Hi
Is that 2 eight inch per side ?..
Thanks for the update Paul! I assume that the smaller 8’’ can go higher in frequency and thus replace the additional coupling woofer of the previous prototype version.
Looking forward seeing and hearing the the new version, hopefully it has >92dB sensitivity so I can use it with my 25W tube amp 
No, that is 4 8” per side and 2 massive PRs per side.
So looking forward to a 48" woofer. Especially when they come with a preroll. 
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While not 48" this should do the trick in a pinch, Hartley 24". They were all the rave in the HP TAS days of the 70’s:
Was over at Darren’s the other day, and a while back, he’d built two 18" subs. Early on, they were unsurprisingly tight. After a month or so of “abuse” they got magical.
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From the annals of history, the saga of Nelson Pass’ “El-Pipe-O” monster sonotube transmission line subwoofers.
The full story as related by Kent English and Nelson is here, including DIY plans and a discussion of transmission line design. https://www.passdiy.com/pdf/el-pipe-o.pdf
Some of the more entertaining out takes:
“This is the saga of El Pipe-O, an adventure in over-the-edge woofer construction. The name El Pipe-O came from its striking resemblance to a legendary smoking appliance belonging to one of Pass’s roommates in college that was the object of worship by a small cult.”
…
“If you read the MCM catalog ( www.mcmelectronics.com) then you’ve undoubtedly seen them. Part # 55-1835, Twenty-one inch Low Frequency Pro Woofer. Eight ohms, 96 dB at 1 watt, 25 Hz resonance, 200 watts rms, 800 watts peak. Price: $395. Pass couldn’t help himself and bought four of them. They sat around for a couple of years in boxes until we decided to make El Pipe-O. In fact, El Pipe-O was the excuse to use them up.”
…
“The first listening sessions were run with 100 watt amplifiers. Of course something like El Pipe-O calls for monster amplifiers, so we acquired Pass X1000’s, which can do about 4,000 watts peak (per channel) into 4 ohms. The occasion of firing these up called for another party, during which we drank a lot of Cabernet and then decided to test the power handling claims of the woofer manufacturer. These claims were fairly accurate at 800 watts peak each, and at the end of this event we were down to two woofers.”
“Funny things happen when your speakers are flat to 13 Hz. You have to be careful about your tone arm, your windows, your neighbors, and your bowels.”
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Dude, you weren’t supposed to leak the FR30 pics…
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Ohhhh, snap! My bad. 
If the FR-30 really looked like that, I would not photoshop it into my listening room…
Really? You think me from Canada would make an international flight to Boulder to audition these and spend as much on travel as the speakers?! Absolute nonsense. Even folks from US who are located in farther states wouldn’t be doing this. Makes no sense.
Dealers are KEY for speakers, this kind of attitude of folks like you would result in everyone LOSING their beloved dealers, making it IMPOSSIBLE to audition any electronics, of which speakers are most important. This direct model only benefits the manufacturer, specially larger ones. You would NEVER be able to hear a niche product without a big marketing budget at a dealer you fall in love with. I could possibly accept direct for SMALLER electronics that I can easily order, audition, and ship back if not satisfied… SPEAKERS?! NO WAY!
Those Hartleys were definitely bad ass. I sold and set up a Mark Levinson HQD
System (dual 24” Hartleys, 4 Quads, Decca ribbon tweeters) in the 70’s. The sub
cabinets alone were the size of a small fridge.
I had a pair of Snell 18’s back in the day. I still can’t believe I actually gave them away…
I suppose that’s a way of thinking about it but there are many sides to this story. First off, the assertion that direct selling only benefits the manufacturer is a little narrow focused.
It ignores reality.
We would very much prefer to go back to the days when there were legit dealers in every city. To a time when dealers would take the time and spend the funds to build temples of sound customers could go to and hear what worked and what doesn’t. Alas, those days are long gone. Every month we lose another dealer and there’s little chance it’s going to change. Face it. We’re in a different era.
Our job as manufacturer is to put the customer first. How do we best serve the customer? By working through a bunch of mail order houses? I think not. Our customers deserve better. Our customers are our HiFi Family. We need to do what it takes to take care of them. Our in-home trial and liberal trade-in program allows our customers to take their time and compare what they have with what’s on offer. They keep the one that works best for them. In my opinion, it’s a far better system than we ever had with dealers.
But, now to speakers. Yes, speakers are different and are going to be a challenge. Mostly because speakers are big and a pain in the ass to move and ship. That then requires us to be clever and figure out, again, how best to serve our family. We’re on it. Can’t wait to show you what we have in mind.
It’s not like we can just turn back the hands of time. It’s a new world out there and we intend to stay in front of it rather than be mowed down by it.
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Thanks for the detail as that is precisely what I was referring to.
I’d sign up for turning back time 30 years for sure. Where do I sign? : )
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Yes there are some really interesting alternatives to the legacy dealer model. Like brand stores, as B&O and Bose have. With PSAudio offering an end-to-end stack soon, opening up some little brand stores, e.g. one on the east coast and one on the west coast, might make good sense. Not holding sales inventory, still selling direct from Boulder, but an opportunity for millions to hear and touch all the goodies live. Fifth avenue is full of these brand experience centers these days, e.g. Adidas, Puma. Heck even Amazon opened stores. Extends and blends well with the direct model. Just a thought. I’d go visit for sure.
B&O and Bose are lifestyle products hence the Apple like store efforts. It’s a lot of marketing money but then again B&O and Bose spend more on marketing than R&D.
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Thanks Paul, but I personally would never buy a massive speaker without hearing it, nor a massive piece of electronics. Just the logistics of moving it around to the house, placing it, testing it, and then if you don’t like it, to box it up and ship again is WAY TOO MUCH HASSLE… which I assume is a consideration as if one ordered, it would be a pain to return, hence I get MOST would keep it regardless.
Dealers disappearing IS A PROBLEM, I agree, BUT when companies like you decide to go direct, what do you expect? They WOULD go out of business! In this time of COVID, where literally THOUSANDS of small business are going out of business, this direct model would just exaggerate the problem and would accelerate it… AND… China will win eventually. As heck, why don’t I just order a Class-D $200 amp direct from Amazon instead? or even cheaper from Alibaba… hell with the dealers! They would ALL sound OK in your home WITHOUT a gear next to it for comparison. THAT is the issue. Direct model WILL be the win for BIG Corporations with high marketing dollars, AND CHEAP CRAP products that can be sold for pennies direct to ppl. This will CRUSH everyone in the middle.
My 2 cents… I think the premium audio products, let’s say over $2K should be reserved for dealers, and specially anything large and hard to ship back. Now, maybe some states don’t have dealers, then do direct… but otherwise, we’re eating our own.
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Good idea, but those only reserved for massive corporations with multi-million dollar marketing budgets, AND lifestyle, trendy products. No Audiophile company, would be able to attract enough customers that way with insane cost of 5th ave display store.