Cool. In case you did not know in Jriver: If you add two for example high pass filters of even order 6dB + 6dB, you will get a second order / 12db Linkwitz Riley filter.
That's a valid point. Measurement will show what the effects of this will be.
Thanks for the compliment. The finish took a lot of work!
I got the speakers yesterday, and I'm grinning uncontrollably as I listen to my speaker.
I implemented the crossover and did some rough tuning. Even with no bass (passive radiators tuned too high) and only a single speaker playing, the sound quality already greatly exceeded my expectations.
The beryllium version of the Scanspeak Illuminator tweeter is 100% worth the 2.5x higher price. I expected minor improvements over the non beryllium version in my previous speaker, but the difference is drastic and immediately noticeable. The tweeter sounds sweeter and more detailed.
The Wavecor woofers are a significant upgrade over the Tang Band W4-1720 woofer. I'm hearing a ton of lower midrange detail I've never heard before.
The speaker also has much greater dynamics capabilities. Listening to music, especially classical music at high volumes is thrilling.
I can't wait to put this speaker through an extensive measurement and tuning session.
I implemented the crossover and did some rough tuning. Even with no bass (passive radiators tuned too high) and only a single speaker playing, the sound quality already greatly exceeded my expectations.
The beryllium version of the Scanspeak Illuminator tweeter is 100% worth the 2.5x higher price. I expected minor improvements over the non beryllium version in my previous speaker, but the difference is drastic and immediately noticeable. The tweeter sounds sweeter and more detailed.
The Wavecor woofers are a significant upgrade over the Tang Band W4-1720 woofer. I'm hearing a ton of lower midrange detail I've never heard before.
The speaker also has much greater dynamics capabilities. Listening to music, especially classical music at high volumes is thrilling.
I can't wait to put this speaker through an extensive measurement and tuning session.
Very cool build! Compact power will surprise the most.
This may be the same concept
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6ERMA_5xE
This may be the same concept
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju6ERMA_5xE
Thank you! I'm most likely going to aim for 150-500Hz. I'll see what happens from experimentation.
Not yet. Been very busy with work lately and haven't had time to play with them in the past 2 weeks. Soon though.
Listening distance is anywhere from nearfield desktop to filling a living room. This is designed as a travel speaker because I work in different cities a lot, but as you can see I got a little carried away
Random observations:
1) I used to be a road warrior too, and I traveled with an NXT speaker. Basically it's large enough to have some real directivity, but thin enough to fit in my suitcase.
2) The TSA loves to take stuff. They literally took my speakers out of the overhead compartment WHILE ON THE PLANE. When I asked the stewardess why the TSA took my stuff, she said that the speakers looked "suspicious." I never got them back.
3) If listening in the nearfield, you'll want fairly small drivers or full-range. When the center-to-center spacing is large, you must sit further away for the drivers to integrate. Picture something like this, but one-quarter the size:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Long overdue update. Been incredibly busy lately, so here's a look at the progress I've done with this speaker.
I added a preamp board into the speaker. The amplifier needed 2.7V of input sensitivity to reach full output, but my output stage on my Xonar U7 only outputs 1V. This is made from the OPA1642 op amp. The second PCB is for filtering the noisy auxiliary power from the ICEpower amp. The preamp steps up the voltage by 4x. Even though I only need 2.7x, I used 4x to allow spare headroom for the DAC. Now I can finally get full power from the amps and really crank out the SPL.
There were many problems along the way. I had a lot of buzzing problems! I had a ground loop buzz problem that took a lot of effort to find the cause, and it was because the RCA connectors were directly mounted to the baffle without an isolator. Even though wood is a terrible conductor, it was enough to cause a very slight hum that was audible since the amp is running full tilt. I had another buzz problem that was extremely peculiar as well, and turns out it was a few screws that were not tightened inside. I had another buzzing problem that was because the rear end of the passive radiator isn't completely flat, so the washers were rubbing each other at high excursions. Another buzz was due to wires slapping the baskets at high volumes. 4 different sources of buzzing, and this has to be the hardest game of whack a mole I've ever played!
I did some more tuning of the speaker. I need a really high quality speaker to be used as a reference for this speaker. So I went to a friend's house to use his ATC SCM150ASL's as a benchmark and reference.
Before the tuning, while the Reference Mini held its own quite well, the ATC sounded noticeably better in every single metric. The speaker sounds much better after the tuning, and sounds much more similar to the ATC except in the bass. The ATC is a bit bass shy, and I like mine with more bass.
I added a preamp board into the speaker. The amplifier needed 2.7V of input sensitivity to reach full output, but my output stage on my Xonar U7 only outputs 1V. This is made from the OPA1642 op amp. The second PCB is for filtering the noisy auxiliary power from the ICEpower amp. The preamp steps up the voltage by 4x. Even though I only need 2.7x, I used 4x to allow spare headroom for the DAC. Now I can finally get full power from the amps and really crank out the SPL.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
There were many problems along the way. I had a lot of buzzing problems! I had a ground loop buzz problem that took a lot of effort to find the cause, and it was because the RCA connectors were directly mounted to the baffle without an isolator. Even though wood is a terrible conductor, it was enough to cause a very slight hum that was audible since the amp is running full tilt. I had another buzz problem that was extremely peculiar as well, and turns out it was a few screws that were not tightened inside. I had another buzzing problem that was because the rear end of the passive radiator isn't completely flat, so the washers were rubbing each other at high excursions. Another buzz was due to wires slapping the baskets at high volumes. 4 different sources of buzzing, and this has to be the hardest game of whack a mole I've ever played!
I did some more tuning of the speaker. I need a really high quality speaker to be used as a reference for this speaker. So I went to a friend's house to use his ATC SCM150ASL's as a benchmark and reference.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Before the tuning, while the Reference Mini held its own quite well, the ATC sounded noticeably better in every single metric. The speaker sounds much better after the tuning, and sounds much more similar to the ATC except in the bass. The ATC is a bit bass shy, and I like mine with more bass.
Hi bcodemz,
Those ASX2 modules really need an input buffer to get full of them, I'm using 2x input buffer made with two LME49710 based on Nisbeth design PCB :
https://theslowdiyer.wordpress.com/2013/09/02/project-files-opamp-buffer-for-icepower-asx-modules/
This combo sound VERY good
Couple reasons this is common:
1- with lower sensitivity 15"s they reach deep naturally, and can be relatively flat, where many smaller speakers use more baffle step correction or a tuning bump to increase perceived bass. Flat often sounds bass shy, until the real stuff gets bumping.
2- in higher efficiency systems, 15"s are generally pro-style with Fs in the mid 30s and enclosure tunings in the 40s. These type of speakers need subs in my opinion- the midbass can really whump but I value LF extension and so use subs below my own 15" setup
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