Beyond the Ariel

I see already -6dB 30º off axis at ~5kHz, compared to essentially 0dB for my horns up to the same frequency. But then, as you say, mine "nose dive", while the Azura just keeps narrowing its pattern gradually. Pick your poison ;-)

The best way to deal with the gradual falloff is aiming the speaker at a point in front of the listener, equalizing the HF section for 10~20 degrees off-axis radiation, and let the smooth change in directivity offset the Haas precedence effect for off-axis listeners. I've tried this setup, and it works for me. It follows early stereo late-Fifties/early-Sixties practice to compensate for 2~3" cone tweeters.
 
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Hi,

I followed on this thread and built a LF enclosure along the lines of a Onken design with a Altec 416 LF and Altec 288C HF mounted on a Azura 425 horn. Been using along the suggested crossover points on this thread using a mini-DSP. Did not like the active crossover beyond a point and I am reverting to a passive crossover now.

Will need help from anyone here for a passive crossover schematic for Beyond the Ariel project. Can't seem to find one. Most of the links have expired.

Thanks in advance.

Anil

Hi Anil,

here is my project. To my ears it sounds very good even after 10 years :)
 
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The best way to deal with the gradual falloff is aiming the speaker at a point in front of the listener, equalizing the HF section for 10~20 degrees off-axis radiation, and let the smooth change in directivity offset the Haas precedence effect for off-axis listeners. I've tried this setup, and it works for me. It follows early stereo late-Fifties/early-Sixties practice to compensate for 2~3" cone tweeters.

My experience tends to support your statement here. On my two-way speaker, after many iterations of my crossover aver 3 years, I found that a downward sloping curve (BBC curve) sounded lifeless and boring, and a flat response did not sound right either. Now I account for the Haas effect below 2 kHz and slightly tilt upwards the response curve to emphasize high frequencies, say between 5 and 20 kHz. In my medium size room, at a 3m listening distance, this worked for me.

Toeing in the speakers enlarges the sweet spot indeed. However since I do most of my listening alone, aiming them straight (not toed in ) and sitting in the sweet spot works well too.
 
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Hi Anil

It sounds simple but in reality it isn’t.

You could derive or use online filter calculators to scale the same filter for a load of 16 ohms instead of 8 ohms. The inductors will grow and get more expensive if you want to use air cores. Unfortunately in reality I don’t believe the scaling would prove satisfactory on its own, because the impedance curve of your 16 ohm drivers is not just a doubling of the impedance curve of their 8 ohm versions. So the scaled filter will be off.

You have options. One is to embark on the design of your own passive crossover. This is fun as long as you have time and patience. The above "scaled" filter could be used as a starting point for iterations. Another option is to get the 8 ohm drivers and build using the filter as published. This is the safest route in my opinion. Or you can keep looking for a crossover designed specifically for the drivers and enclosure you have. I looked in my notes and could not find one. I trust you will get help here.
 
I got one of those notices from Photobucket announcing that my account doesn't allow third-party hosting, thus my photos would be blocked from external sites. I clicked on the link to see what the cost would be for the upgraded account...$399 per year. No thanks!

Are there better options out there?
 
Yikes, I was wondering about Photobucket as there seems to be lots of pics disappearing in forums where people had posted using Photobucket etc.

As was mentioned you could load pics right here at diy using the advance posting option, then click on the "Attachments" icon next to the white smiley face. That's how I finally figured out how to post pics here anyhow lol. Then you just browse pics on your computer and when you're done hit the upload button.

Anyhow would be interesting to see the system as it is now :)
 
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There's a "Gallery" here on diyaudio, you can put all your pictures there, and even link to them within your posts so they show full size without requiring another click by the user. Took me years to realize it!

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/gallery/index.html

EDIT: Oh, man! I just followed my own link and see the Gallery won't take new images pending a change to new software! Sorry about that....
 
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