I know, I know. But, here is WHY I am trying to accomplish this ... ESS originally crossed this over at 2400. It was crossed to their paper 10". And sounded good to me, and a LOT of other people. BUT, at higher volumes, they get a touch rough. When changed to 3000 - 3200, the harshness went away. The main reason I do not want to make a true 3 way, is i can not design the xover. So I am stuck either using my DSP for active, or since it appears finding a slamming 10", which also plays well to 3200, I can buy all new ESS woofers, and build new custom cabinets for them. The tweeters are THAT good.
A 98dB to 99dB pro 10in driver from Faital or B&C in a ported cabinet should work well. Look for one that has an extended upper range to cross with the tweeter. 10HPL64 for example.
How is you project going? Hope this discussion is still open. I had to put my JBL project on hold in favor of using my ESS 10" woofer that I bought on sale bout 2019. This project is for my son's livingroom. He and his brothers will be building this together with help from myself.
His amp only puts out 38 Watts, so with the 4 Ohm load I was wondering your impressions with the lower power. If they prove to be problematic I may purchase a second pair and wire in series to raise the impedance. I should realize more bass and an easier load for his amp, but I wonder about detail and dynamics.
OP here... I had forgotten this thread lol. The big two ways are amazing! I did finish the speakers, but still have final sanding and paint for part of them. I designed them with changeable side panels. For a never ending change in appearance. They came out very nice, but waaay heavy.
Sound characteristics? Pro woofer with VERY efficient monopole Heil in my pair. 15 watts gets loud! Dynamics are the strong point of these speakers. The AMT monopole Heil is as good as any Beryllium tweeter I've heard, regardless of price.
Sound characteristics? Pro woofer with VERY efficient monopole Heil in my pair. 15 watts gets loud! Dynamics are the strong point of these speakers. The AMT monopole Heil is as good as any Beryllium tweeter I've heard, regardless of price.
My only regret is how heavy and big they are. TOO much to ship. So now to make room, I'm trying to sell them cheap. But in my community of only 6000 people, cheap is relative, lol. I may own them forever, barring a local Californian wanting to meet me somewhere, lol. At least they sound great, with their huge roundovers, 1.5" BB plywood walls, and exte sive bracing. Reworked xovers helped too
All the photos I have are unfinished ones like these. I'll try and get some finished photos next week. They are hard to move around for photos at 63 lbs each. I now have carbon fiber side panels, aged copper side panels, etc.
My two ways are not an original design. These were a pair of floorstanding ESS Tempest 4 speakers. Particle board cabinets, 20 ga tinned copper wires, and ancient cheap xover components, not to mention a PR.
I built new crossovers with quality parts. Used quality wires. Eliminated the PRs, and built identical sized cabinets, same width, but in a 2 way, stand mount configuration. OR optimally you'd place them on bass bins with 12" Kappalite woofers.
They have 1.5 " walls. Weigh a ton, and are 13.5 x 20 x 24"