This will be my first foray into fullrangers for my PC desktop at home where i do most of my listening....so why not make it the best it can be right? Some background......
The desktop is 30" deep to the wall so the avg listening distance will be about 40" to the seated ear. They can be placed as far as 11ft apart on the desk from wall to wall or as close as 30". Ideally to conserve some space, dimensions should be no deeper than 8" or taller than 14", which would just about put a top offset driver on the horizontal axis with my seated ear.
I've been researching quite a few drivers and the TB W5-1611SA seems to be the perfect fit for enclosure size vs bass response. The planned tune is 55hz to be crossed to a DIY 10" Peerless sub that's under the desk. I'm figuring on a stereo tube amp at some point, but using a classA integrated currently fed with Flac files from the PC through a Maudio card/DAC.
Now coming from the multi way side of things, i've got some concerns to consider when designing the enclosures and filters if any are needed. First off, i'm 43 and can't hear a lick over 15khz so that should filter out some subjective opinions on the TB's top end. It's been my understanding that larger format fullrange drivers HF response drops like a tank off axis, as would be the case with the layout i've outlined above and assuming some seperation roughly 20degrees off axis listening. My thought would be an angled baffle of 15 degrees which would still leave the speakers a bit off axis to avoid beaming. Am i being overly cautious? I don't want to have to toe them in as mentioned above, i'm trying to maintain some desktop space.
Now i've got plenty of room for a front port and propose a simple bottom slot calculated with Unibox. As far as BSC, i'll be looking at three boundries, the left and right of the enclosure to the wall and the desktop so how much BSC would this placement require? I could design in a bit of bass hump of 1-2db between 100-300hz using tune freq vs enclosure volume if needed. Thoughts?
Finally, edge diffraction and the dreaded midbass wiggle with on-wall placement. The inside edge of the baffle could be extended so that it would meet the wall at a 15-20 degree angle while the outer edge could be curved using bendyply for a full 180 degree radius and then taper again to the wall. Wide baffle...less diffraction....less BSC required..correct? If the desktop surface could be a problem, i can certainly offset the driver as much as needed...limited to 12" from the center of the cone of course.
So have i covered all of the points needed to design a nice FR desktop speaker that fits my space and needs. Any points or suggestions would be welcome. I've got excellent tools in my arsenal as well as above average carpentry skills so enclosure complexity doesn't factor in.......just as long as it sounds good.
Here's my Unibox model which assumes .5cuft (14L) and a 55hz tune factoring in power vs excursion.
Thanx for those that chose to read through a pretty long post. 🙂
The desktop is 30" deep to the wall so the avg listening distance will be about 40" to the seated ear. They can be placed as far as 11ft apart on the desk from wall to wall or as close as 30". Ideally to conserve some space, dimensions should be no deeper than 8" or taller than 14", which would just about put a top offset driver on the horizontal axis with my seated ear.
I've been researching quite a few drivers and the TB W5-1611SA seems to be the perfect fit for enclosure size vs bass response. The planned tune is 55hz to be crossed to a DIY 10" Peerless sub that's under the desk. I'm figuring on a stereo tube amp at some point, but using a classA integrated currently fed with Flac files from the PC through a Maudio card/DAC.
Now coming from the multi way side of things, i've got some concerns to consider when designing the enclosures and filters if any are needed. First off, i'm 43 and can't hear a lick over 15khz so that should filter out some subjective opinions on the TB's top end. It's been my understanding that larger format fullrange drivers HF response drops like a tank off axis, as would be the case with the layout i've outlined above and assuming some seperation roughly 20degrees off axis listening. My thought would be an angled baffle of 15 degrees which would still leave the speakers a bit off axis to avoid beaming. Am i being overly cautious? I don't want to have to toe them in as mentioned above, i'm trying to maintain some desktop space.
Now i've got plenty of room for a front port and propose a simple bottom slot calculated with Unibox. As far as BSC, i'll be looking at three boundries, the left and right of the enclosure to the wall and the desktop so how much BSC would this placement require? I could design in a bit of bass hump of 1-2db between 100-300hz using tune freq vs enclosure volume if needed. Thoughts?
Finally, edge diffraction and the dreaded midbass wiggle with on-wall placement. The inside edge of the baffle could be extended so that it would meet the wall at a 15-20 degree angle while the outer edge could be curved using bendyply for a full 180 degree radius and then taper again to the wall. Wide baffle...less diffraction....less BSC required..correct? If the desktop surface could be a problem, i can certainly offset the driver as much as needed...limited to 12" from the center of the cone of course.
So have i covered all of the points needed to design a nice FR desktop speaker that fits my space and needs. Any points or suggestions would be welcome. I've got excellent tools in my arsenal as well as above average carpentry skills so enclosure complexity doesn't factor in.......just as long as it sounds good.
Here's my Unibox model which assumes .5cuft (14L) and a 55hz tune factoring in power vs excursion.
Thanx for those that chose to read through a pretty long post. 🙂
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forget about the TBs...
and check out some of the designs at planet10.
many of his designs are suitable for use without a sub. I think of the several that I've made and tried, all sound better without a sub🙂. The drivers are more expensive than the TBs, but are hand matched and modified. The modifications take about a week to complete.
and check out some of the designs at planet10.
many of his designs are suitable for use without a sub. I think of the several that I've made and tried, all sound better without a sub🙂. The drivers are more expensive than the TBs, but are hand matched and modified. The modifications take about a week to complete.
Don't know where your budget it, but just yesterday i got an order for Alpair12eN for a "best as can be" set of computer speakers. To go into Classic Golden Ratio Mar-Ken12.
That aside there is no shortage of designs that would fit your needs. Choosing from the riches is the hard part.
dave
I guess i should have said the best it can be......for under $200.00 drivers and materials.
There's probobly more questions that need asking, but the off axis response is what seems paramount to me Dave. Just about every fullrange graph i've looked at that isn't suspect tells me i need to consider this in the design. Personally, i don't listen on axis as it is so.....
I'd be remiss in not saying that i'd like to hear from someone who's used the TB fullranger, but that would be just another subjective review so after i work out some of the basic design issues, i'd probobly be best off to just let my ears tell me what they think. Those Alpairs are really good looking drivers though, and would make for a very pleasing design to look at as well as listen i'm sure. Thanx for the help and i'll muttle along some more on your site to see if anything catches my interest.
There's probobly more questions that need asking, but the off axis response is what seems paramount to me Dave. Just about every fullrange graph i've looked at that isn't suspect tells me i need to consider this in the design. Personally, i don't listen on axis as it is so.....
I'd be remiss in not saying that i'd like to hear from someone who's used the TB fullranger, but that would be just another subjective review so after i work out some of the basic design issues, i'd probobly be best off to just let my ears tell me what they think. Those Alpairs are really good looking drivers though, and would make for a very pleasing design to look at as well as listen i'm sure. Thanx for the help and i'll muttle along some more on your site to see if anything catches my interest.
If you haven't seen this thread it might be helpful.
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/163290-tb-w5-1611sa-vs-ma-alpair7.html
The 1611 is pretty and (except for my general dislike of PP) looks to be a very interesting driver. The Alpair7 on the other hand is 1 of my 3 favorite drivers.
dave
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/full-range/163290-tb-w5-1611sa-vs-ma-alpair7.html
The 1611 is pretty and (except for my general dislike of PP) looks to be a very interesting driver. The Alpair7 on the other hand is 1 of my 3 favorite drivers.
dave
Well i've moved forward with the purchase of a pair of the TB W5-611's which should be in hand before the end of the month. I had a bunch of 1" dimensional white oak that i cut and planed today for a horizontal translam which worked out well. I'm going to do a slight chamfer on the edges with a reveal bit and then drill through all four corners and maybe use threaded rod with chrome cap nuts with a piano black finish. I'll experiment with different tunings but given some of the posts and the topic of boomy base on a desktop, i'll start lean with a 50hz tuning in 15 liters first.
Once i recieve the drivers, i'll post some detailed pics and break em in on an OB for now.
Using my current sub i should get a good idea of SQ for some purely subjective ranting.
Wish me luck and i hope all the FR hoopla turn out to be true because you've all sold me on it!
Once i recieve the drivers, i'll post some detailed pics and break em in on an OB for now.
Using my current sub i should get a good idea of SQ for some purely subjective ranting.
Wish me luck and i hope all the FR hoopla turn out to be true because you've all sold me on it!
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