L' Orfeo - design concept
The L'Orfeo loudspeaker is designed to be a reference grade, two-way speaker kit based on very high quality components in a cleverly thought out and easy to build enclosure. The relatively compact and slim shape of this floorstander should integrate into many an interior, especailly when you consider that the finishing options are nearly endless if you build them yourself. The main ingredients are an 18cm Scanspeak Illuminator midwoofer combined with a large Mundorf Air Motion Transformer tweeter. Both were chosen for their high resolution, low distortion and wide usable bandwidth. Furthermore the final system should have a healthy 8 ohm nominal impedance so that the choise of a partnering amplifier is made easier. And last but not least, the overall tonal balance must be extremely neutral so that this loudspeaker can be used as a tool as well as a means to listen to a large, varied repetoire of music.
This Illuminator midwoofer from the Danish company Scanspeak is in every aspect an unusual design with it's open construction, the extremely long linear excursion and patented under-hung SD-3 (Symmetrical Drive) neodymium motor system, which due to copper caps and its construction ensures very low distortion, adding the unique patented cones, low-loss linear suspension the result is (if we are to believe Scanspeak): “The Very Best Money Can Buy”! The L'Orfeo uses the Scanspeak 18WU8741T-00 paper cone version which produces a remarkable combination of deep bass and midrange neutrality - ideal if you're looking for wide bandwidth from a relatively small enclosure. I have found this driver to be very flexible and can be used in many cabinet types ranging from small, well damped closed boxes of about 15 litres up to large bass-reflex systems getting close to 40 litres and with only a small amount of damping material inside. The L' Orfeo bass-reflex cabinet has an internal volume of 35 litres but if your space is limited or the speakers have to be placed very close to a wall, it is possible to build the L' Orfeo as a (smaller) closed box without any alterations to the crossover. More about the cabinet design in the next chapter.
The Mundorf AMT (Air Motion Transformer) Concert Model 2510c has very strong neodymium magnets and a low mass diaphragm foil that together give high efficiency and fine microdynamics combined with remarkably high SPL while maintaining a very low distortion ratio. According to the german magazine Hobby-Hifi the AMT 2510c has some of the lowest distortion levels they have ever measured! This tweeter is "holographically" precise in its depth, clarity, and transparent performance - very dynamic! Finally it has a low-resonance chamber that is damped with multiple layers of felt. Internally the AMT is constructed with Mundorf's Silver-Gold wire and terminated in gold-plated banana sockets for easy connection with the supplied plugs. Basically this all boils down to an excellent tweeter with extremely high resolution without ever getting "edgy" or harsh.
 
So the L'Orfeo loudspeaker uses one of the best midwoofers and one of the best tweeters available today. The art is to combine these two, using high-grade crossover components, very pure internal wiring and a clever cabinet concept, to a seamless and coherent unity in a package that should please a large potential audience. As mentioned earlier, the choise of cabinet finish will give you the possibility to match them to your personal budget and interior. The L'Orfeo is available as a complete DIY kit including every part down to the last screw except for the cabinets. Seeing as labour is the most expensive part of any product, you can save a lot of money if you build the cabinets yourself. The loudspeaker is designed in such a way that all the panels are rectangular and can be glued together with butted joints - so there are no difficult angles to cut and only the tweeter is recessed.
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