DizRotus Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 The test was set up so the tweeters could be switched relatively quickly at the outboard networks. First, the B&C CT120 wins hands down on looks. After that, I’d be hard pressed to say which is which in a blind test. All three sound very good to these 69 year-old ears. I’d like to enlist the participation of younger ears, but the patience of Millennials for such things is very limited. Burn in might be an issue, as the Alnico K77s are well seasoned, but the CT120s are brand new, and the APT 50s have NEVER been played until today, despite being in my stash for several years. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 Closeup of CT120s. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 Closeup of APT 50. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 “Gentlemen, start your DVMs” 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 Streaming WIBC 93.1 to listen to radio broadcast while I clean the garage. The iPad isn’t balanced like Pono so shorting plugs are needed to send unbalanced outputs of iPad to Wiener TPA3118. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HDBRbuilder Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 6 hours ago, DizRotus said: Andy- I re-read your detailed post. It now makes sense. I’d like to get the expanded metal grills used by Klipsch to use in these and replace the Parts Express grills now in place in my DIY “Supers.” I like the look of the expanded metal better, plus it seems like it would be more acoustically transparent than the PE grills. You can buy it lots of places if you are planning to use the expanded metal to make some Industrial motorboards. It is aluminum expanded metal. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MookieStl Posted May 27, 2018 Share Posted May 27, 2018 2 hours ago, HDBRbuilder said: You can buy it lots of places if you are planning to use the expanded metal to make some Industrial motorboards. It is aluminum expanded metal. @DizRotusYou can cut up that patio furniture. Looks about right! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 Great minds think alike, but my wife saw that look in my eye and put a stop to it. You’re talking to a guy who cut up a perfectly good baseball mitt to make a slingshot. My father was not pleased. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 In a prior life something was attached to the top of each speaker by a single large T-nut at the rear and centered left to right. Even though these are slot ported in front, those missing bolts are “leaks,” so I put bolts in them. What a difference it made . . . NOT! Cable elevators or boutique wire would have made a bigger difference. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted May 27, 2018 Author Share Posted May 27, 2018 Pinging Bob Crites, @BEC. Are these the good APT 50s or the junk you referred to in your email? You won’t hurt my feelings. They were purchased 4/28/2014 from Parts Express, but I never got that project off the ground. Today is the first time I ever powered them. They sound fine to me. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 I think those are the newer ones. The ones I have have a thinner skinny label ( ery faded). I sold the t-12/s I got from Bob, but my son gave me a pair of the apt50 drivers be got fom Eminence about the same time ( before 2010 ). I use them on the 150 horns. They use the non standard thread size. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Unfortunately that is one of the new clones Eminence had made. This picture (sorry it is of a couple of old nasty ones) shows how to easy you can determine what you have. The one on the left is an original made by Tonsil in Poland. The one on the right is the clone of that Eminence had made. I was buying them OEM from Eminence when they made the change. When they sent me samples of the clone, I complained that the frequency response was terrible on the clones and that I could not use them any more. I then went directly to Tonsil and bought the originals from them. Eminence actually told me that Tonsil quit making them. Turned out that was just not true. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 Here's one of the drivers I use on my LaScalas... used on a 100x50 horn mounted on baffles which allow physically aligning with the mid driver. Makes a huge difference in the imaging. Bruce 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 @BEC Bob, has Eminence reworked their driver since you tried them? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted May 28, 2018 Author Share Posted May 28, 2018 Today's experimentation session got off to a rough start, as my Sealody SSA51 soldering station died. It was a Christmas gift, but in fairness to my wife, I chose this model. Do NOT buy one of these. Apparently, the ceramic heating element broke. According to Amazon reviews, this is a common failure and replacement parts are not a available. My APT 200s (APT 50 with baby cheeks lens) are clearly like the one on the right in Bob’s, @BEC, photo above. They sound good to me, but I’ll be using the CT 120s, so these are available to forum members for the cost of shipping only. Bruce, @Marvel, I’m listening to Clapton Unplugged with the CT 120s positioned as in the attached photo. I seem to notice improved imaging, but it could be placebo effect. If I get the garage cleaning project completed in time, I plan to compare the HIPs to my DIY “Supers” and to KP-201s. In the meantime, I’ll enjoy these as presently configured. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 I don't think they have changed. The spec sheet that they have is the same terrible FR curve I measured when I tried them. Good enough to be fixed using an electronic EQ but not for a passive. Bob Crites Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 I wonder if the response has to do with the way the Tonsil throat fits the horn better than the way the one with the 1 3/8 version of the Eminence mates with the horn. I'm glad you can get the Tonsil made drives. Still really, really good for the money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BEC Posted May 28, 2018 Share Posted May 28, 2018 I don't know what the difference is, but the Tonsil is clearly superior. I don't think it is the throat because I have the 1 3/8 adapters for the Tonsil and they still test better even with the adapter. I have hundreds of the Tonsil drivers in stock. Bob Crites 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
karlson3 Posted June 2, 2018 Share Posted June 2, 2018 I ran the old APt50 with APT3 adapter on the APT150 horn with FH1 - not bad. Are there any inexpensive little wave guides/horn smaller than PRV's oval and Faital's STH tractrix? - could be 1 3/8 or standard 2-bolt. Somewhere in my mess are a pair of Speakerlab's wide angle version of the T35 - IIRC they weren't as sensitive as a T35. Might work in a Heresy type. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DizRotus Posted December 1, 2018 Author Share Posted December 1, 2018 Before I go outside to wire holiday decorations for the wife, I snuck in a little test of Bob’s CT-120s compared to the tweeters in my Frankensmurf DIY Super Heresys that have tweeters from KP-201s with Bob’s titanium diaphragms. Using Pono in balanced mode into Wiener gmarsh class D TPA3118 the CT-120s , they sound better than the 77s, which sound very good to these old ears. Mile Davis’s Kind of Blue has more depth and detail. Perhaps the placebo effect from the hemostat used to “repair” a broken lead is the explanation. Hey Claude @ClaudeJ1 the offer to borrow the CT-120s to test remains open. Just let me know if you want to pop over. I’ll need time to properly fix the lead, although recreational hemostats are now legal in Michigan. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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