Recommend me a project for a strange situation

[ramenmeal]

Hey guys, first post!

I'll try to do a lot of my own research, but there's a lot to look through and I'm not sure where to start.

I want to make some multi-way bookshelf-ish speakers. I say that because the speakers will be on a deck that is already at shoulder height.

Would you guys recommend a bookshelf speaker that lays flat on it's side (just so the tweeters aren't above your head), and then a subwoofer on the ground? I have a powered subwoofer, so I can't try to work that into the set up. I think my amp/receivers laying around have a sub out.

I ask because currently I have loudspeakers on top of the shelf, and it pains me hearing everything from above, and also the set up isn't bassy enough due to some acoustics of the speaker's and their location.

Thanks!

[NEO Dan]

• Are the speakers to be exposed to the elements overnight?
• How loud do they need to be?
• How close are the "listeners"?
• How much bass do you expect/will you use bass management like in a home theater receiver?

The overwhelming portion of speakers perform poorly when rotated 90 degrees as the crossovers are specifically optimised for the
"normal" upright orientation, nulls and peaks in the speakers response are revealed by listening to them from "non-normal" angles.

Welcome to the forum

[ramenmeal]

Originally Posted by NEO Dan

• Are the speakers to be exposed to the elements overnight?
• How loud do they need to be?
• How close are the "listeners"?
• How much bass do you expect/will you use bass management like in a home theater receiver?

The overwhelming portion of speakers perform poorly when rotated 90 degrees as the crossovers are specifically optimised for the
"normal" upright orientation, nulls and peaks in the speakers response are revealed by listening to them from "non-normal" angles.

Welcome to the forum

1. These speakers are going to be in a frat house and exposed to way to many elements, so durability will be nice, but they will be inside if that's what you meant.

2. I'd like them to fill the room and not need excessive volume, but yes, loud is good.

3. The listeners will vary from 1' away to 10', and will be placed about 7-8' apart.

I suppose I could build some shelves and make 4 speakers if that is necessary, but generally I'll only care about sound quality when I'm sitting on my couch directly between them.

As for turning the speakers on their side, are there cabinet designs for this situation?

[NEO Dan]

Sounds like you need either a pro monitor (speaker on a stick type) that has it's listening axis pointing downward or some sort of monitor designed for short stands that has an upward listening axis, but you'll have to flip it upside down. Putting the speaker on it's side is just a bad idea all around unless you build something like a horizontal CBT array.

[RockLeeEV]

I recommend building the Seas Loki.

[madtecchy]

Hi
A question maybe a dumb one but what happens if we turn the speaker cabinet 180 degrees.
Regards Ian

[chris661]

I think, to avoid the horizontal lobing in the midrange that's present in all horizontal TM designs, a co-axial or wide-band driver should be used.

Chris (my set-up isn't so different from what you're attempting)

[lduarte1973]

Originally Posted by RockLeeEV

I recommend building the Seas Loki.

+1

[enigmaticEntity.]

Originally Posted by madtecchy

Hi
A question maybe a dumb one but what happens if we turn the speaker cabinet 180 degrees.
Regards Ian

Well as long as you don't have the tweeter too close to the flat surface (eg shelf), it should be fine. Also note stability issues if you have a huge ferrite magnet on the woofer, may make it tip easier if it is a thin enclosure...

Also you may not like the look of woofer on top, tweeter on bottom. I guess it would have to do with what we expect to be "natural", you don't see to many things (animals, etc) with really big heads and tiny bodies...

[kifeinthesink]

Why dont you have a look at zaphaudio's 3 inch single driver HIVI speaker and then build a good sub. I built the predecessor with a tangband 3 inch and I still marvel at its quality. I can't recommend a sub but maybe you could google something with the Dayton RS subs and a good plate amp, cross it a bit high to protect the 3inch and your set.