Hey everyone! I have a set of Dayton Audio RS180-4 7" Reference Woofer 4 Ohm and Dayton Audio RS75-4 3" Reference Full-Range Driver 4 Ohm laying around from a car audio install I did years ago. I am wanting to use these in a 3 way floor standing speaker. I was looking at the Dayton Audio AMT2-4 Air Motion Transformer Tweeter 4 Ohm for the tweeter. I am think a prebuilt crossover like this Dayton Audio XO3W-375/3K 3-Way Speaker Crossover 375/3,000 Hz unless someone here can help me design something more suitable. Aside from components I really need the most help in designing the enclosure. I have very good wood working skills but I lack in the technical aspects of enclosure design. Any help would be greatly appreciated as this is my first build!
I am also open to going active with mini dsp. Probably a better option than a prebuilt crossover I would think?
It is a huge undertaking. Definitely do not try stock crossovers. The minidsp route is the easiest way to make sound fast and learn as you go. Just understand that you will have a lot of learning to get results. That's okay, it's what makes it fun, you just have to understand going into it. Definitely do not buy the tweeters yet. It is very unlikely that three randomly selected drivers will happen to work into a great system that makes sense. For one thing, if you have to go 3 way, you'd generally want a much larger woofer than 7". Get the minidsp (2x4 for 2 way, 4x10 for 3 way, HD versions do seem to be superior) and a umik and REW software. Start measuring and reading and experimenting with the two drivers you have to get a workable 2 way. Then as you learn, you may decide to add a tweeter. Use winisd software to model your box size. Also probably start by reading Vance dickasons loudspeaker design cookbook a couple of times. Good luck, have fun! Craig
Using the my-audio reflex box calculator, the rs180-4 give a box of 34l with a 5cm diam x 12cm Long port for f3 of 30hz.
May be worth having a look at the statement monitor speaker which is a 3 way with this woofer and a 4” cone mid and a ribbon tweeter with a smaller 24l cabinet tan f3 of 34hz.
Statements_Monitor
May be worth having a look at the statement monitor speaker which is a 3 way with this woofer and a 4” cone mid and a ribbon tweeter with a smaller 24l cabinet tan f3 of 34hz.
Statements_Monitor
So if I dumb down my plan a bit and go 2 way do you guys think the Dayton 3” will have enough top end to go without a tweeter? Also if I decide to go that rout wouldn’t a passive crossover be fairly easy to design? Or just buy a 2 way crossover from parts express? For the enclosure should the 3” be sealed from the 7” driver?
Mid will need a separate enclosure imo as it is a cone not dome mid. May be only 1l or so though will do. You could try it and see if it is ok and ad a tweeter if not.
All speakers deviate from ideal, enough top end is a relative thing. But wide range plus a woofer is an often used thing. Tackling a two way is smarter than starting with a 3 way. Even a two way is very complex. How will baffle step compensation work into your crossover design? How will you compensate for the offset in mounting depths between the two drivers? To be sure that the offset difference and the delay introduced by the crossover type you choose don't result in the two drivers being out of phase and actually canceling each other. That all has to be modeled ahead of time to know what passive crossover will work. If you get it wrong, it's difficult to adjust. If you go minidsp route you can learn as you go and continually change and adjust, as well as give easy eq to correct the issues with the 3"not being flat. Hope that makes sense.
I see nothing wrong with using that little woofer in a 3-Way with the proviso that down the track a little way you may want to add a big powered subwoofer to get that bottom octave.
Why not jump onto the Dayton forum and ask around? You may find somebody who has used that combination and has a recommendation for a tweeter.
Separate midrange compartments are relatively easy, there may even be a plastic cup available cheap Visaton have a them for example
AK 10.13 | Visaton
I'm in favour of jumping in the deep end and learning to swim so I say go for it but personally I'd not be using that little driver over 3k after looking at the graph but 300 to 3000Hz is sort of a classic XO range
Why not jump onto the Dayton forum and ask around? You may find somebody who has used that combination and has a recommendation for a tweeter.
Separate midrange compartments are relatively easy, there may even be a plastic cup available cheap Visaton have a them for example
AK 10.13 | Visaton
I'm in favour of jumping in the deep end and learning to swim so I say go for it but personally I'd not be using that little driver over 3k after looking at the graph but 300 to 3000Hz is sort of a classic XO range
If you go active, you can make a very good 2 way with those drivers. You can use the EQ in the MiniDSP to boost the top end and flatten everything. The RS180 is an excellent driver. it was the only thing I liked about the Statement monitors I built. I later used it with a BG Neo3 and the results were impressive.
If you are going the DSP-active route a couple of things.....
You'll need something better/bigger than the 2-4 minidsp to provide at least 6 output channels. There's a risk of killing tweeters if cables are miss-connected or configs are messed up in the DSP. Do any/all testing with low level signals, a frequency that is appropriate for the tweeter and initially, maybe stick a cap on it.
You'll need something better/bigger than the 2-4 minidsp to provide at least 6 output channels. There's a risk of killing tweeters if cables are miss-connected or configs are messed up in the DSP. Do any/all testing with low level signals, a frequency that is appropriate for the tweeter and initially, maybe stick a cap on it.
Great points. Although the 2x4 is sufficient if you are sticking with the 2 way. Also if you are sticking with the two way using the full range as a tweeter/mid then you are unlikely to damage the 3" accidently and a capacitor to filter off bass from it in case of accidental misconnection is probably unnecessary. Do be careful with keeping the connections straight and keep signals very low when you are first trying a new configuration or setting.
My advice is to begin a 2 way passive design, RS180-4 and a waveguide tweeter. Dayton has got one, ND25FW-4. The affordable components and a single XO point make it a doable fun project, potentially a very good quality loudspeaker. The optimal route to go about this design is as always, your own measurements, still falling short of these, manufacturer's data is sufficient to build a simulated prototype.
Going on from @lojzek, may be worth downloading a copy of Boxsim 2.0. The latest version allows you to simulate active crossovers and parametric eq filters so you can sim away to your hearts content and when happy transfer the data to minidsp. The changes made in v2.0 I really like and are very useful and also Dayton provide ZMA and FRD flies for you.
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