better, if you value smooth listenability. I had to bypass silver-z caps with PIO to get rid of annoying sterile quality from them. But everyone hears differently so your mind may vary..
@@jarkkokinnunen9963 I’m using Superior-Z paralleled with HVL (Hovland?) blue to Satori tweeter and it’s clear but not harsh. I wondered what will happen if I replaced to Silver-Z, but maybe I should consider well. Thanks for your experienced information.
Very inspiring. I currently vote you as number 1 internet reviewer because you look at things with a technical and musical perspective neither pointless budget nor stupidly expensive. Most reviewers use clickbait constantly running between the latest and imagined best until 2 days later there is something better - they are audiophile bimbos. Your English is much better than you credit yourself with and your word choice is much better than the extravagant meaningless sentences employed by most others. For the moment I will be looking into the following four - Kef L50 meta, Kef R3 meta, Focal Aria 906 and Amphion Argon 3S but I think your build is likely to satisfy my needs better. I ,live in France and it is not easy to find a physical shop. Can you tell me how big the sweet spot is for your Spirit Winds build both vertically and horizontally - they are important to me because I like to be mobile and I think you answered my other questions. If I can find what I want from my 4 auditions I will stop there otherwise I will hunt down the plans for yours!
SW has a very good dispersion and wide sweet spot. I was surprised to find out its better than KEF LS50 that features a dual concentric driver known to be great at that. I belive great Scanspeak tweeter with a small waveguide is helping with that, but also great Jeff's design.
@@iiWiReviews Unfortunately Meniscus has gone out of business so I guess the design has died with the death of Jeff Bagby and the going out of business of Meniscus. Do you rate any other designers that have similar designs?
Being able to control the expense applied to crossover components, as in, spending big on quality crossover components, can be the most rewarding aspect of DIY'ing. This is an area where commercial manufacturers, inevitable, boost their margins.
It would be interesting comparing against an identical build but with 'standard' crossover components.
(I'm using Mundof MCap Supreme EVOs and a variety of bypass caps, in my Open Baffle DIYs.)
You ever run into these people who swear parts quality doesn’t matter? Ridiculous.
I made a 300$/pair bookshelf and they really play outside of their league... With a -3dB at 35hz, they are very good without a subwoofer.
A really interesting story and your fluent English continues to impress! Congratulations on your successful project 👍
Must be very satisfying to successfully complete such a project.
It really is.
Great video. RIP Jeff Bagby.
wow great to see a pair of Spirit Winds made after jeff bagby passed away R.I.P. I'm sure they are just about as high end as you can get with those two drivers
It's great that you made them. I have two different pairs of over 50 liter three-way floor standing speakers that are DIY. They are a pleasure to listen to because there is enough precision and authority. According to my information, there are many construction kits sold in various European countries, from which you can choose the one you like the most. Happy listening!
Great review, and condolences to Mr. Bagby’s family
And those speakers look amazing, I want them
Great job! I recently used Rubio Monocoat for a speaker project, and I love the results. It's my go-to finish going forward.
Awesome channel! You provide lots of information and knowledge. Willing to share with others 👍. Unlike some other channels such as Thabhamar, Thomas and Stereo, Jay Iyagi, yada yada yada... They talk nothing except how expensive the gear they are testing. It's like they are so pricey and they must be good.
Thank you Srbo.
Great stuff! Your build looks great - impossible to tell that it is not a commercial speakers.
I have just finished my DIY projects and have very similar experience as yours - VERY satisfied that I have chosen this route. I was brave enough to make DIY preamp (Whayne Coulburne's - PASS Labs - WHAMMY); DIY FirstWatt F6 power amp (from Maestro Nelson Pass) and DIY loudspeakers - Troels Gravesen's Discovery 861 (ScanSpeak's drivers). Speakers and power amp have been finished less than two weeks ago. It was not easy, took me a while - about 4 years from first thoughts and completely no experience. Patience and willing to learn new things helped me a lot. It is difficult to describe how happy I am nowadays.
Discovery 861 are great speakers. Pleasant, easy listening with full of details and deep, extremely controlled bass, crispy highs. Can listen for hours and hours, with no fatigue. Obviously, the rest of the system plays very important role, not only the speakers. Goddamn, that system provides so much details... just incredible. I spent about 1k euro for the speakers, but only ordered CNC cut of MDF, from my own drawings (damn, had to learn even AutoCAD basics...). A cheaper version of crossover was chosen, but components are very high quality - Superior Z caps for twitter (most critical place), Standard Z and CrossCaps for the rest. And they sound WONDERFUL. Check out Troel's projects: troelsgravesen - DOT- dk, great guy. So happy to find his projects.
Form what I have heard, commercial speakers costs ~10-20% from it's retail price. Imagine what you can do, investing a few thousands $ into DIY speakers from a good designer... but you will get entry-level in high-end speakers if you buy new for that money. You should also consider DIY preamp, amp, DAC and even turntable. Last two are on my TO DO list =)
THANKS 🤗 for sharing this story and all the details and credits of the contributors and your music 🎼 suggestions 🤗😎💚💚💚
Love that you have used threaded inserts to mount the drivers instead of the usual thing of just screws into the wood, which is found on even high end designs and annoys me whenever I see it. The cost of a few threaded inserts cannot be much and it stops any possibility of chewing up the wood which is all too easy with just plain screws. That walnut veneer is very nice too, they look classy.
Hi very interesting comment I would like to do the same on my speakers that have screws now The wood is mdf Speakers are old Musical Fidelity MC2 with newer woofers from Seas
Do you think that there could be also a little improvement in sound? I think that a better connection with the baffle can be a good thing
Kind regards Gino
@@gino3286 Doubtful that there will be any difference in sound.
@@CC-xu2yz Hi thank you very much for the kind advice The cabinet looks made out of chipboard I am thinking to rebuild it from MDF The tweeters look very nice
Kind regards, gino
Wow. This video is magnificent. I really enjoy your reviews. Thank you!
DIY done right, gives SO much back to the music and the pleasure of building them and then say, I build these and they sound awesome! Correct me if you can! No one want to compare….
Thanks for the nice video! You're right about the subwoofer. The minimum REL for your speakers is the S/510. By your description of the sound performance, that speaker is like my Dynaudio Heritage Specials - a speaker that you basically cannot point anything bad about it except it's actual size (and price for the Dynaudio's). It takes a marginally big, fast and detailed sub to match it, but once you match you won't take it out. Two even better :)
Definitely one of my Best Videos of the Year…Great Job!
I've been very interested in the Sprit Wind speakers and couldn't find a ton of reviews or much information about them. I was completely surprised that you had a whole detailed video about them, the only one on CZcams!
Jeff Bagby was the best!
Inspiring review. I'm going to do it, even in Walnut finish!
Love the flat smooth response; they look great! I want!
Great video. I really appreciate the passion and attention to detail. Looking forward to future comparisons with your new, reference speakers!
Very good my friend and greetings from Brazil!
For me, I had about €1000 to spend on speakers last year. It just wasn't enough budget for really good DIY speakers, I couldn't find good value kits in Europe. I slightly regret not saving up more money and hope to build these in the future. However my wharfedale Evo 4.3s that I got cheap aren't too bad really.
P.S Jantzen make probably the best cost to quality ratio components available. Apart from capacitors, I got some of their large binding posts recently for my DIY amplifier. They cost €6 each, top quality, look like they came from a premium luxury amp.
Great job. Many audiophile enthusiasts should learn from this experience.
congratulation to this fine project. I agree quallity parts in the cross over is verry important. I have build famos ARA Kit from SB Accoustics with satori drivers and also upgrates Quallity in the X over. i think i have the same impression of soundquallity as You when listening.
very cool, love your speakers.
Next, you have to try dedicated 10awg wire circuits to each component. or at minimum 1x 10awg circuit for the amp, 1x 10awg circuit for the rest. It made a big difference in my system!
Do you refer to the AC mains power cable wiring, or the internal speaker wiring of amplifier?
@@peterlarkin762 AC wiring
Outstanding piece, and a great way to start Sunday morning. I use the 5 1/4” Arum Cantus drivers that are used in Bagby’s Continuum design, albeit in a different design and with crossovers a few levels below yours. Mine aren’t going anywhere, and I can imagine how great the Spirit’s must be with the component upgrades and a proven design.
Great video, the cabinets look similar shape to new mofi Andrew Jones design speakers
Very nice video! It is so intresting to see the crossover, the very high quality of the parts and how it relates to the performance of the speakers in all aspects, tonality, soundstage, dynamic impact, etc, etc. Bravo!
great video, great job on the cabinet. Very thorough review and analysis.
Perhaps the time has come for this particular conversation to start with the MiniDSP Flex. Certainly it's an attractive idea and you don't have to trust some else's design. Lot to learn though.
Awesome review as always!
I have been playing with the idea on and off with going with DIY speakers. There are some good values in audio DIY out there.
I have heard some glowing reviews of various brands and models but they are never as articulate and detailed as yours.
I am going to take a deeper look into these and research some local wood workers for the cabs.
This is GREAT content! Love it!
If you do not know the cabinet is directly taken from the Avalon speakers, with the way the front is cut. Nothing wrong with that, but just Think the credit shall go where Jeff obviously have been inspired from. Have 2 models of Them myself. The old model Arcus and one from the new Line, the Idea. Both excellent speakers with no obvious faults. Very revealing and no fatigue whatsoever🙌🤗 Looks nice with the cabinetwork🙌
This shape is used to some extent with several speaker brands because it's proven that it brings acoustic benefits - less diffraction, better soundstaging and the feeling that boxes themselves disappear from the sound.
Only question really is why more manufacturers don't do it (this or round edges).
Yes, there are more and more using it. But this is so close to Avalon as its not just a coincidence, and an Avalon trademark is excactly there freedom from boxiness and imaging. Some Call Them an electrostat in a box😊 But still nothing wrong with anyone being inspired to directly copy a good concept🙌
Those are beautiful and should sound fantastic. Great job!
looks beautiful...wished these DIY companies can offer a finished option
Burazeru, ne mogu da verujem da si iz Srbije. 🤣 Danas baš gledam jedan od tvojih klipova, reč je o tvom review-u o Topping D30, i razmišljam da bih te po akcentu lagano smestio negde u istočnu Evropu, i sada gledam ovaj video i ne mogu da verujem. Kao audio entuzijasta već duže vreme gledam tvoje klipove, samo tako nastavi. Sad mi je jasno zašto mi se oduvek dopadao tvoj stil opisivanja koji je koncizan i bez previše proseravanja.
Eto, naš sam. 😄 Hvala i sve najbolje takođe! 🍻
@@iiWiReviews Nećeš me se tako lako rešiti. Otvorio si Pandorinu kutiju. 😈
Imam dva pitanja, možda bi mogao da mi pomogneš.
Imam dva para nemačkih Vintage zvučnika iz 80-ih. Reč je o Quadral Amun MK IV i Shogun MK IV koje nemaju neku tržišnu vrednost, ali sam sentimentalno vezan za njih. Voleo bih da im osvežim kućišta kod nekog stolara koji ima iskustvo sa zvučnicima. Gde si ti radio tvoje, ako nije tajna? Severozapad Srbije i centralna Srbija dolaze u obzir kao destinacija (uključujući Beograd i Novi Sad).
Sledeći problem je što sam na teži način naučio koliko je bitno imati stabilizator struje. Na dva para zvučnika sam spržio visokotonce. Čitao sam da u nekim slučajevima zvučnici mogu da se poprave u nekim ne. Voleo bih sa nekim majstorom da se posavetujem da li bi mi se popravka isplatila, pošto je jako teško naći originalne komponente, a da nisu preskupe. Znaš li neku radionicu koja popravlja zvučnike, a da nisu preskupi?
Hvala ti unapred!
Great video, thanks. I want a pair of these so much!😅
This is my favorite IIWI review. How is late night listening on this speaker? What is the lowest volume (decibels) you enjoy listening to these speakers?
Low volume listening is decent but not as good as with some speakers with that bass bump I talked about in the video. That's due to our own hearing sensitivity (at lower volumes we notice midrange more, bass and treble less). So very neutral speakers at day-level listening are not going to sound as good as slightly V-shaped ones at low volumes.
Loudness button on older amps solved this problem but it's not popular nowadays. 😊
Love your works and the review. I need to DYI a speaker too :)
Great job, they look Beautiful with the American walnut!
SRBOLJUB,🎉🎉🎉 CONGRATS YOU HAVE DONE A BEAUTIFUL 🤩 🤩 JOB AND NOT CUTTING CORNERS 👍👏👏👏
YOU NOW HAVE A GREAT SPEAKER,THAT YOU CAN ENJOY FOR YEARS TO COME, AND THE SATISFACTION OF YOUR LABORS 👍😎🤗💚💚💚
It’s a very beautiful looking speaker.
I have the LS50 with the REL T7X.
I can relate to what you describe
👍👍👍👍👍
Looks similar to the Musician Audio Knight 1 Loudspeaker. Wondering if they are the same design. Sonically, it sounds similar to the cheaper CSS 1TDX kit that I have in my system.
Noticed that too. Would be nice to have a comparison regarding sound quality.
Thank you for this excellent video. It was very helpful in many aspects for me. One that was missing was the comparison to other speakers. I totally agree that comparison to commercial speakers is not in place. Why not compare them to similar price DIY speakers ? for example from CSS audio or GR research...
Great review! I feel sad that I sold my drivers now.
Hello Srbo
I follow and enjoy all your reviews. I have built many diy speakers over the years starting with transmission lines and folded horns. It’s surprising to many how much effect box design and composition along with crossover parts quality can have on the outcome…even with the same speaker components. I particularly was surprised by the positive effect of wire gauge in air core inductors.
Can you please post the source for your copper connectors?
Best Regards.
Copper connectors and wiring came from VBS Audio: facebook.com/people/VBS-Audio/100057252078271/
It's a small and unique production, but there's usually a waiting time involved since its popularity has risen sharply lately.
Excellent and well detailed discussion. thank you.
Given that Meniscus has closed down here in the US not long after you posted this video, do you know how I can get access to the cabinet dimensions and design, and also the crossover design? Seems that if I knew who to contact, I could make a contribution to the family, and get a copy. Have you communicated at all with Seth Horton who worked with Jeff on this design?
Great review and outcome for your diy project build. Your channel has a very interesting collection of equipment and intelligent reviews. You have a great talent for explaining sound. You have also found opportunity; Build Spirit Wing design quality speakers. Start a business, employ your fellow Serbs. God speed. Cheers from the US.
Vrlo lepo umjetnicko delo, da bi ih samo slisao!!! Shapo.
Amazing video, SilverZ Caps are rather bright sounding caps and that maybe a trick with these dark sounding drivers, did you try to ad a small bypass like 0.1uf Miflex KPCU to the main tweeter Z Silver cap ? It could sweeten up the sound and made it more organic and lush , long long breakin period for it to open up fully as they tend to lose the highs after 20 hrs to get it all back with superb tone definition and detail harmonics at 300hrs or so .... Have fun with it.
I did add Miflex bypass to both tweeter caps eventually. It made the midrange and tone timbre richer. I also changed the wiring to Duelund in cotton and oil, and binding posts to WBT next gen. Now they're truly amazing.
Great job, all around!
I wonder how good this speakers are compared to Dynaudio Contour 20i. Excellent review!
I think bill of materials is more around 10-20% than 25%, based on some industry insiders
Great review! I have never heard of these diy speakers so it’s really appreciated, as I plan on building speakers in the future. I’d be interested to see all the components you’ve found that pair well with them. I use the Dynaudio Focus XD 200s, and like that darker tone as well. Cheers!
They should pair well with any component. The beauty of DIY is you can tailor the sound. Jeff usually suggests a few values for resistors/caps to make minor adjustments to tweeter level. The only real limitation for components will be the SPL, so I wouldn't use less than 20W amp.
Try the KC62; great little sub 👍👍 good review, thanks
Well done. Excellent project
Thanks! Please try to review more speakers! "Spirit Wind" sound like a Totem name!
Congratulations!
Very well presented video! I, myself have relied on DIY speaker building projects to get the most "bang for your buck"! I have built 7 speaker pairs using the best components (Dynaudio, Scanspeak, Accuton, Mundorf (Silver/Oil) Caps, Hoviland Caps, etc.) to achieve the highest sound quality. This is the best way to pay for the tools and components to ensure the fun and $$ to build for yourself the BEST audio speakers possible! My questions to you: 1.) Did you have to "break in" your new speakers to delvelope its neutral response? 2.) And, if you did, how many hrs. did you allow? 3.) How important is it to use a quality amp, or can a vintage amp do (marantz, Luxman, or even a Denon 7:1 surround sound integrated receiver? Thank you for your time.
Mark and Chad from Meniscus Audio retired about the time this video was uploaded ☹️and since they were unable to receive an acceptable offer to the purchase of the business, their inventory it appears was also sold off. To bad Part Express or Madisound or even CSS Audio did not pick up the business and fold it into their existing company. I wonder where all of the design, licensing agreements and intellectual property that Meniscus had the rights to will now revert to??
Great video! I too went DIY after reading info on “cost of goods sold” for speakers. Most people consider a cost of 30% as the MAXIMUM that actually is spent and the cabinet is 1/2 of that! I went with the CSS audio 2TD-x and they have renewed my love of audio. I also went with the crossover upgrade with Jensen Superior caps but not because I thought one Cap sounds better over another but because the tighter component values would more exactly hit the crossover frequency.
While my speakers sound phenomenal, I have some room effects I need to deal with. I noticed you have dispersion behind your speakers--why? Do a video? Most systems I have seen use absorption directly behind the speakers.
Again, great job!
Mabe
Oh, another question. You spent a lot of money on the crossover. Did you consider DSP for an active system?
Spending a $300 on crossovers doesn't look like that much compared to everything that would go into a fully active DSP. Also, I'm just not ready to tackle that topic yet, but I do think about it as a possible end-game sometimes down the road.
As for diffusion, it just sounds really good here, deepening the soundstage, and making tones appear more clearly without negative effects. Absorption in that same spot, in my experience, makes cleaner sound but skews the tonal balance towards dry and analytical.
I had different experience for first reflection left and right where I find absorption much more attractive. Anyways, I'll talk about these panels sometimes in the future.
Great review, you can take a look at YB Audio, based in Poland they offer similar technology and prices 👍
Is it possible to list the components used for the crossover and speaker taps so I could reproduce what you have built? I see they offer upgraded caps but not to the level you have assembled. BTW thank you, excellent video! Seems the MoFi SourcePoint 10 maybe inspired from these.
As mentioned in the video, I can't list the exact crossover values since that's a MeniscusAudio project. Still, you can see what I used in the video from 10:25 - Jantzen Silver-Z caps, Jantzen coils, Mills resistor as shunt, and PathAudio resistor in line with a tweeter. VBS Audio wires and binding posts (facebook.com/people/VBS-Audio/100057252078271/). I link only the last one because it is a small handmade stuff from Serbia, the rest is easily found online.
OMG..That's the way to usher in the new year. 👍👍
You mentioned in the review that you added some -------- filing inside ? I couldn't hear it.
Thanks in advance
Yes, i used Mundorf Angel Hair filling.
Pozdrav Srboljube, pre svega svaka čast na review, generalno svega što je testirano. Pristup temi bez previše tehnikalija, približavanje najbitnije stvari tj zvuka, ono što nam u principu najviše treba. Već par puta gledam ovaj video i počinjem ozbiljno da razmišljam o projektu, inače sam veliki ljubitelj samogradnje. Želeo bih da te pitam par stvari u vezi toga, da li postoji način kontaktiranja van YT? Već sam probao sa meniscusaudio ali izgleda da su ugasili sajt zbog nerentabilnosti i malog odziva. Zato sam hteo tebe da pitam za par smernica.
Svaka čast još jednom i hvala ti na načinu prezentovanja.
Awesome! This is a new territory for you my friend. Making your own speakers are great and they have some personal attachment as well.
But I wonder will these be your main / primary speakers for a substantial amount of time? I guess, only time can tell.
Why don't you build a floor-standers? As far as I can see, you have a pretty big room. Some high-efficient 3-Way with 15'' bass driver should be very interesting.
Was thinking the same, I'm very pleased with the 13cm mid drivers in my 3 way design. The midrange is incredible fast and clear, they image like crazy, almost impossible to obtain with a 6'' or bigger driver. They also disappear better then my bookshelves while still deeper bass from the 10'' woofer..
Maybe next time. But I'm not thinking about it at the moment because I'm still in the romantic phase with these. 😊
Jantzen is pronounced with 'j' the same as in 'just'. Think of the English word 'chance' with a 'j' in front - like 'jance' or ladies name 'Janice'. The 'ce' is spoken similar to Russian 'tse'. The 'j' is also somewhat similar to 'zh' in Russian, but not exactly. Then, the last 'en' is simply pronouced like English 'in'. My wife is Ukrainian, btw.
So let me see if I can be tought. 🙂 Final pronunciation should be close to Jen (like short from Jennifer) and seen, so Jen-seen. But J has a slight French twist on it like when they say Josephine?
Even though this video was long, I watched every second. I love this design. I have a few pair of speakers and have been considering the DIY.
This looks like a winner. I love the cabinet design. I like the fact the BOM is super high quality. I may be doing this soon.
Ill watch this again. But quick question, the box was this part of there design or you? I do not recall if you mentioned that part.
Anyway keep this up, you are getting way better.
Happy Holidays
JJ
Thanks! Cabinet design inside the project is same in terms of volume and dimensions. We just pimped up the front panel with chamfered edges (not that necessary function-wise since tweeter has a small wawe guide and it is not as sensitive to this tweak as some others... But I like how it looks - it makes it look less blocky in my opinion).
Happy holidays to you too! 🎄
Wondering if you used any dampening material to line the cabinet walls. The plans are not very clear. What kind of bitumen fill did you use?
Walls themselves are made of five layers glued together under the press. They're then coated in a thick layer of liquid bitumen (I don't know the exact name of that product) that needs to dry for 24h. This damps wall vibrations but doesn't do much for standing waves inside the box. For that I filled the box with Mundorf Angel Hair filling (almost all of it except the space that needs to be clear between the bass driver and the bass reflex port). Jeff Bagby suggested dacron filling for this, but I used this Mundorf stuff instead. It serves the same purpose but with supposedly better absorption. He didn't use or suggest any sort of additional felt dampening on the walls the way Troels does for example. But Troels doesn't suggest this much inner filling... Which are both acoustic wave absorbers... My friend made the same pair of speakers and lined the walls with felt later on (one friend persuaded him it's needed) but we didn't notice any significant difference after that action. I suppose that 1" thick layered walls with bitumen and Mundorf filling (that he already had, the same as me) were doing a sufficiently good job already. Boxes do feel very inert this way. Certainly more than most commercially made ones with sane prices.
@@iiWiReviews thankyou for sharing that.
Those are beautiful!
It seems that Andrew Jones was inspired by this cabinet for his Sourcepoint 10
(heavy baffle too)
Amazing! I wonder about the raw exposed copper speaker terminals? Pure copper corrodes (green patina) exposed to air. Electroplating gold or rhodium is fairly easy to give the surface protection.
I wonder how Bagby's designs compare to Troels ones.
Also, I don't know if it's still possible to get the Spirit Wind blueprints easily from Meniscus Audio. 😢
Meniniscus will reopen a new web page to sell plans for all there previous designs... But parts would have to be purchased separately.
Maybe you should also do the GR research speakers DIY kit
Hi! Very nice video and speakers, indeed. What about the sensitivity of those? Do you think they are power hungry? Thanks
Thanks! I don't have a correct info but everything points to ~85 db/W/1m sensitivity. That was the sensitivity of Kairos speakers, and Jeff somewhere mentioned that these two are very similar that way.
Regarding power, I do feel that they prefer powerful amps.
They look decent but very promising end game speaker design wrt bookshelves going flat to 35hz. I don't understand how sources improve soundstage when the driver and cabinet design almost always dictate that but I do understand how timbre, imaging and instrument seperation could be perceived based on the source. This is my experience so far. In any case LS50 meta has 70deg horizontal directivity and 60deg vertical directivity as measured by amir (asr) and ls50wireless is 50deg Hor and 50deg Vert as measured by erins(erinsaudio). ls50meta distorts at 96db upto 1khz >3% but the newer wireless version has compression under 0.5% for 96db. clearly they can be driven in a large room.