ACI Maestro... (1 Viewer)

[Craig Chase]

Almost being serious here... The two main tests will be this...

1. Placing the Maestro where the B4+ is now, calibrating it, and listening to discover how well it does vs. a $3500 subwoofer package in a 5700 ^3 room. I have 4 months with the B4+, and it is my favorite subwoofer in this room ever... over previous SVS, Velodyne 18 inchers (2 x FSR-18's), twin Hsu VTF-3's, Def Tech ... etc....

After a few weeks there...

2. In our new basement theater with the Onix Ref 3's ...

For 6-8 weeks... all listening, no measurements... THEN measurements will be taken....

Comments ?

 

[Brian Bunge]

I figure if 3 Emeralds and a pair of ACI B-Flat in-walls (along with 2 custom built subs using the SV12 drivers found in the Titan II) can handle being driven at levels around 100dB continuously with such soundtracks as Jurassic Park in my home then this sub should be able to be driven at much higher levels.

BTW, I still have a pair of Emeralds and a pair of Opals that I built several years ago. They still sound great!

 

[Craig Chase]

Brian... This will be my first expreience with Mike's stuff... and I am really looking forward to it.

Mike D ... Any idea how long until the Maestro will be built ?

 

[dave alan]

Craig,

Sounds like a plan. IIRC, your B4 thingy is placed nearfield?

Then the Ref room, yeah, sounds like a plan...although...I'm sorta diggin' the MD authorized tortue test plan, also.

BTW, is it me, or is this Mark Seaton guy as impressive as I think he is?? (I'm gonna sneak in the Rebase Routing scheme at some point, as I believe it's much easier to integrate than a 2-way sub system...shhhhhh)

Mr. Bunge...as always, I read all of your stuff with interest, and glad to see your input here.

And, of course, Mike Dzurko himself...it doesn't get much better than that. IMO, one of THE coolest things about a Maestro eval is that Mike will be poppin' in.

A tribute to your threads is their ability to draw the good guys.

Edit: Sorry, Edward...no way I'm leavin' out your name.

 

[Craig Chase]

Dave... chuckling again... yes, the B4 is nearfield... I DO think Ron Stimpson needs to make a special "thingy" version ...

The B4 DOES happen to work really well there. It will take some work, but I don't see a problem in getting the Maestro properly placed. You know... I will have the house to myself the last weekend in September, if the Maestro gets here, I will not only watch BlackHawk Down, I will set the TrueRTA to PEAK HOLD, so everyone can "SEE" the response... at least to 10 Hz.

As for Mark Seaton... yes, I feel like a rank amateur everytime he posts... but after reading his writings over and over a few times... then getting out my "Subwoofers for Dummies" book... I get about 70 % of it...

As for your last line... thanks... it was humbling and ego building at the same time...

 

[frank manrique]

quote:

"The B4 DOES happen to work really well there. It will take some work, but I don't see a problem in getting the Maestro properly placed. You know... I will have the house to myself the last weekend in September, if the Maestro gets here, I will not only watch BlackHawk Down, I will set the TrueRTA to PEAK HOLD, so everyone can "SEE" the response... at least to 10 Hz."

Craig,

I'll be the first one wanting to check TRTA charts and "see" what you "see"!

Of course, I was hoping to see charts from the B4-Plus too, but that might not happen anymore. :frowning:

Great stuff, my friend. Keep up the good work...

-THTS

"...hi, my name is Frank...and am an SVS bassaholic..."

 

[frank manrique]

quote:

"And yes, hearing the Maestro with an SVS B4+ on one end and the UFW-10's on the other end... lots to talk about"

Indeed! Am eagerly looking forward to that occassion...

"As an aside, did you see Frank is looking at 750's now? He might want to put a pre-order in for B-Stock when the 1000's start coming in..."

Too late for that now, Craig; an Ebony-finished pair of RS 750 SE speakers will be on their way here to my humble abode...trusting the folks at AV123 don't change their mind about the offer they just made me, of course...

-THTS

"...hi, my name is Frank...and am an SVS bassaholic..."

 

[Craig Chase]

Frank... I think you will enjoy those speakers... and here... no more whining...

www.robbroy.net/Craig/b4sweep20hz.JPG

www.robbroy.net/Craig/20hzatclip.JPG

In the first graph, I paused the disc before stopping the sweep, so ignore the 56 db ... this was an 87 dB sweep in room ... the 3 dB down point was 16 Hz...

In the second, it was outside at total clipping...

 

[JackRI]

Guys, I haven't understood half of what you are talking about (particularly when you use such highly technical terms as "thingy" ). But, I gotta tell you, truly, that I've not enjoyed a thread as much as I've enjoyed this one since I began participating in the forum world. Your knowledge is awe inspiring, your enthusiasm is infectious, your mutual respect and admiration is laudable, and your humor is nauseating. Who could ask for more?

Pass me another martini. I'm not gonna understand this stuff anyway, so I might as well be smashed.

 

[Jack Gilvey]

That's an understatement. An extraordinary teacher...if I come across as knowing anything at all, it's likely due to him.

 

[Brian Bunge]

Jack,

Nice to see you on the forum again. I miss your posts. BTW, I thought your last post would have read something more like this: "...if I come across as knowing anything at all, it's pure luck."

Sorry, gotta make up for lost time!

 

[frank manrique]

quote:

"Frank... I think you will enjoy those speakers..."

Am sure I will!

"...and here... no more whining..."

Okee-dockee, no more whining, I promise!...

-THTS

"...hi, my name is Frank...and am an SVS bassaholic..."

 

[Craig Chase]

Frank.. You ARE however, more than welcome to comment on the charts... you DO own TWO of those beasts, in case it slipped your mind...

 

[Mark Seaton]

Well guys, thanks for the kind comments. It is good to know someone actually reads all that babbling. :rolleyes


Don't worry, our designer, Tom Danley, does that to me on a regular basis, and even he tells of dinners with the late Dick Heyser where even he felt insecure with his relative knowledge of the time. Tough for me to fathom.

I first met Tom Danley at a BBQ he hosted in the Chicagoland area about 7 years ago. This was a meeting of members of an online discussion forum called the DIY BASS list, often referred to then at "the bass list." I was in college then, and was interested in designing speakers and subwoofers. There were many people who attended with serious knowledge in speaker building, and I think Tom Nousaine might have stopped by as well. It was then I first saw our ContraBass, and another wacky creation of Tom's which use a double-wing, saloon door style vanes to produce full range sound from a line source (75-20kHz). That day certainly opened my eyes up to different means of solving a problem, and I walked away with many little comments and tidbits from Tom about simple acoustic principals which I hadn't much considered before. Tom also has posted on many forums on the net (much less so in the past year), but within those posts were some real insight and explanation.

It was 3-4 years after that first BBQ when I joined ServoDrive. Working with Tom over the past 3 years has been an amazing experience, and every few days Tom will hit me with something else he thinks he can make work. Of course I just keep asking for a bit more.

So far as the impressive part, Tom was taught by his mentor to "forget what everyone else thinks," and just solve the problem. Many get caught up in convention and following the norm. You need to dig down to the basics of what is going on and what needs to be accomplished before you can determine the best solution to the problem. Learning this from Tom and how he attacks a problem has been the most important bit I have gained from working with him. If anyone wants to read a few posts of Tom's, I linked a few in the first 2 sticky posts in this section of our forum.

Cheers,

 

[Mark Seaton]

Hi Frank,

Are these intended for the upstairs system or the main HT with your collection of subwoofers?

 

[Jack Gilvey]

Yeah, well, that would be the more likely scenario.

 

[Mike Dzurko]

Mark:

As a teacher I find this absolutely brilliant. I sometimes fear that Western society is moving away from independent thought and trying to homogenize all thinking. Here's to independent thought, and problem solving!

 

[Craig Chase]

Mike... You are a teacher who likes free enterprise and independent thought... Let me guess, You are not in the NEA...?

 

[frank manrique]

quote:

"Frank.. You ARE however, more than welcome to comment on the charts... you DO own TWO of those beasts, in case it slipped your mind..."

Craig, am too chocked up at the moment, so will have to defer commenting for another time (when I better understand what am seeing, that is :b ).
Thank you for indulging me, though!...

-THTS

"...hi, my name is Frank...and am an SVS bassaholic..."

 

[frank manrique]

quote:

"Hi Frank,

Are these intended for the upstairs system or the main HT with your collection of subwoofers?"

Mark,

The intention is to evaluate them and see how they do with the "big" HT system as direct replacement for the current 4-way, full range speakers I've been using since the 80s (good speakers, but I feel some changes are needed).

By the way...I knew you were a very savvy individual, but holy mackerel...what credentials you got there!
I feel extremely humbled by the knowledged expressed in this thread by you, Craig, Ed, et al, and always find something educational in your posts. Please, keep 'em coming!...

-THTS

"...hi, my name is Frank...and am an SVS bassaholic..."