OK... the 580s are ok....like the sb2000...but for all the hype they both get im not sure what people are comparing them to. Someone said theyve had all sorts of speakers including Altec 19s and with the 580s, their search is over. I'm not that lucky. And since this setup seems to sound best with the sub crossed at 60hz, maybe 40hz isn't that important either. Aside from having a factory black ash vinyl finishand looking like they mean business when the neighbors pop up to inform me that they can hear them, I'm not sure what they would do better than a helix and the helix looks like it could be squished right up to the wall next to the TV if it got built with side ports. The next purchase was going to be a used receiver with xt32 to get all the speakers marching in unison. Will wait for ALL the 8k standards to be settled for 2 years before replacing it with a new one. So after all that, the important question would be...Why are these the best sounding speakers? Are the 15s that much better sounding than the 12s because they look like they might be too big for this little room. Will they have an annoyingly noticeable missing gap in sound between the tweeter and woofer like my 2 way mass market speakers? I **really** don't want to buy another set of speakers for at least several months but if these speakers are the best that will be available in the foreseeable future because nobody bought them when they were listed, maybe i should see if any are left in the back room? I hate to come on the Forums to directly waste Erich & Matt's time because they've done everything every step of the way to make this possible, but they also have the rare first hand experience with enough speakers that they can make comparisons that other people can just guess at. Honestly, without this forum drawing attention to it, I would never have thought of looking for big coaxial speakers. In a very 2+2=22 way, i just figured that "seperates" are supposed to sound better than coaxial car door speakers so the same probably applied to a house.
Matt, if you are still monitoring this thread, out of curiosity, how would you think the DNA360 would perform on an 1 3/8” threaded adapter on tbe Vortex driver crossed lower at 1600? Would the waveguide on the 15 (12 maybe) load it? I have 4 drivers and I’m looking to do a build with them, was going to be on a horn with a Kappa 12 tuned high, but I am curious how it would play. I was also toying with adding a pair of Magnum 12s to the Votex12 in an MTM or MMT arrangement, seal the vortex in the cab, crossed at 250 or so tuned down to 42hz for a flat robust response full range, similar to the old JTR Triple 12s from years ago. Thoughts? I like the specs on the custom driver you chose, more BL less MMS and more engineered for a more responsive midrange which adds to its musicality. My intent btw on the 360 was to use what I already have kind of thing.
One issue I found with using the threaded adapters on coaxials way back when work started on the Volts was that the bolts needed to mount them to the compression driver interfere with the ability to thread the adapter all the way down. This leaves a gap between the adapter and horn throat which severely impacts the frequency response in the top octaves. If some kind of long threaded adapter was available it may work.
As I anxiously wait for these to come back in stock (closeout?) I'd love to hear any impressions from those that built them. I'm hoping to use them for 70% music and 30% movies and will probably go for the 15 inch woofer
I'm right there with you @Timer I would also love some feedback on how these compare to other offerings here. I've also been reading reviews about Tekton lore's and Zu audio speakers. I imagine these would be similar if not outright better. I love the idea of dynamic BIG sound.
Any upate on when these might be back up for sale?? I’d be interested in purchasing just the V12 or V15 drivers, xovers, etc. Its a damn shame that after all the R&D that went into these, they are sitting on a pallet somewhere going to waste.
I agree with Timer, and DL Hawk. I'm 90% music / 10% movies. It's Bluray concerts for me! I'm the guy who bought the 15" Monoprice PA Passive speakers, $120 ea. I've had them for a couple of years. I'm sold on the design, compression horn, 15" woofer. For music they're not so good, well, some good and some bad. Vocals are not accurate, female singers voices kinda all sound the same and some graininess, or something. All I know is that I don't care for my music Bluray's because of it. But, the BIG WOW is the dynamics, percussion, snare drums, cymbals, chello's, just WOW. I'm ready to step up! I think I am interested in the Vortex 15. Will this come as a kit with a CD horn and wave guide? How do I get in the loop on this offer? I'm new here. Thanks for all your hard work and dedication to audio and diy. btw - I built two Full Marty's, except that I loaded each enclosure with dual 12's. They're hooked up to an inuke dsp3000. Tim D.
They sound so good that I’ve been watching movies in stereo rather than suffer hearing anything come out of my $100 Polk center. I replaced $800 klipsch towers with the vortex 15’s. It’s no comparison. The vortexes are a world apart. Oftentimes I’ll forget to turn on my sub and, for music at least, the output down low is plenty. They rattle glassware on the other side of the house, on AVR power. There’s more clarity than I’ve experienced with high end headphones, too. My sennheisers and akgs are collecting dust. These were built into massive towers ~7.6 cu ft. Tuned to ~32hz
I've heard several different DIYSOUNDGROUP speakers including Volt-10, 1099, HTM-6, HTM-10, HT-12, Titan 818, and Vortex-12. My top two favorite speakers for music are the HTM-10 and Vortex-12. Both sounded incredible. Very detailed sound, huge soundstage, like at a live concert but better sound quality than a lot of venues. I'm also hoping Erich will put these back up on the site as I would be interested in two. I just built a pair of SB Acoustic speakers with a 8" round waveguide and 8" woofer and they sound really good, but just still don't do it for me like more pro audio oriented drivers.
Were they in the same room or different rooms? The room itself can easily make a bigger difference than the speakers themselves.
I would take 3 right now for my LCR, the 12 or 15 either one. Erich if you are monitoring this and they are available, just message me and I will call to setup payment. It might be one of the first DIYSG offerings in Alaska. **Vortex kits
Just a heads up, there was never a flat pack for these. The “bare bones” kit was the driver, crossover pcb and ports.
That would be fine for me. Shipping a flat pack to AK would be expensive to say the least. Though I would prefer for Matt to build the crossovers if possible. I`m an aircraft mechanic but do not particularly enjoy soldering. Lol.
diysoundgroup doesn't ship to alaska or hawaii unfortunately. I tried to get him to ship to hawaii but he said I had to use a shipping forwarding service and it was too bothersome for me to set up :/
Is the hang up with offering the Vortex 15 the availability of the compression driver? Some other part? It would be nice to know how many woofers exist to assess whether there is any hope of getting 3 of these. Any help, please?
I believe Erichs waiting on a long ago ordered shipment of the Celestion compression drivers amd its looking like he will perhaps receive them in April. And he said he has a lot of the Vortexs available so once the CDs are delivered there should be plenty for everyone.
Bumping this for a response/update, I too would like to purchase a pair when whatever parts come in, but wouldn’t mind a little more details on how/when to order.
Erich: I see the Vortex 15s listed as clearance. I see two 1.00 options and a 475 option. is the 475 option the correct one, or simply the original price and page reactivated? Also, anything new on the 12s?
@mtg90 if I were to take these and put them in a cabinet that is ~23 wide x 17 tall x 24 deep….. how much is this width going to screw w the response. I saw your comment earlier about baffle step changing if you increased the width. I’m limited in height but not as much depth and width.
so maybe someone here could help me out. I was originally thinking of a pair of volt 10's for my rear surrounds. i will have 1099's for my L, C, R and 2 ultimax 18's for the low end. but now seeing these vortex 15's i'm wondering if these might do better for the rear surrounds if someone could help me out on which way i should go it would be appreciated. oh and it will be for 50% movies and 50% music
If you are asking if the Volts are good enough for rear surrounds, the answer is yes. If you are asking if the vortex-15 is better than the volts, then definitely yes. The vortex-15 will also be better than your 1099’s in pretty much every way.
Awesome thank you JeremyW i guess i will be ordering a set of the Vortex-15. that's all i needed to know thanks again
Randomly went to the site and ordered my Vortex-15s!!! Can't wait to build them. Is there anyone out there that will design the enclosures and cut lists for me? I have a friend with a CNC and He would need the plans.