IRS Killer vs FR30 speaker Part 2

In this second half of the video Paul gets down to details about the differences between the two speakers.

[OldTooly]

I really identified with Chris when I watched his presentations and his attention to detail and his obviously innate vision and understanding of the mechanics of audio reproduction. I was the same in my field of Tool Making and Engineering. I just have to mention that a man of such abilities is not only rare and invaluable, but someone to nurture and support to allow them to produce what often become masterpieces of their art, and second to none. Paul you are so blessed to have him and I wish you and he a brilliant future together and only hope that you guys can come up with something this old man can actually afford that still displays his genius. Thanks again and always.

[gizmobowen]

He never looked very comfortable when he was on camera, but it was great when Chris did some of these videos. As a person interested in speaker design, I always really appreciated what he had to say. Maybe he can make a few more videos in the future. I'm sure there are a lot of people who would love to hear more about his design philosophy.

[Canuckken]

The FR30 may sound better but I am in the camp where I like the esthetics of the Arnie's speakers better. The FR30s look more like a tower on steroids where Arnie's speakers look more like a high end musical instrument that if you strung some strings on could be played, its all about the curves.

[artyfhartie]

I would swap 10 pairs of FR30 for this one off Arnie Nudell work of art. These IRS look like a musical instrument and beautiful to my eyes. And having heard great reviews of previous Nudell's creations, I bet they sound great too. Audio is all subjective. Probably all made locally too with care and attention.

[julianklietz]

4:46 how on earth did he make that sound, that's impressive sound reproduction right here. This is how you know paul is the real deal.

[Muckyfellrunner]

All this is way above my head and I’d doubt that I would never be able to hear the differences, but I do find the science and the sonic artwork fascinating. Thanks for the video

[williamclark]

every time I see these video I just feel I missed out. I've been right there, Infinity Genesis technology and now with P S Audio, when I was in Germany I use to help people with their speakers and equipment, I still do people call and ask for help. I have them watch these videos and then say I know this guy Paul from Germany. But now a new Genius, I want to hear.

[SuperMcgenius]

Hi Paul, my experience with servo woofers is most successful when working with PA systems which went a long way to protect them from failure.

[rtih]

Surprised there’s negatives on the look of the fr30s. I feel they are just great. That said I’d give my eye teeth to be able to buy Arnie’s bespokes. To hear what he really wanted as well as the aesthetic.

[BiGDeE]

No such thing as "too long" lol. Thx for sharing, great insight prts 1&2

[Technical_Audio]

The FR30 and this “IRS killer” probably do some things better than the original IRS, but there is one major area of performance where these newer speakers fall short of the IRS. And that is that the IRS is a true floor-to-ceiling line source. True line sources have unique properties that take advantage of room acoustics and of floor and ceiling reflections. Having a 12” to 24” short ribbon as in these newer speakers is almost the worst case. A small tweeter acts as a point source, while a tall driver acts as a line source. The FR30 and IRS killer are stuck in the middle, neither a line source nor a point source, and that limits their performance in a room, and limits directivity.

[mrpositronia]

I'm not going to pretend I know more. Thanks Paul. Speaker production is a science and science is never happy to stand still.

[richardgivher]

I think those are beautiful, guitar looking speakers. Pleasant to the eye.

[googoo-gjoob]

so, does that IRSK qualify as an 'open baffle' ?

[gme]

No disrespect to Arnie, but how can those rather small IRS killer speakers even come close to replacing the IRS V's? Perhaps in some areas, but I can't imagine them coming close to the dynamic scale and impact of the V's.

[Scopolamine]

What was the retail price difference between BFR 30s and Arnies killers

[NoEggu]

@1:19 "We also wanted a rear tweeter, which was kind-a Arnies hallmark, and the FR30 has it"

A rear firing tweeter is used for overly damped rooms. But it could be used in all rooms. Either way, it probably adds a pleasing sound, albeit that it is technically 100% distortion, because its contribution to the sound field is significantly smeared in time.

The front direct tweeter is already reproducing all of the high-frequency information on the recording. Any increase above what is actually on the recording is by definition, distortion.

In the end, it probably does not matter that it is technically distortion, because if it sounds great, and it brings enjoyment to your ears, then (to me) that is what counts.

Paul, can the customer toggle the rear firing tweeter on and off?

[AllboroLCD]

I suggest possibly re-visiting servo woofers in later generations of the FR's . Just as standard woofer tech has leveled up, so has servos as well! Perhaps integrate a servo into the new woofers design and give er a go?

[walterstorm]

What do you get when you cross an engineer, a data scientist, a programmer, a musician, and an audiophile? CB :)

[transpermeance]

Arnie's Spirit needs an advocate at PS Audio. Judging from his high end designs he was committed to dipolar midrange, bottom octave transient accuracy, lower order crossovers hence the use of multiple drivers in each range, and line source or pseudo-line source . His point sources could sound spectacular like IRS Beta but with the need for 4th order crossovers never quite manage to put the pieces back together again after they were separated; I suspect ringing on transients revealed the seams. Flat frequency response is not more important than transient integrity because interesting music is almost all transients and frequency response is about average over time. Almost all the passive radiator's output is transient error which upsets the rhythm and drive of the music. The IRS and Genesis 1s are 3 way designs with weakness in 100-200Hz dynamics due to midrange driver excursion and power limitations. The FR30 seems to choose to address that very weakness which is where CB could win against AN's IRS . Accelerometer's dynamic range and noise characteristics limit the frequency response over which you can apply servo feedback so 2x12 woofers cannot compete with the 6 x 12 per side of the IRS and Genesis 1 so single box speakers of spouse approval size have to settle for lower playback levels . Once you commit to accurate bottom octave then you have the problem with the mid bass which now has to match the servo bass and the dipolar midrange . The FR30 choice is to sacrifice the very bottom octave accuracy ; it does show up for work down there so you will hear it working down there but it shows up for work late and hangs around after hours just so that the boss will think all is well down there. Once you get accustomed to the characteristics of boxless dipolar midrange cone or planar driver, it is hard to give that up. Every FR30 I have seen online seem to place them out from the wall just about where you would have placed a dipolar midrange speaker.