I did ask about those but was keen to see how well behaved the cones were first. Pretty tidy so far.
If anyone is interested, Lowther are having open days next week on Friday and Saturday.
I downloaded a cabinet plan from their website and got the email invite.
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Be interesting to hear what they play for you there.
Unfortunately I don’t have time to go along, but they seem open to suggestions of what to hear.
Good Afternoon,
You are invited! The final Lowther Open Weekend of 2025
We are pleased to announce that we are holding an Open Weekend on Friday 14th and Saturday 15th November 2025, where you’ll have the opportunity to experience a wide range of Lowther products and innovations.
Please find the attached Flyer with further details about the products that will be on display.
Our doors will be open from 9:00am to 6:00pm, and you are welcome to visit at any time throughout the day. Feel free to stay for as long as you wish and enjoy exploring our offerings at your own pace.
If there are any particular Lowther products you are especially interested in, please let us know in advance, and we’ll do our best to ensure they are available for you to view.
Lowther Loudspeaker Systems Limited
2nd Floor
1 Foundry Street
NORTHAMPTON
NN1 1PN
We are above a brewery, Phipps Brewery also known as the Albion.
(Please be aware there are a few flights of stairs to the listening room, unfortunately due to the age of the building there is no lift access.)
Places are limited. To reserve your visit, please contact us:
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I shall have to try & get to one of these next year. I’m glad to see that the people who’ve taken over are making a proper go of it. The people who ran it previously were always a bit ‘flaky’ (euphemism there)
It is in Northampton so we need to persuade Nick @Myrman to do reconnaissance.
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100% they appear to be positinging the brand and championing their quite wonderful heritage well. Quite the oposite to Diane & co.
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Nice looking drivers with some voice coil venting and open frame too. I’ve read good things about their range of models!
Some consolation for those who can’t manage the stairs - they can get legless
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I think I have finally decided on a plan going forward…
I’ve been looking into MEHs as shown by @SteadySteve, as well as inspired by @Rab1991 and his recent Altec Horns and @Adpully and his Open Baffle exploits, and trying to decide on a way forward.
I’ve got my KEF Reference Threes as control, in terms of tonal balance I really like them, they are great all-rounders but I want to get back on with the DIY project before the baby arrives next Spring.
I like the idea of the MEH but I don’t think (after a few tries with my tracksaw) I can get the maths and woodworking required to do it justice, as well as I don’t need the kind of headroom that kind of setup would give me.
My requirements after all the various speakers and DIY exploits over the years:
- Based around a wide range driver to cover the upper midrange to low treble
- Tight, punchy bass over ultimate depth (20Hz subwoofer levels not required)
- Work up against the rear wall or ‘moveable’ when not in use
Going with some of the drivers I already have, I’m going to go open baffle again. My current plan is below with the rough idea:
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Tweeter - 7kHz+ Fountek JP2 Ribbon (or BMS 4524 with a short horn)
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- Unsure which to use yet, now I have SolidWorks some 3D printed horns might be doable.
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Wide Range - ~700Hz - 7kHz 6.5" Supravox 165GMF (or Veravox 5S or Scanspeak 10F/8414)
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- Supravox 165GMF - Based on my experience with the 165-2000 previosuly, great midrange and treble with real dynamics
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- Scanspeak 10F/8414 - Very smooth and linear when used previously.
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- Veravox 5S - Need to revisit and give another try.
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- Seas CA12RCY - bought cheap on a whim, probably not sensitive enough but worth a try.
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Mid-Bass - 150Hz - 700Hz 10" Volt BM2500.4 Just great punch in the midbass and smooth in the lower midrange.
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Bass <150Hz 15" or 18" Bass Driver Currently looking at the SB Audience drivers like the BIANCO-18SW450 or the OB specific models.
I’m gonna start with the 3-way top in Mono (with a MiniDSP 2x4HD and Rotel RB-976 MK2 from @AmDismal to get me up and running) and suppliment with my Castle Classic Sub for now and then sort out the bass section at a later date.
Planning to start off with single-order crossovers, the Volt BM2500.4 is very well behaved at the top end and has ample Xmax at the low end to get down to the 100-150Hz region, based on my sim in xBaffle.
Obviously when following on from the development a 2nd 2x4HD will be required, or another 4-way DSP unit.
My plan is to have a H-frame for the bass, a single 18" looks like a good compromise for my ~5m square room, two 15" or smaller could be an option but then the baffle gets wider or taller even with a W-Frame. SLOB style could be an option with multiple smaller drivers.
SB Audience do a great range of options, in 12", 15" and 18" with Open Baffle specific models with a higher Qts, or as I’m keeping it active and DSP, a medium Qts (~0.45-0.5) but a lower Fs and use a bit of the 10-11mm excursion as this is purely music rather than HT use.
I’m going to put castors on the base, so I can easily bring out the speaker for music nights for optimum positioning and then put back against the walls when not in use so not to dominate the room, hence the handles on the initial design.
Quick CAD approximation of the idea, may start off more modular for swapping out various midrange drivers.
xBaffle sim of a ~1200mm H-baffle for the bass and 600mm U-baffle midbass, obviosuly basic but gives and idea of the 18" models vs a pair of 15".
Time to get the track saw and router out next week!
The driver selection…
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That all looks very cool. I built some open baffle speakers and they sounded fantastic. As long as you have a decent sized bass driver the speed more than makes up for the lack of extension. At least, TWSS.
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I have a pair of there new PM2A and they are very good.
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Good stuff Rob. Loudspeaker DIY is a very practical way of getting the best sound for pound. For low volume level listening pleasure (for when kids are in bed) OB is a very good choice.
Given that you are about to embark on a new project - Could I interest you on a set of six 16 ohm baffles ? Free Gratis. You could use these panels perhaps as a baseline to help you firm up your baffle design. I have been using the Zen to drive them since August and still enjoying them.
Happy to post them.
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I have had an invite flyer for this as well - It’s temping but the timing is bad for me.
The bloke who bought my supravoxes Im still in touch with has some involvement I think
I mean, yes please, go on then Andy, in at the deep end!
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That’s good - Actually I didn’t know till this morning but I will be in Grove on 17/18th Nov - So can deliver
So should be able to deliver
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Been making a new sub plate for the new arm for the techy …in the post as I type @stu
I’m making another two to sandwich the old drilled one in the pic … Will be black vinyl wrapped when done.
anyone spot what these bits of soft alloy were in a previous life ? …
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Hard disks?
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Correct …the spacer rings for the platters make good vta shims for the Regas … although a little larger internal diameter…