E-250 (Dual BG Neo8S) Review:
I was introduced to Troy Joseph Crowe through a comment made in an Audio Circle Forum which identified his integration of a BG Neo8 driver into a horn application. This was something I had always desired; being able to utilize the extremely fast transient performance of a planar driver loaded in a waveguide to capture the dynamics more associated with a live performance.
I reached out and Troy responded. We communicated back and forth considering various configurations, including doubling up on the drivers to provide a bit more output capability considering my listening area, which is approximately 18 feet by 30 feet, with the listening location about the midway point. I also planned to marry them to a pair of open baffle dual servo bass units which were also a better match in speed for the planar drivers.
Troy creatively arrived at a curved horn configuration which is now identified as the E-250 Front Horn. The horn design exploited the BG NEO8S performance range, extending a useful crossover point down to less than 250Hz, and so was a decent match to the servo bass units. Troy shared his tested FRD and ZMA driver impedance files which were useful for input for my individual testing at home and quickened the path to configuring a crossover for my individual listening space. The final configured crossover resulted in a simple single order which was easily tuned.
The horn design employed a composite stack of precision CAD cut Baltic Birch plywood sheet elements similar to stacking Lego blocks. The horns were well packaged and organized making it easy to open and intuitively proceed directly into assembly. The individual sheet elements were dowel designed allowing me to reassemble and bond in a truly short time. See Figure 1.
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Figure 1 |
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Figure 2 |
And resulted in the assembled configuration shown in Figures 2. I went ahead and put a finish on the speakers and proceeded to the listening room.
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Figure 4 |
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Figure 5 |
The reward was well worth the effort and exceeded my performance expectations. I was fortunate to be able to A/B listen against an open baffle non-waveguided BG Neo3/Neo10 MTM configuration which shared the same servo bass unit with the Dual Neo8S waveguide. See figures 4 and 5 for side by side and room set-up. Both speaker performances were very good and extremely detailed and the best I have heard in my experience. Even though both speakers performed so well my preference was clear as I kept returning to the Dual NEO8S waveguide for delivering a preferred more dynamic and live music presentation, hands down. The music just comes alive and I cannot pull myself away. I have to get a better recliner now.
Troy who was great to work with and went over and beyond to listen to my requirements and desires and then delivered. His communication and his CAD/CNC design aptitude was clearly demonstrated. I look forward to working with him again further down the road at the next opportunity. The journey never ends as you all well know but I am much further along thanks to Troy.
Terry