New crossover for my current speakers

Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.
Okay :) So, is there anything else that I would need? I have solder, soldering iron, and cables. I will make a thin wooden board to mount the components on. Is glue best for mounting the components? If I remember correctly my current crossover has the components glued to a plywood board. It wont be pretty getting them off the board.

I don't use glue on passive components.

I keep all networks external and available for modification.

Tie-wraps work well enough for a-fixing coils + caps onto boards.

One can always encase the complete network in wax ( if one is worried about musical micro-dynamics getting swamped out by micro-phonic pickup within the cabinet ).
- I recommend simply keeping the network outside the pressure box ( ie;cabinet ).
- That means installing a set of biamping posts ( on the enclosure & on the crossover ).

:)
 
I don't use glue on passive components.

I keep all networks external and available for modification.

Tie-wraps work well enough for a-fixing coils + caps onto boards.

One can always encase the complete network in wax ( if one is worried about musical micro-dynamics getting swamped out by micro-phonic pickup within the cabinet ).
- I recommend simply keeping the network outside the pressure box ( ie;cabinet ).
- That means installing a set of biamping posts ( on the enclosure & on the crossover ).

:)

Well, if I was building the speakers from the very beginning I could have this but now that everything is done already it feels like it would be too complicated and costly. I have pretty neat binding posts already (Mundorf Classic 6).
CnYuCHQ.jpg


The size of the board would have to be limited to the size of the speaker cutouts in the baffle.

However, one option could be fabricating a new binding post plate and buy another set of speaker terminals, such as the "Binding Post PK 28I" from Lautsprechershop. I don't have access to a metal workshop but I do have access to 3D-printers so I could make a new plate in plastic.
 
I guess I could, but Ingvar isn't replying to any messages.
I did some googling and found that the local hardware store has aluminium sheets of 1.5mm thickness at sizes 25x50cm or 12x100cm for 159SEK (~24CAD). The plates on my speakers are 10x10cm so it would be enough for that and it would give me some material for the filter boxes as well. The current Mundorf connectors could be used for the filter box input and then I buy two new pairs from Lautsprechershop as output terminals.

I have no idea what size the filter components are and how big the crossover would be. But my idea would be building a low square-shaped box standing next to the speakers with all connections on the back. Building it as slim as possible and then using birch veneer (also from the hardware store) to make it match with the speakers.
 
I guess I could, but Ingvar isn't replying to any messages.
<<<<SNIP>>> Building it as slim as possible and then using birch veneer (also from the hardware store) to make it match with the speakers.

Hopefully you haven't ticked him off somehow.

I had re-read his original thread ( started by him announcing these speakers ) and decided that he & I would get along just fine.

I like very much something within his opening quote about speakers <95db, being on the deficient side ( I happen to feel the same way & chuckled when I read it ).
Strong women & cowboy boots ( indeed ;) ).

IMHO, external crossovers look best in all wood boxes topped with plexi tops ( & btw , did you know that getting inductors too close to ferric metals will change the value of the coil ? )

:)
 
Hopefully you haven't ticked him off somehow.

I had re-read his original thread ( started by him announcing these speakers ) and decided that he & I would get along just fine.

I like very much something within his opening quote about speakers <95db, being on the deficient side ( I happen to feel the same way & chuckled when I read it ).
Strong women & cowboy boots ( indeed ;) ).

IMHO, external crossovers look best in all wood boxes topped with plexi tops ( & btw , did you know that getting inductors too close to ferric metals will change the value of the coil ? )

:)

Hopefully not. However I think he has kind of retreated from the audio world a little, or at least from the Internet. From what I have seen he hasn't been as active the last couple of years as he used to be. I remember some people (here on diyaudio) were not so nice to him so maybe that put out his flame a little.

I agree with his philosophy though, and if I didn't live in an apartment I would have a speaker more similar to the stuff he usually builds (typically no smaller than 12" drivers). I have been "dreaming" of a setup with a Beyma AMT tweeter, 10-12" mid and 18" sub but that will have to be a project for when I get older and have no neighbours to disturb.

As for boots... Well cowboy boots aren't really my cup of tea but I do own two pairs of Red Wing Iron Rangers (Google them, they're really neat!) and I'm already planning on getting at least one more pair of Red Wing boots sometime soon. In fact, in the last twelve months I have spent more money on boots than on audio products :rolleyes:

I didn't know that ferric metals close to inductors affect the properties of the coil but now that you mention it... I guess it interrupts the magnetic field surrounding the coil and therefore makes the inductor behave differently? Plexiglass top might be cool, and it's easy to get at the hardware store and if the box is placed next to the speaker it will be discrete anyways but can be displayed if I want to. Good idea, Earl!
 
It has been a very busy period in my life recently, but I just ordered the parts today and I will try to fit them all inside the speaker cabinets. I also got hold of a second hand MiniDSP OpenDRC-DI a couple of days ago for ~$245. Right now I'm just waiting for cables and an optical-coax converter to arrive from the UK Amazon store (turned out to be cheaper than buying it here in Sweden).

I'm on sick leave from work now for a couple of days (hard to work a heavy industrial job when you have a severe cold) so I'll try to experiment a bit with the OpenDRC and see what results I can get with my current crossovers. I'm not sure exactly how to perform the measurements and how to use Rephase but I guess there will be information to be found if googling.
 
The idea of putting everything outside of the speaker (except the speakers...!) was very good. Don't get stuck with the looks of the binding posts; at least, no binding posts at all is the best.

It's not the looks that bother me, it's the added complexity and added "boxes" that I find not so appealing. I feel like it's simpler having everything in one place, so to speak.
 
It's not the looks that bother me, it's the added complexity and added "boxes" that I find not so appealing. I feel like it's simpler having everything in one place, so to speak.

I would suggest 2 smaller boards ( per speaker ) to help you fit them into the cabinets.
- Simply jumper the two inputs together.

I don't recommend installing them until you know that they are working properly ( via measurements with REW ).
- Run the hookup wires out the speaker ports ( temporally ).

Something to keep in mind ( for future tweaking and how you mount these networks ) > some passive devices can be a bit micro-phonic ( picking-up and amplifying induced vibrations ).
- ie; The lessons that electronics engineers learned the hard-way( from WWII into the rocket age ) seems to have been mostly relegated to other "security" industries ( though the Lansing companies did implement some of those lessons ( for about 20 years ) by encasing their ancient networks in either wax or tar .
- External networks generally avoid any issue caused by microphonics ( jitter ) .

:)
 
I guess one board for the tweeter part of the crossover and one for the bass/mid?

I'll try having them inside the speaker cabinets and if I hear any microphonic noise I'll pull them out and make them external.

Btw, the Mundorf CFC12 coil wasn't in stock so I'll have to wait another 10-14 days for it to arrive.
 
I got all the components in the mail today. The big coils are surpisingly heavy, 850g each!

As for the physical layout, is coil distance and orientation the only thing I need to keep in mind? I was thinking I might do some mockup layouts on cardboard before doing the final thing. I will also need to figure out how to get the old components of the plywood boards I used for my current crossover. I think I used some sort of super-glue for that, so I might have to butcher the boards completely and try to remove as much wood as possible from the components.
 
I got all the components in the mail today. The big coils are surpisingly heavy, 850g each!

As for the physical layout, is coil distance and orientation the only thing I need to keep in mind? I was thinking I might do some mockup layouts on cardboard before doing the final thing. I will also need to figure out how to get the old components of the plywood boards I used for my current crossover. I think I used some sort of super-glue for that, so I might have to butcher the boards completely and try to remove as much wood as possible from the components.

I would lay all coils flat onto the boards they are being a-fixed to ( with a few tie-wraps securing them to the board ).

The 2 coils on the LF board should be located ( apart from each other ) something like 75mm ( when oriented like this " though this is something you can research on your own ).

Any possible coil ( interaction problem ) can easily be solved by putting the bass and treble cross-overs on separate boards ( then separating their respective locations once they are put inside the box ).

:)
 
Last edited:
I would lay all coils flat onto the boards they are being a-fixed to ( with a few tie-wraps securing them to the board ).

The 2 coils on the LF board should be located ( apart from each other ) something like 75mm ( when oriented like this " though this is something you can research on your own ).

Any possible coil ( interaction problem ) can easily be solved by putting the bass and treble cross-overs on separate boards ( then separating their respective locations once they are put inside the box ).

:)

Well, I didn't think about that. Spacing them 75mm apart shouldn't be a problem I think. Having a long board shouldn't be a problem, it is the width that is limited to the size of the driver cutout. My plan is to go to the local makerspace either tomorrow or next Wednesday, they should have plenty of scrap pieces of plywood that I can use. They also have tools and a workshop I can use.
 
6ZijKPG.jpg


Had time today to visit the Makerspace. Did a quick mockup. The paint jars are supposed to represent L3 (0.27mH inductor) and the power outlet adaptors represent C1 (6.8uF capacitor). The rectangular block was used only for physical separation when putting down the parts. Red is positive, blue is negative, yellow is separation lines.

I ended up cutting some pieces from a scrap bit of plywood. Woofer boards are ~23x10cm and tweeter boards are ~20x10cm. I can get ~10cm separation between the inductors on the woofer board. However I am really unsure about the wiring, especially for the negative part.
 
<<<SNIP>>> Did a quick mockup.
The paint jars are supposed to represent L3 (0.27mH inductor) and the power outlet adaptors represent C1 (6.8uF capacitor).

<<<SNIP>>>
I can get ~10cm separation between the inductors on the woofer board.

However I am really unsure about the wiring, especially for the negative part.

Niklas,

Visually, it looks like 6-7cm would be safe enough for the separation of the 2 bass coils .

I've downloaded this pic and will ( erase some lines and add some new ones
then ) post the corrected pic sometime tomorrow.

:)
 
Last edited:
Niklas,

Here's a pic ( of a 3-way crossover for a JBL ) showing how I want you to lay out your components ( still use separate boards for the hi + lows ).

Signal enters from the left ( is then modified ) and exits on the right .

( Obviously you omit the midrange trace )


attachment.php


Use this format to layout your components ( & start including real bits of wire between the parts > I want to see that you understand the ins + outs here ).

Then post another pic.

:)
 

Attachments

  • 08BF9F72-DBF1-4F4A-94FB-159E4ACE9BA1.jpeg
    08BF9F72-DBF1-4F4A-94FB-159E4ACE9BA1.jpeg
    133.6 KB · Views: 238
Last edited:
I have no experience of reading schematics and I seem to be lacking some understanding of how it really works.

thzlYB4.jpg

The positive part feels pretty straight forward but the negative part feels weird to me. I can see where the out is supposed to go (to the drivers) but where do I put the - in connection from the amplifier? Just run it straight from the in directly to the out?

So physically on the board like this?
2Nr5GUn.jpg
 
Status
This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.