Sealed enclosure for SEAS Exotic

[johnsonad]

This will be my first speaker box build for a pair of SEAS Exotic drivers and I was hoping you all could help me with a few questions.

Does the box need to be square and does the shape matter in a sealed enclosure? SEAS recommends 2.1 cubic feet (60L) and if a rectangle is acceptable it would have the same net volume without a cube on a stand.

Would 3/4" MDF with internal bracing and dampening materials be enough for an acoustic suspension enclosure? If so, there are premade sub boxes or any car audio shop can build a custom MDF sealed box.

Does anyone have any experience or recommendations on enclosures for this build? I remember reading Mr. Pass has a pair but if anyone can point me in the right direction with links/ threads/ designs etc I would appreciate it.

[rcdaniel]

Seems no one wants to contribute - I will help where I can.

The shape of the box can be pretty-much anything, providing the volume stays the same. However, this driver reportedly sounds pretty average in tall slim enclosure. Personally, I would go for a wider than usual front baffle with the box proportioned using the golden ratio. Wikipedia and google it “golden ratio”.

I can't really advise on materials and avail cabs. MDF should be okay for a sealed enclosure, provided it is well braced etc.

Personally, I will probably be going for an aperiodic enclosure in void-free ply for these drivers. I need to do some research though. Yes, I have finally settled for these drivers, despite their efficiency being lower than I would like... hopefully they will be efficient enough.

Best of fortune

[johnsonad]

Thanks for the reply. There seems to be little interest in these drivers and I was hoping for more experiences from people. It's hard to take the plung on them given the price and what little people have posted.

[rcdaniel]

Yes, I understand what you mean. Interesting that Feastrex drivers get sooo much coverage when, according to someone whose views are worth some weight, the SEAS may present music more to many folks' liking than the lower-rung Feastrex drivers. Feastrex does have the art / collectible cache and the geurilla marketing thing going on, which helps of course I would love a pair, but will wait until I can justify some D9e series drivers. There IS something about Japanese artistry.

In the near future it will likely be SEAS for me - kinda cool that not too many folks have jumped on 'em and that the cabs are an easy build. Tho, higher eff would be nice - I now have to decide how to get a little more amp power whilst letting the music flow in a direct, expressive, nuanced, textural, yet dynamic manner. Ah, the challenges.

Cheers

[Zoran]

fullrangers somehow lacking of
good bass and up highs...
mostly all of them
but they have good middle
and without crossover, at critical F places...
So Your Idea is good to put the unit into
sealed cabinet,
and
make the system open for developing
for instance adding ribbon tweeter as top highs,
and sub for low
*
on that way You avoiding complex crossovers at the mid read FR,
*
still even without, You will have more clear,and fast sound with
sealed but good one
DO NOT USE MDF, highly resonant,
use plywood natural material,
*
maybe You will have a little bit less bass
but it will be more clear and direct
not like woof, or time to time resosonating like the most...
*
The shape is the best to be circular like a big ball, spherical...
but that is hard to built...
so somehow try to balance between the complex shape and feasibility...
Tip
simple barrel without parallel bases...
*
your driver is good deserves something like more then mediocre...
*
try to consult some other sofware for detemining the
volume of the cabinet.
Do not take factory datas like as is...
*
cheers

[johnsonad]

A barrel shape is interesting. I had thought of a clyindrical shape but either is a little above my current skill set using wood.

[Nelson Pass]

Originally posted by johnsonad
Does anyone have any experience or recommendations on enclosures for this build? I remember reading Mr. Pass has a pair but if anyone can point me in the right direction with links/ threads/ designs etc I would appreciate it.

I have a pair of these and they are truly excellent. Overall they don't really belong in the
Lowther/Feastrex camp. I think of them more as super versions of the Jordan J92s
(which I like a lot), with the ability to handle higher power, more linear excursion, and of
course a larger cone surface to take a larger bite at low frequencies.

They do not have the sensitivity of the Lowther/Feastrex, and want more power and
damping than the typical SET, which does not make them the darling of the traditional
full range camp.

Seas recommends a sealed enclosure for them, but I am still farting around with
open baffles. They will shortly go into some 4' X 6' flat OB's, and I'll have some
interesting information.

[rcdaniel]

Hi Nelson. Thanks for taking the time to post here – your comments, here and elsewhere, are always weighted highly in my considerations. I think of them as more efficent and more advanced Fostex FxxxA series drivers...

Your thoughts generally appear to reflect those of the person I referred to in a previous post. He prefers 10W+ to drive his, tho he did state that the more dynamic SETs of 3W (for near-field listening) or 5W (in smaller rooms) are adequate. Thankfully, the SEAS present music nicely at lower volume levels; nice to know they are less restricted at higher levels than many wide-rangers tho.

Interestingly – and what I think has sold me on them – is that they do PRaT (I feel like a prat even using the term!) across the freq range really well; I guess that is down to sealed loading, the usual wide-range virtues, and decent displacement all combined in one neat little package. I find PRaT (eek!) is a significant factor in communicating the emotional message of music… it involves me. Hell, I can’t imagine grooving to De Phazz (Days of Twang on now) played back on a dull system.

I look forward to your OB trial - I had thought of that too, tho will have to wait until I move into larger place.

Okay, nuff ranting. Thanks again Nelson.

[sreten]

Hi,

AFAICT Seas simply measured them in a 60L closed box, Qbox = ~ 0.8.

/sreten.

[Scottmoose]

Why would they be like 'more advanced' Fostex F200a drivers? They don't have all that much in common as far as I can see, other than being 8in drivers with alnico motors. From the base parameters, we see the Fostex has no whizzer cone, less Xmax, more motor power & a higher nominal impedance. It's less sensitive, but probably not by quite as much as Seas claim. They're different, certainly, but that's about all.