Markaudio Pluvia Eleven

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I thought I'd give you chaps an update on how these drivers are going to perform in classic QB3 bass reflex alignments, in comparison with the Alpair 10.3 driver. Most of this should go without saying :D .

I did a little fiddling around in WinISD and came up with these plots. The Alpair driver's response is shown in dark blue while the new Pluvia Eleven in shown in mauve.

The Pluvia Eleven has about the same efficiency (within 0.2dB) as the Alpair driver, but can only manage an F3 of about 62Hz. The enclosure volume is optimally 8.6l. Due to the lower Qts, the alignment is a little more damped and therefore the group delay is lower.

The Alpair 10.3 reaches down to 54Hz at F3, but the volume needed is 11.5l.

I suppose this is a classic case of compromising between volume and bass response for a given efficiency (and Sd). Nothing unexpected, but this driver should really shine in an MLTL :) . An F3 of 40Hz in such an enclosure should be quite easy to obtain.

TLDR; you can get an F3 of 62Hz with the Pluvia Eleven in a bass reflex enclosure tuned to 54Hz with an internal volume of 8.6l ;) .
 

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frugal-phile™
Joined 2001
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The Pluvia Eleven has about the same efficiency (within 0.2dB) as the Alpair driver, but can only manage an F3 of about 62Hz.

The Alpair 10.3 reaches down to 54Hz at F3, but the volume needed is 11.5l.

F3 is not a useful number as far as ear/brain is concerned so not all that good for comparisons. Your chart shows F10 of about 40 (A10.3) and ~43 (P11), more useful numbers.

The enclosure volume is optimally 8.6l

We are using 9 litre for the P11 and 13 litre for the A10.3.

Got my P11s. I'll take pictures once i get them out of the box.

dave
 
F3 is not a useful number as far as ear/brain is concerned so not all that good for comparisons. Your chart shows F10 of about 40 (A10.3) and ~43 (P11), more useful numbers.

Yes, that's true, and would be the right way to frame things if we were discussing different alignments or enclosures, but since it's a comparison in QB3 BRs then it makes little differences. As an electronic designer, I much prefer to use F3 regardless ;) .

I prefer a slightly smaller enclosure, to introduce a little lift that will compensate for the wool lining that I like to use.
 
Been enjoying mine in a Pensil that Scott designed for the driver. Not sure if he's given them to Dave to draw up for Frugal phile yet though. Had a very quick play with a pair in a FH-XL which was nice. A UK magazine has been doing a build diary of my Pensil kit and the review will be due soon, I'll like in here when it's done.
 
Having one of my periodic sort-outs of files (I do, from time to time) & found a smattering of designs I'd partially worked up for the Pluvia 11, then put aside. Since there aren't all that many designs out there for the driver at the moment, I've stuck them in a couple of files in case they are of interest.

First up: The Thin End of the Wedge (thank you, Yes Minister). Voigt style ML-horn. A bit of fun, although it should actually be quite a decent performer, so I've stuffed the dimensions + a sketch into an image file. Yes, it is 7ft tall. And if anybody thinks that's excessive, of course it is. Horns & their variations are big. Live with it. ;)

As a design, it's closer to some of the Voigt pipes that were doing the rounds a few years back; it's mass-loaded but not heavily so compared to a lot, as I was targeting a higher efficiency load over a slightly wider gain BW, accepting a little more ripple in the response (mainly null associated with F3) as the trade-off. In practice you're likely to get more variation from room effects than the minor dip the box possesses. The plinth dimensions can be altered as preferred of course.
 

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The King of the Swingers (I like the ape) set of BR boxes.

These were quick design studies; I tend to work up a few for new drivers out of interest, fixing the vent (in this case an inexpensive Goldwood job Madisound sell) dimensions & altering the volume & tuning to reflect any change in output impedance / series R in the circuit. They weren't originally done for the purpose of creating finished designs, but they should work fine, so I've cobbled a file together with 3 of about a dozen variations I had on the HDD, with some internal HxWxD dimensions. Since vented boxes assume Helmholtz conditions, these can be adjusted as preferred, so long as one is not stretched significantly relative to the others (which would increase the potential for standing waves to affect behaviour somewhat) and you don't make them a cube (don't even think about it).

Smallest box assumes a voltage source amplifier with an EBS[ish] alignment; should do quite nicely near boundaries. You can also use it on the end of a SET amp with an output impedance of up to about 2.5ohms. The alignment will change (see images), but remain quite usable, although it may require a bit more 'breathing room'.

The mid-sized box was generated specifically assuming amps with an output impedance of ~2.5ohms - 3ohms or so. Moderately damped alignment; should be quite flexible & get a little lower than the smaller enclosure.

The largest of the boxes was done assuming amps with an output impedance of about 3ohms - 4ohms. Again, quite a nice moderately damped alignment, and a little more LF extension again.

The plots show a reduction in SPL, as they were done quickly & I was fudging it by adding series R. The response profile should be fairly representative though, notwithstanding room effects. I like a damped alignment in practice, although I usually do boxes on the forum that are flatter on the assumption that people will adjust tuning to suit their requirements. YMMV as always.
 

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