Hi there. I'm a newbie in speaker design. My only experience is restoring speaker cabinets and modifying them juuuuuust a little. My first build would be a TABAQ using an existing and proven design from Bjorn Johannessen (spelling?). But I have always been intrigued with horns.
I like a full range, and a bit uncomfortable with anything more than a 2 way setup. I just like the simplicity of it. But bass horns are really intriguing.
So I had a thought. For my next project I'm going to experiment by building a speaker with a front loaded horn and full range. The horn will have a 60Hz cutoff and will have a low pass filter at 100Hz. Made up of 2 sections, conical (already made a sim and looks promising and dimensionally realistic for a budget Dayton Audio woofer I picked). The full range will have a sealed enclosure and will be tuned to about 90 Hz, but I still haven't picked a driver for them. If they're at the right price I may go with a dual driver for the full range (to help compensate a little with sealed enclosure inefficiencies?). All will be wired appropriately to achieve anything between 4-8 Ohms.
Preferably I'd like them to run from a single amp, and no other crossover component other than the low pass filter for the bass, if possible. However, there's the question of gain by the horn. I'm guessing that it will be louder than the full range given that they're powered by a single amp. So will that cause an ugly mismatch? I'm just assuming, because I've never seen anything like this done. Would a pre-amp with bass and treble control help with that? Because I'd imagine the Full Range + Horn would be like boosting the EQ in that bass region, but please do correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe position the horn mouth away from the floor and wall can help?
What's the best way of doing this? This will not be so high end, just to get a feel. I can always recycle the drivers to make a separate dual driver BR and sealed speakers for a 2.1 setup if they fail (I'd have lots of spare plywood too).
Any comments are welcomed, I'm still learning.
I like a full range, and a bit uncomfortable with anything more than a 2 way setup. I just like the simplicity of it. But bass horns are really intriguing.
So I had a thought. For my next project I'm going to experiment by building a speaker with a front loaded horn and full range. The horn will have a 60Hz cutoff and will have a low pass filter at 100Hz. Made up of 2 sections, conical (already made a sim and looks promising and dimensionally realistic for a budget Dayton Audio woofer I picked). The full range will have a sealed enclosure and will be tuned to about 90 Hz, but I still haven't picked a driver for them. If they're at the right price I may go with a dual driver for the full range (to help compensate a little with sealed enclosure inefficiencies?). All will be wired appropriately to achieve anything between 4-8 Ohms.
Preferably I'd like them to run from a single amp, and no other crossover component other than the low pass filter for the bass, if possible. However, there's the question of gain by the horn. I'm guessing that it will be louder than the full range given that they're powered by a single amp. So will that cause an ugly mismatch? I'm just assuming, because I've never seen anything like this done. Would a pre-amp with bass and treble control help with that? Because I'd imagine the Full Range + Horn would be like boosting the EQ in that bass region, but please do correct me if I'm wrong. Maybe position the horn mouth away from the floor and wall can help?
What's the best way of doing this? This will not be so high end, just to get a feel. I can always recycle the drivers to make a separate dual driver BR and sealed speakers for a 2.1 setup if they fail (I'd have lots of spare plywood too).
Any comments are welcomed, I'm still learning.
I did consider tapped horn. Maybe I should re-consider that.
But I am considering a stereo set of woofers, which is why I'm incorporating them with the sealed units. So each channel will have a full range (or 2) and a woofer. I'm more worried about integration rather than reaching the lowest of lows. So a plate amplifier would just be cumbersome.
Also I forgot to add, I'd rather have the woofer to be no larger than 8 inch, because of size.
But I am considering a stereo set of woofers, which is why I'm incorporating them with the sealed units. So each channel will have a full range (or 2) and a woofer. I'm more worried about integration rather than reaching the lowest of lows. So a plate amplifier would just be cumbersome.
Also I forgot to add, I'd rather have the woofer to be no larger than 8 inch, because of size.
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Simmed another one with another driver and tapped horn. There's loss in SPL of course but it has a cutoff at about 35 and I have to put in a low pass at 80 Hz. That should be a nice range. Overall horn length is longer but because the cross section is small folding is easier. Thanks for reminding me of the TH.
Though now I remember why I abandoned it in the first place, suitable drivers (ones that make it a bit easy) and filters are slightly over my budget. Also the diaphragm displacement worries me a bit, but I don't plan on filling a big room and I'd make my ears bleed before I get the chance to reach Xmax.
But, do I still need a plate amp, or can I get away with only low pass filter and full range enclosure tuning?
Though now I remember why I abandoned it in the first place, suitable drivers (ones that make it a bit easy) and filters are slightly over my budget. Also the diaphragm displacement worries me a bit, but I don't plan on filling a big room and I'd make my ears bleed before I get the chance to reach Xmax.
But, do I still need a plate amp, or can I get away with only low pass filter and full range enclosure tuning?
Not sure what your budget is, but if I had to suggest a versatile set of equipment that will serve you well for this project and (many more to come)
1. a pair of full range drivers
2. a pair of woofers
3. a pair of stereo amps or a single 4 channel amp . There are plenty of cheap class D boards out there nowadays (either finished products or just the boards)
4. a minidsp 2x4 . This approx. $100 unit (+$10 for plugin) can do it all ( crossover, parametric EQ, delay etc) . This might well be cheaper than implementing a passive crossover for a subwoofer.
About USD200, and that includes shipping to Malaysia, but excluding materials like wood. Actual cost is about USD160 +/-10. I can do up to number 3 easy enough.
So you suggest that I hook up the woofer and full range to separate amps so I could control them individually? Amp prices in my place is ridiculous, and if I were to ship one I have to get the proper certification which would have me paying certain fees. But, I'll see what I can do.
Here is yet another option. Look for a 2.1 amp such as NEW TPA3116 50W+50W+100W 2.1 HIFI digital power amplifier HIFI beyond TPA3123 TDA2030 LM1875-in Amplifier from Electronics on Aliexpress.com
Should have a crossover built in so basic crossover functions are possible. Else, find a used home theater receiver
Here is a similar approach http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/259293-prv-5mr450-ndy-fast-applications.html
Should have a crossover built in so basic crossover functions are possible. Else, find a used home theater receiver
Here is a similar approach http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/259293-prv-5mr450-ndy-fast-applications.html
I would stick with something by Horst (hm) who's got a lot of experience with alike setups.
Hornlautsprecher
Hornlautsprecher
+1 . Still, figure out your amplification situation first. Running a passive crossover that low is tricky and expensive
I've seen a few 2.1 amps here. They're marked up to 4-5 times the price here though, and they're not big brand names. Even a Lepai LP-2020 costs USD100+ here.
Is it okay to hook the woofer section to a mono amp? Because I would already have a stereo amp for the TABAQ (either a Topping TP-41 or an Aune X2 I think, haven't chosen), so I'd connect the full range section to that.
@koja: Those in the link look great. Modestly sized and using modest drivers. A bit out of my league though.
Is it okay to hook the woofer section to a mono amp? Because I would already have a stereo amp for the TABAQ (either a Topping TP-41 or an Aune X2 I think, haven't chosen), so I'd connect the full range section to that.
@koja: Those in the link look great. Modestly sized and using modest drivers. A bit out of my league though.
Would 100 Hz XO point be good? I'd have to tune it a bit higher but if that helps in getting the proper sound it'd be a worthy sacrifice.
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