Line array alternative

I have 24 Dayton DMA58-8 drivers (2” fullrange). I was going to use them in a line array but the aesthetics no longer works for my listening room. What suggestions would you recommend for these drivers? I’ve considered a Tekton Inspired design and also something similar to an Opalum on wall design. These will be a free standing tower and I would add a woofer or two for the lower octaves. I don’t need to use them all but would like to use as many as I can. This will be a passive design using a two channel amplifier.

any suggestions?
 
The Opalum design looks inspiring. If you're going to build an array why not give it width as well as height. Just a thought. Maybe the Tekton approach could help manage the upper fullrange region.

You're not into output transformerless amplifiers by any chance?
 
The Opalum design looks inspiring. If you're going to build an array why not give it width as well as height. Just a thought. Maybe the Tekton approach could help manage the upper fullrange region.

You're not into output transformerless amplifiers by any chance?
I would definitely like to widen the array. I’m worried about the response of this many drivers next to each other however. If I could, I’d place 3 rows of 4 or even 2 rows of 6. Something along this train if thought. The crossover design is beyond my abilities however.

I’d love to get into OTL amplifies, but for the time being, I’ll have to stick with my Cambridge 2 channel. One step at a time.
 
Looks similar in concept to the Yamaha.

I would not look to Tekton for inspiration.

But the best idea yet is the dodecahedron.

dave
Dave,
I was not considering anything like the dodecahedron design, but would be willing to build one. The build part is easy enough, but the crossover design might not be? I’m not experienced with crossovers in general and certainly nothing like this.
Would 2” fullrange drivers generate much volume in this arrangement? I would add a woofer for the bottom end.
Also, should this be treated like any other cabinet when working out the volume?

These speakers aren’t for critical listening by any means.
 
With a 2” FR you will not have a lot of bass. Volume should be 12x the volume for one, sealed is likely best, it can be EQed if you have issues getting box right size, and since XOing to a woofer its LF extention is likely going to be sort of immaterial.

Bit for the kind of listening you suggest an OMNI can be really good. And they may actaully produce sufficient bottom.

As a ref, the tiny. little bluetooth thingy’s with no rel bass and often driven into clipping seem to satisfy many.

I have been a fan of dodecahedron forever. Recently found teh icosagedron (20 sided, all triangles) and realized i had enuff (35mm) drivers to do this instead. The woofer will be 8 4” in a dodecahedron. There will likely be a bit of a hole between the 2. But it will be fun. I supect the stas will hang from the ceiling.

dave
 
Last edited:
McIntosh has some interesting small-driver arrays also

https://www.crutchfield.com/S-byMJHMDIT7U/p_958XR100GB/McIntosh-XR100-Gloss-Black.html
1662416591983.png


https://www.mcintoshlabs.com/products/speakers/XR100
Midrange Type
8 Inverted Titanium Dome Midranges covering 300Hz to 2kHz, and 2 Inverted Titanium Dome Midrange-Tweeters covering 2kHz to 8kHz
 
Last edited:
It makes sense to hold off having the multi drivers kicking in until the frequency where the one doing the treble is about a wavelength. So..

If you're concerned about the side effects of a multi-driver array, use larger drivers so it happens at a lower frequency.
If you're concerned about where the one doing the treble breaks up and goes narrow, make them smaller so it happens at a higher frequency.
If you can't find a good compromise then build your own tweeter with a waveguide.