best full range driver

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good evening everyone.....i have made some speakers using a non-standard type of casing but am finding that when the volume is turned up i lose bass and it gets quite trebly (not sure if thats a word but it should be!).

im using a fostex fe107e and the casing is a uniformly oval (about) 8 litres.

any ideas how to improve the sound at volume bearing in mind i can only use full range drivers and i am a complete imbecile when it comes to stuff like this so, please, nothing too technical!

many thanks in advance for your help.

dave.
 
Maybe you ceramic cabinets are resonating once you get the volume up. Tap on the pot with a pencil and see if it 'rings' at about the same tone you hear with the volume up.

Building cabs out of pots, jars, pans, and other exotic materials has probably been attempted before with similar results to the ones you are expiriencing. Most of these materials may be too rigid and have a tendency to ring. I'm not saying, with the assistance of some good bracing and stuffing it can't be done, but more then likely, most builders have expirimented with various exotics and have concluded that nothing is easier, and is more pleasant to the ear then wood.

My take. I've been wrong before.

This is probably why you don't see a lot of ceramic, metal, and glass speakers here.
 
thanks lcole.....im hoping i can find a way round this problem as i am intending to amke them and sell them. and by using musical instruments....saxophones etc. they all work nutil the volume is loud. they get loud enough for apartments and us older chaps who dont WANT the music loud....but when youre making a pair of saxophone speakers that cost $500 plus a pair to buy and make.....you want a decent return. therefore, got to be able to go loud!
 
How are the drivers attached / sealed to the pots, and can they (pots) be "modified"?

Flower or other ornamental potteries might not be finished with as precise an edge as would be required to provide the air-tight seal that a speaker would require.

If there's enough margin at the perimeter you could cut some wooden rings that either overlap or are inset at the perimeter and bond with construction grade silicone adhesive ( i.e Sikaflex - this stuff is very strong but messy - so clean any squeeze-out immediately with solvent) - let dry overnight, then just install the driver with normal wood screws and gaskets.

If the pots have thin enough walls that they ring with a tap test, a few thick beads of the Sikaflex could well help to diminish that as well.



There are actually lots of examples of ceramic or cast acrylic composite material (e.g. "Corian") speaker enclosures out there, but they are purpose designed an machined with appropriate precision driver mounting attachment in mind.


edit:

Horst also makes a good point - it could be that the net internal volume is small enough to invoke compression at the higher internal pressures created when you turn it up, severely altering the system's frequency response
 
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hello again everyone and thanks for the very helpful, um, help.

ive attached the drivers to the pots by screwing them to 1/2 thick real wood (in the shape of a donut) and then glued those to the lip of the pot. so they should be well sealed.

im begining to think the problem might be more the size of the pot. at only about 8 litres...maybe a tad more....i reckon there isnt enough room inside for the driver to do it thing.

so, i will just have to get my pot man (nooooo....not THAT sort of pot!!) to make me some bigger pots.

but, that doesnt help with the same problem i have with using saxophones as the casing. again, good sound until the volume is turned up.

yet, i have to ask....how loud is loud enough? im using an onkyo tx8555 amp and get as far as 60 on the volume before it starts going awry. but is this loud enough for people? i dont know.

perhaps an older gentleman who doesnt like loud music...like my father....or someone living in an apartment where volume isnt of the essence would be interested in buying such a speaker.

i have to say...they do look pretty bloody good though!
 
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Hi, you might want to consider the FE108 E Sigma (slightly higher efficiency) in conjunction with a subwoofer - don't make it too hard on the smallish speakers, they can't produce a lot of bass and that may well cause the distortion problems you are hearing.....
 
good evening woody , thanks for your suggestion and my sincere apologies for the lengthy delay in replying.

it is a closed enclosure and 8 litres is only an estimate. but i do have some damping inside.

also, and this may sound a stupid question, but i assume the "vas" figure quoted in specs is the suggested volume size to fit the driver. if so, i also assume this is the MAXIMUM volume and that the enclosure could be smaller.

oh, and thanks also to chris661 in the north of england.....a wonderful part of the country. if you mean what amplifier am i using....its an onkyo tx8555. if you dont mean that....im afraid i have absolutely no idea!

i have to say this is such a frustrating problem to have as hear the factory-made speakers and they always sound so good....even at volume. and thats the only place i have a problem....at volume. but perhaps the volume is actually louder than i think!
 
cheerio, VAS stands for the volumne of air that acts as stiff as the speaker's complience. You might download the free program WinIsd Pro Alpha and play with
it some. Generaly a speaker will use a much larger box if it's ported. In your case
the recomended volumn for a ported box is ~6 liters. When I ran the WinIsd pro alpha program the subjested voulmne for a closed box was 2.52 Liters with a FS of 154hz. Realy that speaker needs a ported box of some type or perhaps a BIB.
 
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