The Largle and Goothers
The Largle and Goothers are what many would regard as a 'basic' speaker, but that is probably the only true comment even the casual enthusiast could make. There is no doubt they are probably coloured with poor frequency response, outrageous crossover points, cheap drivers and overall simple construction, but I must admit to having a wry smile when I read speaker reviews that allude to the $10,000 speakers revealing previously 'hidden' material on an audio track.
I'm talking about the person humming to the latter half of a performance of the 1812 Overture by The Philadelphia Orchestra, conducted by Eugene Ormandy, up front and personal (BMG VD 60492, an old AAD recording).
One of my favourite DDD's is Bach's Brandenberg Concerto's 1-4-6 (Adagio AD 019) as played by the Amsterdam Festival Orchestra, Bernard Stopler conducting. As well as the usual page turning and tapping of the instruments, how about the breath of a violinist. Not only the sound of the flute, but the sound of the flautist, blowing. The intake of breath, the rustle of clothing, fingers on taps. Sounds like an unkempt recording, but no, rather I think it is a very good recording that presents a very good stage in my lounge room.
Admitedly, to reveal these little features, complete silence is essential and they are generally brought to light in the mid of night, when the house and street are quiet.
The vast breadth of reproduction is brought to life in 'music' of other genres. More than once, friends were given over to having puzzled looks, more than once being fooled into thinking that a huge storm is brewing when playing 'The Power and the Majesty'. They hear the thunder and rain, but looking outside it's the bright sunshine of a hot summers day.
We even had my visiting cousin half convinced that a railroad yard existed a short distance from the house when the first tracks of the train blasted forth.
Over all, the realism brought forth by the Largle and Goothers is astounding. I can only put it down to the 'cheap' but magnificent 15" woofer that digs deep into subaural territory and the 6dB filters that tie it all together to present real, tangible transients. Transients that hustle forth from the guitar strings, played with smooth finesse on the 'Friday Night in San Fransisco' recording,, another quality CD.
The essential ingredients for the Largle and Goothers are...
External Dimensions. Height: 1000mm. Width: 500mm. Depth: 280mm. Weight: 26kg.
Material: Front Baffle 22mm Chip Board. Sides 18mm ply. Rear Panel 12mm Chip Board.
Drivers: Woofer, 15" probably Realistic (Taiwan made). 848 gram magnet, 93dB 1w1m. (ex Tandy electronics approx $130 each).
Midrange, 5" Cone. JayCar etc.
Tweeter, 1" dome. Peerless etc (approx $65 each).
Initially the L&Gs where a two way set up using a home built 12dB crossover, but this left a huge hole in the midrange, so I invested in the Mids. As you can see, the cabinets are composed of scraps of wood that I had on hand at the time. They are finished with Jarrah veneer and trim.
I have used very little damping material with these speakers, but a recent spate of tinkering (ie: a new crossover), led to me lining parts of the cavity with acoustic foam (dimpled, sound deadening, foam like material). Also, I have attached strips of self adhesive, relatively dense foam (you can get it on rolls, different widths, densities and thickness), to the big woofer's basket. I haven't took time out to fully investigate the result, but I do know that prior to doing this, the speakers would produce two spikes of sound (a faint metallic whine) when doing a frequency sweep. These occured at around 400 Htz and a smaller peak at about a 1000Htz. Since applying the foam tape, these spikes are very much reduced, and it leads me to believe that the basket itself is resonating. Guys, I feel this may be something worth looking into in its application to a whole range of drivers. Certainly I will consider fully lining the woofer's basket in the rebuild.
My Dad made up some solid, steel stands, 1/4 inch plate and six inch, high pressure pipe. Spiked leveling bolts where fitted to the corners through threaded guides. The bases themselves weigh over 15kg. The speakers where bolted down, with a thin sheet of foam sandwiched between them to help dampen vibration. Can anyone build speakers that perform? I did. Well, this article is probably mute, because the venerable L&G's will shortly be stripped down and many of the components swapped over to my new project. But being slapped togther by a beginner, I feel the L&G story will be valuable to those who are contemplating building a set of large speakers for the first time. Certainly I have learnt heaps in the twelve years I have had them. In that time they have recieved additional drivers, new crossovers and other little tweaks that have all resulted in audible improvements for very few dollars. Yup, these are the original el cheapos. And now, with fresh idea's, more wood and a passion, soon I will reveal, the Jades.
Back to...
