Anyone familiar with the Manger driver?

Hi all,

Please allow me to introduce myself. My name is Derek Wilson and it is with great trepidation that I enter your audio lions den!
For I bring some bad news for all fans of cone, dome, ribbon, panel (all things pistonic) and of course the evil passive crossover!

I do hope you will remain open minded after taking the time to read all the science, biology and technology that is detailed on the new Overkill Audio website.
I don't think I can print the link here but in the end there can be only one!
Our Finale, Encore, Predator, Prey, Angel and Dark Angel speaker systems along with The Conductor & The End Game should be easy to find and hopefully very difficult to ignore!.
As pretenders to the throne we must earn or shot at the title and we hope that the last 6 years of R&D and the fruits of our labour (again please see Overkillaudio website) will prove that we are indeed serious contenders. I do hope we will be allowed to organise some demonstrations and properly controlled independent audio shootouts in America. The first of the European shootouts will begin in the early spring 2008. For the lucky few music lovers who can afford $30 to $60K there is now a solution to all the audio reproduction problems.
I believe a year from now the Emperor is going to look very naked!

I thank you all for your time in advance of your replies (Gulp!) and as the great Winston Churchill once said " Whilst I totally disagree with you 100% I will defend until my dying breath your right to disagree with me"
Long live democracy!

Yours Sincerely

Derek Wilson
Overkill Audio

Derek,

I think they nuked the other recent thread. I expect you intended to post the information on this thread instead.
In any case I read about the Manger driver and am curious how it controls dispersion. To me it behaves like a ring radiator and therefore it will have a very narrow and extremely bumpy off axis dispersion pattern - at least without a phase plug...why no phase plug?

Hi Shadorne,

Good question! There is actally a Manger phase plug, they call it a "hollow profile" and you can read about it on the Manger site. I have tried it and I dont like it. It's a big flat piece of clear plastic that covers half(!) of the driver. Basically the Manger produces too much signal if that makes any sense. The way the bending wave generates sound means that it produces two of everything and in theory covering half the driver improves imaging.
But its ugly and my Prey units dispersion pattern is almost perfect.
The bottom line is with my Prey head units you have a superb but narrow "perfect" sweet spot and everywhere else in the room gets a very natural but not pin sharp , musical sound.
I hope this helps!

Cheers

Derek.

Dear Derek,
I must congratulate you on the progress you have made with the product line over the past 2-3 years. There was a point, when I really feared that the unforgiving commercial audio mafia would not allow a shinning light like Overkill Audio to survive, as it has happened to many great products in the past. Once again my best wishes are with you for the success of your brave venture.
Sphere.

Thanks Sphere!
It's very encouraging to get a positive comment rather than the usual " if its not what I have its no good" response that I usually get when I post the ocasional article on Audiogon.
I am going to have another go at posting my "Eardrums & loudspeakers" article tomorrow ( they removed the old one when the cone and dome guys complained, they thought I might make a sale!) after I edit out all the Overkill Audio name and product names and sales pitch stuff. I have posted it on another forum and its great fun to watch the feathers fly!

All the best and thanks again for your kind words.

Cheers

Derek.