Miniature surround system with tiny drivers (< 2inch)

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Years ago I saw the Sony DAV-IS10 system and thought it sounded pretty good for what it is; almost invisible speakers.

bravia_dav-is10_speaker_c.jpg


The speakers used in the sony kit are barely 1.4" big, including the housing.

Now for the fun of it, I'd like to build something myself. Isn't really rocket science but sourcing a unit that might work is HARD!

The unit that seems 'ok' in theory is the Visaton BF 32 8ohm...
It's a 1.3" unit that is cheap ($10 a pop) easy to mount and relatively good looking. Frequency response seems acceptable too.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.

Visaton BF 32, 8 ohm, mini speaker

Of course the satellites need to be accompanied with a subwoofer. For that I have a diy 15" sealed sub, using a Tempest-X unit.

Anyway, anyone ever attempted something this tiny? Any advise on units?
I was thinking of maybe even producing the housings from carbon fibre and aluminium...
 
@Planet10: Sadly here in the Netherlands they still ask ~$70 for second hand eMacs... :(
@zman01: Well, that's my question...I'll be using it for movies and it'll be hooked up to a simple Cambridge Audio surround receiver and HD TV.
The Sony system I quoted is for movies since it's a home theatre package with subwoofer and receiver... so it is doable somehow.
 
@zman01: Well, that's my question...I'll be using it for movies and it'll be hooked up to a simple Cambridge Audio surround receiver and HD TV.
The Sony system I quoted is for movies since it's a home theatre package with subwoofer and receiver... so it is doable somehow.



it might not be a surprise if the satellites crossed over to the "sub" at much higher than the normal frequency range to limit excursion issues
 
If it helps any, I distinctly remember some of the ad copy for this system saying something about how the bass unit - I hesitate to call it a subwoofer - was involved in helping to make sure the full sound spectrum was reproduced properly or something to that effect (it used wording that sounded much more "technical" but it was rather vacuous at the same time). When I went and listened to it, what I heard was parts of male voices for example emanating from the bass unit, so to me that meant it was crossed over really high, no surprise considering the tiny satellites.
 
it might not be a surprise if the satellites crossed over to the "sub" at much higher than the normal frequency range to limit excursion issues

Yup.

Having heard one of these, they sound okay for movies, but lack any lower midrange that fills in the likes of bass guitar when the music comes on.

I'd consider stereo woofers to fill in the music sound a little.

Chris
 
It will only be used for movies. I've got a dedicated stereo setup with a Marantz stereo integrated and small diy Full-range towers using the Omnes Audio BB4.AL. (Mark-Audio CHR70-ish)

What do you guys think, will I be putting too much stress on the tiny Visaton's if I cross them over at only 200hz? (I guess I already know the answer. :( )
 
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