A few really popular Pro companies include:
Beyma, B&C, 18 Sound, RCF, Precision Devices, Faital Pro, Caire and Eminence.
In the USA US SPEAKER PARTS - Speakers, Speaker Cabinets, Guitar speakers, Bass speakers, , Woofers, HF Drivers, speaker upgrades and replacement speakers. Eminence Speaker, JBL speakers, 18 Sound, B&C, EV, Tannoy, Peavey, Celestion, RCF, Jensen, Beyma, Fane, P is a good source of Pro drivers.
I have used Beyma (great value) and Precision Devices (expensive but amazing sound) and to be honest you could build great speakers with either...The AMT tweeters from Beyma are my favourite all time tweeters, Beyma 10, 12 and 15 inch, and pretty much all the PD drivers are fab!
Yes, going active with seperate power amps and DSP crossover means you dont ever have to solder... No resistors, capacitors or inductors.... Ever!
Even when it comes to wiring up your drivers.... No solder.... Better to crimp the joints and then seal over the whole crimp joint with a blob of hot melt glue to form an air tight seal that is mechanically damped (no unwanted vibration) and strong.
There are lots of detailed tips on internal cabinet damping, gaskets, wire type (I use solid core silver cable in teflon tubing) screws, T nuts, wood type, adhesive type etc etc... They all do add up and make a difference, but focus on the "big 3" I listed at the start and you can pick up the rest from all the guys on here.... They are a good bunch!
So have you determined that an OB is a good fit in your space? They have to be positioned well away from the back and side walls to function properly. If so the Manzanita looks like a great starting point for you. If not then xrk971 has a fully documented 2way that covers similar bases sound quality-wise. The great thing about the OB is the lowering of the bar as far as the tool kit to produce it. You do not get to lower the bar regarding safety with power tools however; they are as ready to slice flesh and bone as they are wood fibers. A track saw is something I would add to my tool stash were I still building it up but...I have table saws. Several table saws.
Not so much. If you are into into flea power amps then yes efficiency first. OB is not about that though, at all. For a lot of us it is the wrong way to the right result since woofer output is being nullified by the lack of an enclosure for the sake of a very different acoustic presentation in the room...and the room is as big a problem as there is in audio.
Last edited:
With pro drivers in an open baffle and a room your size, you are likely going to need to EQ the low end to get good low bass output. If you don't listen loud, I wouldn't worry about the efficiency as much and get something that has bass extension in a smaller (WAF) package. Wattage is cheap nowadays and there are some really good values out there with reasonable power at reasonable prices.
The box count actually goes down, also the cost goes down.
All your amplification and DSP is built into the loudspeakers ie the new Hypex DSP / plate amps form the back panel of your speakers.
This is a linear forum. Please do not quote the entire post just above yours. See the rules.Many good responses already provided. I would re-iterate that the speaker should be designed for the space it will occupy (sized appropriately). One of the things that helped me early on was picking up a used Behringer DCX 2496 and going active. It allows you to experiment with crossovers endlessly and it really drove home to me the importance of a good mid-range driver.
As many others have suggested - tons of good reading material available. Take advantage of it.
One other point - always get a sub-woofer for the low end. Lots of good options for not a ton of money.
As many others have suggested - tons of good reading material available. Take advantage of it.
One other point - always get a sub-woofer for the low end. Lots of good options for not a ton of money.
Last edited:
There are no such adages. If you desire low power amps, then high sensitivity drivers are needed to play loud.
High qts woofers make sense in the context of an open baffle design, but would be terrible in something like a vented cabinet. These are all levers you have available to design the speaker you want.
High qts woofers make sense in the context of an open baffle design, but would be terrible in something like a vented cabinet. These are all levers you have available to design the speaker you want.
IMO, the manzanita design will not work in your space which sounds like 10'x17'. For that limited a space I would get a nice full range design and add a good sub-woofer. It will be more than enough for your space and many full range drivers do a nice job in the mid-range.
I have a small living room space and I currently have a pair of the KEF Q350 (great deal on e-bay; could not pass it up) supplemented with a good sub-woofer.
I have a small living room space and I currently have a pair of the KEF Q350 (great deal on e-bay; could not pass it up) supplemented with a good sub-woofer.
Need to bail out of the Manzanita design, lost on WAF. Should have cleared this first, but I have learned quite a bit about open baffle designs thanks to all on this forum. A little disappointed as I thought that I had the best chance of replicating electrostatic speakers by using an OB design.
To descrive what will work for WAF: Floorstanders with a veneered wood finish, 10" width is acceptable, and up to 50" tall or thereabouts. Sound good at low volume, and image very well (like electrostatics)
To descrive what will work for WAF: Floorstanders with a veneered wood finish, 10" width is acceptable, and up to 50" tall or thereabouts. Sound good at low volume, and image very well (like electrostatics)
No, I cannot think of any thiel parameter that would give you that.
Our sensitivity at LF is definitely diminished and bereft that thump in our chest, as is the case at low volume, we may miss the the presence of bass. So a bass heavy balance may be desired by you in this application. The folks suggesting active EQ to allow you to tune in your preferences are well founded.
You have quite a large work envelope to work with in your wife's constraints.
Based on your response, I would highly recommend a proven design speaker kit (as others suggested). Madisound and Parts-Express have many good kits. You will be getting good sound for not alot of money from a respected designer.
This can get overwhelming rather quickly depending on your starting knowledge. Linkwitz Labs, Lenard Audio and Elliot Sound have lots of good educational content.
This can get overwhelming rather quickly depending on your starting knowledge. Linkwitz Labs, Lenard Audio and Elliot Sound have lots of good educational content.
I would like to point out that in an open baffle design its the Fs ( driver free air resonance) that defines and limits the bass extension.... Not the Qts!
For example take this superb Beyma 15 inch driver: https://www.beyma.com/getpdf.php?pid=SM-115N
It has an Fs of 29Hz and a low Qts of 0.25 (and also low Qes of 0.26) with +/- 8mm Xmax ( +/- 15mm before damage) and a genuine AES power handling of 500 watts.
This driver (or even better a pair of) will produce superb bass all the way down to its Fs even in a modest size open baffle...
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.