New Ekta Grande/ZRT varation

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
Hi Guys,

Am thinking of doing an Ekta Grande, but need some advice on the tweeter. I was wondering if it might work with a 6600 aircirce scanspeak tweeter instead of the 7000 ring radiator. Any thoughts? Would it require a major crossover adjustment do you think?

I ask for 2 reasons. no 1, price, obviously, no. 2, the 6600 is supposedly such a fantastic tweeter for the money. It already works so well in the 2,5 ported ZRT, which is basically the same volume box.

What I want to build, basically, is a lot like a 2.5 ported ZRT with a 12M/4631-G00 and curved side panels. I find the the Ekta Grande baffle a bit scary to take on, but the box is do-able.

Thoughts, comments?

links:
Zaph|Audio - ZRT - Revelator Tower
Ekta GrandeScanSpeak 18W/
 
Right, cool.

I am a bit wary what with using such expensive parts like the revelator drivers and a fairly involved cabinet build and then pairing it with a "cheap" tweeter like the Vifa.

I get that this sounds a bit silly when I'm trying to save by moving away from the 7000 to the 6600 scanspeaks, but still. In the long run i might be building 5 speakers using some or other combination of these drivers/tweeters, so getting the combination of value to performance right is key.
 
I suppose using the XT25 standard config for the EKTA Grande would make for a nice combo if I were to use a pair of Zaph ZD5's for surrounds at a later stage. keep it all in the same family.

Also saves on having to figure out new crossover topologies. Now, If only I could get those 6600's out of my head!
 
I have another question. Its about this whole "driver matching" deal. It's all the rage in commercial speaker packages, and when I bought my B&W package, it was real important that all 5 speakers used the same 6.5" speakers cones.

So how big a deal is it really? Say if you use 6.5" woofers in your LR's and 5.25" woofers in your centre and surrounds?
 
Heck, I'm talking to myself here but that ain't always a bad thing. Maybe I should check with my psychiatrist ;)

anyways, looking at Jed's RBR kit, and it seems like the SB-Acoustics SB29RDC tweeter is a step above the XT25. . Must find out from the crossover gurus what changes will effect for the floorstanders though. Seems Clearwave prefers Scanspeak Discovery HDS these days. still relatively cheap. hmmmmmmmmm.......
 
Last edited:
I have another question. Its about this whole "driver matching" deal. It's all the rage in commercial speaker packages, and when I bought my B&W package, it was real important that all 5 speakers used the same 6.5" speakers cones.

So how big a deal is it really? Say if you use 6.5" woofers in your LR's and 5.25" woofers in your centre and surrounds?

check out Zaph's recent blog entries. he just touched on this topic and basically said if all you speakers are all of similar quality design with good response characteristics, driver matching isn't such a big deal for HT. i'm not sure if that applies to DVD-A or SACD though but it makes sense.


david
 
thanks for the link. That basically the same configuration as Clearwave's C5, so we know it works. standard kit caps are a bit lowgrade, but easily fixable. The real question is, when you are spending that much on a decent driver & caps, is it not worth your while to sped the extra bucks on the tweeters to make the speakers really shine? Or is the sound quality of those tweets at those frequencies so similar that you might as well save your money and go for the cheaper ones?

Also, if you could tell me, in your opinion, how wide is the imaging/stage of these speakers? If I build these, then move them from stereo position to surrounds in a 5.1 (sacrilege, i know) would that work at all?
 
Last edited:
Have done some more research on the Ekta Grande, I'm actually at the stage where I'm now in CAD modelling braces & panels & stuff.

Now I see that Scanspeak has their own DIY version of this speaker called the Vertigo Plus.

Scan Speak bouwtekeningen

Crossovers are slightly more complex, cabinet is a heck of a lot less complex. I'm not a huge fan of the fact that they use the 4ohm drivers in series here instead of the 8ohm drivers in parallel like the Ekta, but maybe that's ok.

What do you guys like more? Now i'm a bit confused.
 
It is hard to say which of these options are the best. All of these are good... and sound different. It is matter of taste. Zaph and Troels have great reputation. Troels has recently said that his Jensen is actually one his best Scan Speak designs. Check also humblehomemadehifi.com. I built Tonys Soup Sandwich and I am extremely happy with the result.
 
I suppose using the XT25 standard config for the EKTA Grande would make for a nice combo if I were to use a pair of Zaph ZD5's for surrounds at a later stage. keep it all in the same family.

Also saves on having to figure out new crossover topologies. Now, If only I could get those 6600's out of my head!

XT25 FR:

An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.


"Cheap"? Only in terms of price, don't you think?

Have done some more research on the Ekta Grande, I'm actually at the stage where I'm now in CAD modelling braces & panels & stuff.

Now I see that Scanspeak has their own DIY version of this speaker called the Vertigo Plus.

Scan Speak bouwtekeningen

Crossovers are slightly more complex, cabinet is a heck of a lot less complex. I'm not a huge fan of the fact that they use the 4ohm drivers in series here instead of the 8ohm drivers in parallel like the Ekta, but maybe that's ok.

What do you guys like more? Now i'm a bit confused.

I think, generally speaking, that a simpler crossover and a more complex cabinet is the better way to go? (I mean, so long as the complexity of the cabinet serves a purpose) Almost all publicly available DIY designs pay far too little attention to the cabinet if you are looking for a truly high quality speaker, and not merely better than your typical $5,000 commercial speaker.
 
Last edited:
It is hard to say which of these options are the best. All of these are good... and sound different. It is matter of taste. Zaph and Troels have great reputation. Troels has recently said that his Jensen is actually one his best Scan Speak designs. Check also humblehomemadehifi.com. I built Tonys Soup Sandwich and I am extremely happy with the result.

7 inch Revelator (18W/8531G) is suitable for 2 way if one crosses it within 1600 Hz. With a tweeter like Scanspeak Discovery HDS (formerly Peerless HDS 810921) it is possible to cross it as low as 1500 Hz. Thankfully the tweeters are available at $80 each.

The outcome is Scanspeak Rediscovery Tower. The kit is available at Madisound:

https://www.madisound.com/store/pro...=8830&osCsid=7c20f40727cf52533adcefb32a99f3ef

Suman Jana
jana.smn@gmail.com
 
@ dotVibe:

If you decide to substitute tweeters I can help with realigning the crossover.

As for "cheap" tweeters: most of the more expensive ones perform better at their low frequency end. That is, they have less distortion/are capable of more excursion down there, so they can be crossed over at a lower frequency. Higher up in the audio spectrum the advantages become very small, might even reverse.
 
that's quite interesting. one has to wonder why the use of such an expensive tweeter in a 3-way design then. Perhaps the R29 tweeter is just a special case?

I have not studied this particular crossover but, generally speaking, a wider bandwidth driver enables gentler crossover slopes, which translates to a less complex crossover network. Usually (in 2-way designs, particularly) a 4th order crossover is necessitated to protect the tweeter from being overdriven. It might go something like this: choose lowest crossover frequency, then roll it off quickly. But it is at this limit that cheaper tweeters perform marginally, as manufacturing variances can yield inconsistent performance from sample to sample. It is here that the better tweeters give ease of mind: there is a better probability of repeatable performance than with a cheaper unit (cheaper here implying also lesser guaranteed performance).
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.