building new towers, need advice

[mrray13]

ok, here goes...


here's a few things i'm looking at...

ok, i've got the high end covered...with these planars


but i need help with the rest..

crossovers...

midrange/bass..

subwoofers...


now, with the drivers being 8ohm and the planars bieng 4ohm..the crossover is designed for 4/8 on the sub part, but is designed for 8 ohm on the mid/tweeter part, what can i expect the xover freq and slope to be? also, what will be the final load shown my reciever?


any other mid, subs u can think of? i'm not trying to break the bank here, just looking to kill my 14yr old pioneer towers (which are ported 12's)


thanks guys...lol..




yes, i'm a h/t n0ob....




wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[morbo]

The plan is sound - do a search at the parts express forum for Lou C's cryolite speaker - it has a very well developed crossover for the tweet/midbass you want to use. Then you could just the active XO of your choice to cross to a sub like the upcoming dayton RS if you wanted to match aesthetics with the midbass.

[RJ]

Yep, it sounds like the Cryolites, here's the site;
http://www.lonesaguaro.com/speakers/...7/Cryolite.htm

The RS woofers will be available in a week or two and you can join in with a dozen or more people in building subs.

[mrray13]

Sweet! Thanks for the input.


A couple more questions..


I'm still going to be using the 14 yr old Pioneer reciever, so going active isn't an option at this time. (wife will only let me spend so much money,lol) Using Lou C's xo design, is there anyway of staying passive and achieving a good 3way setup using the drivers i have planned? Or will I need to design my own xo to make this combo work? (i am a total xo n0ob,i've never attempted to make my own) Will I be better off trying to use all 4ohm drivers to match my planars?(which are bought and sitting in their boxes on my office floor)


Back to the crossover, just how does impedence affect the slope and frequency?


I will also look into those drivers you suggested. And yes, I would like the mids/woofers to match as close as possible. I don't want to put grilles on. So while they don't have to be perfect, I would like for them to be aestheticlly pleasing as I can get them.


Thanks again for your input!



wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[mrray13]

Where can I get information on the upcoming Dayton RS sub? And will the 10" version of the RS I have linked above not work for sub duties? PE says it is in stock.




Thanks again!





wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[morbo]

Not sure about that... I would maybe email Lou and ask him, maybe there is a way to use a 'proper' woofer for baffle step compensation or something like that.

[ultrachrome]

Dennis Murphy has a design using that tweeter and a GR Research woofer. It's designd around a Parts Express cabinet which will save considerable time and effort.

The Plop-in-the-Box

[RJ]

You're not gonna believe what you'll end up spending to get that bottom octave (20-40hz)...
The cheapest way I found is with plate amps;
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...number=300-804
That 240 watter is a good one. It has a 24 db slope and enough ooomph to power most subs. Subs take lots of power.
It takes a lot to move a large heavy mass and reverse it's motion to exactly copy the music wave form. The second reason for plate amps is that they come with their own active crossover and some with bass boost. A passive crossover at 24 db would probaly cost just as much and you would have to supply it with your amp. Not only that, you'll probably end up building a second sub to better integrate with the main speakers. It's really hard to phase in one sub to get the right feel and sound quality (phase)....
The Cryolites can probably reach 40 hz whicjh means you'll have to go passive and set the sub to cross at or around 40 hz.

It's worth it. I find myself unplugging my plate amps to listen to some of my music and quickly plugging them back in because I miss that bottom octave. A lot of people will tell you there isn't much music down there, but there is. especially Home Theatre. Movies have a lot of info down there....

[mrray13]

oh, i definitely want to build my own cabinets....my hands are my money makers, lol. plus i enjoy sitting back and listening/looking at what i have created....



man, lol, this is quite a bit different then car audio..lol..



wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee

[mrray13]

Originally posted by RJ
You're not gonna believe what you'll end up spending to get that bottom octave (20-40hz)...
The cheapest way I found is with plate amps;
http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshow...number=300-804
That 240 watter is a good one. It has a 24 db slope and enough ooomph to power most subs. Subs take lots of power.
It takes a lot to move a large heavy mass and reverse it's motion to exactly copy the music wave form. The second reason for plate amps is that they come with their own active crossover and some with bass boost. A passive crossover at 24 db would probaly cost just as much and you would have to supply it with your amp. Not only that, you'll probably end up building a second sub to better integrate with the main speakers. It's really hard to phase in one sub to get the right feel and sound quality (phase)....
The Cryolites can probably reach 40 hz whicjh means you'll have to go passive and set the sub to cross at or around 40 hz.

It's worth it. I find myself unplugging my plate amps to listen to some of my music and quickly plugging them back in because I miss that bottom octave. A lot of people will tell you there isn't much music down there, but there is. especially Home Theatre. Movies have a lot of info down there....

to be honest, i planned to tune low to help with the low end extension..like in the 25-28hz neighborhood....and building a sectioned enclosure so the the mid would be in a seperate and possibly vented enclosure of it's own.


i'm thinking of doing the top section to cryolite specs, possibly sealed. then doing a sub section (pun inteneded) that would house the ten and tune it low....


but that might change...lol...i've got to figure out the crossover for the bottom end...

how long to i have to stay moderated?

wheeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee