I’m going to miss having the XSDs in house. These are shipping to California so that they can be auditioned by one of the principal funding partners. I’ll have to wait for a pre-production sample in white to come to me before I hear them again. Packing these in cardboard honeycomb and cling wrap and hard cardboard corners was like a jigsaw puzzle.
65lbs each packed.
65lbs each packed.
My order of custom inductors arrived. Now I can ship out the crossover kits. Waiting for back ordered items from Parts Express was not going work here.
This is how the woofer array is wired. The cone facing out is wired negative phase. It is 4 parallel sets (of opposed drivers each). then series 2 sets x 2, then parallel those 2 sets for a total nominal 4ohm impedance from 8x 8ohm woofers. Ignore the Power Amp icon that says 1W (8ohm).
A good trick is to use a a 1.5v AA battery to check which way the cone moves after wiring each sub section. All cones should move in to squeeze air out of the slot when battery +ve is connected to overall speaker +ve of the array.
Has anyone started and made progress with the speaker construction? I'd love to see any pics or tips. Trying to decide whether to go solid wood or plywood for the front, and mulling other construction details. Thanks.
Second on this! I'm still waiting for my kit to arrive, but I'll certainly be posting my build log! And hope that others will do the same!
I have been playing these for two weeks now, have been trying different drivers up top as it will be awhile till I want to spend more...
Tried some Klipsh and Warfdale that I had, both two way bookshelf's.
not very good in this role and never really liked them anyway.
Now am using JBL LE5's and they at least work here.
Am finding that crossovers are Hard to do..
especially with this driver...
Xsim is a huge help, all else has failed miserably.
I drew up an active crossover board from the Elliott Sound Products article
did the LR 12db version and have started the 24db one also
This is a big improvement and removes the need for large caps and coils.
So many times I go to his site for information.
So my question is what crossover point should I try woofers - mid?
Think am around 500HZ right now using parts on hand.
The higher XO point helps the JBL as it looks to be a 2k -8k driver or so?
And 12db or 24db is better?
Thank You
thanks
Tried some Klipsh and Warfdale that I had, both two way bookshelf's.
not very good in this role and never really liked them anyway.
Now am using JBL LE5's and they at least work here.
Am finding that crossovers are Hard to do..
especially with this driver...
Xsim is a huge help, all else has failed miserably.
I drew up an active crossover board from the Elliott Sound Products article
did the LR 12db version and have started the 24db one also
This is a big improvement and removes the need for large caps and coils.
So many times I go to his site for information.
So my question is what crossover point should I try woofers - mid?
Think am around 500HZ right now using parts on hand.
The higher XO point helps the JBL as it looks to be a 2k -8k driver or so?
And 12db or 24db is better?
Thank You
thanks
Hi Congo,
You have been busy I see! Nice work and very neat experimentation with other tops. The crossover design is not trivial and if you really like to experiment like this, best to go DSP and have active amplification. You can test things out to your hearts content with a click of the mouse. If you see a driver combo and filter that you like you can try to replicate it passively with a coil and cap crossover. The advantage is that it allows you to test different amps.
The LE5 should be very nice and close in performance to the 5MR450NDY.
The crossover I recommended for the woofer to mid is 470Hz because there is a natural fall off there due to the mechanical slot chamber dimensions. It gives you 4th order with only an electrical 2nd order on the woofer. The mid can be second order electrical at 470Hz and about 4700Hz. This lets the mid sound coherent and the tweeter adds mostly to the highs and does not play as big a role on the soundstage or imaging.
Good luck!
I see you have an RS225 FAST TL. What full range driver is that?
You have been busy I see! Nice work and very neat experimentation with other tops. The crossover design is not trivial and if you really like to experiment like this, best to go DSP and have active amplification. You can test things out to your hearts content with a click of the mouse. If you see a driver combo and filter that you like you can try to replicate it passively with a coil and cap crossover. The advantage is that it allows you to test different amps.
The LE5 should be very nice and close in performance to the 5MR450NDY.
The crossover I recommended for the woofer to mid is 470Hz because there is a natural fall off there due to the mechanical slot chamber dimensions. It gives you 4th order with only an electrical 2nd order on the woofer. The mid can be second order electrical at 470Hz and about 4700Hz. This lets the mid sound coherent and the tweeter adds mostly to the highs and does not play as big a role on the soundstage or imaging.
Good luck!
I see you have an RS225 FAST TL. What full range driver is that?
Its a DMA90-8 So a very cheap substitute that works well enough for now. and can be replaced later.
https://www.parts-express.com/Dayto...Aluminum-Cone-Full-Range-Driver-8-Ohm-295-589
I wanted to build both but not spend that much all at once, my only real cost on the FAST WAW was the required RS225 drivers.
So piece by piece I plan to make both better over time. Even though right now I can live with either of these long term..
Thanks
Is that face solid mahogany, or is it a veneer?Nice result EarPlay, did you apply the butyl to the woofer or the full range?
Wondered about using "solid" wood for OB baffle. Usually not for cabinets, but with OB? Sure does look nice.
Russellc
That looks like solid wood since it has a deep bevel that we can see at the top. I agree it looks really nice this way.
I will probably go with a cabinet maker you suggest, I will need to get that from you. I want this to look nice furniture grade, not my usual Frankenstein laboratory look.
Russellc
Russellc
Thanks, X! He's an amazingly skilled person and I am only in awe of how well he builds them 🙂
Yes, he is a master craftsman that’s for sure. Also, he got good practice on the first build (mine) and now knows all the tips and tricks and it only gets better! You get the benefits of on the job training by someone else. 🙂
Hi X,
after checking the first pictures of your build in this thread I noticed some differences.
One picture shows the woofers in one line, the outside mounted ones are on one side, the inside mounted ones on the other side. But one picture shows the woofers arranged in a zigzag pattern. Which one is "right", and when the "in one line" method is better, is there a left and right speaker and should the speakers be built symmetrically? And if so, how to position the speakers, with the woofers facing each other or woofers facing out? Many thanks in advance
after checking the first pictures of your build in this thread I noticed some differences.
One picture shows the woofers in one line, the outside mounted ones are on one side, the inside mounted ones on the other side. But one picture shows the woofers arranged in a zigzag pattern. Which one is "right", and when the "in one line" method is better, is there a left and right speaker and should the speakers be built symmetrically? And if so, how to position the speakers, with the woofers facing each other or woofers facing out? Many thanks in advance