Jump to content

"Super Heresys" from HIPs


Recommended Posts

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.

 

 

5D8B6B42-10C6-4A28-905C-74BCCC32059E.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

 

FCFF2634-0CDE-4218-AC7B-D6955D7079F4.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

APT50ORIGCLONE.jpg

  • Like 1
  • Thanks 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

 

 

 

 

20180528_075449.jpg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

 

284B6A74-5C3D-4A20-B4C1-3FC6F39C6B35.jpeg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

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

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

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.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 5 months later...

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.

 

1F60364E-9BCA-4398-A02C-86A900C02B1C.jpeg

  • Like 1
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

×
×
  • Create New...