News from Down Under.......
Hey Bill
1. The Ah 700 horns are running and they are beautiful – very happy with the sound . Soundstage is wide and instruments place precisely. I have been switching back and forth between the Ah horns and some 550 hz tractrix on the same drivers – Your horns are clearer and the treble much more precise and sweeter. They are clearly more neutral. Midrange tone is beautiful
I am still running tractrix for the midbass – the horns are cut out but not yet assembled – too busy at work at the moment but will let you know as soon as they are done
The sound is noticeably less open as you get to the cellos as compared to the violins – the conical are definitely more clear and wide open.
I am very happy with the horns but just to let you know the mounting brackets did not fit once bolted to the driver – the bolt circle is inside the flange on the horn so took a couple of hours with a file to get them to mate – just for future reference .
Thanks Simon
----------------------------July 19, 2010--------------Hi from Bill
Hi Simon,
Thank you very much for your kind words. I'm glad to hear the sound to your liking.
Many years of work and testing have gone into the AH700.... your comments are echoed by others who have AH! horns.
I would be glad to send you a new stand. Filing aluminum is not the most fun.
I now have a precise jigging system and threading machine.
When you get your mid horns going, let me know.
Best,
Bill
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Hi Bill
My Stuff does not get into boxes very quickly ( thankfully have girlfriend who appreciates the sound rather than the looks ) so most of it is not photo worthy.
The amps are DIY single stage rs241 – parafeed and the photo shows a separate power supply
I use K+K audio phono stage and the Semi DIY table with a Teres signature motor pod and an advanced analog air bearing tonearm with a zyx cartridge
PS, not sure if i said it but you are very welcome to publish any comments
S
From Across the Pond......
Pete has the ultra fabulous RCA 1428b field coil driver mounted the the AH 300.
He hails from England.An electronic engineer, he has designed his own passive network..really a good job too!
Networks are very difficult
"'I have attached a few pics of the current setup. If I had to describe them in a few words, I think it would be "natural", "effortless" and "sweet". I'm currently using an Audio Innovations First Audio 2A3 push-pull amplifier - I'm in between projects and this is my stop gap amp; not bad, but not the last word. My deck is a Technics SP-10 in a double layer slate plinth, with an SME V-12 arm and Audio Note Io Limited field coil cartridge. Some pics attached also. I'll soon be replacing the deck with a Voyd Reference, which I recently heard and loved - it's a toss up between the Voyd and Technics, but the Voyd does more things right to my taste.
Cheers,
Pete
This time with attachments!
Thanks Bill,
Yes, I had to say these sound *incredibly* natural and there's not a trace of the horn "honk" to be found. The "peak" at 1kHz is not really audible, but I will definitely experiment with a low-Q notch filter. If you have any suggestions, I would welcome them along with any crossover designs so I can compare.
They are sounding absolutely wonderful (more or less tuned by ear). The measure pretty flat, too (see attached). Possibly a touch rich in balance, so I might raise the midrange up a dB or two by adjusting the LPAD (currently at about 10db!).
All the best,
Pete"