The Lowther Thread.....Drivers, Cabinets, Modifications, Listening Impressions

billfort - I can see where damping of any sort could easily get to be too much of a good thing. It becomes a very fine line.

I have not pulled the drivers to damp the chamber with D-flex as was also recommended by the Medallion designer. Also never loaded up the cabinets with lead shot or sand either.

Felting the fronts should reduce diffraction without deadening things.

The mouth of the back horn is just felted where you can see. I did not go any further than that.

The felt and the loading resistors was clearly too much.

The felt by itself? So far, so good.

More listening will be the ultimate test. :)
 
Golden Gate ER;n37271 said:
David, are you using the automotive type peal & stick sound damping felt?

Wool peel and stick felt. The information said nothing about automotive applications.

It's 1/4" thick as specified by the Medallion designer.
 
Been listening.....a lot.

The felted Medallion cabinets are, IMHO, well worth the minor cash outlay and time spent applying the felt to the cabinets.

More focused. More transparent. More 'there' there.

The emotional connection to the music is greater than no felt.....and I thought is was good before.

Music seems to emanate from a purer, 'blacker' background. No confusion at all even on complex passages.

Been playing less than audiophile recordings (Genesis, U2, Oingo Boingo, The Velvet Underground, Quicksilver Messenger Service) and, whereas I am aware that the recording is not top notch, the music shines through and listening is pleasurable.

On really good recordings? Absolutely scary at times.

So the question: Are the Lowther PM2a drivers in felted Medallion enclosures the speakers for everyone? I doubt it. There are obvious compromises with a single driver system at the frequency extremes. But the compromises are only at the extremes.

What they do right (transparency, emotional connection, rhythm, detail, musicality, the desire to listen to more music) they do exceptionally right.

I'll have to see if the urge to rotate in another pair of speakers hits any time soon. It would not surprise me at all if that urge never comes.

With the felted enclosures, these just might be 'it' for me.... :)
 
Interesting. I've yet to hear a pair of Lowthers but now I know what to do if I ever trip over a pair. :)

In case I missed it earlier, what are you using for Amplification with these David?
 
marantzfan;n37771 said:
Interesting. I've yet to hear a pair of Lowthers but now I know what to do if I ever trip over a pair. :)

In case I missed it earlier, what are you using for Amplification with these David?

Implemented incorrectly, Lowthers can be pretty brutal. If you find a pair and want to get addicted, call me and I'll be happy to do a data dump of everything I've learned to do.....and not to do. ;)

Regarding electronics: Prototype Quicksilver Phono Preamp, prototype Quicksilver Dual Mono Line Stage Preamp and prototype Quicksilver 300B Monoblock amps.

The more I change, the more I keep going back to the same wonderful place. ;)
 
Yes, frequency extremes and dynamics - the areas of compromise I couldn't live with so went in a slightly different direction - but there is some real magic in a Lowther on a 300B - the combination that changed audio for me and solidly set me on the low power SET/high-efficiency speaker path. Even all these years later on listening to many things on the same path (and way off of it!), I still think there is some things the PM2A/Medallion on 300B combination can do that nothing else can and I can see why you keep returning to it David - I bet it's a nice place to be.

Sure would like to hear a pair of Medallions (on 300B or 2A3) with the felt mod - sounds like some nice icing on the cake.
 
billfort;n37813 said:
Yes, frequency extremes and dynamics - the areas of compromise I couldn't live with so went in a slightly different direction - but there is some real magic in a Lowther on a 300B - the combination that changed audio for me and solidly set me on the low power SET/high-efficiency speaker path. Even all these years later on listening to many things on the same path (and way off of it!), I still think there is some things the PM2A/Medallion on 300B combination can do that nothing else can and I can see why you keep returning to it David - I bet it's a nice place to be.

Sure would like to hear a pair of Medallions (on 300B or 2A3) with the felt mod - sounds like some nice icing on the cake.


Thank you, my friend.....

In theory, the felt should work to to reduce out-of-phase middle and high frequencies that could normally emanate from the back loaded horn. There is one more mod (adding D-flex to the driver chamber) but I am not in too big of a hurry to go there. Maybe someday. ;)

I'm just glad that it worked.....getting the felt, and adhesive, off would have been a pain in the ass.

I may eventually try integrating a pair of subs. Would probably have to get everything else out of the room to position the subs in the corners behind the Lowthers. The 15" Eminence Alphas in the Karlssons? Or maybe the bass horns from the LaScalas? In any event, the overall presentation is certainly balanced so I don't feel the need to do anything - except play some more music..... :)
 
After three weeks of listening, I am happy to report that my preliminary listening impressions have been confirmed.

Transparent, dynamic, balanced, musical, listenable, involving......these are a few of the descriptions I noted.

Two observations: 1) The Lowther/Medallions are not the best Metal or Rap speakers. They do fine on the Progressive Rock and 60s/70s Rock I listen to. 2) The Lowther/Medallions do a very respectable job of reproducing what you feed them. Good recordings will sound like good recordings. Bad recordings will not be magically transformed.

I find myself looking for excuses to disappear into my listening room so I can listen. :)

Folks usually either love Lowthers or they don't. This combination may not be for everyone but it sure connects with me. :)
 
TubeHiFiNut;n39410 said:
I find myself looking for excuses to disappear into my listening room so I can listen. :)

Now to me, that is the last word on this David - congrats on a 'measurable' (at least the one that matters!) improvement.

It's funny how listening experiences fade from memory for me, but I still remember hearing PM2A/Medallions on 300Bs - THE catalyst that set me on the SET path. I'd love to hear how far you've taken this mix someday!
 
Just bought a pair of Pm6a's and they are really nice. I have a .51mH inductor and a 6.8ohm resistor in parallel in the + side. Make's me want to go higher up the ladder. File won't load. Down to 300 pixels, now 100
 
Just bought a pair of Pm6a's and they are really nice. I have a .51mH inductor and a 6.8ohm resistor in parallel in the + side. Make's me want to go higher up the ladder. File won't load. Down to 300 pixels, now 100

I am so jonesing to set the Lowthers up with my new 2A3 amp.
 
Hi, in the woods, which cabinet is that? I'm intending to make/buy some Lowther based speakers in the New Year but can't make up my mind which cabinet/driver combination to go for. At the moment if I decide to make them Medallion II with PM7A is probably favourite followed by All Fun Horns with either DX3/4's or PM7A's. If I buy them then I may just go for some old Acoustas with PM6A's to get a flavour of what they do and then if I like them look for something to keep for the longer term. My amp is a PSE 2A3 design. My current speakers are Reference 3A Episode's. I haven't heard Lowthers for a few years, and never in my own system, hence my indecision!
 
Hi, in the woods, which cabinet is that? I'm intending to make/buy some Lowther based speakers in the New Year but can't make up my mind which cabinet/driver combination to go for. At the moment if I decide to make them Medallion II with PM7A is probably favourite followed by All Fun Horns with either DX3/4's or PM7A's. If I buy them then I may just go for some old Acoustas with PM6A's to get a flavour of what they do and then if I like them look for something to keep for the longer term. My amp is a PSE 2A3 design. My current speakers are Reference 3A Episode's. I haven't heard Lowthers for a few years, and never in my own system, hence my indecision!

No PM2As?
 
No, although I must admit they are tempting. However from my reading I understand that the Medallion was designed using PM7A's so they should give a better balanced sound than the PM2A's which I believe can be slightly bright. Also PM7A's should work in the All Fun Horn while the magnets on PM2A's are much too big to fit making the PM7A's a more flexible choice for me in the first instance.

I've recently been given the plans for the Opus One which if I like the Lowther sound would probably be an "end game" speaker for me, and a good long term project. However they really need the PM4A rather than the PM2A otherwise I would have been swayed to try the PM2A's to start with.
 
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