No, they are designed by Higher Order Quarterwave Society, these are the plans: https://www.thesoundguy.co.za/PARAFLEX-TYPE-O 2x12_CRAM-35Hz
Been a very busy end of summer. I did my usual festival with the new system, and then had a few days to prepare to drive down to Hungary to play a festival. Just before I should drive home I got a stomach flu and then the fuel pump in my camper died just before reaching the ferry back to Sweden :\
And had a lot of things to look after since I been focused on the sound system and the party for a few months, but finally catching up 🙂
Party went well, and system sounded really amazing. However there where a couple of issues that made it a bit stressfull, which as meant I could not record and document as I had hoped.
First of all the electronics in my generator failed when I was doing a second soundcheck. Luckily it was in last minute for me to be able to get hold of some generators late on a Friday afternoon, so could get everything up and running in time, but unfortunately I did not have time to tweak levels and set limiter carefully. I had of course hope to do this all before the actual event, but of course even if I been trying last year to make sure I had the system ready in good time before the event, it was done just in time 🙂
The initial impression when running the full system at high levels was that the bass was very intense, much more so than earlier events where we had the same number of elements but 18" instead of 12", but reflex designs like JBL VRX, L'Acoustics SB218, Yamaha DSX18. The transition between the plates and the subs at around 100Hz just sounded extremely tight and solid. People told me they been to 100's of parties and festivals but never heard a better sounding system. And I could handle the subs and amps on my own as a 50+ untrained man 😉
However considering how loud the plates seemed before when running the same number of plates, but with the Dayton exciters, I was not as impressed with the output of the new plates. First of all some plates would start distorting on loud levels. Seems like the clamping placement I used allows too much travel in the corners, and starts touching the frame. It was only at very nigh levels with some frequencies being strong, and the system was playing fine on a level lower then when the distortion happened.
Worse though, one plate was badly glued and an exciter came loose after some time. I remember that I tried to glue two plates in one go, and the glue was getting a bit to thick on the last exciter I glued. I tested that the plate seemed fine after drying, but obviously it needed some prolonged usage at high levels before becoming an issue.
And on top of that, another plate had an issue with the bonding between the clamping and the plate. It is a bit tricky to do the mounting with the current design without putting stress on the styrofoam surface causing the plate no longer being clamped and vibrating against the clamping pads instead.
So with a couple of plates out of commission I tried to scramble together so I had as many plates playing as possible, which is a bit tricky when you have four plates connected in series-parallel for each stack. I managed to get the plates playing at 75% capacity, and worked fine first night and late into the morning. However I had to sleep a bit during daytime, and when I came back a few exciters was melted. Not really sure why, but of course leaving a system unattended without limiters in place is taking a big risk, and with different stacks having different impedance and power handing things was a bit messy.
So, the subs, amps and plates was a big success in how they performed, but my current design needs a bit of work to make them consistent and reliable. I have made great plans for next revision though! 🙂
Going to make myself a little space where I can put a larger format printer so I can make a design that is much quicker and easier to mount, which should solved the issues that appeared. And of course I will be ready well ahead of the party this time so I can test them properly in advance ;D
And had a lot of things to look after since I been focused on the sound system and the party for a few months, but finally catching up 🙂
Party went well, and system sounded really amazing. However there where a couple of issues that made it a bit stressfull, which as meant I could not record and document as I had hoped.
First of all the electronics in my generator failed when I was doing a second soundcheck. Luckily it was in last minute for me to be able to get hold of some generators late on a Friday afternoon, so could get everything up and running in time, but unfortunately I did not have time to tweak levels and set limiter carefully. I had of course hope to do this all before the actual event, but of course even if I been trying last year to make sure I had the system ready in good time before the event, it was done just in time 🙂
The initial impression when running the full system at high levels was that the bass was very intense, much more so than earlier events where we had the same number of elements but 18" instead of 12", but reflex designs like JBL VRX, L'Acoustics SB218, Yamaha DSX18. The transition between the plates and the subs at around 100Hz just sounded extremely tight and solid. People told me they been to 100's of parties and festivals but never heard a better sounding system. And I could handle the subs and amps on my own as a 50+ untrained man 😉
However considering how loud the plates seemed before when running the same number of plates, but with the Dayton exciters, I was not as impressed with the output of the new plates. First of all some plates would start distorting on loud levels. Seems like the clamping placement I used allows too much travel in the corners, and starts touching the frame. It was only at very nigh levels with some frequencies being strong, and the system was playing fine on a level lower then when the distortion happened.
Worse though, one plate was badly glued and an exciter came loose after some time. I remember that I tried to glue two plates in one go, and the glue was getting a bit to thick on the last exciter I glued. I tested that the plate seemed fine after drying, but obviously it needed some prolonged usage at high levels before becoming an issue.
And on top of that, another plate had an issue with the bonding between the clamping and the plate. It is a bit tricky to do the mounting with the current design without putting stress on the styrofoam surface causing the plate no longer being clamped and vibrating against the clamping pads instead.
So with a couple of plates out of commission I tried to scramble together so I had as many plates playing as possible, which is a bit tricky when you have four plates connected in series-parallel for each stack. I managed to get the plates playing at 75% capacity, and worked fine first night and late into the morning. However I had to sleep a bit during daytime, and when I came back a few exciters was melted. Not really sure why, but of course leaving a system unattended without limiters in place is taking a big risk, and with different stacks having different impedance and power handing things was a bit messy.
So, the subs, amps and plates was a big success in how they performed, but my current design needs a bit of work to make them consistent and reliable. I have made great plans for next revision though! 🙂
Going to make myself a little space where I can put a larger format printer so I can make a design that is much quicker and easier to mount, which should solved the issues that appeared. And of course I will be ready well ahead of the party this time so I can test them properly in advance ;D
Hi Leob,
Nice to hear it went well even with a few hiccups.
Sounds like some refinement of mounting will be on the cards, did you see Xcite sell a mounting system now? They are on the Soundimports page. Not sure if they would help for your design though. I'm glad the subs lived up to expectations and they integrated well with the plates.
Nice to hear it went well even with a few hiccups.
Sounds like some refinement of mounting will be on the cards, did you see Xcite sell a mounting system now? They are on the Soundimports page. Not sure if they would help for your design though. I'm glad the subs lived up to expectations and they integrated well with the plates.
Thanks Joska! Saw those and the 8 ohm exciters. The actual mounting of the exciters worked really well though (apart from the gluing issue on one plate), so those would be unnecessary cost for me. It is more the mounting of the plate to the frame that is an issue.
With a larger printer I can make two parts that I just screw together like a sandwich so there wont be any strains in wrong directions during mounting, and will try making a construction where I print TPU thin like a sheet to have a softer constraint around the whole perimeter like with a canvas.
With a larger printer I can make two parts that I just screw together like a sandwich so there wont be any strains in wrong directions during mounting, and will try making a construction where I print TPU thin like a sheet to have a softer constraint around the whole perimeter like with a canvas.
Hi Leob,
Hope you are going well, have you had your system out again?
You have probably seen the new Xcite Xtreme XTB40 low frequency exciter 160W? Doesn't seem like anyone over on the full range thread has tried them yet but am curious how they will perform. Apparently FR is 25-1000hz but at what SPL and on what panel who knows, would need to be a two way system then anyway.
Even if they can play in the low range I doubt they would have the kick and power of your paraflex subs for live shows but could be interesting for home.
Hope you are going well, have you had your system out again?
You have probably seen the new Xcite Xtreme XTB40 low frequency exciter 160W? Doesn't seem like anyone over on the full range thread has tried them yet but am curious how they will perform. Apparently FR is 25-1000hz but at what SPL and on what panel who knows, would need to be a two way system then anyway.
Even if they can play in the low range I doubt they would have the kick and power of your paraflex subs for live shows but could be interesting for home.
Hi Joska,
No, been making plans for a new revision and got a massive printer, but still working on setting up the space. Going to get a small house on wheels to use as my workshop, and taking a lot of time with permissions and delivery of that.
I really want to avoid a crossover in the mids, so don't find the XTB40 interesting really. Maybe it could make for a more compact system with a mid and top plate since you could increase power density, but adding the crossover is a big sacrifice IMO.
And increasing the power density might not be so easy. One XTB40 could replace the cluster of 4x40w exciters I have now, but not sure if the plate could handle 4xXTB40. So in practice I think you might only save some cost, but wont be able to make a system with less plates. Maybe one could get 2xXTB40 to work out, but 4x40w was already pushing it with the design I was using. The excursion of the plate with several XTB40 will be very large, so you need a design with plenty of clearance and a plate material that can handle the forces.
However, I have been thinking about adding some small extra plates for added brilliance in the top end, and saw Xcite also have a new model focused on HF response. I don't think adding such a plate with a low pass to match the natural slope of the main plates should be an issue, at least not compared to having a crossover at 1kHz.
No, been making plans for a new revision and got a massive printer, but still working on setting up the space. Going to get a small house on wheels to use as my workshop, and taking a lot of time with permissions and delivery of that.
I really want to avoid a crossover in the mids, so don't find the XTB40 interesting really. Maybe it could make for a more compact system with a mid and top plate since you could increase power density, but adding the crossover is a big sacrifice IMO.
And increasing the power density might not be so easy. One XTB40 could replace the cluster of 4x40w exciters I have now, but not sure if the plate could handle 4xXTB40. So in practice I think you might only save some cost, but wont be able to make a system with less plates. Maybe one could get 2xXTB40 to work out, but 4x40w was already pushing it with the design I was using. The excursion of the plate with several XTB40 will be very large, so you need a design with plenty of clearance and a plate material that can handle the forces.
However, I have been thinking about adding some small extra plates for added brilliance in the top end, and saw Xcite also have a new model focused on HF response. I don't think adding such a plate with a low pass to match the natural slope of the main plates should be an issue, at least not compared to having a crossover at 1kHz.
Yes makes sense about over powering the plates as even with one exciter they can move a lot at volume. I was also thinking the crossover was adding complications in a crucial frequency range. I am still curious but for the price could be better off with 4x of their new HF 25mm exciters.
My use is home and workshop but would like to be able to push them a little harder than 1x exciter is happy with. Most electronic music I listen to can go as loud as I can handle but rock or music with more going on in the midrange can heat up the exciter if it's played at high spl.
My use is home and workshop but would like to be able to push them a little harder than 1x exciter is happy with. Most electronic music I listen to can go as loud as I can handle but rock or music with more going on in the midrange can heat up the exciter if it's played at high spl.
I have two plates with 4xXT32 and one of my 2x12 paraflex subs in my little studio, with an Aiyima A08 for the plates and an A07 Max for the sub. It does go way too loud if I push it, but sounds fantastic at more relaxed levels.
I do like to blast really loud occasionally, but never push the plates to the max in my small space, and would probably could get away with 2 exciters per plate and still have some headroom. But with 4 exciters they have the bonus of being able to cover a small indoor party at full level for a long time should the need arise 🙂 But if I would build plates for studio use only I would probably go with 4xXT25.
I do like to blast really loud occasionally, but never push the plates to the max in my small space, and would probably could get away with 2 exciters per plate and still have some headroom. But with 4 exciters they have the bonus of being able to cover a small indoor party at full level for a long time should the need arise 🙂 But if I would build plates for studio use only I would probably go with 4xXT25.
Thanks Leob,
I do have a couple of spare exciters so will try having 2 per plate to see if it helps with headroom.
My workshop is double garage sized, currently I have a giant front loaded horn 12inch sub (16HZ) a 10inch home theatre sub and a couple of 15inch PA speakers (45-160Hz) so bass is no problem but the panels with 1xXT32 each need a bit more. Not that I listen at club/party level often but I like the option as I'm sure you understand.
I do have a couple of spare exciters so will try having 2 per plate to see if it helps with headroom.
My workshop is double garage sized, currently I have a giant front loaded horn 12inch sub (16HZ) a 10inch home theatre sub and a couple of 15inch PA speakers (45-160Hz) so bass is no problem but the panels with 1xXT32 each need a bit more. Not that I listen at club/party level often but I like the option as I'm sure you understand.