Near-field monitor 85Hz and below

[hurtz]

Hi,

as the title suggests I'm looking for a near-field monitor.
Since I'm spending most of my time at my desk when listening to music, the ear-speaker distance is mostly a meter or so.
I'm also in posession of a t-tqwt subwoofer that drops at 85Hz so I guess the new speakers should be linear to 80Hz or so.

Also I hear the markaudio chassis are the scream concerning fullrange drivers?

I'd love to hear your ideas/suggestions for this.

I'm not a complete beginner when it comes to simulation and I have a calibrated microphone I can use to measure. So I'm mostly in it for the learning experience to become a good speaker-designer (not just hit and run)

cheers!
hurtz

 

[tvrgeek]

I had a similar idea, but to use the Fostex 125. They are hard to use and to order the passive parts necessary to tame them, as best to what I modeled in my DCX, costs several times the drivers. I am still going to do them, but lower on my list. Same reason, for the experience. So far, I don't like what I hear or see in the charts, but until I build the best I know how I can't claim that full range is a pipe dream. I think so, but I will try to prove myself wrong. One basic problem that could impact desk speakers is size. The light weight cones needed to get any semblance of treble means high Fs and large VAS. Darn physics.

 

[tuxedocivic]

I believe the MA drivers are the way to go for nearfield. They're lower effeficiency which is not a concern in the nearfield. The lower efficiency allows for a smoother response and better bass unlike the fostex the tvrgeek referenced. If the computer is the source I've had great success using the onboard eq to compensate for baffle step and any response issues.

The A7 might be a good choice in a sealed enclosure. Others will likely have a better formed opinion of that. 85hz isn't a tough job for the MA stuff.

 

[Tom V]

The Alpair 6M is the one that MarkAudio specifically says is designed for nearfield use.

My computer speakers are CHR-70 Gen 2 in a 9.5L bass-reflex which I am well pleased with, so I second the recommendation for the MA drivers.

-Tom-

 

[vinylkid58]

Alpair 6P's in proto P10 mMar-Ken boxes here.

jeff

 

[tvrgeek]

Guess I am not willing to give up that much desk space.

 

[kokamola]

I'm using the Tang Band W3-315 in a small TQWT (W3-mini-line). It needs just a small area on your desk but the driver is in an high position -> on axis to your ears. I love the sound of this speakers.

 

[hurtz]

Hi, thanks for the replys,

The computer wll be the source most of the time but I'd rather like to avoid pc-equalisation, it makes things a whole lot more difficult, especially in a 5.1 system where the surround speakers don't match the front.

@vinylkid Those look nice!

@kokamola I have a cyburgs needle but I don't quite like the sound of it, even though it is amazing what comes out of thesse, I felt reminded of the days with a subwoofer crossed over at 150Hz or so. The sound didn't seem quite consistent.

As a driver the MA alpair 7.3 seemed nice, the additional membrane area should do the trick of reaching the lower frequencys. I did some simulations in hornresp and arrived at a vented 10l enclosure. The freq. response looks nice, however in the past it turned out the simulations were not that accurate. Usually the lower frequencys dropped a lot faster than predicted and the irregularities in the higher frequencys proved to be more distinctive than expected.

cheers,
hurtz

 

[kokamola]

The needle I used, too and I didn't like it because there was no kick (like a less of the 80-120Hz) but deeper there was more than enough. The mini line sounds on another way, much better.

 

[hurtz]

Were you able to measure them by any chance?

The Fonken enclosures look very good! (The big one with the vents at the sides) But I don't have the tools to make them :-/

 

[kokamola]

Do you mean the mini-line? What Fonken enclosure? I can messure it, but its difficult to show the low frequencies (because of the room). I can't messure outside.

 

[hurtz]

Yes, the mini-line that would be great!

Meet the Fonkens the top ones.

 

[kokamola]

Here you see the enclosures:
mini-Line Bausatz - Lautsprecherbau von blue planet acoustic

It can take a few days or weeks until I can make measurements.

 

[hurtz]

Or a link to some measurements would be fine as well, I can't seem to find the enclosure anywhere besides bpa.

Also I'm not quite sure about the tang-band. At the moment I'm using a pair of monacor spx-32m which are really great in detail compared to my previous speakers. So the next pair should be "very good" speakers. I don't have the budget for "amazing" but I'd be willing to spend around 80€ per driver.

cheers,
hurtz

 

[AmadeusMozart]

I've moved away from Tang Band and much prefer the new Fostex series based on having the FF125WK and the FE166En. (and had the Tang Band W4-1320SJ (IIRC) - the 4" bamboo).

Perhaps if you can accomodate a small desktop sized horn you might want to look at a ported back loaded horn - I only came across this in the last few days on youtube and it looks interesting - no personal experience.

Torvi-F08 �݌v�}

J.S.Bach Cello Suite No.4,Prelude through Back Loaded Horn Speaker - YouTube

and some more stuff:

Holed Back Loaded Horn speaker Torvi-C08 - YouTube
Vocal Reproduction by back loaded horn speaker Torvi-C08 - YouTube
ƒXƒs�[ƒJ�[�H–[ blue*drop -home


(there are also a few designs using TB)

 

[AmadeusMozart]

I had a similar idea, but to use the Fostex 125. They are hard to use and to order the passive parts necessary to tame them, as best to what I modeled in my DCX, costs several times the drivers. I am still going to do them, but lower on my list. Same reason, for the experience. So far, I don't like what I hear or see in the charts, but until I build the best I know how I can't claim that full range is a pipe dream. I think so, but I will try to prove myself wrong. One basic problem that could impact desk speakers is size. The light weight cones needed to get any semblance of treble means high Fs and large VAS. Darn physics.

Driving from a computer totally changes this - it is far better and more accurate to compensate digitally and with the right software you do not finish up with phase differences (yes even in a single driver you can introduce phase differences)

 

[planet10]

Guess I am not willing to give up that much desk space.

If you are talking about Jeff's i think you are mis-judging his monitor size. They are LS3/5A size -- there is (or will be) a version for FF125wk, it barely fits in the limited width.

We refer to Jeff's speakers as milliSize, and there are versions for A6.2p, CHR70.3, EL70, Alpiar 7, CHP/CHBW, FF125wk (+ a number of discontinued drivers).

If you need something smaller, FF85 in uFonken.

dave

 

[hurtz]

Due to some fortunate events I'm now able to build the fonken enclosure!

Are the plans for the enclosures public? I know about the plans on the website but they are quite old and the fostex drivers are discontinued..

cheers

 

[planet10]

Typically i put up a Classic Golden Ratio version of each Fonken/miniOnken up for free use, and full plansets (some are running 30+ pages) for a modest subscription price (free with the modified drivers i sell).

There are also free for FE127/FX120/F120A, and a few others.

Paid plans are available for Fostex FF85wk, FF125wk (other WKs in development), CSS EL70, Mark Audio CHP/CHR/CHBW, A6.x, A7.x, A10.x, A12.x, and beta versions are in development for Eminence 12LTA, Audio Nirvana Cast 10 and Neo10, and Tangband W8-1880 (i think that is all of them).

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/plan...10-hifi-minionken-plan-set-subscriptions.html

and to help with the lexicon (a bit dated but still relevant)

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/plan...-style-box-nomenclature-what-those-names.html

dave

 

[hurtz]

Thanks for the quick reply!

So that'll be about 30€ for the Alpair 7.3 enclosure. I'll think about this.

cheers,
hurtz