"Tired2way" speaker building.

[Salas]

I have done as said, and (!) I hear a clear improvement! It seems the problem was a leaking cabinet. I have just started to listen but I am pretty sure it is ok now. Posting pictures.....

Nice, so we got positive news. The stuffing looks OK as in the original for one. I am inclined to think that when that room is going to get a carpet and more furniture, plus seeing there is space to move even further towards the front wall (the wall behind the speakers), maybe you will be able not to resort to crossover tweaks. Especially after more elasticity sets in the woofer surrounds, its a very fresh build. Looks fine in proportion to the room by the way. Not bad at all for a first time builder.

 

[Starre]

Thanks for the kind words Salas! Yes it will be fine in the end I think, I have a few thoughts about the stuffing but that is a later matter since I think I will let these "new borns" play as much as possible now to break in fully.

 

[Salas]

Don't let them stand more than ~1m tall from top to floor when on final stands, so to have a good axis height when seated on a sofa. You can make some tests when in comfortable stance on your particular sofa and best height for you by listening to voice and piano.

 

[Starre]

Right now the stands are 35 cm making the whole 106 cm high. But up to the middle of the tweeter it is 99cm. I think a shortening of about 5cm might be it like you mentioned, but I saved a few cm just in case to start with, but I think you are right that it is a little too high right now.

 

[Salas]

Move your head up and down by nesting in the sofa until you will determine best axis for tonal balance and then fix, but take your time until you are sure about the rest of things to finalize also. How's piano now?

 

[Starre]

I sat on a pillow to simulate a lower stand and it works, it gets more "together". Piano sounds just fine, ty .

 

[Salas]

Things go as initially planned it seems.

 

[Starre]

Something happened tonight, the level of the sound suddenly got louder for the same volume setting, made a sign of the drivers (or even filter parts) getting closer to a final state.

 

[Salas]

Its mechanical. Forget plastic capacitors doing such. Only chemical caps can reform from storage a bit, and you don't use those. Did it snap into better balance and focus beyond more dynamic?

 

[Starre]

Well I am not sure of focus or balance, but it for sure sounds very similar, just a little louder (I noticed I had to turn the volume down, it was too loud). Very good sound overall.

 

[Salas]

Did you keep track of last night's volume settings and source material to be sure? I have seen woofers gaining 1dB sensitivity after some initial use in the past after rubber and glue got worked a bit. Not unusual.

 

[Starre]

I am pretty sure of it, I have stepped settings on my volume and earlier I put it beyond "12 o´clock" and now it is sufficient at 12. I just listened again and it has very good dynamics, low level detail is very good and I hear info I never heard before from bass and all the way up in frequency. It seems the filter parts is very good allowing the drivers show all that detail.

 

[Dufus]

Salas what is the Frequency Response and sensitivity of the speaker?

 

[Salas]

I am pretty sure of it, I have stepped settings on my volume and earlier I put it beyond "12 o´clock" and now it is sufficient at 12. I just listened again and it has very good dynamics, low level detail is very good and I hear info I never heard before from bass and all the way up in frequency. It seems the filter parts is very good allowing the drivers show all that detail.

Yes its true you did not make a cheap crossover, much dearer than normal commercial standard.

 

[Salas]

Salas what is the Frequency Response and sensitivity of the speaker?

87-88dB SPL. About frequency I only saved a pink noise response chart from full stereo pair replay in room. Its listening spot taken at 2.5m including all interference and nodes. Its a kind of that particular living room and speakers ''house curve''. It takes a frame of curves and averaging around the listener to be more informative, but anyway.

 

[Starre]

I am pretty sure they measure even better in a room made for measuring. As you mention Salas, that is in a normal living room with its standing waves which is hard to avoid.

 

[Salas]

Even when they do that house curve they average many measurements for each channel and then they average the two sets outcome. That one solo take is the worse possible. It includes not only standing waves, but room reverberation and absorption also, since its pink noise RTA. Still I have seen much worse with just one spot take from a pair playing together in real rooms.

 

[Starre]

Some info about what is going on right now. I have screwed the bass port tubes to the speakers. I have a test CD with frequency tests for bass and so on and I discovered I have sound in the 20Hz band, weak but present, that was a surprise. I am planning to make a listening chart from 20Hz and upwards to 100Hz to figure out how the bass is doing.

 

[Starre]

I have now done a listening chart, it is subjectly made but rather exact from many listenings. I use a level grading from 1 to 5 where 1 is very weak but you hear something present. Its range is from 20Hz-105Hz. Speakers a little closer to back wall now, 55cm from center of back panel to wall.

Freq:Level
20Hz:1-
21Hz:1
24Hz:2
27Hz:1
30Hz:2
33Hz:2+
36Hz:3
39Hz:3+
42Hz:3+
45Hz:4
48Hz:4+
51Hz:4+
54Hz:4
57Hz:4-
60Hz:4
65Hz:4+
70Hz:5-
75Hz:4
80Hz:4
85Hz:4-
90Hz:4
95Hz:3
100Hz:2+
105Hz:3

 

[Starre]

I should say that the bass-reflex tube is 135mm. Next I will try a frequency sweep 20Hz - 7kHz and listen.