Speaker Talk

We cover the sustainability of bamboo, a material we both value highly as a lower carbon impact alternative. Then it’s on to our current thinking about marketing, specifically social media and upcoming in-person events, as Trystan has a launch planned for his new product, Ivy (which is also a beautiful example of how the Ogam rebrand has lent itself to product nomenclature!).

This leads us to reflect again on the exact appeal of our products and how best to get that message across to the wider public.

I discuss the progress of my mini monitor, or more specifically lack thereof as time has been hard to come by. Everything is in hand to build the first pair though, so it’s time to push it forward!

Trystan’s moved into his new workshop and is busy making it functional after a minor flood - good start! We also hear about how his new full range speaker is being received by his mixing engineer friend and studio clients in a near field monitoring scenario - very well it seems which is a fantastic reception for the new model.

I discuss progress on my 2-way mini monitor prototype, and re-hash the concept and intended execution. It’s sounding really good - once the placement is sorted out, imaging is spot on and midrange/treble neutrality is a treat. Exactly what we’d expect. Low bass is limited, but careful attention to placement can do wonders!

All in all, both speaker designs from Ogam and Lucie should present a compelling argument for a small passive speaker that is designed, built and finished to a beautiful standard using the best materials, and will delight their owners for decades to come, for all the right reasons.

It’s been a minute, so lots to catch up on! Trystan reveals a rebrand, Gwedd has become Ogam - he explains it’s origins in Celtic lore, and in a direct foundation in the natural world, thereby focusing attention on the values of sustainability so central to his vision.

I expound on R&D developments, as I start to look for a future hardware platform to hitch the Lucie wagon to - after MiniDSP has pulled the pin on their OEM activities. There’s not much in the way of answers yet, but certainly some interesting prospects. Only problem is time, and money, and expertise in programming.

Meanwhile, speakers! I want to build a compact two-way monitor, in the spirit of the LS3.5a. Modern drivers, passive crossover, vintage style cabinet, affordable, Lucie sonic signature. I think there’s a compelling argument there.

Trystan’s got a new workshop, and while there’s a bit of work to do to make it shipshape, it sounds ideal.

I report back on some recent in-store room correction demos, in which the takeaway is there is definitely a law of diminishing returns if you’ve already applied physical room treatments. In your average ‘live’ room with no existing treatment however, we can do wonders.

Trystan’s progressing on his 3DTek router build, and we reflect on where we are in overall progress, roughly 6 months into these conversations, and coming to terms with balancing the various activities required to grow our businesses.

On my side, some R&D attention is turning to building a more affordable entry point product which would be some kind of self contained speaker, respecting as many Lucie sonic qualities as possible at the projected price point.

Lucie has some challenges ahead, as MiniDSP announce they are moving away from the OEM market to focus on boxed retail products. While this is disheartening , it may be the impetus needed to expand our own in-house capabilities, as resources allow. In the meantime I’m preparing to present at two upcoming events in Melbourne and Adelaide retailers respectively.

Trystan’s been at a maker fair in Birmingham alongside 3DTek, and he’s brought home a CNC router! we discuss some basics about these machines, their construction, capabilities and limitations, and where this new tool may fit best into the Gwedd construction process.

Also - Trystan’s got his hands on some SB Acoustics Satori drivers to try out, and a CNC cautionary horror story.

In which I again have not much to report (professionally at least), but I do have some questions about Tidal, in relation to some tracks that I get asked to play in demo scenarios that sound, well, patently bad, while others are described as revelatory and the best rendition the requester has ever heard! Is it the system? is it the source? is it the master? Who knows!

Trystan’s got some new material in from a supplier, and we discuss his plan of attack and a possible impending foray into CNC, thanks to mutual friends 3DTek who are soon to be launching in the UK by the sounds of it.

We finish up with Trystan’s experience of a new driver technology he’s had the chance to play with. Balanced Mode Radiators have been in use for some time in Cambridge Audio’s compact speakers, and seem on paper to offer some compelling advantages. They combine the properties of a conventional pistonic driver in the lower frequencies, but start to behave like a flat panel radiator in higher frequencies. I’m keen to hear Trystan’s take on the subjective differences, as this could be the next big thing particularly in context of smaller entry level speakers.

It's been fairly quiet at Lucie HQ, but that presents some opportunity for 'quality assurance testing' and thinking about ways to streamline production costs of the pre-amp as I go forward. Trystan however has been out and about demonstrating his two ways side by side with a pair of Tannoy Arden 15s in a studio control room. We explore the design of the Tannoys and what differences we might expect between the two loudspeakers in the space, and how that played out from Trystan's point of view, ending with some high praise for Gwedd's speaker from the engineer.

Trystan’s attended the Bristol hi-fi show, and I’m keen to find out what the mood was like for the attendees and exhibitors, and what gear/companies stood out. We go into more detail about the merits of Trystan’s prototype full rangers, how he likes the sound, and where future designs could take him.

I talk about a recent demo that was very well received, with favourable comparisons to some big players, which was super nice to hear. I’m trying a different tweeter in the Studio One demo pair, with very minor subjective differences.

Lucie is thinking about future hardware - ie. plate amps. Could I? Should I? What are the advantages? It’s all about what the market wants and I’m considering options for a one-box active solution, but it’s all pie in the sky until the R&D budget is there.

Current affairs - Trystan’s moving house (again!) and I’m scrambling to get my demo room back together for an appointment in 2 days and the gear’s not finished! We continue our theory focus and move in to a discussion of crossovers - what do they do, and what are their component parts? Finally we get to talk about Trystan’s full range project and his impressions of the Tang Band full range drivers he’s chosen, and what else might be tried in future.

Trystan's revamped his website to great effect, and I'm waiting on parts before I can get back to building pre-amps. As we've already touched on technical matters in previous shows, this episode we go back to first principles and look in detail at the properties of loudspeaker drivers, and how their design choices impact their performance and utility in our designs.