Proteus Reviews

 

The Proteus by Luc Schoutteten from Belgium.

 

    

 

The Proteus by Jirka Nemecek.

 

 

 

The Proteus by Carl Emanuel Meuller.

 

 

The Proteus by Alle from the Netherlands.

 

      

 

The Proteus by Ted White from the USA.

 

    

 

The Proteus by Kees Romijn from the Netherlands.

 

 

 

The Proteus by Vitaly Calaras from the Romania.

 

THE SOUND OF THE PROTEUS IS UNBELIEVABLE!!!!!! THE VOCALS ARE SIMPLY IMPRESIVE!!!!!  BASS FROM THE PROTEUS-SUPERB!!!!!! MANY THANKS FOR PUBLISHING THIS DESIGN!

 

    

 

The Proteus by Bengt Öberg from the Sweden (also probably the best looking one I’ve seen!).

 

“ A tribute to the Proteus and its creator! It all started out for me when a friend of mine bought my second pair of homebuilt speakers. There I was without speakers once again. I started to search the internet and soon it stood rather clear for me that Ariel was the right speakers to build. After collecting several hundreds of pages about the speaker I just happened to find the address to the homepage of Tony Gee. It was my search of Ariel that led me to people who said that the Proteus is much better than the Ariel. And there I was, starting from zero again, but after some correspondence between Tony Gee and Jan Deckers and me, it stood rather clear that this was the right speakers for me. Then again I got curious in what would happen in changing the original SEAS-drivers to, for example Scan Speak. Well, Tony said, no problem, but it will not be a Proteus. I started to build four boxes, one pair for each type of drivers, because I had in mind that since both of my other speakers had been sold,  I didn´t  want to stand there without speakers one more time.”

“ All inner reinforcements are routered 6 millimetre into the walls. The inner box for the tweeter is made of birch-plywood from Finland in high grade marine-quality. Inside, the walls are covered with 4 millimetre bitumen-mat with Tyrotex on top. I had to order that from Strassacker in Germany because it was not available  in Sweden. The filling is Acousto-Q wool from Jenving who makes the Supra-cables. In fact I have the cable-manufacturing only 20 kilometres from where I live.

After assembling the boxes I gave them a layer of solid oak from the forests nearby my home. The oak  has a thickness of 22 millimetre, so the speakers are really heavy. I made a separate box on the back of each speaker for the filter. The components are all from Mundorf, and consists of Supreme capacitors and really big and heavy coils (E130). The gold-plated connectors on the back can take cables up to 30 square-millimetres. What´s that good for I don´t know, but it feels heavy. The inner cabling is thinned cupper-wire plaited crosswise in a special way by me. Parallel  to the first pair I have been building the second pair of speakers, and they are covered with witch-elm that has been growing along the banks of the blue band of Sweden, called Göta kanal (Gota channel). It´s a beautiful kind of wood and they will not be as heavy as the ones made of oak. Concerning the surface-finish of the speakers I have very good experience from earlier projects with, first oiling with chineese oil and after that English furniture-wax or other types of hard waxes This gives an antistatic surface, very easy to refresh if needed. The stands to the pair of oak are made of birch-plywood, painted black and covered with oak on two of the sides. The other pair have got stands of 200 millimeter stainless steel pipe. The beautiful soft surface , I got from blasting with high pressure air containing small particles of glass. The wood on the stands are ashtree. All stands are filled with sand. I have mounted spikes on the bottom of the speakers, but not under the stands, towards the floor. I have put a soft felt under, because they are too heavy to be lifted, so I have draw them on the floor. Each pair have taken me four months to build, and I have not been lazy, I can assure you that. All screws are stainless black coloured with insex head(also called umbraco). For protection of the speaker-elements I have chosen high polished stainless-steelbars normally used in welding. I did not want to cover them with black clothes as one normally does, having to take it away when playing and putting it back when the speakers are not in use. I have have always felt that the sound comes out more free and open without textiles in front. I first got the idea from the AAD-speakers.”

“ So, how do they sound?  Well I have just been playing them for a few hours yet, but the first impression is that the ones with ScanSpeak are a little more laid back. The original Proteus feels a little sharper. Maybe that will change after some hours of playing. I have no favourite yet, but I feel that both pairs are very tight. My compliments to Tony, who I must say has succeeded very well in getting a speaker that holds the music together very well. There are problems with all speakers in our room, because it is 13 meters long with large windows, and it´s eating bass. What I should need is an active sub to lift the bass a little. (That´s one thing I would look forward to see on your page, Tony). There is no lack of bass in none of the new speakers, but they sometimes feels a little thin because the size of the room.”

“I also think these are the heaviest Proteus you have ever seen.  I haven´t checked yet, but it must be around 50-60 kilos plus the stands of maybee 25 kilos. Don´t missunderstand me, I like the speakers very much, but I want a little more in the bottom, to fill the room, an active sub for instance. When I stand in some places in the room they have a great bottom, but then I´m in the wrong position for good perspective listening. I´m still not sure if I prefere the Seas or ScanSpeak-type. I mean, the more expensive speakers doesen´t natural sound better in my ears. I would like to keep both pairs, but I haven´t got the room for all so one pair has to go I´m afraid. Since I´m very skilled in wood-working I can be of assistance to others wanting to build nice pairs of speakers.”

 

 

 

      

 

The Proteus jrs. in a 5.1 Home Cinema set-up by Roman Bednarek from the USA.

 

“ I had a feeling that it was going to sound good, but never imagined how good!  I'll admit that my equipment isn't quite up to true audiophile standards (Marantz SR-7000 receiver and Pioneer Elite DV-45A DVD-Audio/SACD player), but the Proteus jrs. really make the most out of what I have.  Multichannel audio adds another dimension that is difficult to simulate with a stereo system.  Initially I was worried that using Proteus jrs. as surround speakers was a bit of an overkill, but I've found that not to be true.  I now firmly believe that all speakers should match in a multichannel audio system in order to get the full effect.  There are quite a few recordings that send full range information to the back channels.  With full-range surrounds, bass notes can be localized anywhere in the room.  Also, in order to achieve good imaging between the front and rear speakers they must be matched.  There are a lot of instances where instruments can be clearly localized in between the front and rear speakers on one side of the room.  I would presume that the effect would be less spectacular if the speakers didn't match. “

“ I knew that the Proteus had superb imaging as a stereo pair, but when 5 are employed the result is amazing.  Every instrument can be pinpointed and located anywhere in the room providing a soundstage far superior to that of traditional stereo recordings. There is a keyboard solo on Herbie Hancock's Headhunters SACD that travels between the front right channel and the rear left channel.  The image is clear throughout the transition and the tonality doesn't change at all.  On the same recording there is a part where the bass line in played through the rear speakers that would normally be redirected to the subwoofer if the speakers weren't full-range.  It is amazing how much more is spread out and revealed in a multichannel mix that would normally be lost somewhere in a crowded stereo mix.  I am very happy to say the least, the Proteus jrs. perform beautifully in a 5.1 channel surround system although they do take up a bit of space.  The effect is just as impressive when watching DVD movies.  Transitions are seemless as sound travels around the room.  As far as the audio goes, I would prefer to watch a movie on my system than go to the movie theater. “

“  Along with the previously mentioned components, my stereo rack contains a Marantz CC-3000 CD changer on the second shelf down and a Phillips DCC player on the bottom shelf which basically just takes up empty space since the technology is obsolete. The big gray box to the left of the television is my homemade (low-budget) 300 watt, 12 inch subwoofer.  Since all of my speakers are full-range, the subwoofer doesn't add much for most music recordings.  When listening to stereo recordings I don't use the subwoofer at all since the signal is not present when the receiver is in the "source direct" mode which bypasses the tone controls and improves the imaging and clarity significantly.  Even when I hook my subwoofer up to the pre-amp outputs of my receiver (which aren't bypassed in S/D mode) I find that it blurs the image slightly so I prefer not to use it for stereo recordings.  For movies, however, the subwoofer makes a big difference.  You might notice that I had to place a sheet of steel on top of the center channel speaker in order to prevent the magnetic fields from distorting my television's picture.  I forgot to mention that the clarity and smoothness of the new high resolution audio formats is really noticeable through a good pair of speakers like the Proteus jrs.  I think that the extended upper-end response of the H881 tweeter takes advantage of the wide frequency range that these formats provide.  The Proteus design seems to be very popular among speaker builders as seen by the number of people that have built them.  I could have easily sold two or three pairs of Proteus jrs. to friends if I had the ambition to build more.  Great job on the design and good luck with your future endeavours. “

 

    

 

The Proteus by Frank Ventura from the USA.

 

“ Being somewhat new to DIY audio, and having just finished building my Pass Penultimate Zen amp, I wanted a somewhat easy speaker project.  Although I did not want a complicated design, I wanted something more than the typical two-way small bookshelf. Something I could use without a subwoofer that was efficient, good looking, and would mate well with my amp.  After finding Tony’s website, “Humble Homemade Hifi”, and reading through all the great designs, I decided on the Proteus. For better or worse remains to be seen, but I varied somewhat on the cabinet construction from what I had typically seen others use.  I didn’t want to tackle veneering a box as large as this on my first attempt.  I also liked the look of the wood stain for the cabinet body with the black face.  So, I had to use veneered plywood.  I used ¾” birch plywood and doubled up the top and bottom with another piece of ½” birch plywood.  The front baffle and internal bracing was ¾ mdf.  In order to hide the edges I had to mitre all corners and flush mount the MDF baffle.  I also did not have much room, or a tolerant enough wife, for an external crossover.  I mounted the crossover in the back lower section of the cabinet.  I used ¾ cover over a cutout in the back and the crossover was mounted to this.  The binding posts where also installed in the crossover cover.  It is fairly easy to take the cover off and remove the crossover should I get the urge to tweak it. “

“ The sound.  One word: Unbelievable.  My wife’s typical response when I ask her how things sound that I’ve built is, “not half bad”.  When I asked her about these speakers her response was, “awesome”.  I would have never believed that speakers this good could be made in a simple workshop.  I’ve listened to speakers from B&W, Dynaudio, JMLabs, etc…and these speakers compare favourable with some of the best.  The soundstage is wide and deep.  The speakers simply disappear.  I would say that they are somewhat critical of front-end gear.  My initial listening session was with an Audio Electronic Supply AE-3 tube preamp, Penultimate Zen amp, and a Rotel CD Player.  This set-up was amazing.  Switching to my Aleph5, Adcom preamp, Cary CD player was good, but not as impressive. Switching the preamp back to the AE-3 brought the magic back.  I find the bass of these speakers very good.  The vocals are simply impressive.  I would recommend these speakers to anyone and would be surprised if you could do better for the price/size.  Now I am on to build a stand to do these beauties justice. “

 

    

 

The Proteus by Nigel Stainforth from the UK.

 

“ First thing was a comparison test with my old speakers. I never bothered reconnecting my old speakers the difference was so large and the Proteus so good. I had read your comment about the stereo depth and soundstage but could hardly believe it even when I was hearing it for myself. (I chose non-D'Appolito crossovers) I think the speakers are still settling in after only 1 weeks use but they already sound superb, and I may build all my own Hifi in the future because the sound quality available for the cost is not available any other way.”

“ Thanks for your advice regarding the speakers run in time. I have found that they are definitely changing day by day; most noticeably bass is much deeper now. I tried changing the tweeter phase and am unsure about the result as the speakers are still changing so much. They seem to sound better every time I listen to them! Many thanks for publishing this design. ”

“ My Proteus' continue to provide hours of pleasure, and as you comment in your review of the sound of the Hatt SE, listening sessions tend to go on long into the night, and leave stacks of CDs to be cleared up the next day. Do you know how early it gets light in York in the Summer?  I DO!!!!!!  Bass from the Proteus is now amazingly deep & tuneful and overall sound just superb. ”

 

  

 

The Proteus by Roman Bednarek from the USA.

 

“ My design is also based upon an outer cabinet shell of 1" MDF (25.2 mm) and inner bracing of 3/4 inch MDF (18.8 mm).  This made the cabinets slightly heavier.  The 1" MDF had to be special ordered, but the 3/4 inch MDF could be found easily. ”

“ Over the last week I have been building my "low-budget" version of the Proteus.  My version ended up weighing about 66 pounds (30 kg) due to the 25mm MDF.  I didn't build them exactly to design specifications, mostly due to a lack of a LCR meter, but everything is pretty close.  Once I got them to a point where I could hear them I couldn't stop listening to them... the sound absolutely phenomenal!  The imaging is amazing and the bass is deep and tight!  I was pleasantly surprised when I first heard them.  The keyboards on John Scofield's "A Go Go" envelope you with sound while the drums, bass and guitar can be clearly localized right in front of you.  Even with the H881 tweeter they sound very natural. (I used a 2-Ohm resistor in the crossover to compensate for the H881's higher efficiency)  I've been demonstrating them for all of my friends and they are all amazed at the clarity and imaging of the Proteus.  Great job on the crossover!  “

“  My next move is to make three more Proteus in order to complete my home theatre set-up. I noticed that they have a very wide sweet spot, so I would assume that they should work well when placed horizontally.  I'm still pondering the thought of spending the extra money on the Seas Excel tweeters. I was thinking about employing them in my primary front left/right channels and using the H881s for the remaining centre/surround channels, but I might be better off if all of the speakers are identically matched.  Even with the H881s they sound quite impressive.  ”

“ Thank you VERY much for designing the Proteus... I am now a VERY happy audiophile. They are among the finest loudspeakers that I have heard and ARE the finest HOMEMADE loudspeaker that I have ever heard... very natural sounding with great imaging.  You can enjoy them for many hours at high levels without fatigue.  After hearing the Proteus, I can't imagine how good the Andromedas must sound.  Good luck on your future endeavours, I'm sure your next project will sound remarkable.  Once again, thanks for designing a phenomenal speaker... keep up the good work.  ”

“ I've been experimenting with the design slightly.  I noticed that when the felt was present, the woofer panels would vibrate quite a bit... this reduced the amount of vibrations that would be transferred to the cabinet and tweeter in particular.  However, woofer energy was being absorbed by the felt.  I removed the felt layer and noticed an improvement in the bass response and overall definition especially at higher levels.  ”

“ A few of my friends are begging me to build them a pair of Proteus, but I've got to complete my surround system first.  After hearing the clarity and realism of the midrange of the Proteus, my old bookshelf speakers are almost unlistenable in comparison. Thank you for providing these wonderful speaker designs that guarantee a high quality to price ratio.  ”

“ I've compared every speaker in my house to my Proteus jrs. and nothing comes close with regards to imaging... the Proteus provide an image that is extremely focused and I have yet to hear a speaker that comes close in that respect. ”

 

      

 

The Proteus by Jan Deckers from the Netherlands.

 

“ Super speaker, designed by Tony Gee, using Seas units. I.m.h.o. much better than the Ariel. These speakers are really rocking, imagining, although they don't go that deep, bass is still outstanding. Using all SEAS units, it is a perfect State of Art.”

Visit Jan’s site!

 

    

 

The Proteus by Triode Dick from the Netherlands.

 

An extensive review about Jan Deckers system including the Proteus speakers. The read the rave review here!  (Sorry, in Dutch only).

Visit Dick’s site!

 

 

The Proteus by Manfred Wendelgass from Germany.

 

“ Yesterday I made a big step forward with the Proteus. First I put more damping wool into the cabinets that helped a lot. The bass is much much better now. Also the overall sound gets better and better everyday. And I had the time to listen to a lot of different music since the Proteus is there. I am very satisfied with these speakers. Very natural sound and a good all rounder. I listen to rock, pop, jazz and classical and so far the Proteus did not disappoint me. ”

“ A Proteus Club????  Why not? I am willing to help others to build these superb speakers or to improve them. Did you have the chance to listen to the Ariels? The Ariels would have been my first choice before I discovered the Proteus. ”

“ I used a thick bitumen paste which is normally used for roof repair. It is a very thick paste with some fibre in it and it is very heavy. I used a whole 5 Kg bucket of this stuff. So it adds approx. 2,5Kg of mass per speaker and damping to the cabinet. I don't know if I would use it again because working with this stuff is a pain because you will get black all over and getting your hands and clothes clean is very hard. And the worst thing right now is that I have built a very bad smelling Proteus. ”

 

      

 

NOTE: These designs are strictly for the home DIY enthusiast and not to be used professionally without permission!

 

Tony Gee

The Netherlands