I am pleased to announce [tour of Westlake]

[Magnet3]

Edgewound(me, Ken Haerr), Sherwood Davies, Glenn Phoenix and Steve Schell. Ken Pachkowsky is behind my camera...after a fabulous day of experiencing the inner workings and philosophy of Westlake Audio Manufacturing. What a great experience. My thanks to Ken Pachkowsky for arranging this (and his personable company), Steve Schell for his gracious company and in-depth knowledge about audio history. I'm sure Ken and Steve will join me in thanking again Sherwood and Glenn for rolling out the red carpet for us at Westlake Audio.

You are some lucky fellows!

[Ken Pachkowsky]

Just had to tell you these are amazing pictures!

Edgewound and I are happy you enjoyed them.

Ken

[KCENTOFANTE]

Very interesting.

So Ken,

From what you now know having done the lavish Westlake tour why the need for all the elaborate passive crossover networks (inside the boxes) when they have SOA active crossovers?

I would be interesting to hear Glenn Phoenix reponse to this question.

Ian

Dear Ian,

As most visitors to the "Audio Heritage" website probably know, "its all about the sound you get". On the surface it's obvious that the primary distortion components are at lower levels (% or actual) in signal processing devices and at higher levels in speaker systems themselves, with or without their power level crossovers. But yet we all agree that tremendous sound style and quality differences between manufacturers or manufacturers models exist and are readily heard in both electronics and speaker systems.

So what's the deal? Customers want choice and thus we offer both. The models with built in high level networks allow the customer total control of his active electronics sound. The models that employ the Westlake Audio MRX-2 (2-Way, 2 Channel) or HR-X (4-Way, 2 Channel) active crossovers reduce the power level distortions to a point, but introduce a small degree of active electronic signature to the sound.

The last few years of research have produced an understanding of a distortion that we fondly call "P.E. Distortion". We are steadilly producing products(including both passive and active crossovers) that have less intrinsic "P.E. Distortion" (Trademarked/Westlake Audio Inc.) as well as products that are less likely to cause or be receptive to "P.E. Distortion" when installed in a complex audio system. For information see our White Papers "P.E. Distortion, The Last Barrier to High Fidelity" available for online viewing at www.westlakeaudio.com under "Loudspeaker Systems".

Thank you for your question Ian. To you and the other Audio Heritage members we are always happy to answer specific questions regarding our products and audio quality issues, we can be contacted at the following:E-Mail: [email protected], FAX: (805) 498-2571 or phone at (805) 499-3686.

Glenn R Phoenix, President
Westlake Audio

[Titanium Dome]

I read it twice.

Thanks for the answers.

[Ian Mackenzie]

Glenn,

Thankyour for you post.

I will download the paper and have a careful read over the weekend.

Can I ask do you feel more of the unique Westlake sound style comes from your specialised passive networks and enclosure techniques than Westlake electronics?

My own feeling is that until recently active crossovers were a step backwards from serious audiophile loudspeakers...The added complexity of the signal path using chip opamps tends to cause a loss of information and intrusion of noise and other distortions and colourations. However recent advances in simple discrete class A opamp based crossovers may make these blemishes a thing of the past.

I would add that Ken holds his HR1 Westlake active crossover in high regard.

Perhaps you can elaborate .......

kind regards

Ian Mackenzie

ps Your post is going up on the wall in my "Audio Hall of Fame" along with Norman Thagard, Nelson Pass, Greg Timbers, Giskard and Doug Self.

[jim campbell]

i feel the need to torture myself;how much do hr1's sell for.they must be mega bucks

[Ken Pachkowsky]

i feel the need to torture myself;how much do hr1's sell for.they must be mega bucks

Jim

They are manucfatured in a few different configuration's so prices do vary from 50k to 70k. The HiFi versions are at the higher end of the scale due to the cabinet finishing. They come in a Bi or Quad amped configuration. More info can be found at www.westlakeaudio.com.

Ken

[KCENTOFANTE]

Glenn,

Thankyour for you post.

I will download the paper and have a careful read over the weekend.

Can I ask do you feel more of the unique Westlake sound style comes from your specialised passive networks and enclosure techniques than Westlake electronics?

My own feeling is that until recently active crossovers were a step backwards from serious audiophile loudspeakers...The added complexity of the signal path using chip opamps tends to cause a loss of information and intrusion of noise and other distortions and colourations. However recent advances in simple discrete class A opamp based crossovers may make these blemishes a thing of the past.

I would add that Ken holds his HR1 Westlake active crossover in high regard.

Perhaps you can elaborate .......

kind regards

Ian Mackenzie

ps Your post is going up on the wall in my "Audio Hall of Fame" along with Norman Thagard, Nelson Pass, Greg Timbers, Giskard and Doug Self.

2/27/06

Ian,

Well as to what effects the "Unique Westlake Sound" most:

I (and most knowledgeable audio types I know) subscribe to the theory "everything effects the sound". It's only a matter of whether you're paying attention, have a system with enough resolution to dig it out and whether you think it's a good or bad effect.

And so, trying to say where, in a complex electro-mechanical system that, the significant bodies are buried, is tough. But in a system (and we have many) that would not include our active crossovers, the passive network and system design is all it can be. So, the answer to your question is "yes, probably". But let's not forget the obvious (or maybe its not so obvious?) that the crossover is the all important control and synchronism mechanism that ties it all together in both cases. Additionally there are equalization issues that are addressed at high level in the case of our all passive systems, and with a combination of active and passsive circuitry in our multi-amp models that use our active crossovers. Over the years we have gotten a lot better at passive E.Q. execution, without screwing up the sound (as much as we might have in days gone by).

Your thoughts about active crossovers intruding on sound clarity is pretty much on the mark. For our own evolution we have yet to fully explore the distinct Class A OpAmp circuitry you mention, mainly because we are real estate and power bound in our existing HR-X(which can be fitted with up to 44 I.C. opamps per channel if required) and MRX-2 packages. We have however, as mentioned recently been incorporating changes to these systems based on our "P.E. Distortion" research. Direct A/B comparisons between older units and current production shows we are making steady improvements on the sound quality front with what is essentially the same basic approach that we (Deane Jensen, audio guru now deceased,Rob Robinette, our then chief engineer and myself) took back in the mid 70's to early 80's when the active crossovers were first developed.

Thanks for the "Audio Hall of Fame" mention Ian, hope this information is useful.

Sincerely,

Glenn R Phoenix
Westlake Audio

[Ian Mackenzie]

Glenn,

Thanks for you reply.

I think most of us here took even the enclosures as something that needed bracing and some stuffing until we saw inside a Westlake monitor.

They are built like a bomb shelter!

The devil is certainly in the details with those intricate passive and active crossovers you install!

At some stage I will have to audition some of your fine systems.

Moving onto another very interesting aspect of the Westlake monitor sound that I know many members would like to know more about, your beautiful horns.

Ken is always raving about how nice the horns are.

Can you tell us a little about the history of your wooden horns?

Ian

[KCCT82]

I was there a couple of weeks ago trying to fix my Westlake BBSM-10 and SWP, snapped a picture of what they were testing at the moment.

[Titanium Dome]

Gor! Did the ceiling fall in?

I'm pretty sure that's one look I wouldn't be able to sell at home, though I bet Steve Schell could get away with it.