I use to make speakers from the 1970s through to around 2000. The first speakers I built were omnidirectional 2-way speakers with 8" bass drivers with a tapered folded vent that vented to the front near the floor. These were roughly 1000mm x 300mm x 300mm . They made amazing sound from quite cheap drivers. A lot of precision woodworking required. The disadvantage, a lot more work building the cabinets and a hell of a lot timber veneer to apply.
I love my Mirage Omni speakers. I have a 11 speaker bed layer including the subs. Working on building a 16 channel atmos rig. I power them with a Elan 16 channel amp. Hopefully atmos processor becomes cheaper! What I have I got for less than 2000$ and good processor is over 3k
I liked your video, interesting topic. Your diy speaker look great too but I think the planar tweeters becomes very directional in the horizontal plane when having them in a "laying down" orientation. If it is the PT6816-8 it´s 200mm "wide" and the corresponding frequency of when it starts to beam is about 1700 hz, if oriented vertically it would have a wide horizontal directivity up to about 5300 hz(65 mm). Sorry, I don´t wanna criticize just wanna help.
@@lekmannen9990 thanks. True about directivity. It will be better to use two smaller (square) grs planars per side and angle them inwards to the left and right a bit. It will broaden radiation
Why would you have the sound directed toward the ceiling? that is where your drivers are facing MBL is a different beast, totally different design philosophy.
I've only heard one omnidirectional speaker and that was at least twenty years ago and I can't even remember the make. From memory I quite liked them but it was at a show which is not ideal. Think you said you built yours and was it from an open design or all your own work?
@@ConorHanley please specify what do you mean by "open design"? Ive selected the drivers to have the least problems with crossover, which is first order, active. The other goal was to have the lightest membranes as possible. And cabinets made from organic materials.
@@bygrace2683 No brand. Its my own construction, active crossover. The sound is spacious, dynamic, often majestic and very fast. Neutral tonality. And i dont even use good DAC or streamer.
They're unpopular because they don't mostlly sound very good. The reason that speakers are made directional is that a controlled directivity removes a part of the room acoustics from the perceived output. 99% of listening rooms have horrible room acoustics, they have hard surfaces and symmetrical shapes, creating really uneven reflections. A 360° system will create a generic background type soundstage that lacks the precision of a directive speaker. They're really nice for people who just want to enjoy music in general in the whole room. But for audiophiles who want to try to get the most accurate experience, controlled directivity and acoustic treatment of the listening room are required. Or in rare cases, extensive room treatment and a regular speaker combined (meaning you put 20k or more to a professional arcoustic treatment). The problem of the omnidirectional designs is that their sound really depends on the room they're played in and they still suffer from the major issues on bass frequencies (room modes) if the room has not been treated.
@@robertstart2577 Yes they can be pleasant if you want ambient relaxing sound, but they can never reach the clarity and accuracy of a regular directive speaker. The room reflections just blur up the sound and there's nothing anyone can do about it, short of heavily acoustically treating the entire room. And that would mean the omnidirectional speaker would lose it's main design feature: reflections.
I use to make speakers from the 1970s through to around 2000. The first speakers I built were omnidirectional 2-way speakers with 8" bass drivers with a tapered folded vent that vented to the front near the floor. These were roughly 1000mm x 300mm x 300mm . They made amazing sound from quite cheap drivers. A lot of precision woodworking required. The disadvantage, a lot more work building the cabinets and a hell of a lot timber veneer to apply.
I love my Mirage Omni speakers. I have a 11 speaker bed layer including the subs. Working on building a 16 channel atmos rig. I power them with a Elan 16 channel amp. Hopefully atmos processor becomes cheaper! What I have I got for less than 2000$ and good processor is over 3k
I liked your video, interesting topic. Your diy speaker look great too but I think the planar tweeters becomes very directional in the horizontal plane when having them in a "laying down" orientation. If it is the PT6816-8 it´s 200mm "wide" and the corresponding frequency of when it starts to beam is about 1700 hz, if oriented vertically it would have a wide horizontal directivity up to about 5300 hz(65 mm). Sorry, I don´t wanna criticize just wanna help.
@@lekmannen9990 thanks. True about directivity. It will be better to use two smaller (square) grs planars per side and angle them inwards to the left and right a bit. It will broaden radiation
Why would you have the sound directed toward the ceiling? that is where your drivers are facing
MBL is a different beast, totally different design philosophy.
It's coz you can't stand your tea cup on the top of them.
I've only heard one omnidirectional speaker and that was at least twenty years ago and I can't even remember the make. From memory I quite liked them but it was at a show which is not ideal. Think you said you built yours and was it from an open design or all your own work?
@@ConorHanley please specify what do you mean by "open design"? Ive selected the drivers to have the least problems with crossover, which is first order, active. The other goal was to have the lightest membranes as possible. And cabinets made from organic materials.
What is the brand of your speakers?
@@bygrace2683 No brand. Its my own construction, active crossover. The sound is spacious, dynamic, often majestic and very fast. Neutral tonality. And i dont even use good DAC or streamer.
They're unpopular because they don't mostlly sound very good. The reason that speakers are made directional is that a controlled directivity removes a part of the room acoustics from the perceived output. 99% of listening rooms have horrible room acoustics, they have hard surfaces and symmetrical shapes, creating really uneven reflections. A 360° system will create a generic background type soundstage that lacks the precision of a directive speaker. They're really nice for people who just want to enjoy music in general in the whole room. But for audiophiles who want to try to get the most accurate experience, controlled directivity and acoustic treatment of the listening room are required. Or in rare cases, extensive room treatment and a regular speaker combined (meaning you put 20k or more to a professional arcoustic treatment). The problem of the omnidirectional designs is that their sound really depends on the room they're played in and they still suffer from the major issues on bass frequencies (room modes) if the room has not been treated.
Not true, Mirage made highend omni directional speakers which i own for 20 jears and still love them every day
@@robertstart2577 Yes they can be pleasant if you want ambient relaxing sound, but they can never reach the clarity and accuracy of a regular directive speaker. The room reflections just blur up the sound and there's nothing anyone can do about it, short of heavily acoustically treating the entire room. And that would mean the omnidirectional speaker would lose it's main design feature: reflections.
Dude, really? No Ohm Walsh in the discussion. Please
@@jaymorin7131 I mention Ohm.
I have Ohm Walsh and I love them ❤
@bengtekman8616 congrats.