My dream DIY speaker!!!! Proac +

[LNeilB2]

I have recently fallen in love with a pair of Proac response 1.5s at my local audio dealer. However, it is easy to see that they are way overpriced. The treble and midrange are beautiful, with a huge soundstage. The bass, on the other hand, is anemic. How difficult do you think it would be to build a Response clone, which is a short, narrow tower, and then put a larger box under each tower with a down-firing woofer and crossover? I would love to hear any suggestions!

[Super]

If you wan't to build a ProAc clone, sure, go for it. However, I wouldn't suggest putting it atop a larger sub cabinet. That would put the tweeter waaaaay above a reasonable height. I would sooner suggest building the clones, and then just incorporating a separate subwoofer or pair of subwoofers with active crossovers.

[LNeilB2]

...there is almost always some negative impact on midrange and treble purity, due to poor quality active crossovers. I do not want to run a bass/mid driver full range, I want to build a full range speaker. While the tweeter would end up higher, the Response design sounds better when listened to slightly below tweeter axis, as opposed to above, where some suckout occurs. If anyone is aware of a COMPLETELY neutral stand alone active crossover please let me know about it. If there is one available that does not cost a fortune, then I will build Response clones and use a sparate sub.

Thanks for the feedback!

[ThomasW]

The Marchand XM-9 is an extremely neutral active XO. I'm using 5 of these in 2 different systems; and even with very revealing electronics and very large ESL arrays the XO's are virtually transparent.

I do change out the stock op-amps for BB 2604's and upgrade the stock wiring to mill spec wire (teflon insulated, silver plated copper).

A stereo 2-way kit version lists for $249 and there are discounts available.

[Edited by ThomasW on 10-23-2001 at 11:57 PM]

[Super]

I agree. The Marchand is perhaps one of the best active crossovers available.

Personally, I don't think that poor active crossovers would be to blame for impurity in treble and midrange. If anything, a full range speaker with a passive crossover is more likely to do "damage", because it is impossible to compensate for room modes and gain once the crossover is completed. Sure, you could tweak the crossover afterwards, but this becomes expensive, harder to do, and can't be compensated for if there are changes in the listening room. A poor active crossover for bass is less likely to cause impurity to the highs and midrange than an improperly calibrated and adjusted high-quality active x-over.

(By the way, if you're still adimant on making a full range speaker, forget about the ProAc clone. It doesn't have the extension. And if you want to integrate a subwoofer with a ProAc midbass and tweet, well, then its not really a ProAc klone any more.)

[David Huang]

Hi! Please go to http://www.geocities.com/diyproac2.5/ .I am interesting this clone too.
David