Centre Speaker using Alpair 10 and some limitations

[planet10]

12mm BB is ~ equivalent to 21mm MDF in terms of stiffness and doesn't have anywhere near the energy storage problems.

dave

[zanlation]

Thanks dave. This design will work.

I am just finalising my designs and would like to know the best way to wire the alpair 7.3 and 10 drivers. Should I just solder the speaker wire to the connections on the driver?

[planet10]

That's what i'd do. And i'd not be tempted to use anything too thick. We use 24g solid.

dave

[CabinetMakerRyan]

Dave do you have a link for the speaker wires you like to use?

[chrisb]

Originally Posted by CabinetMakerRyan

Dave do you have a link for the speaker wires you like to use?

CAT5 network cable - teflon insulation aka "Plenum" - brand doesn't matter - strip outer jacket and untwist - just be careful with stripping the insulation, as it's tempered more stiffly than conventional "audio" wire to retain an engineered set of twists in each pair, and is easy to nick

for internal wiring of FR systems we use a single strand of the AWG 24 solid per polarity

this product has been a mainstay of frugalicious DIY geeks for well over a decade, and some folks take the time to braid monster sized cabling for higher powered systems - I tried that once and for my systems, the trouble wasn't worth it.

if you wanna get really tweaky, there are a few folks offering cryo-treated

[zanlation]

I got the 12mm plywood cut up at Mr Plywood for the centre speaker.

I am now just trying to work out how to use the Jasper 200 jig with my new Triton router. I am new to plunge routers, so I spent about an hour going through the basics to find that I was missing a 1/4" router bit.. and the hardware store closed at 4.30pm and I arrived at 4.32pm :-(

[CabinetMakerRyan]

When you get your 1/4 bit be carefull to tighten it in the collet enough. You don't want it moving on you when doing multiple passes to create you rebated hole. Go slow because those bits are fragile. They are very loud as well so use hearing protection. You can use a bigger bit but you have to do the math and set the jig smaller the compensate for the fatter bit. Do a sample first.

That cat5 cable thing is fascinating. I have a ton of that lying around. For a longer run do you use multiple strands of the cable per polarity? I would love to hear technical information as to why these cable sound better than the typical multistrand. Is there a dedicated thread out there regarding cat5 as speaker cable?

[Bob Brines]

Originally Posted by CabinetMakerRyan

That cat5 cable thing is fascinating. I have a ton of that lying around. For a longer run do you use multiple strands of the cable per polarity? I would love to hear technical information as to why these cable sound better than the typical multistrand. Is there a dedicated thread out there regarding cat5 as speaker cable?

There are hundreds of threads about CAT5 as speaker cables and interconnects. In summery, within reason, cables are cables. Use a cable calculator to determine what size (wire guage) cable you need. Two strands of CAT5 (one in each direction) is 24ga, four is ~21ga, all eight is ~17ga. Two CAT5 cables is ~14ga.

Or, go to Wally World and get a 3-wire 16ga extention cord in the color of your choice. I ground the green wire at the amp end for no real reason other than it might provide a minisule amount of RF shielding.

Bob

[chrisb]

Originally Posted by CabinetMakerRyan

When you get your 1/4 bit be carefull to tighten it in the collet enough. You don't want it moving on you when doing multiple passes to create you rebated hole. Go slow because those bits are fragile. They are very loud as well so use hearing protection. You can use a bigger bit but you have to do the math and set the jig smaller the compensate for the fatter bit. Do a sample first.

That cat5 cable thing is fascinating. I have a ton of that lying around. For a longer run do you use multiple strands of the cable per polarity? I would love to hear technical information as to why these cable sound better than the typical multistrand. Is there a dedicated thread out there regarding cat5 as speaker cable?

Ryan, yes as Bob notes there are probably yottabytes dedicated to discussing the whole cable thing - to no final conclusion, but if you have tons of CAT5 lying around, in less time than it takes to find and read the first 10 pages thereof, you could simply try some out and hear for yourself.

I'd start with isolating a single of the 4 jacketed pairs and go from there.

[planet10]

Originally Posted by CabinetMakerRyan

That cat5 cable thing is fascinating. I have a ton of that lying around. For a longer run do you use multiple strands of the cable per polarity? I would love to hear technical information as to why these cable sound better than the typical multistrand. Is there a dedicated thread out there regarding cat5 as speaker cable?

I personally feel that there are real differences between cable, but the technical arguments are in dispute (ie Dr Malcolm Hawksford vrs those that say he makes some errouneous assumptions). The field is full of snake oil mixed in with a smattering of sincerity. What works best is very system dependent (at least partially due to changes in the amplifier induced by the cable/speaker interaction)

So i just stay out of the minefield debates, and stick with CAT5 because it undisputedly has great bang for the buck (hiding behind my frugal-phile(tm) title).

I have been exposed to many an informal cable comparison, i was in retai at a leading hifi shop in the early days of the cable wars. We have done listening tests that have led us to single strands, better than more (in our systems)

dave