Dont get me wrong, there is bass, just it seems to need to be more to keep up with the mid/highs. Doesnt sound bad, but when I put Tekton Enzo tower in their place ( two 8 inch woofers) the lack of bass is clearly demonstrated. The go down to 40 hz or so, not bass monsters, but very powerful in comparison. This is about the closest in performance of speakers I have on hand. Hoping I find a miswire....
Test all 8 at once is the fast test. Visually look at all cones and make sure they move to squeeze air out of slot.
Make sure you don’t have phase from your amp flipped on one channel vs the other (speaker cables flipped on just one side). That will crush your bass.
This might help if you have Amazon music.
https://music.amazon.com/albums/B08...08H4K9RRM&ref=dm_sh_hzo8IKB3MXhLt2mdNkGYHRhDh
Make sure you don’t have phase from your amp flipped on one channel vs the other (speaker cables flipped on just one side). That will crush your bass.
This might help if you have Amazon music.
https://music.amazon.com/albums/B08...08H4K9RRM&ref=dm_sh_hzo8IKB3MXhLt2mdNkGYHRhDh
If you have a DATS or some way to do an impedance sweep of the speaker and crossover all connected. That will tell you if things are connected correctly. You can DIY it with REW software and a sound card and some wires and a resistor.
Should look like this:
I am wondering if your idea of bass is hearing stuff down below 40Hz. Because this speaker does not make that lower “home theater” style bass.
Also, if you can take your phone and load a spectrum analyzer app on it. Then play white noise and take snapshot of spectrum.
Should look like this:
The spectrum with a white noise source is almost as good as a mic and sweeps. Hope phone 0.5m from at midrange axis as centerline and play signal at 2.0vrms.
This is a screenshot from my phone app for tuning guitars. I found a pink noise track on Amazon music and played it while taking a soectrum of speakers in my room. Here is what I get from listening position. These are my small bookshelf TL speakers and you can see there is quite a room mode for 45Hz bass:
Program is called n-Track Tuner. There are tons of other programs that can do similar or better things. Just some ideas to give you more tools to diagnose the problem.
Should look like this:
I am wondering if your idea of bass is hearing stuff down below 40Hz. Because this speaker does not make that lower “home theater” style bass.
Also, if you can take your phone and load a spectrum analyzer app on it. Then play white noise and take snapshot of spectrum.
Should look like this:
The spectrum with a white noise source is almost as good as a mic and sweeps. Hope phone 0.5m from at midrange axis as centerline and play signal at 2.0vrms.
This is a screenshot from my phone app for tuning guitars. I found a pink noise track on Amazon music and played it while taking a soectrum of speakers in my room. Here is what I get from listening position. These are my small bookshelf TL speakers and you can see there is quite a room mode for 45Hz bass:
Program is called n-Track Tuner. There are tons of other programs that can do similar or better things. Just some ideas to give you more tools to diagnose the problem.
Last edited:
Well, let there be bass. After I hooked everything back to the play position fron the nine volt battery test and I have bass. I mean, different folks have different tastes, but I KNEW you didnt go to that much trouble for that little bass! Either a lose connection got tight, or maybe I connected the - woofer leads to the + pole on the crossover board? Im not touching anything for right this minute!
Dont see the need for subs.
Russellc
Dont see the need for subs.
Russellc
I think that was it. I disconnected The Woofer + and - for the battery thing, and when I hooked them back up, shazam! I knew something was wrong. There was no way one would use 8 woofers in such a complex manner to get the tiny bass output I was experiencing, due to the mis wire. Bass, and now everything is balanced across the bandwidth. Basically, I was getting about 1/2 the amount of bass I should have been getting....and it sounded like it. Even if that was all the bass it had, I knew very well that giant hole shouldnt be there!
The initial problem was a clip off one pole, and a mix up with the two down wires in - and the two in +. I had one + and one - together....then I painstakingly traced every wire, comparing to illustration. Somehow I must have hooked the two + wires to - tab on crossover board, and two - wires to positive. I think. Its working now and I want it to keep playing and breaking in.
The initial problem was a clip off one pole, and a mix up with the two down wires in - and the two in +. I had one + and one - together....then I painstakingly traced every wire, comparing to illustration. Somehow I must have hooked the two + wires to - tab on crossover board, and two - wires to positive. I think. Its working now and I want it to keep playing and breaking in.
The speakers are sounding fine. Until the XA 252 amp is done, I'm using one of the Pass designs, the BA3. Stock, it used 24 volt rails. I built it as 6l6 built his, with 31-32 volt rails, which gives about 50 watts. Sounds larger, it is a class A amp. I drove them also with the Pass designed Aleph J clone. It actually sounded surprisingly good for a 25-30 watt Class A single ended amp.
The BA3 with the higher rails is a pretty stout amp. It uses a 1000 VA transformer. Doing well for now.
The BA3 with the higher rails is a pretty stout amp. It uses a 1000 VA transformer. Doing well for now.
It seems to play all my speakers, most of which are 92dB or better. The few that are a bit much for the AlephJ or M2 the BA3 does it well.
The XA 252 should be substantially more powerful, the large puck mosfets have a lot of grunt with low ohm jobs, so this speaker should play even better with it in the chain.
Russellc
The XA 252 should be substantially more powerful, the large puck mosfets have a lot of grunt with low ohm jobs, so this speaker should play even better with it in the chain.
Russellc
1/2in ply on wings is what I recommend. But the thickness is up to the builder and won’t affect the sound other than add weight. Just keep the baffle width fixed. If using MDF, 1/2in may be kind of fragile.
You can use anything for the woofer array. MDF was for cost since a lot is thrown out due to translam construction.
Thanks for ordering the waveguides. They will go out today.
You can use anything for the woofer array. MDF was for cost since a lot is thrown out due to translam construction.
Thanks for ordering the waveguides. They will go out today.