Updated: 08-Dez-06
Gydinel

The new Master Reference Loudspeaker system

In between Review....

Introduction

Erik van Voorst is building a special version from the Sentinel and for that reason we have regular contact... I had offered some help, purchasing the chassis. Why? Just to help and because I am very selfish, haha !! He was so sure to use the DIAMOND TWEETER D-20, that he ordered this straight away. I always wanted to try this little jewel, so this was MY CHANCE !!!! We all agreed, so I tried the units for a few weeks and was more then impressed by the diamonds. I have never heard such a total stress free tweeter !!! It improves the whole soundstage and it never gives up, no matter how loud you play... I fell in love and scraping money to buy my own set now.....

Erik visited me with his wife Aafje and we had a great listening day.... He wrote a Review on his own WEB Site, which I have copied here below.... I couldn't agree more with his findings and that is NOT a biased statement   ;-)

This is by courtesy from Erik his WEB Site:

My wife...probably thinking am I glad Erik is building them smaller...while I am thinking....they are not TOO BIG .......or are they ??? 

FULL REVIEW OF THE GYDINELS 

This years Christmas holidays in Dusseldorf  I planned a visit to Frankfurt to visit Doede. So after the "weihnachtseinkaufen" ...cables, cd's and hi-fi magazines..hahaha...  I headed for the lions den.

After a cup of coffee and getting familiar with all his equipment I opened up my bag with loads of familiar cd's and the long awaited confrontation could begin.

Since we have listened for 5 hours to 3 different formats:..cd...sacd...and records I will write the review hardly paying attention to the format but staying focused on the speakers, otherwise it becomes very confusing since there is a pretty big gap in quality .....for those who are still in doubt..... Records Rule ....so it is still a long way to go for cd as well as sacd!!!! 

I will also write the review with the diamond tweeters still in since we only removed them shortly before I left..we definitely came both to the conclusion that those little precious ones added a fair amount of magic and amazingly not only in the highs but influenced the full frequency scale, I mean the noise floor dropped down quite a bit and they gave you an idea that you were listening to an upgraded format (as Doede so appropriate stated).  

Obviously you begin with it's size the leviathan measures approx. 1.85 cm, so my first reaction was:... can this monster truly disappear as a sound source. Monitor speakers can fully disappear but the problem with them is that they tend to miniaturize the soundstage and so miniaturizing  the instruments. Full range speakers however call attention to themselves.

The first live cd : Optima Forma (Harry Sacksioni). It starts with tuning his 12 string...when you close your eyes..you experience the sensational lifelike sound. You experience the instrument scaled physically and acoustically like the real thing. (I have been to numerous concerts of Sacksioni). These speakers do not call attention to themselves but project whatever format you feed them. Although they are fairly close to the wall they are still able to supply a broad soundstage (even when the are pretty much toed-in!!) and they manage to fill the entire back third of the room. The projection forward stays a bit behind. 

On one of the sacd's: Carmina Burana (C. Orff) here you have choirs FULL SCALE. I think that it doesn't get any bigger in your living room and beyond. You have the feeling that in this landscape of music you can walk over to each member of the choir. The sheer dynamic scale is truly unsurpassed and the huge drum has weight and speed (meaning:..you hear the drum and the natural reverb and besides that not the speaker in anyway). This is a stellar performance the pinpointing is there and you truly start to believe again in a three-way system. 

The blending of the drivers is as coherently as it gets there is no material difference to detect between diamond, ceramique and Nomex-Kevlar and the crossoverpoints are well chosen.

When listening to: Wonderland (H. Nova) her voice came in the living room with such a power that you were left wondering about a lot of things such as...why don't I hear a ceramique sound (like the complaints of a reviewer for the Marten Design) or when does it start to become nasty. Okay when the music swells to an enormous level and the band goes full tilt the music starts to become a little bit raw and compressed. My opinion is that you have to look elsewhere in the chain to solve these flaws. These speakers are able to reveal all formats in top shape.

An oldie:..White Winds (A. Vollenweider) track ..The Glass Hall...opened the battle between an electrostate and a diamond tweeter. This must be heard to believe...here you have finally a dynamic driver who is capable of such clarity and speed as if you are hearing a "stat" but now also gives you all the other advantages as well!! We truly heard magic here...millions of pieces glass were tapped all in a very musical environment.

Of course the woofers didn't stay unnoticed, it normally blended in with the rest of the music, but every now and then we picked a special bass track. Oefff the authority here ..sometimes you feel like a refrigerator has dropped on the floor in front of you!!

MY CONCLUSION

Well the speakers can still be bettered If you look at the picture you will see "el cheapo" filter parts because Doede is still in the process of trying to get the most out of it. By the way it is amazing that such parts can deliver an already nirvana!!  The diamonds can clearly give you extra magic (also to your bank manager!!) I think that upgrading the chain by implementing a new push-pull amp (Doede is working on that one) or/and experimenting with future dacs will probably take care for the occasionally rockband at full tilt.

Thank you Doede and Guido for taking Do-It-Yourself  to the extreme!! 

   
....work in progress

Thanks Erik !!! could not have said better.................

Happy listening and building !!

Doede Douma

IMPORTANT: The information provided on this page is intended as guide for DIY activities and therefore free to copy and or publish. If any one wishes to use any of the information from my WEB site, please make sure to refer and footnote to my URL Link as source! Doede Douma