Nola Brio Trio updaate

[rhubarb9999]

Parts ordered for a pair of these

Hope it will be a quick build.

[zeusisangry]

Hi all,
I have built a pair of these and I have to say that I am blown away. I love my other builds (LXmini, Continuum) but these have taken center stage. Everything about them is wonderful. I can't believe that you can make something that sounds this good for so little. These compare with the best that I have heard. I did make some prototypes and spent a couple of weeks breaking in the drivers. I then ordered some nicer 20uf capacitors and completed my final build. Here are some pictures. I highly encourage anyone who is considering these to go for it. You will not be sorry.

[Wushuliu]

Hm, read a review at diyaudio saying these sounded excellent except with classic rock/metal which makes me think that even with the sub on the low end they will have typical limitations of full range drivers in that regard. Looks really intriguing otherwise...

[ontariomaximus]

How are the 2 drivers hooked up? There was some confusion earlier.

[Drjay]

Hi Guys,

I did a shootout between the Brio Trios I built and all the other small speakers I have including my Wharfdale Diamond 10.1s, using my newly acquired Pyle speaker selector switch. The result was that I very clearly preferred the Brio Trios over all the others including the Overnight Sensations and the Wharfdales. The BTs are transparency, detail and imaging phenoms and have excellent dynamics as well. They are very similar to a friends Acoustat electrostatics and my main system's Thiel 2.4s in their overall presentation.
For the heck of it I even compared the BTs with my big shop system which includes Dahlquist DQ20 speakers driven by excellent quality electronics. The big system was better but was made up of components originally retailing for over $3000.
My opinion is that this is a very special speaker and would be hard to top for a near field or smaller room system at any price.
The BT requires a quality sub to sound its best, so plan on that if you are going to build a pair.

Best,
Jay

[ontariomaximus]

So Jay, you put in the 8 ohm version, drivers in parallel but the upper one has a 20uf cap in series?

[Drjay]

Correct.

[zeusisangry]

Here is an image of the way my crossover is setup. Is this correct? I just have the single cap on the positive of the tweeter.

[OldenGnarley]

Good job Jay! I love my Brio Trio clones... perhaps the best and easiest (and cheap) project on the internet! In my opinion...
( edit: provided you have a subwoofer to go with it )

[ontariomaximus]

I guess they are the new Quad ESL 57 lol

[Drjay]

Zuesisangry, as mentioned above, I can not yet reliably read circuit diagrams, so hopefully, someone who can will comment on your post, or post up the diagram of how it should be done. Good luck on the build, I would be surprised if you are not highly impressed.

[fdieck]

Why.... on a technical forum has no one measured and modeled this "clone" ? I don't think the crossover is this simple and is more likely a first order butterworth or something like the passive part of the Linkwitz LX 521.

[raiderone]

Zuesisangry, as mentioned above, I can not yet reliably read circuit diagrams, so hopefully, someone who can will comment on your post, or post up the diagram of how it should be done. Good luck on the build, I would be surprised if you are not highly impressed.

Where do you have the sub set at? The "real" crossover is between the woofer (called "sub") and the satellites. The cap on the open baffle is just a highpass that protects it from over excursion. The Nola website states the sub specs at 180Hz max upper limit. Set at this max setting and assuming 2nd order there will be some output to 350Hz or so, which somehow mates well with the satellites. I have not heard the official Brio Trio so I cannot say how it sounds in a real listening environment. Based on the designer's comments and compared to his other designs this is a budget setup (at $3k!) and compromises were made. Also, note the designer goes way back to early Dalquist (open baffles) and seemingly relies on experience and trial and error (old school) so it is hard to imagine that it would measure well. Not a system initially created based on simulations or well known/conventional recipes. Doesn't mean that it does (or cannot) sound good.

[Drjay]

Using a Voxel sub with a 70W PE plate amp in a near field (computer) configuration I feel they blend best with the sub set at 160 HZ.

[zeusisangry]

I am using mine with dual 15 inch open baffle/hframe subs. I have the crossover sat at around 150. They sound amazing. The subs are actually too big for my room. I am going to try to find a smaller solution for the subwoofer.