Best MarkAudio driver for my home theater

[kctess5]

My parents are having me build them a home theater system to replace the current pretty lame one.

It will be crossed about 80Hz to a sub, room is pretty large as it connects to out kitchen as well.

I will be building the L and R front surrounds and the center. They have to fit into a entertainment center cabinet so I will either fold an existing MLTL design or go with a smaller Planet10 designed bass reflex or something.

It won't need to go super loud but it should have enough headroom that the occasional gunshot won't kill it.

I immediately thought of the alpair 10s for the larger cone area but I don't know which of your drivers could comfortably go the loudest.

dB wise, how loud do you think that 3 Alpair 10.2s could go at about 80 Hz in an MLTL before running the risk of damage?

If the Alpair won't cut it output wise I am thinking of using several CHR 70 Gen 2s that you said were more robust. Maybe 2 per speaker. That being said, I'd prefer the higher quality sound from the 10.2s if at all possible

Thanks for your time

 

[Swifty]

If High Passed @ 80hz the Alpair 10's will go plenty loud. When played full range, especially in vented designs, overexcursion could occur, when played loud below tuning frequency, e.g. in a home theather situation when playing movies. If high passed to a sub this will not be a problem, and I believe the Alpair 10.2 to be an ideal candidate for your plans.

But why not put them in a closed box since they will not be required to play lower bass anyway? (On second thought, they might not reach to 80 hz in a closed box, I have not checked in WinISD)

 

[kctess5]

Thanks! That's what i thought, I just needed a reality check

I need to check out win isd also, if sealed won't work then I'm thinking a mltl or something to further reduce required excursion at 80 Hz. I won't need to worry about below port tuning unload because my receiver does all that for me.

 

[planet10]

dave

 

[chrisb]

Thanks! That's what i thought, I just needed a reality check

I need to check out win isd also, if sealed won't work then I'm thinking a mltl or something to further reduce required excursion at 80 Hz. I won't need to worry about below port tuning unload because my receiver does all that for me.

IINM, there is an enclosure design originally intended for CC for the 10.2, that should be compact enough for reasonable performance in this situation. ( dual high aspect ratio slot ports - not exactly a conventional BR)

Answering the "Best?" question is risky, but it's probably safe to say the 10.2 is a logical choice from the MA line for the front row 3 channels if crossing over as low as 80. This driver wasn't available at the time that I built my own 5.1 last year or so, and I went for Alpair7 and XO at 110 /120.

The only 2 enclosures in which I've heard the 10.2 are Bob Brines' MLTL - great performance, but not compact, and Dave's MarKen - which are more refined than a basic MLTL/ Pensil type, but sacrifice weight/ impact in the lowest couple of octaves - hardly an issue with the bass management control of a surround receiver or HTPC.

 

[steve71075]

I've just built four of the mercia from plans on the planet 10 website along with a ported enclosure for the centre again using a pair of chr70 and am absolutely over the moon with them . Best home cinema setup I have personally heard anyway and they have had lots of favourable comments from anybody that's heard them .

Seeing as the chr is the budget driver I can only imagine you will be very pleased with any of the mark audio offerings and if the other planet 10 designs are as good as the ones I've just built your be on to a winner . My thanks to both, i'm very very pleased and will definantly be building something else from their designs using marks drivers in the near future for my office.

Steve

 

[zman01]

Steve,

Congrats on your build.

This is the first Mercia build I am reading about. I nearly did one last year, but then settled for the smaller Wessex.

What amp and sub are you using?

 

[steve71075]

Thanks zman01 , im using an old mordaunt short 10" active subwoofer from my old setup which will be the next thing to be replaced . I've a pair of old jl audio 15w6 that i have used in the past with great results that im considering or maybe a 2 or 4 of the infinity 1260w because they look like they may colour match quite nicely to the brushed silver finish chr70 .

For late night quiter viewing/listening I switch the sub off and run the surrounds at full range and they still perform great, only missing out a little on the very low bits . Im using a onkyo txnr515 which im again very pleased with , have just let the auto setup do its bit and then brought the crossover points up to 80hz for a little more protection for the chr70's when the volume is turned up as the amp seems to be quite happy in letting the surrounds play down to 40hz .

Steve

 

[fastbike1]

The Infinity 1260w end up making outstanding subs in 36 liters sealed, provided you can give them at least 300 watts. Several folks at PE Techtalk have paired them w/ Crown XLS1000 or XLS1500. (I have yet to build mine). In the US, the drivers are exceedingly inexpensive (~55 USD).

Thanks zman01 , im using an old mordaunt short 10" active subwoofer from my old setup which will be the next thing to be replaced . I've a pair of old jl audio 15w6 that i have used in the past with great results that im considering or maybe a 2 or 4 of the infinity 1260w because they look like they may colour match quite nicely to the brushed silver finish chr70 .

For late night quiter viewing/listening I switch the sub off and run the surrounds at full range and they still perform great, only missing out a little on the very low bits . Im using a onkyo txnr515 which im again very pleased with , have just let the auto setup do its bit and then brought the crossover points up to 80hz for a little more protection for the chr70's when the volume is turned up as the amp seems to be quite happy in letting the surrounds play down to 40hz .

Steve

 

[steve71075]

Was reading the threads on there just last night , im sure i spotted your username somewhere in there . I have also found a ported design for the infinitys which looks promising although these were approx 8cft each so I need to have a measure up to see if i can fit them in at the front of the room where I want them. Have plenty of room at the rear of the room should i go with 4 and they would double up nicely as side tables

I can get them for £45 each over here which was quite surprising, seeing as we seem to normally pay double the price of most american prices . Free delivery too which is nice !

 

[planet10]

... if the other planet 10 designs are as good as the ones I've just built your be on to a winner...

Mercia is Scott Lindgren design, my drawing.

IMHO p10 designs are as good as Scott's, but different priorities.

Also Scott's tend to big, mine small.

dave

 

[steve71075]

My apologies Dave , I did'nt realize .

One of the miniOnkens will be the next on my list to try at the end of the month for my small office/man cave, i have only read good things so looking forward to trying them out .

Thanks to you and Scott for making the plans available .

Steve

 

[chrisb]

Mercia is Scott Lindgren design, my drawing.

IMHO p10 designs are as good as Scott's, but different priorities.

Also Scott's tend to big, mine small. *

dave

*with some notable exceptions - EmKen, SDX10 push-push two most recent examples

 

[planet10]

...SDX10 push-push two most recent examples

... once disguised this one should disappear pretty well -- we did build the smaller of the 2 designs i did.

dave