First time build with GRS "Bofu clones"

[phin586]

Hey everyone. First time builder. Looking to put together something cheap for a small upper flat apartment, that will give me good sound at low power.

A friend of mine pointed me to these:

GRS 8FR-8 Full-Range 8" Speaker Pioneer Type B20FU20-51FW | Parts-Express.com

They look pretty interesting. I want a decent bass sound, so I am thinking that ported will be the way to go. I also understand that they lack a little in the high end, so i was thinking these would be something cheap that would go well with it and help cover the rest of the range:

Tang Band 25-302SH 1" Shielded Neodymium Dome Tweeter | Parts-Express.com

I will be powering it all with a open ended tube kit that looks to fit my needs:

DIYTube Get-Set-Go Board with Parts

Basicly here are my goals with this project:

1) Lower my power consumption.
2) Minimize my living room setup for more space.
3) Have great sound for little cost.

These will be fairly general purpose. I will have them hooked to my TV for movies and gaming. They will also be used for listening to music. Mostly Electronic (Jungle, Techno) and Rock.

I don't need them to be really loud. Just a pleasure to listen to.

Would anyone with more experience like to chime in and possibly offer a few build ideas for my needs.

BTW, the room is roughly 30x15.

[GM]

Greets!

Its specs indicate a ~64 L net cab tuned to Fs, so needs a 'sub' system for movies, some music and I assume games too unless there's a way to attenuate any deep bass.

A triode amp though implies a high output impedance that can dramatically increase the cab size up to around 144 L, but still a Fs tuning to maximize power transfer efficiency which typically results in the 'woolly'/'flabby' sounding bass of days gone by.

GM

[phin586]

Loud bass isn't as needed as accurate bass. Like I said, this is an apartment so I really don't have a desire to "thump".

[planet10]

If you want relatively small & accurate bass, sealed would do it. Ultimate extension would depend on the room gain you get. Soms based on factory data suggests 30-50 litres.

A golden ratio box of 40 litres would be 34x55x21 cm internal

dave

[phin586]

Does it matter where I place that tweeter? I wouldn't mind going for the single speaker look, but if it has a chance of muffling the sound, I'll compromise.

[planet10]

It should be as close to the mid-bass as possible. I like to offset them in mirror imaged pairs. Get the right tweeter (ie small) and it can be mounted co-axially. Either suspended or on a cyclidrical phase plug (an example of that is here someone on the forum).

dave

[phin586]

I have so many questions!

What are the benefits of a Back Horn Design? I see it tends to bring out a little more bass. This could be good if I am adding a tweeter to bring out more high's.

Also, would you or anyone else have any example plans for these speakers? Just trying to get an idea of what I'm getting into.

I'm fairly good at woodworking. So I am really looking forward to getting my hands dirty with this project. =)

[phin586]

@GM: I see that you actually came up with some pretty basic design dimensions for these speakers in the following thread:

pioneer b20fu20-51fw

I'm curious if this would work for my situation.

[planet10]

Originally Posted by phin586

would you or anyone else have any example plans for these speakers?

Driver is too new for a lot of plans to have built up. I think Godzilla is the only one hear abouts to have gotten them in a cabinet and talked about it.

dave

[planet10]

Originally Posted by phin586

@GM: I see that you actually came up with some pretty basic design dimensions for these speakers in the following thread:

pioneer b20fu20-51fw

I'm curious if this would work for my situation.

That is for the old Classic BOFU....

dave