Field Coil Driver Panel Discussion at Southwest Audio Fest 2024

[Ron Resnick]

 

[cjfrbw]

Interesting talk, thanks Ron. I always wondered if there was anybody who ever attempted field coil ribbon speakers to really ramp up the efficiency.

 

[the sound of Tao]

That was great to be able to watch the discussion… many thanks Ron for making the video to share and to Ken and John for so openly sharing their experience and insights into field coils… such a fascinating area of speaker design! Much appreciated.

 

[hopkins]

There is indeed a lot of fascination for field coil drivers. I was quite disappointed with the sound of the Wolf Von Langa Son, which I was finally able to audition after having read so many glowing reviews. I don't think you can get that highly resolving/articulate/dynamic sound of vintage drivers by simply taking a modern driver and using it with a field coil. Also, the quality of the power supply surely has some impact, and that is something that is rarely discussed.

Has anyone heard the new Audio Note AN-E field coil model?

 

[Ron Resnick]

There is indeed a lot of fascination for field coil drivers. I was quite disappointed with the sound of the Wolf Von Langa Son, which I was finally able to audition after having read so many glowing reviews.

Very interesting. That's what makes this a subjective hobby. A dear friend of mine recently bought the Wolf Von Langa Son, and he loves them.

I think Dave McNair liked them, too.

Has anyone heard the new Audio Note AN-E field coil model?

I'm pretty sure I heard this model at both Capitol Audio Fest last year and SWAF last weekend. Subjectively and personally these just don't do it for me the way Ken's speakers do.

 

[hopkins]

Very interesting. That's what makes this a subjective hobby. A dear friend of mine recently bought the Wolf Von Langa Son, and he loves them.

I think Dave McNair liked them, too.

Perhaps my expectations were too high! I also knows someone who likes them a lot, and uses them with subs, which seems like a good idea.

 

[christensenleif@msn.com]

There is indeed a lot of fascination for field coil drivers. I was quite disappointed with the sound of the Wolf Von Langa Son, which I was finally able to audition after having read so many glowing reviews. I don't think you can get that highly resolving/articulate/dynamic sound of vintage drivers by simply taking a modern driver and using it with a field coil. Also, the quality of the power supply surely has some impact, and that is something that is rarely discussed.

Has anyone heard the new Audio Note AN-E field coil model?

just heard in Oslo Audio Show with Ankuro monos and it was sounding very dynamic, clean and rich, if a tad too rich,which might be due to corner placement in smallish hotel room

 

[Ron Resnick]

Perhaps my expectations were too high! I also knows someone who likes them a lot, and uses them with subs, which seems like a good idea.

My friend does not use them with subwoofers. But I totally would use them with subwoofers.

 

[davidavdavid]

I'm one of those folks enamoured with the Wolf von Langa SON speakers. My avatar is taken from a photograph of the cabinet. The finish on my pair is simultaneously intoxicating and unique.

Colin King, Wolf Von Langa's US importer, came by mine back in early December to assist me with the unboxing and placement. I am currently making use of them WITHOUT subwoofers and am more than pleased... I'm tickled with the results. My current system: English Acoustics 41C valve/tube amplifier, Belcanto Designs s300 i/u preamplifier, SW1X DAC II, SW1X LPU I phono stage, Denon DP-61F turntable fitted with Audio Technica VM 760 SLC Dual MM Stereo cartridge, Accusound & SW1X Interconnects, Van den Hul speaker cables & jumpers, and power cables all around from Folsom.

 

[the sound of Tao]

There is indeed a lot of fascination for field coil drivers. I was quite disappointed with the sound of the Wolf Von Langa Son, which I was finally able to audition after having read so many glowing reviews. I don't think you can get that highly resolving/articulate/dynamic sound of vintage drivers by simply taking a modern driver and using it with a field coil. Also, the quality of the power supply surely has some impact, and that is something that is rarely discussed.

Has anyone heard the new Audio Note AN-E field coil model?

I’ve only heard consistent positives about the Son also, perhaps it was about your expectations or in the context of the demo maybe… what setup did you hear them in… and I suppose which vintage field coils are you then referencing in terms of what you expected the Son field coil to sound like. It would be great to get the data point in what you found in the demo either way.

It’s also maybe unrealistic to confidently parse out all the qualities found in your experience within a speaker demonstration to then go on to determine the potential of the WVL field coil driver alone. But I get the desire to work out what’s going on with the speakers as much as possible… it’s one of the challenges of not having longer exposure to a bit of gear within your own system at home.

 

[Glide3]

There is indeed a lot of fascination for field coil drivers. I was quite disappointed with the sound of the Wolf Von Langa Son, which I was finally able to audition after having read so many glowing reviews. I don't think you can get that highly resolving/articulate/dynamic sound of vintage drivers by simply taking a modern driver and using it with a field coil. Also, the quality of the power supply surely has some impact, and that is something that is rarely discussed.

Has anyone heard the new Audio Note AN-E field coil model?

I was able to hear both the WVL London and the AN-E fieldcoil at the California Audio Show in Emeryville CA in September last year.
It was the US debut of the speaker.
I was impressed with the London but not so much with the AN.
According to Nick Gowan, the pair weren’t yet broken in.
I also felt they were very compromised by the room and set-up
I would want to hear them again but can’t imagine how they could accomplish what the London can. I have never hear the Son to compare.

I have direct experience with both the WVL 12” field coil and the Supravox 285 EXC in my DIY speakers (I use AER BD3 in a full roll leclech horn from 200hz-18k and the fieldcoil from 45-200hz)
A close friend is nearly complete with a speaker build that will pair Maxonic 301 FC tweeter, 501 FC mid and WVL 12” with Tungar power supply for each driver. Anxious the see how this effort sounds
I like what field coils bring to the table in terms of how open and subjectively fast they sound.
The ability to “adjust” sensitivity and QTS via the voltage applied is also very helpful in blending with other drivers and the environment they play in

 

[Glide3]

BTW…I am very anxious to hear the Songer speakers!!

 

[tima]

I'm one of those folks enamoured with the Wolf von Langa SON speakers. My avatar is taken from a photograph of the cabinet. The finish on my pair is simultaneously intoxicating and unique.

Colin King, Wolf Von Langa's US importer, came by mine back in early December to assist me with the unboxing and placement. I am currently making use of them WITHOUT subwoofers and am more than pleased... I'm ticked with the results. My current system: English Acoustics 41C valve/tube amplifier, ampsandsound Stereo preamplifier, SW1X DAC II, SW1X LPU I phono stage, Denon DP-61F turntable fitted with Audio Technica VM 760 SLC Dual MM Stereo cartridge, Accusound & SW1X Interconnects, Van den Hul speaker cables & jumpers, and power cables all around from Folsom.

There's also a BelCanto Designs s300 integrated which powers the Ophidian Minimos (micro monitors) for sound output from the television.

View attachment 127313

How did you choose to have your SONs pointed upward? Is it an effort to project more into the mid portion of room space? Does doing that impact the size of the soundstage?

Without footers the mid-woofer center is ~20 inches from the floor. What footers (or multiple footers) are you using, and what is the height at mid-woofer center on your setup with the footers?

I'm curious on your take as perspective was the first thing I noticed when I had them in-house. I spent a portion of my SON review talking about their height, footers and listening perspective.

 

[spiritofmusic]

No input on Treehaus Audiolabs Audio here?

 

[dcathro]

I'm one of those folks enamoured with the Wolf von Langa SON speakers. My avatar is taken from a photograph of the cabinet. The finish on my pair is simultaneously intoxicating and unique.

Colin King, Wolf Von Langa's US importer, came by mine back in early December to assist me with the unboxing and placement. I am currently making use of them WITHOUT subwoofers and am more than pleased... I'm ticked with the results. My current system: English Acoustics 41C valve/tube amplifier, ampsandsound Stereo preamplifier, SW1X DAC II, SW1X LPU I phono stage, Denon DP-61F turntable fitted with Audio Technica VM 760 SLC Dual MM Stereo cartridge, Accusound & SW1X Interconnects, Van den Hul speaker cables & jumpers, and power cables all around from Folsom.

There's also a BelCanto Designs s300 integrated which powers the Ophidian Minimos (micro monitors) for sound output from the television.

View attachment 127313

Love that veneer!!

 

[davidavdavid]

I'm one of those folks enamoured with the Wolf von Langa SON speakers. My avatar is taken from a photograph of the cabinet. The finish on my pair is simultaneously intoxicating and unique.

Colin King, Wolf Von Langa's US importer, came by mine back in early December to assist me with the unboxing and placement. I am currently making use of them WITHOUT subwoofers and am more than pleased... I'm tickled with the results. My current system: English Acoustics 41C valve/tube amplifier, ampsandsound Stereo preamplifier, SW1X DAC II, SW1X LPU I phono stage, Denon DP-61F turntable fitted with Audio Technica VM 760 SLC Dual MM Stereo cartridge, Accusound & SW1X Interconnects, Van den Hul speaker cables & jumpers, and power cables all around from Folsom.

There's also a BelCanto Designs s300 integrated which powers the Ophidian Minimos (micro monitors) for sound output from the television.



View attachment 127313

I was asked about my decision not to employ subwoofers, and in my particular situation: room size/dimensions, along with the English Acoustic 41C valve/tube amplifier there's just no need. The amplifier maintains a vice-like grip on the bass. It's as if the two were designed for each other. I cannot say enough about the British amplifier designer and I look forward to acquiring one of his preamplifier designs much sooner than later. Here is a link to English Acoustics

 

[Superchunk]

I like the sons so much I've decided to try and mimic what I liked about them, with some changes, in my own build.

I intend to use the ems ma5ex which is a smaller 5" full range, open baffle, and supported by two open baffle woofers per side and a tweeter (super tweeter?).

I have high hopes for the build.

 

[davidavdavid]

BTW…I am very anxious to hear the Songer speakers!!

I heard the Songer speakers last year in California and would like to hear them at AXPONA but from what I gather I don't see them exhibiting as of yet. I understand there is a new model. The funny thing is that all the folks I speak to about this brand are torn between the open baffle and closed cabinet models. And when I say torn, the feelings can get rather strident on the matter.

FWIW, Wolf Von Langa will be at AXPONA exhibiting in Room 592.

 

[TKK]

No input on Treehaus Audiolabs Audio here?

Their preamp/amp look very interesting to me. Great circuit design + good looking to me. Really consider purchasing their 10/801A drives 300B amp. It basically has everything what I ask for a dream 300B amp --- DHT drivers, interstage trans, nice vintage looking, filament regulators + display + adjustable voltages on the board, nano/finemet core for trans, and made into two nominal sized boxes that can fit into my living room rack. Great balance between how much "I" want to do with the power supply and the actual size for the boxes.

Looking forward to hear the amp in person before I pull the trigger tho. Their preamp is also worth looking into. Finemet TVC + remote control + DHT (4P1L), really is something we kind of lack in the tube preamp market.

Speaking of their speakers, personally less interested in the OB design. However, the field coil drivers they used are amazing + it has a nice tube power supply. If they make a horn speakers, then....

 

[Ron Resnick]

The Treehaus speakers looked and sounded great! I just like field coil.

Rich Pinto is a delight!