I recently assembled a pair of speakers using Beyma 12XA30ND coaxial drivers (12"woofer mounted around a 2" throat compression driver) in a simple open baffle configuration. I've heard and owned many varieties of well regarded and exotic speakers over the years including Genelec Ones, electrostatic speakers (Quad 57s, KLH 9s, Acoustat 3s with servo amplifiers, King Sound, Soundlabs), JBL horns, Meyer Sound BlueHorns, full range drivers with ribbon tweeters, Apogee Studio Grand panel ribbons, Kharma Enigma, Wilsons, Magicos, Linkwitz LX521.4, plasma tweeters, vintage Tannoy silvers among others.
Many of these designs have major shortcomings -- panels are fussy, fragile, have poor dispersion and often present an unnatural sound due to large driver size, horns tend to have colorations which are oftentimes unbearable, many of these designs are excessively expensive, and some scarcely available to do failing parts and obsolescence.
I'm powering the Beymas with an inexpensive single ended 4w+4w tube amplifier -- https://www.ebay.com/itm/251524489767. According to the vendor this amp has low distortion specs for a single ended amplifier. I don't have measurement equipment so who knows... The combination with the high efficiency drivers and a Topping D90S sounds excellent. I'm using the recommended Beyma FD2XA crossover. In small open baffles the treble was a bit accentuated at first. There's an aluminum bridge pin on each crossover which can be removed to reduce the treble by 1.5db. This tamed the treble to a degree that is satisfactory. I believe that with more wattage (10W+ tube or 100W+ SS amplification) the frequency response would be more even. I intend to compare some higher watt solid state amplifiers with the inexpensive FU19 tube amp that I'm using now. And in addition bi amp the drivers in order to experiment with digital filters and make measurements. In addition I think a 15" complementary driver to handle the bass would improve these speakers further. All that said I'm drawn to the simplicity of the setup as it is right now compared with speakers which go the route of complexity (Genelec Ones, Kii 3s, Danley Synergy Horns, etc.).
I own two pairs of Genelec 8331As and have demoed a pair of 8351Bs in the same listening room as the Beymas. The primary difference when comparing the two speakers is the Genelecs seem constrained or limited in dynamics compared to the Beyma coaxials. And the Beymas have a more open and effortless presentation. I attribute this to the high efficiency drivers and possibly also the lack of DSP. Contrary to what I imagined would be the case, I prefer the treble detail of the Beyma drivers. They are more resolving than my Genelecs. These are outstanding drivers that are seldom matched at any price point. As anticipated the sound signature of these speakers is extremely dry and fast and they emit a sound that is dynamic and tactile.
Edit: Upon comparison with my other speakers, there is no perceived difference in dynamics between these Beymas and my Genelecs at normal listening levels. As mentioned the Beymas perform better at loud volumes which my 8331s can't reach without clipping severely. And I maintain that I prefer their performance to the Genelec 8351s which I demoed. My conclusion at this point, is that dynamics and driver technology and or sensitivity are not necessarily related. The Beymas are excellent for filling a large space as they can play loud without any reduction in resolution, and presumably have good directivity at mid to far field listening distances. My conclusion is that for any normal size home, a large coax like this one is sufficient. Horns are presumably necessary in larger venues, and or to achieve certain directivity characteristics, or if one desires to use a specific variety of compression driver for whatever reason.
Many of these designs have major shortcomings -- panels are fussy, fragile, have poor dispersion and often present an unnatural sound due to large driver size, horns tend to have colorations which are oftentimes unbearable, many of these designs are excessively expensive, and some scarcely available to do failing parts and obsolescence.
I'm powering the Beymas with an inexpensive single ended 4w+4w tube amplifier -- https://www.ebay.com/itm/251524489767. According to the vendor this amp has low distortion specs for a single ended amplifier. I don't have measurement equipment so who knows... The combination with the high efficiency drivers and a Topping D90S sounds excellent. I'm using the recommended Beyma FD2XA crossover. In small open baffles the treble was a bit accentuated at first. There's an aluminum bridge pin on each crossover which can be removed to reduce the treble by 1.5db. This tamed the treble to a degree that is satisfactory. I believe that with more wattage (10W+ tube or 100W+ SS amplification) the frequency response would be more even. I intend to compare some higher watt solid state amplifiers with the inexpensive FU19 tube amp that I'm using now. And in addition bi amp the drivers in order to experiment with digital filters and make measurements. In addition I think a 15" complementary driver to handle the bass would improve these speakers further. All that said I'm drawn to the simplicity of the setup as it is right now compared with speakers which go the route of complexity (Genelec Ones, Kii 3s, Danley Synergy Horns, etc.).
I own two pairs of Genelec 8331As and have demoed a pair of 8351Bs in the same listening room as the Beymas. The primary difference when comparing the two speakers is the Genelecs seem constrained or limited in dynamics compared to the Beyma coaxials. And the Beymas have a more open and effortless presentation. I attribute this to the high efficiency drivers and possibly also the lack of DSP. Contrary to what I imagined would be the case, I prefer the treble detail of the Beyma drivers. They are more resolving than my Genelecs. These are outstanding drivers that are seldom matched at any price point. As anticipated the sound signature of these speakers is extremely dry and fast and they emit a sound that is dynamic and tactile.
Edit: Upon comparison with my other speakers, there is no perceived difference in dynamics between these Beymas and my Genelecs at normal listening levels. As mentioned the Beymas perform better at loud volumes which my 8331s can't reach without clipping severely. And I maintain that I prefer their performance to the Genelec 8351s which I demoed. My conclusion at this point, is that dynamics and driver technology and or sensitivity are not necessarily related. The Beymas are excellent for filling a large space as they can play loud without any reduction in resolution, and presumably have good directivity at mid to far field listening distances. My conclusion is that for any normal size home, a large coax like this one is sufficient. Horns are presumably necessary in larger venues, and or to achieve certain directivity characteristics, or if one desires to use a specific variety of compression driver for whatever reason.
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