Seas a 26 kit. Devore 093/096 style

Discussion in 'Audio Hardware' started by murphythecat, Nov 28, 2018.

  1. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    jfeldt and waterclocker like this.
  2. waterclocker

    waterclocker Forum Resident

    Location:
    NW Indiana
    Yep! I've got em and really enjoy them. You'll find my review on their page.

    They are much better than my old EPI100 with new tweeters, my Fulton Nuance 1, and Energy RC-30(execpt for bass ext.).
    I like the sound they make better than many of the speakers at hifi shows too, but my high end speaker experience is limited.

    I did recently start building a new set of speakers though. It's the 8008 Corner designed by Troel Gravesen.
    Uses the same tweeter as the A26, which I love. The woofer drops down to 8" and is also made by Seas. I will
    gain better bass extension and higher efficiency for my tube amps. The magnet is on this 8" is huge!! The A26 10"
    woofer magnet is tiny by comparison. I can't wait to compare when I finish them.

    I saw you have the L1 EL84 AN Kit. Soon I'll be able to run them with my L3 EL84 when I finish building it.
    What are you looking to achieve? I see you have some nice Harbeths.
     
  3. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    sold my harbeth shl5+

    I ordered the SEAS A26 kit

    I have a friend with a pair of shl5+, ill be able to do a direct comparison between the A26 and shl5+. should be interesting
     
    avanti1960 and Erik Tracy like this.
  4. Erik Tracy

    Erik Tracy Meet me at the Green Dragon for an ale

    Location:
    San Diego, CA, USA
    Now that I'm retired, got a workbench in the garage, and handy with tools, I've often thought of dabbling in some DIY speaker kits.

    I'll be following this thread (hint: please post your progress!). :righton:
     
  5. james

    james Summon The Queen

    Location:
    Annapolis
    are you going to build larger Orangutan style cabinets?

    don't the devores have a horn loaded tweeter closer to this: Morel CAT378 Horn Tweeter

    ?
     
  6. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    no, ill stick with the A26 cabinet in cherry. it looks much better then anything I could build

    yes, the devore use a morel. but the Seas a26 tweeter is a very good tweeter (250 usd each) and able to handle the low 1.6 khz crossover. as far as I know, its one of the only tweeter available on the market that is able to be crossed that low without any risk
     
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  7. james

    james Summon The Queen

    Location:
    Annapolis
    cool. hope it works out.

    i've wondered how close someone has come to a DIY O96
     
  8. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    the devore 096/93 use a different SEAS driver. the A26 woofer use the same cone, but the magnet is entirely different, the devore woofer also use a waveguide in the middle.
     
    displayname likes this.
  9. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    also what i really like is that I can adjust the tweeter level by simply swapping a resistor on the binding post.
     
    jupiterboy and waterclocker like this.
  10. Seafinch

    Seafinch Preferred Patron

    Location:
    United States
    Seems like a fun project. You have any info on efficiency?
     
  11. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    89 db/1 watt
     
    Seafinch likes this.
  12. Salectric

    Salectric Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    Waterclocker, I will be very interested to hear your reactions to the 8008 Corner speaker and to hear how they compare to the Seas A26.

    Murphythecat, Likewise I am very curious how the A26 sounds compared to Harbeths.

    I am considering each of these options.
     
  13. Salectric

    Salectric Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    Are the Madisound cabinets mirror-imaged? I know the original A25 was not but they came in different configurations over the years. Some had the tweeter closer to the left, and some had it closer to the right. I read of some A25 fans buying a pair of each version in order to get a mirror-imaged pair.

    The Madisound website doesn’t mention mirror-imaging so I am concerned that they aren’t.
     
  14. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    FYI for anyone interested I looked into these speakers and if you really want to approach the sound of the AN or Devore speakers, build your own cabinets and make the volume larger. The woofer is completely capable of deeper bass with a larger enclosure volume if DIY is your thing.
    The enclosure with the kit is 1 cuft volume with aperiodic vent. A sealed enclosure with internal volume of 1.5 or 2 cuft will extend the bass significantly.
    The kit with just the drivers and crossover components will plug and play into your DIY enclosure.
     
    Denizen23, CowFish, asilker and 3 others like this.
  15. spartree

    spartree Forum Resident

    Location:
    Canada
    The A26 kit has been in the back of my mind for a while as well. Was even thinking about building them for my sister.

    Looks mirrored:
    Madisound in the Raw

    [​IMG]
     
  16. Salectric

    Salectric Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    Thanks Spartree. That photo appears to answer my question.
     
  17. Salectric

    Salectric Senior Member

    Location:
    Maryland
    Have you built a larger sealed cabinet for the A26 woofer or are you basing this on the specs?
     
  18. avanti1960

    avanti1960 Forum Resident

    Location:
    Chicago metro, USA
    no, the TS paramaters plugged into an online enclosure design calculator whe i was thinking about building them a few years back, but i remember reading about people who have built bigger boxes as well. some searching- possibly DIY audio- should find this.
     
  19. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    no doubt doing a bigger cabinet would extend the bass.

    Ive read in a diyforum (not in english), someone who toyed with the seas a26 drivers and tested bigger cabs, something like 80L, then 60L then 40l. he preferred the "fastness" of the 40L and it was his prefered cab

    I considered building a bigger cabinets, and ive done 5 DIY project, 2 TL subwoofers, and 4 different speakers. in all of those cases, the finished sucked. the seas a 26 cabs that comes with the kit are much nicer then anything I could have done. I think the response will extend down to 30'ish
     
    Tim 2 likes this.
  20. bhazen

    bhazen ANNOYING BEATLES FAN

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    I'd love a pair of A26's, but would need to hire someone to put them together for me. Based on the ancient and no doubt out-of-spec A25's I had briefly, I bet they sound brilliant. Looking at spartree's photograph, and those big SEAS woofers, I bet they do share something sonically with DeVore Orangutans ...
     
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2018
  21. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    the A26 kit comes with the cabs, you just have to glue them together. as for the XO, its literally one cap. you could probably get those electricity connectors to connect the cap with the driver terminals.

    The big SEAS woofer is the reason i bought this kit. as much as i liked the shl5+, i found it lacked just that last bit of bass. I hope this is the speaker that solve my problems. but Ill say my main problem with Graham ls5/9, Shl5+, amphion one18, was always the bass that i missed compared to 12 inch 3 way speakers. I hope that 10 inch will resolve this. if not, ill have to go the whole way with 12 inch based 3 way.

    problem with a 12 inch is that you pretty much have to go 3 way, which brings whole other set of problems. or those OB 15 inch with a wide range would be another very interesting option, something like the pure audio project.
     
    SandAndGlass likes this.
  22. waterclocker

    waterclocker Forum Resident

    Location:
    NW Indiana
    I'll be sure to update on them. I need to get the router fired up and knock out the circles. It's been an adventure building these
    with tools that could be a bit better, but they should turn out nice in the end. Lots of learning on these, my first build from scratch :D
     
    bhazen likes this.
  23. bhazen

    bhazen ANNOYING BEATLES FAN

    Location:
    Deepest suburbia
    Thanks for that info, murphythecat! ...

    I'll be very interested to hear how your build goes, and how it sounds. If it's anything like the old A25's I had, there's no lack of bass. Plus (as you likely know), you can play with the fill material around the aperiodic vent to 'tune' the bass response.

    I just noticed you have P3ESR's as well!
     
    Last edited: Dec 3, 2018
  24. waterclocker

    waterclocker Forum Resident

    Location:
    NW Indiana
    I found that the A26 needed some time for the bass to open up. The bass is good for a medium size bedroom with my single ended KT150 amp and even more powerful with SS or push/pull tube.

    Any updates on how they are working for you @murphythecat ? I tried my ANK EL84 with mine and they make a nice pairing. Sounding a bit hard and forward for my taste currently, maybe I need more break in time or to try some NOS EL84.

    My 8008-Corner speakers are coming along nicely now :)

    [​IMG]
     
  25. murphythecat

    murphythecat https://www.last.fm/user/murphythecat Thread Starter

    Location:
    Canada
    ok
    at first, without break in and the 10 ohm resistor, I found them hard and bright a bit.

    ive let them break in for 200 hours, adjusted the tweeter with the 15 ohm resistor, the sound was much better, but I still heard a weird coloration in the upper mids. so ive opened up the box, and put 4 inch Roxul Rockwool on the back panel, and ultratouch denim on the sides and the top cabinet. this have removed the small coloration I was hearing. if you look at most commercial speakers, they use thick foam in the cabinets. My harbeth shl5+ sure did. so I tried the same method and I definitely prefer the sound this way, Id highly recommend to put rockwool in the cabs

    I still have the ANK el84, but I bought a ifi retro stereo 50 amp because the A26 roll off around 60hz and it lacked the sub extension I wanted. the Xbass feature on the ifi retro amp is a analog boost, not DSP, and it adds about 5 db boost under 100hz and that was the cherry on top. it really adds the grunt the A26 is missing. I think you either need a subwoofer or a boost in the bass with the A26. The bass is now very satisfying.

    I'm really happy with the speakers now, and Ive sold my SHL5+ without regret.
    Ive compared the SHL5+ and the Seas A26 and apart from the mids, I prefer the A26: better dynamism, much better bass, better treble, bigger image size. They are keepers and I would buy them again.
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2018

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