I am currently designing several open baffle speakers (also available as kits...kits include xover parts, schematics and plans)  to sell (direct wholesale, of course).  Here are the current plans (9-30-2012):  (The pricing is not set....just current guesses.....could change mucho).
   

1. Bass powered speaker. Sculptured 47 inch high baffle (18 inches wide at bottom and 12 inches wide at the top).  Constrained layer baffling using ultra refined MDF layers and green glue.....very rigid.  Using either 2 of GR Research 12 inch servo woofs (including servo amp for each channel) per channel, 1 BG Neo 10 mid planar panel with one BG Neo 3 planar tweeter.  12 db per octave passive xover between the mid and highs using excellent parts hardwired from the outside of the binding post to the drivers.  Should get down to 20 hz in your room. So, 2 12 inch servo woofs, a planar mid from 300hz to 3K and then a planar tweeter on top.......no binding post sound and all super tweaked.  The sensitivity of the mids and highs (driven by your amp) is around 92db.  Base price could be around $7000 .  Better crossover parts and wiring are options.  The kit of parts will start around $3000. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1.5  Same as above but using 3 8 inch servo woofs instead of 2 12 inchers.  Baffle is only 12 inches wide top to bottom.  Will loose a small amount of low bass power but may be faster.  Add $400 for the assembled cost and add about $100 to the kit cost.

2.  Bass powered speaker:   Add a second midrange panel and use 6 neo 3s per channel and you now have a 20 inch line source.  Lower distortion and higher sensitivity (96db).   The top of the speaker would be around 50 inches tall.  With even better standard xover parts the speaker would be around $8500 the pair.   Two 12 inch servo woofs, 2 10 inch Neo 10 mids and 6 Neo 3 tweeters per channel!!!!!!!!!!!!!   Kit of parts around $4500. I don't know any speaker in existence under $20,000 that would have the combination of state of the art servo woofs (amazing super controlled deep bass), super pure midrange and super pure high frequencies and high efficiency.  In fact, this speaker may beat most all the biggies out there.....but there is more. 

2.5  Same as above but substitute 3 8 inch servo woofs for the two 12 inchers.  12inch wide baffle top to bottom.  $400 more for assembled cost and add about $100 to the kit cost. Another option would be to have 2 eights side by side on the bottom and a single one above it. This would allow the overall height to be less.

3.  Mount the two 12s side by side on the bottom (30 inches wide) but make the rest of the panel 12 inches wide all the way up and now you have room enough for 4 neo 10s and 12 neo 3s........OH MY GOD! A forty inch line source!  Around $10,500 .  Kit of parts around $6500.

3.5  Same as above but substitute 3 8 inch servo woofs for the two 12 inchers.  Now you have a 24 inch wide baffle on the bottom and the rest is 12 inches wide.  $10,900 assembled and $6600 for the kit.

Sub owners versions:  If you already have great subs then just use 2 or 3 servo eights in any of our above speakers and the panel only has to be 12 inches wide.  Killer bass from the eights from sub cut off to 300hz.  Slimmer size.

4.  How about 3 GR Research 12 inch servo woofers per channel mounted on their own baffle driven by the included servo amp for each channel.  Another baffle would have a line source of either 4 or 6 Neo 10 planar mids (40 or 60 inch line source!!!) and either 12 or 16 Neo 3 tweets. The sensitivity of the mids and highs (running off your amp) with 6 mids would be over 100db.  Mounting the woofers on their own baffle allows more transparency from the mids and highs as they don't have to vibrate with the woofers.  Having more drivers allows better dynamics, lower distortion and more transparency and detail.  Around $13,000 to $16,000  for the pair.  Kits for the 4 10" mid version would be around $7000 and for the 6 10" mid version would be around $8500. Any of these combos would probably beat all the usual $60,000 plus speakers.  Incredible fast bass below 20 hz.  Oh, but there is more.

4.5  4 Gr Research 12 inch servo woofers on each side on their own baffle driven by two servo amps per channel.  The second baffle would have 6 Neo 10s and 16 Neo 3s.  $18,500 .  Kits: $9000. Another option would be to have the woofer baffle be taller and less wide but have 6 8 inch servo woofers driven by two servo amps per channel.

5.  How about 6 GR Research 12 inch servo woofers per channel mounted on their own baffle.  Driven by two servo amps per channel.  Another baffle would have a line source of 6 BG 10 planar mids and 16 BG Neo 3s.  Modified Behringer xover on the bass to make sure all those woofers are dead flat at your listening postion. I don't know any speaker on the planet that would be better.  The usual bracing of the magnets, no binding post sound, super wire (options for the best wire and crossover parts in the world), diffraction control, etc.   Dead flat frequency response at your listening seat from 15 hz to above 20K!  Massive!!!! controlled bass, but because it is totally equalized you could even have this speaker in a relatively small room.  Totally tweak!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  $25,000 plus. Imagine what the big speaker companies would charge for something like this....certainly $100,000 plus.  But nothing exists like this......6 12 inch open baffle servo woofs fully equalized?!!!!  Over 100db sensitive planar line sources....no binding post sound.....worlds best xover parts!!!!  These speakers could play 120db in a massive room with super low distortion!  Yet they would give you goosebumps at 80db in a small room. Could this be the worlds best speaker?  We shall see...er hear. 

We will also be doing custom work/kits....ie...you can have them any way you want.  For instance, I have a customer who is making his own baffles using 4 12 inch servos on each side on their own baffle with the second baffle on each side containing 4 Neo 10s and 12 Neo 3s......his center channel will be 2 8 inch servo woofes and also 2 Neo 10s and 6 Neo 3s...all one one open baffle.  What a killer system!!!  I will show pictures of his system when they are done. 

http://www.machneecustomwoodworking.com


We will have protos of the #1 and #2speakers above done very soon and will be showing them in the bay area to anyone seriously inclined. I can bring them to your house and A/B with your current speakers. So, if you live in the bay area and are interested, please let me know and we can talk about your needs.

I will have some pics of the protos sometime in the next month or so. Not painted, but will give you some idea of the basic form.....they will be sweet!


Any time you have a speaker in a box there is air pressure loading that driver. That air pressure prevents the driver from breathing freely. A woofer up to 200 hz or so in a box can be very uncolored if the box is made super strong and has good internal damping material. However, running a speaker in a box above 200 hz causes the midrange to sound compressed and veiled (especially if it is a two way as there would be mucho pressure behind the driver). Now this compression/veiling can be very subtle as there are some seriously great speakers that have midranges in a box....but if you take the same speaker and remove it from the box (like Nola does)....it will most surely sound more open and pure. Boxes produce some level of box sound. Look at how most all manufacturers of high end box speakers go to serious lengths to make their speakers heavy, dead and sometimes curved for they know that if any part of the speaker box vibrates then the sound is smeared. Having an open baffle speaker simply gets rid of the box problem. No box to vibrate and no air inside to load the driver or sound to bounce off the back wall of the speaker and reflect back to the driver. Open baffles allow pure sound. However, the baffles have to be made seriously dead and be super braced as there are no sides to brace it like a box has. A minor problem with running drivers open baffle is getting good bass. Two ways to overcome this problem and get great bass are to use several large high Q drivers or several high Q servo woofs. Open baffle bass is usually considered cleaner/clearer sounding than box bass but produces less low bass and a less explosive sound per amount of woofer used. So, more woofs are required for serious slam and low bass. However, the GR Research servo woofers allow slam and low bass from just two 12s running open baffle.  Now GR Research has 8 inch open baffle servo woofers that will allow a smaller baffle for those that want a smaller sized speaker (using three per channel).


We will soon have amps and cables that can be sold with the speakers (and sold separately too). I will have State of the Art totally tweaked 25-75 watt Class A solid state amps (unbalanced and balanced bridged) that could be used for the mids and highs.  The combination of Servoed woofers with their own amps and super transparent Class A amps on the mids and highs will produce sound that will simply be sublime. 

All specifications and pricing subject to change.

All the sides of the speaker are straight up and down vertical.  The camera lense distortion makes the speaker look like it is bowed out.   Will have much better pics of the finished speakers soon.