Hello, i am fairly new to diy audio, although i have done two projects.
This is concerning a general question. I have seen a lot of speakers using a 5.5 inch mid or mid woofer like the scanspeak 15m or 15w. With my current knowledge i dont understand however why most of these designs then use an 8 inch or 2 8 inch drivers instead of 10 inch drivers.
Shouldnt one be able to cross over at 220 hz lr2 for example? Or is this generally rather high for a 10 inch driver?
All the 10 inch three ways i see are using a 6-7 inch mid. And to me it seems this makes for problems concerning tweeter/mid crossover.
On a side note i am considering building a 3 way with the 15w and 25w8565 crossed at around 220 with second order linkwitz. This gave reason for my question...
Thanks in advance
This is concerning a general question. I have seen a lot of speakers using a 5.5 inch mid or mid woofer like the scanspeak 15m or 15w. With my current knowledge i dont understand however why most of these designs then use an 8 inch or 2 8 inch drivers instead of 10 inch drivers.
Shouldnt one be able to cross over at 220 hz lr2 for example? Or is this generally rather high for a 10 inch driver?
All the 10 inch three ways i see are using a 6-7 inch mid. And to me it seems this makes for problems concerning tweeter/mid crossover.
On a side note i am considering building a 3 way with the 15w and 25w8565 crossed at around 220 with second order linkwitz. This gave reason for my question...
Thanks in advance
I am sure you can find 10 and even 12" 3 ways.
But I think the main reason they are difficult is they tend to low impedance.
An 89dB 8" woofer allows you to load a typical mid and tweeter with a few ohms attenuation, thus keeping impedance above about 5 ohms:
Poor Man'
SEAS-3-Way-Classic
I'd guess this louder 12" is more difficult on impedance:
SEAS Kit 503
But I think the main reason they are difficult is they tend to low impedance.
An 89dB 8" woofer allows you to load a typical mid and tweeter with a few ohms attenuation, thus keeping impedance above about 5 ohms:
Poor Man'
SEAS-3-Way-Classic
I'd guess this louder 12" is more difficult on impedance:
SEAS Kit 503
I think there are a number of factors at play. I think the biggest is aesthetics. Thinner speakers sell better, and you can make a speaker thinner with a pair of 8s than a single 10 or 12".
As for the 220hz filter, while that is an option, I think in the vast majority of 3 way designs, the woofers are crossed to the mid at the baffle step frequency, because that allows for the easiest integration with the mid. It's also how 2.5 way designs are typically implemented.
As for the 220hz filter, while that is an option, I think in the vast majority of 3 way designs, the woofers are crossed to the mid at the baffle step frequency, because that allows for the easiest integration with the mid. It's also how 2.5 way designs are typically implemented.
Great advice.
I've done a couple of designs that had 6.5-10" woofers and all had small mids(SS 10F, SEAS W12) as I prefer to smoother off axis. If I use a waveguide, then depending on the size of the guide, the mid could be 6.5-15 inches.
Narrow speakers do have better WAF.
It's a shame that there aren't more 16R drivers around but I've done one speaker using 3 * 16R 8" woofers in parallel
It's a shame that there aren't more 16R drivers around but I've done one speaker using 3 * 16R 8" woofers in parallel
Hi thanks for all the answers. Yes the part about baffle step frequency makes a lot of sense and also waf is an issue to be concerned about. Especially in commercial products. Fortunately i am still a student who doesnt need to care about such requirements and can use 2x 10 inch drivers 🙂
As a tip for someone wantig to use a slim 10“ driver, the 25w/8565 have a very slim sorounding gasket which makes for a diameter closer to 9“
Part of my question was put a bit wrongly. That is the part about not seeing any 10 + 5.5 inch designs.
There are loads of 10“ designs out there, for example all the jenzen speakers from troels but they all use 6.5 inch mids... the time troels used a 5.5 inch mid he used a 8 inch driver again. In the ellam flex 3w.
However, my thought was that a 5.5 inch is better with integration with the tweeter than a 6.5 inch. What are the advantages of using a 6.5 inch driver if your crossong to the 10“ woofer at bsc frequency anyway or for example in the 200 hz region? Wouldnt a 5.5 inch (like the 15w) with healthy xmax be well suited to play down to 200hz?
As a tip for someone wantig to use a slim 10“ driver, the 25w/8565 have a very slim sorounding gasket which makes for a diameter closer to 9“
Part of my question was put a bit wrongly. That is the part about not seeing any 10 + 5.5 inch designs.
There are loads of 10“ designs out there, for example all the jenzen speakers from troels but they all use 6.5 inch mids... the time troels used a 5.5 inch mid he used a 8 inch driver again. In the ellam flex 3w.
However, my thought was that a 5.5 inch is better with integration with the tweeter than a 6.5 inch. What are the advantages of using a 6.5 inch driver if your crossong to the 10“ woofer at bsc frequency anyway or for example in the 200 hz region? Wouldnt a 5.5 inch (like the 15w) with healthy xmax be well suited to play down to 200hz?
I've made a 3-Way using a Vifa 10" and the P-13, reasonable combination. I know I am not the only one. Don't need much X-Max on a dedicated mid if the crossover is good. a 2.5 would be different tho
The bass you mentioned can be used front mounted without issues up to 400-500 Hz. Great driver.
You could use a Discovery 15M 5" mid with it, anywhere from 250 to 350. It is a very efficient unit so you will have enough padding resistance to keep the impedance high-ish. Due to it's impedance/inductance curve profile it will react better to the HP filter in comparison to a 15W bass/mid (assuming a passive xo - with active anything is possible).
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