TLAH sound

For livingroom sound better than in a theatre.
Message
Author
Line92
Posts: 48
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2020 12:54 am
Location: Sweden

Re: TLAH sound

#16 Post by Line92 »

Keryn O'Shea wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 5:46 am Which species of timber is that Linus, and is it a stained finish? The colour is so nice.. also backmounting drivers to me looks much cleaner, more work but worth it.
Imagine how amazing the sound is going to be with a proper bottom end... you could drag in one of your T60s
Thanks! That is 3/4" Pine, edge glued strips, usually sold as a shelf haha.
I used stain, just a little black in the mix, nothing special but i got the advice from a local colour shop :)
I used a sponge to smear it out, i think four times, letting it dry up between.
I should have used hot water on the wood before using the stain, it was my first time doing this and if you dont put hot water on the wood before you stain it, you get these small fibers to rise up and get sharp and difficult to remove, mainly where i used the router with the 45° angle on all the holes in the baffle.

Yeah if i would do another TLAH i would not backmount the drivers again :lol: soo much time and work, but yeah i also think it looks really nice!
A frame and black cloth is also very good looking at that shape, and its possible to do something cool with that also :)

Yeah i was thinking of trying my AT indoors with the TLAH, its a bit easier to move around than one of the T60s hehe.

Me and my wife sat down and had a listen do these speakers, and we were more and more amazed of how they sound, the more i listed the more i love them, they are bright yes, but after a couple of hour playing they got more fullnes, warmth and bass. (My wife should not hesitate one second to tell me if the speakers i spent much time to build sounded good or bad to her haha!)

The sensitivity is something else and the way they can make a voice really sound authentic and real is very cool.
The soundstage they present is something i never heard before, you get besides of left/right a very deep and 3D image of the sound, and with a good sized room thats more like 30-40 m² with some kind of acoustic treatments like diffusers and maybe some absorbers i cant imagine how good these could sound, paired with a couple of Bills amazing subwoofers it would make the perfect stereo soundsystem for me.

Bill, i liked that article you sent, very good reading!
SLA PRO 4X6
T60 2x20"
Labgruppen fP6400. fP2400Q. DBX Driverack PA2
TLAH
AT 20"
TRT

User avatar
Bill Fitzmaurice
Site Admin
Posts: 28619
Joined: Tue May 02, 2006 5:59 pm

Re: TLAH sound

#17 Post by Bill Fitzmaurice »

Line92 wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 8:32 am The sensitivity is something else and the way they can make a voice really sound authentic and real is very cool.
When someone comes into my house when I have the TV on they think that the voices they hear coming from the living room are actual people in the living room, not the TV. It's something that even those who have typical HT systems have never experienced before.

By all means post a review. I'll put it on the catalog page as well, it needs one.

Keryn O'Shea
Posts: 444
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 5:50 pm
Location: Brisbane, Australia

Re: TLAH sound

#18 Post by Keryn O'Shea »

Line92 wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 8:32 am I should have used hot water on the wood before using the stain
Can you elaborate on this, or link a technique, I'm interested in experimenting with different finishes, and know zero about staining.
Bill Fitzmaurice wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 10:28 am When someone comes into my house when I have the TV on they think that the voices they hear coming from the living room are actual people in the living room
Absolutely! -"Who else is here?" :lol:
Line92 wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 8:32 am The soundstage they present is something i never heard before
TLAHs are like tractor beams, if you walk past them when something you like is playing, you'll involuntarily move to melt into the couch, totally forget what you were doing, listen with waves of goosebumps, wipe off the dribble then carry on..
AT8 14", AT10 19", T30 28" LAB12, T48 36" 3015LF, THT 20" LAB15, SLA 4x3"/4x4", CArray 6x4", TLAH, TLAP, J10 FLat, J12 Flat, OT12 Flat, OT15 CD, SLAP 2x6"/4x6", WH8, DR280 Mld'd, XF210. Next J10L

User avatar
Bill Fitzmaurice
Site Admin
Posts: 28619
Joined: Tue May 02, 2006 5:59 pm

Re: TLAH sound

#19 Post by Bill Fitzmaurice »

Keryn O'Shea wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 4:52 am
Line92 wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 8:32 am I should have used hot water on the wood before using the stain
Can you elaborate on this, or link a technique, I'm interested in experimenting with different finishes, and know zero about staining.
Hot water raises the little whiskers that hide in the grain of the wood, so they can be sanded off. It's something you mainly do with softwoods.

9830Lark
Posts: 106
Joined: Wed Apr 20, 2022 9:36 am
Location: Georgetown, TX

Re: TLAH sound

#20 Post by 9830Lark »

Keryn O'Shea wrote: Thu Feb 02, 2023 4:52 am
Can you elaborate on this, or link a technique, I'm interested in experimenting with different finishes, and know zero about staining.
It's generally always a good practice to raise the grain. I do it during the sanding process. Sand to 300 grit, lightly wet the wood (wipe with a damp cloth), then re-sand with 300.
https://info.lagunatools.com/what-is-grain-raising

User avatar
AntonZ
Posts: 2664
Joined: Sun May 14, 2006 6:00 am
Location: NL

Re: TLAH sound

#21 Post by AntonZ »

Line92 wrote: Wed Feb 01, 2023 8:32 am I should have used hot water on the wood before using the stain, it was my first time doing this and if you dont put hot water on the wood before you stain it, you get these small fibers to rise up and get sharp and difficult to remove, mainly where i used the router with the 45° angle on all the holes in the baffle.
I have no experience staining, but I do recognize the fibers rising up. Typically it happens on all softwoods when you apply a first coat of whatever finish, be it lacquer, paint, varnish or whatever. It is my impression that the fibers are already there before you apply the first coat. They are just soft and smooth as they move any which way with touch. The first finish coat makes the fibers inflexible and hard thus causing the surface to suddenly feel rough to the touch when the first coat has dried. A process actually very similar to glass fiber after applying polyester or epoxy when you think about it. For this reason on whatever softwood finish I use a very fine grain sandpaper after the first coat. The fibers being hard and inflexible makes them easy to sand off. It is not about sanding off the first layer. Just light sanding only, and light touch tells me when the fibers are all gone. When done right, after the second coat the wood will feel much smoother than after the first.

The only exceptions I know of are products such as Dura-Tex, Warnex, truck bed liner. They are thick enough to fully embed the fibers on the first coat. And coming to think of it the fibers may actually help that coat stick even better to the wood. Somewhat similar to reinforced concrete (and glass fiber).

The hot water trick is new to me, thanks for the heads up about that. I will read up on it, although I have always been happy with the fine grain sanding after a first layer.

Keryn O'Shea
Posts: 444
Joined: Sat Jan 26, 2013 5:50 pm
Location: Brisbane, Australia

Re: TLAH sound

#22 Post by Keryn O'Shea »

Wicked info, cheers!
AT8 14", AT10 19", T30 28" LAB12, T48 36" 3015LF, THT 20" LAB15, SLA 4x3"/4x4", CArray 6x4", TLAH, TLAP, J10 FLat, J12 Flat, OT12 Flat, OT15 CD, SLAP 2x6"/4x6", WH8, DR280 Mld'd, XF210. Next J10L

Line92
Posts: 48
Joined: Wed Apr 15, 2020 12:54 am
Location: Sweden

Re: TLAH sound

#23 Post by Line92 »

Little update on testing. Full review will come later 👍
I will test these later in a local Hifi shop where they can really shine in a big, well treated room.

I did some basic wall mounts and hung them in my 40m² (430ft²) garage, it is usually really bad acoustics in there, long empty walls, concrete floor and a weird shape at 4x10m.
Filled up the cabs a bit more with pillow stuffing, completely filled but not compact at all, half a pillow for 2 cabs.

Hooked them up to my amp rack and did a autoeq and some adjustments by ear, paired with my two T60s.
I first tried without subs and did a wide Q low shelf 110hz eq and boosted it to about 6dB, and a very narrow Q 55hz 3dB boost, and a 40hz hp filter.
Wow, now they are more warm and rich sounding and the bass is there, not deep, but some in the 60-70hz kick range, enough for most music that uses real instruments.
Deactivated the autoeq and it somehow sounded even better.
Set a 100hz hp, started the subs and damn!
With sub/s i dont think the TLAH need eq, its very difficult to explain the sound but they can produce a fantastic clean, high, wide soundstage at very high spl, especially for their size, its like nothing i have ever listened to, and they somehow sound very good and natural even with bad room acoustics.

I do think it took me a while before i got used to their sound, and now when i listen to other speakers, or headphones, in the car, or wherever, i just wish it was the TLAH 8)
Attachments
20230205_193232.jpg
20230205_192318.jpg
SLA PRO 4X6
T60 2x20"
Labgruppen fP6400. fP2400Q. DBX Driverack PA2
TLAH
AT 20"
TRT

User avatar
Bill Fitzmaurice
Site Admin
Posts: 28619
Joined: Tue May 02, 2006 5:59 pm

Re: TLAH sound

#24 Post by Bill Fitzmaurice »

Line92 wrote: Tue Feb 07, 2023 3:41 am they somehow sound very good and natural even with bad room acoustics.
That's what you get with line arrays. :hyper:

Post Reply