LOL. Indeed! But I have carried the craziest looking stuff thru baggage and not been hassled. Except for rmy 10" crescent wrench, that good confiscated. "Sir, your tool is too large."
I was flying in the eighties with a Thompson/Center setup(multiple barrels), broken down,divided among my checked bags, and when I informed the nice airline folks they said " thank you, sir, but while you are doing this exactly right, we still wish you hadn't told us!!"
I asked them why, they said if they wrote it up, I would sound like a hit man(four calibers, ammo for each).
Did some listening, adjusted the L-pads up and down. Ended on a final level where the magic occured. At that level, I could play rather loud rock music and it was not very hard to the ears, but still not dull and boring. I measured the L-pads and they were about 5,1-5,2 Ohms. So I have ordered new resistors to the crossovers to be soldered in.
I once read in a Hifi magazine that loudspeakers differed by the manufacturers in emphasize between USA and europe customers. In USA, the midrange and tweeter levels were higher than their european siblings because american homes had more thick rugs and heavy furniture. I am not sure if this is true, but a european level might be somewhere aound 5.1-5.6 Ohms as someone here suggested. I'll solder the new ones in and then it is off to paint.
I once read in a Hifi magazine that loudspeakers differed by the manufacturers in emphasize between USA and europe customers. In USA, the midrange and tweeter levels were higher than their european siblings because american homes had more thick rugs and heavy furniture. I am not sure if this is true, but a european level might be somewhere aound 5.1-5.6 Ohms as someone here suggested. I'll solder the new ones in and then it is off to paint.
Excellent! Good work.
Before you finalize, please do me a favor and use one side of your L-Pad* to vary R2 instead, the resistor that is in parallel with the 2mH inductor. What that will do is adjust the level of the Vifa, but only above the crossover point. So where the Vifa blends with the woofer will stay the same, only the response above the woofer will change. You might find that you like that adjustment better, or find it easier to set. If not, you can easily use what you already found around 5 ohms.
*If you use an L-Pad just between the center tap and one side, it becomes a variable resistor. That's what you need in this case, you don't want a constant impedance, which is what the L-Pad offers.
Cheers - have fun!
Hi again... I have decided to finish the speakers before fiddling more with the crossover values. It is so easily accessible to install so it can lie on the floor meanwhile.
I will solder in the L-pads so I can adjust the R2 value from the listening position.
Another question, is there anyone here who has put dampening foam in the rear of the speakers? I am thinking of doing this and of course, leave room behind the elements to breathe. The foam is about 20mms thick.
I will solder in the L-pads so I can adjust the R2 value from the listening position.
Another question, is there anyone here who has put dampening foam in the rear of the speakers? I am thinking of doing this and of course, leave room behind the elements to breathe. The foam is about 20mms thick.
Update on the Ugl-o-nitas:
Inductors have arrived! (and boy are they heavy...)
If the rest of the build is bound to be a bit on the Ugly side the same won't hopefully be true for the xo-section.
Eagerly waiting for the rest of the parts to get these beauties going
and please do mention if I've gotten anything wrong about the wiring...
Inductors have arrived! (and boy are they heavy...)
If the rest of the build is bound to be a bit on the Ugly side the same won't hopefully be true for the xo-section.
Eagerly waiting for the rest of the parts to get these beauties going
and please do mention if I've gotten anything wrong about the wiring...
Attachments
Allright, on again with it. Assembled the elements after paint, it turned out nice, I must say. Fiddled around with the crossover and tried to improve things. Connected my Lpads instead of the R2 resistor. Unfortunatelly, they only managed to have a max of 8 Ohms, so I could only adjust them to be louder, and it was quite little difference between 8 or 4 Ohms. At 4 Ohm, it was more "alive" on moderate levels, but too much on voices or electric guitars at higher levels. For me, that is critical. I must be able to play on high levels without the vocals turn nasty on your ears. Can I do that without the music sounds dull on lower levels, It is allright. I will connect the L-pads in series with the R2 and see where I find the right level, being able to acheive 16 Ohms at the extreme end.
After that, I returned to adjust R1 and revised my earlier statement of 5.1-5.2 Ohms and landed on a 5.4 Ohm where I could play loud without the vocals get screamy.
So, give it a last test with the L-pads in series with R2 and after that, I'll clean up the crossover components and solderings for install in the cabinets.
There is just one final question left:
How low down shall I make the front covers?
Like this:
Or this?
/Arne
I started by connecting them the classic way, but ended up like a variable resistor. Measured them to 8 ohms max. But I did not measure the other terminal.....
That said, I must say, and it might depend on their low quality, they degrade the music, making it sound more raw and harsh. Exchanging it for a resistor with the same value cleans up the music quite a bit...
And I really, really am in need for more power.
A friend have agreed to lend me his Nad 204 amp and a class D amp which pumps out 2x900w... We'll se if that makes any improvment to the sound.
/Arne
That said, I must say, and it might depend on their low quality, they degrade the music, making it sound more raw and harsh. Exchanging it for a resistor with the same value cleans up the music quite a bit...
And I really, really am in need for more power.
A friend have agreed to lend me his Nad 204 amp and a class D amp which pumps out 2x900w... We'll se if that makes any improvment to the sound.
/Arne
OK, good, Check the other side of the L-Pad, it might be a higher value.. And yes, not all of them are great, some can be very scratchy.
Your baffle is narrow, so you may need to tweak a good bit. Also experiment with opening and closing the door behind the speaker.
While you are experimenting, try the L-Pad in place of R1. That will have a different effect.
Your baffle is narrow, so you may need to tweak a good bit. Also experiment with opening and closing the door behind the speaker.
While you are experimenting, try the L-Pad in place of R1. That will have a different effect.
I was out in my garage and picked up my Pioneer stereo receiver from mid-90's. It has 60w output, at least 3db more than my current Cyrus with 25w. That made a good bit of a difference! Voices more clearer on higher levels and more bass control. It sounds very good now. They perform way better than my Wharferdale 225 did.
Heads up for a new amp!
Heads up for a new amp!
Good to hear, thanks for the feedback. I started my first pair of Manzanitas on a 25W Class-D amp and it just was not enough. A later pair in a very large space were running with a 700 WPC amp, dialed back to 125 WPC. It was just enough. OB needs power, especially small PB like the 12" Manzanita. Even my much larger Magnepan panels needed 125W in the living room.
You can get by with less, but you can't get very loud.
You can get by with less, but you can't get very loud.
Indeed! But the do sound really good for the money. If I may have an opinion on the Vifas, it is that they may have some coloring in the vocal area of female voices. Perhaps it is my room or something else. R2 will be tweaked more to se if that can be at least smoothed down a bit.
Is it a good idea to glue 20mm foam at the back of the cabinets around the elements?
Is it a good idea to glue 20mm foam at the back of the cabinets around the elements?
I have not tried foam, maybe someone else here has. I worry a little about your frame around the back of the baffle, it looks like you might catch a few resonances in there. Try a think foam piece under the top brace. See if you can kill and reflections or resonances that it might cause. And continue to tune the crossover, a number of builders found that the sound popped into place once they got the crossover adjusted to their room.