Ariel FAQ

Ariel FAQ

Thank you for your interest in our Ariel loudspeaker kit. This design is the property of Nutshell High Fidelity, and much information can be downloaded from Nutshell's web site http://www.nutshellhifi.com .

Another great site is http://indigo.ie/~walton/ariel1.html.

If you have not already accessed these sites, it is definitely worth your while to do so.

Are cabinets available? No, however the ME-2 compatible North Eska cabinet is available from www.TaylorSpeakers.com.

How much does our kit cost? The Value project (internal crossover) is $559.00 per pair, the Standard project is $899.00 per pair (external crossover), and the Signature project is $1,189.00 per pair. This includes the drivers, all crossover components, and all the bits and pieces to build the system; in short, everything except the wood. The differences in pricing reflect improvements in crossover components only. See the Crossover page and Contents page for more detail.

What about the wood? We suggest you take a close look at the cabinet plans to see why the cabinet is not available through any vendor we know of. This cabinet is tough and definitely not for the inexperienced woodworker. If you are going to build a pair, build two pair and offer the extra for sale over the 'net.

Can crossover parts from other manufacturers be used? Well... it's your speaker so you can do anything you want to do, but we don't suggest it. The Ariel is very sensitive to crossover component quality, and was designed with pretty much the best components out there. We definitely do not suggest using resistors other than the North's, coils other than North Creek Music Coils, and metallized caps other than the Zen's. We guarantee that using a "foil" coil will seriously detract from the low end performance and midrange purity, all the hype aside.

This system was originally designed with the Scan Speak D2905/9000 tweeter, which was 5dB down at 20kHz, so the original design was made a bit on the bright side to compensate. It is now supplied with the North D28-06S, which has a very slight rise as it approaches 20kHz. If you decide to use film-foil capacitors or metallized capacitors other than the Crescendo's in the tweeter section, be prepared to experiment, spend a lot of money, and end up with a closet full of useless caps. All caps have a distinct signature, particularly in the extreme top end, and the combination of the Scan Speak D2905/9500 or North D28-06S tweeter and a cap the least bit on the bright side will make this system etched and unnatural. We feel the best choice by far is the Crescendo cap, but if you absolutely have to use another, try bypassing with a 0.10µF or 1.0µF Crescendo to correct for the other caps' harmonic imbalance.

Please note that the discount from list price is given only when purchasing the kit complete. Purchasing it piece-by-piece means the list price applies on all items.

If the drivers are only $350.00, why is the kit so much money? In a word, CROSSOVER. Many people are surprised to discover that the crossover can cost more than the drivers, until they think about it for a while. The fact is that the quality of the crossover network is more important than the quality of the drivers. If you don't believe this, build this system with a bunch of electrolytics, sand cast resistors, and cheap coils. Sure, it will still make sound, but it won't make music. In this system, the woofer coil costs more than the woofer, and the tweeter network more than the tweeter. This is common with the best systems.

If you are going to use cheap crossover components, don't even attempt this loudspeaker system. The cabinet is so difficult to build that to ruin the speaker with cheap crossover would be a total waste.

What, exactly, comes with the kit? See the Ariel Crossover Diagram and Ariel Contents elsewhere in this web site.. This outlines the crossover components we provide and the odds and ends. The details of the crossover network parts list (other than the caps, coils, and resistors) are published only in the manual.

Are the crossover components matched? Yes. North Creek Music Systems routinely matches 100% of inventory. All components are provided in +-1% hand matched pairs, quads, etc.

Are the drivers matched? Yes. North Creek Music tests every driver in our inventory and provides them in "soft matched" sets; that is, matched to ± 1.5dB.

Drivers may be ordered as a broken in, ±0.5dB hand matched "perfect sets" (four woofers and two tweeters) for an additional $100 per set. Matched drivers are included in the Signature project.

Do you have other kits available? Yes. We make two other kits, the Borealis and the Rhythm. Both of these are totally SCAN-SPEAK, and both are available as "parts" kits like the Ariel.

The Borealis is a simple two-way using the 18W/8545 woofer and North D28 tweeter in an 18 liter QB3 vented enclosure. This kit is available as a "value" edition for $799.00 per pair, or as an "Unlimited" version for $1199.00 per pair. The difference in price is due solely to crossover component quality.

The Rhythm kit is an MTM using dual 18W/8545 woofers and the North D28 tweeter in a 42 liter QB3 vented enclosure. The cabinet measures 9" x 12" x 43". This is a very dynamic system with a low end extending to 38 Hz, and excellent lower midrange, and nice top end. The system is priced at $1,199.00 for the "value" edition and $1,539.00 for the Unlimited. An Unlimited/Revelator edition, with the new D2905/9900 tweeter, is also available for $1859.00 per pair, and the Signature edition is $2,499.00 per pair.

The Vision kit is an MTM using dual 15S/8543K-01 woofers and the 9900 Revelator in a unique MAPD enclosure, a shielded loudspeaker systems designed for the best home theater systems. The loudspeaker can easily be driven by most SET amplifiers and with a fully adjustable low end can be used full range or with a subwoofer. The unlimited version is $1799 per pair, whilst the Signature version is $2599 per pair.

Technical Questions?

Technical questions concerning the Ariel and ME2 Loudspeaker Systems should be directed to Lynn Olson at the Ariel Website, http://www.nutshellhifi.com

We will take technical questions concerning our products via email only. Please email Info@NorthCreekMusic.com. We will do our best to answer your questions, however if you are serious about this hobby we strongly suggest you purchase the Loudspeaker Design Cookbook and at least one of our kit manuals. The answers to 90% of the technical questions we receive can be found there.

We can not answer technical questions about products we do not carry; suffice to say that if we do not carry it, we can not recommend it or help you with it. We also can not answer generalized technical questions about loudspeaker design; this is a specific science and each loudspeaker is unique.

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