loudspeaker selection

[rv1890]

Ive heard many times over and over that one person cannot recommend a driver for someone else...Everybody has they their own preference....but is there any sort of criteria to follow when choosing loudspeakers?....let me explain.......Im designing a cabinet that will house an 8"woofer, 5" mid (possibly), and a tweeter. Ive researched quite a bit, but still cannot find out how i would choose the 3 speakers for this setup. What characteristics or specs should i look for on the 3 speakers so that I know they will work well with eachother. Each speaker will be housed in its own chamber. Basically i want to choose 3 speakers that will compliment eachother. How should i decide on each of their sensitivities?, frequency ranges?...and other important specs... If someone can answer this i would appreciate it, or maybe you can point me in a direction where i can read about this. thank you

[RJ]

A three way with an 8" driver????
First build a two way and add a subwoofer.
I look for a good midbass driver and tweeter combination, than worry about the low bass.
You can build a three way but the crossover point from woofer to mid is a big problem. They're usually crossed over at 500 to 700 hz and expensive.
Right in the middle of voice. The transition from a big mouthed woofer to a small midrange is somewhat unnatural. My rule of thumb is that voice should not be reproduced with a speaker bigger than 7".
The new Dayton RS drivers would be a good start.
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=295-364
Lou C's Cryolite project is a good one to follow.
http://www.lonesaguaro.com/speakers/...7/Cryolite.htm

What software modelling programs do you have???
I use WinIsd for quick analysis of potential drivers.
http://www.linearteam.dk/default.aspx?pageid=winisd
If you have Microsoft's "Excel Spreadsheet Program" than download
Unibox and other programs from;
http://www.pvconsultants.com/audio/frdgroup.htm

I'm in the middle of a three way with 8" drivers.
I've built an MTM with 2 - 5 1/4" midbass units and a 3/4" tweeter which will be paired up with a pair of 2 - 8" woofers driven by a plate amp (wwMTM).
The plate amp's will do the crossover work at about 85 hz. or lower.
I haven't decided on the woofer enclosure.
So far I've only built a 4th order bandpass (single reflex) enclosure with 1 - 8" woofer.
http://www.the12volt.com/caraudio/boxes4.asp
Than a Closed Box with 1 - 8" woofer and than a Ported Box with 1 - 8" woofer. Than I'll mix and match all 3 for the best sound.
http://www.hometheaterhifi.com/volum...ayporting.html

If you have any more questions, don't be afraid to ask.
We're here to help!!!!

[rv1890]

Thanks a lot RJ...u helped a lot but im still a little confused....i was actually thinking about the same dayton driver you recommended. I was going to use the Dayton RS180S 7" as the woofer, the Dayton RS150S for the mid, ES25F-8 1" tweeter...what do u think of that combination???....or do know a brand that is relativly the same price where i can obtain all 3 speakers from one brand?...can i use a low pass filter that will block the voise coming out of the 7" woofer?///......I know it sounds as if im relativly new to this, but im really interested, and would love to get this project started as soon as its feasible....And i really want to go with the design of a 7 or 8 inch woofer....5-1/2" or 6" mid, and a 1 or 2 inch tweeter.....let me know of any possibilities...thanks again.

[RJ]

I'm not familiar withe ES25F-8 1" tweeter...
Who makes it??? Maybe I can look it up.

Anyway, back to the Dayton RS 180s 7".
Here's a quote from Mark K. "If they were all the same price, I would probably pick the SS. On the other hand, you can buy 4 of the RS180's for the price of one Scan Speak. The effective nonlinear distortion of a TMM or MTM with 7" RS180's would be notably better than a single Scan Speak TM.
http://206.13.113.199/ncdiyaudio/mar...comparison.htm

I don't think you'll need a midrange with the 7's.
Just a tweeter with a low FS rating. Lou C. crosses his over at 2400 hz.
That's plenty for a lot of tweeters.

The Dayton RS 7's have an F3 of 40 hz. If you need more bass than that, like for Home Theatre, than just add a subwoofer.

[shaunbarlow]

Relating to RJ's suggestion of leaving out the 5" mid.
I have a pair of "Radio Shack 40-1028 Dual voice coil subwoofer's"
10" diameter
Freq response on spec sheet is 39Hz-6kHz.

Do you think that the freq response will be even enough to use as u have suggested for RV's 7"s? Crossing to a tweeter somewhere after 2kHz?

Are there any other points i should consider as to whether i need a mid range or not?

Cheers
SHaun

PS Should the radio shacks really be called subs?