New member alanhuth

alanhuth

Hello, Everybody,

I'm Alan Huth, newbie DIY addict. I'm an operations engineer and turnaround practitioner.  I just finished my first project, a Tritrix for my son's dorm room.  It worked out very well functionally.  The speakers sounded better than my B&W 603 S3 floor-standers.  Now that the hook has sunk in a little, I'm eager to build another Curt Campbell design, the Halcyons.  I chose them because of Curt's reputation and because the size and minimal wall distance fit my cramped space limitations.  And King of the Castle means "do what your told" in this castle.  She Who Must Be Obeyed (Rumpole of the Bailey??) is not fond of highly visible furniture not selected by Herself.  

I've been having a difficult time finding anybody who has built them for their opinion and (hopefully) suggestions for a successful build.  I'm also looking for someone to build or at least finish cabinets for me (NE Illinois) as I'm not sure I want to go through the whole veneer/stain process again.  That was painful and the results were modestly passable.  Ethan Allen would not be impressed.  

I'm trying not to become someone who listens to speakers instead of music, but that genie is hard to put back in the bottle.  Even with tinitis and limited hearing above 10khz, I still think about brighness, tweeter dispersion, do these Halcyons need a super-tweeter, etc.  

alanhuth

I was trying to put this in the Introduce Yourself section, but evidently didn't.  Is there a way to move it, or delete it and re-enter in the right place?

PWRRYD

Welcome to the forum Alan.  I'm in North central IL (Rockford).  I would offer to help you but veneering and finishing is my least favorite part (even dreaded at times lol).

tajanes

welcome !

I haven't had a chance to listen to that speaker, unfortunatelly.  A few years ago Meniscus had a full range driver shoot out      
of course looking via a computer doesn't really work....  
http://diyspeakerforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=420&sid=c5139d3ff3ba8057f59225885ef95efb

I'd like to comp the Mark Audio's with the Audio Nirvana's 6.5s and S 4+ (I've recently been playing with the S 4+ and have posted freq chart in my post UPS is sooo much fun)

4thtry

Welcome to the forum!   I have not heard the Halcyons but I can say that I have heard several of Curt's other designs at Iowa get together's and I have not been disappointed.   His speakers are top notch.   I have listened to several other speakers that use a full range driver for the tweeter, and, while the sound can be very smooth from top to bottom, the upper octaves often lack the "air" of a good quality 3/4 or 1 inch dome tweeter.   But again, I have not heard the 6 inch driver used in the Halcyons.

 

tajanes

fyi

here is a pic of my S AN 4+ in an quasi aperiodically damped (very leaky) enclosure crossed to my open back 2x 12s beymas via a 1st order crossover at 300Hz (active, bi-amped, with eq via miniDSP) the verticals are 5 db steps

 just got ANs, so more playin’ to do, but standing up to a pair of Celestion 6.5 coax nicely (no question the Celestion’s could crank out more than the AN’s)

GeoffMillar

Curt's designs are excellent; like you and many others, I've built his Tritrix (MTN vented version) and his 'Slapshot' MTMs. Both are great for the money, although the Slapshots are truly a 'reference' quality speaker, especially when paired with a sub.  I live in Australia, so haven't heard the Halcyons, but Curt's write ups are spot on and the Halcyons look great.

My hearing also disappears beyond about 12,000 Hz, so the very top octave response doesn't worry me too much. 

Geoff

alanhuth

This is a very welcoming site. Thanks for all your advice.  

jr@mac

Welcome aboard, you will like it here. We are laid back, do not block cuss words, avoid politics and religion, and therefore we all get along.

alanhuth

So when I say Thank God for banana plugs, that is not interpreted as a religious statement, I trust.