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Nephila polar plots...
Bill gave me paper copies of these couple weeks ago at InDIYana 2023, as he now owns them and did a full spin on the design to find out why they sounded so good to him. I felt they were worth sharing, even if the design is 8 years old now. The bump at 4.5kHz disappears at further measuring distances. The rise is actually intended in the top-octave to counteract them being a short tower and having long-membrane AMTs with limited vertical off axis response. Listening is typically just above the tweeter axis.
I was actually quite shocked the polars were this good on these, as I did not do that much off-axis measuring in the design stages. Anyway, enjoy them for what they are, and thanks, Bill!
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I think I mentioned this when I gave you these printouts, but the rising on-axis response above about 3kHz is not real. I did this spin with the mic 1 meter on axis to the tweeter, which, per dcibel, is not the correct way to do a validation spin. The real on-axis response, at about 2.5 meters, is probably ruler flat. I plan to redo these measurements sometime in the next few weeks, using the correct procedures. This will be a very easy thing to do because of the external crossover. I will measure the tweeter 0-180 degrees at 1 meter on axis, with an 8 ohm resistor substituted for the woofer. Then I will measure the woofer 0-180 degrees at 1 meter on axis, with an 8 ohm resistor substituted for the tweeter. Then I will load these separate tweeter and woofer measurements into VituixCAD as separate driver icons and set up the schematic CAD screen with straight lines (no xover parts) going to each driver. VituixCAD will then be able to mathematically "triangulate" the 1 meter measurements out to the 2.5 meter listening distance.
Ben, you have made many great speakers over the years these may be your best. As a 2way tower these are exceptional. Not surprised that the measurements reflect this.
Thanks, Bill, sorry I jumped the gun! I was just excited at how nice this looked.
I thought you said the bump was not real, not the rise. Thanks for the correction.
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EVERY damn time Bens " Nephila" pops up, my mind reads it as necrophilia . Uggg sorry. I would like to hear these. I do have the bottom end for these .
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I know , take no offense , just they way my brain works sometimes.
Oh, I didn't. You aren't the only one who thought that as I've heard it on more than one occasion. The definition image was more for the uninitiated.
I'm glad you wanna hear them! Maybe swinging through Wisconsin wouldn't be too far...
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Claus is in Sioux Falls with me...
Yep, I know that.
I just looked up the trek, and I guess that is about 7.5 hrs to drive. I didn't know it was that far.
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They are not that big. I could bring them along to a future IowaDIY (or Dakota) event.
If you haven't above, you'll want to gather some vertical data as well, due to the rectangular tweeter shape.
Good suggestion. I'll use this project as motivation to force myself to build an outrigger type platform attachment for my DIY turntable.
For a basic vertical axis fudge factor, generate vertical response using the diffraction tool and on-axis FR. Just keep in mind that it’s just a basic piston model calculation, so won’t be incredibly accurate esp with complex faceplates, baffle shapes, diffusers, breakup, but here you have a flat plate and rectangle baffle so shouldn’t be too bad.
Ken-
Missed your reply, thank you for the compliment! I would not say they are my 'best' personally, but they do sound very very good. What I had seen measured of them prior, myself and others', I knew they measured well- but not THAT well! You'd have to spend a LOT more money to get a leg up on these as they sit though too. At the time I built them, the driver cost was around $210. The AMT's have increased dramatically since then.
It was nice that Jeff went out of his way to write a review or 2 of them too. He only did that on a couple occasions where my builds sounded that good to him. He gave credit where it was due.
Vance Dickason called these "the most commercially viable speaker here" at MWAF 2015, FWIW.
You coulda heard a pin drop after they played that July morning. DanP broke the silence with a nice compliment too.
Some people, including yourself, indeed took notice. Thank you again!
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The accolades are not more surprising than "DanP broke the silence". 🤣