Jim,
The FF165WK's look like they can work well in a Karlsonator scaled to 0.87x in height and depth, and 0.8x in width. The low Qts motor requires a longer length to achieve bass extension. It is kind of a big speaker but produces quite a high SPL for how small the driver is - between 92 to 95 dB. You may need a BSC to tame the high frequency (maybe 6R+0.8mH can work).
Here are the simulation results for SPL vs Freq, Impedance, Cone Displacement, SPL with 6R+0.8mH BSC, and Impulse Response with BSC.
It looks like it can work for your lightweight PA duties. One way to keep it light as you know is to make it out of FC and face with a layer of 1/8 in thick Luauan plywood.
Cheers,
X
Attachments
Last edited:
Freddi,
I'm not sure who made the Karlsome, but it is identical looking to yours,
...I think. Not sure of the actual dimentions.
X,
Not sure who made it I got is used, but looks like Freddis.
I bought it for the JBL, pulled the JBL and put it in a Fender
vibroverb clone I put together. Then I put a gauss 15 in the
Karlson.
Yes, I knew Jerry, funny guy. I did some stuff for him many
moons ago, pick ups and some other stuff. He finally was cleaning
up then up and died on us. Probably too much stress being clean,
blody was used to riding the wave. RIP Brother.
X, on one of the 15 Karlsons, what speaker, features
would be optimal for it?
It's tough though, all the bass guys like 10's.
I'm not sure who made the Karlsome, but it is identical looking to yours,
...I think. Not sure of the actual dimentions.
X,
Not sure who made it I got is used, but looks like Freddis.
I bought it for the JBL, pulled the JBL and put it in a Fender
vibroverb clone I put together. Then I put a gauss 15 in the
Karlson.
Yes, I knew Jerry, funny guy. I did some stuff for him many
moons ago, pick ups and some other stuff. He finally was cleaning
up then up and died on us. Probably too much stress being clean,
blody was used to riding the wave. RIP Brother.
X, on one of the 15 Karlsons, what speaker, features
would be optimal for it?
It's tough though, all the bass guys like 10's.
Sync,
First note that with a proper K15 I am really only an armchair critic here as all I have are sims and have yet to listen to one in real life. However, if my sims are kind of close, which I think they are based on feedback from people who think the predicted impedance plots are on line with measurements, and the famous "W" feature in the frequency response is present where it normally is, I think you are looking for a driver with high efficiency (PA type +95dB) and Qts range between 0.30 and 0.45. You can use low Qts like 0.21 but you are not going to buy anything extra and it actually causes the bass response to dip in the 70 to 90 Hz range. Also, there is no need to have an fs lower than 50 Hz as the natural freq of the K15 is about 60 Hz or so.
For example, here are some sims for various PA drivers: Eminence Kappa 15A (Qts 0.32), Kilomax 15 (Qts 0.39), 10 in bass guitar driver Eminence BP102 (Qts 0.43), and as an example of a very low Qts driver the B&C 15NDL76 (Qts 0.21). You can see that the 10 in bass guitar driver works pretty well but its higher Qts starts to cause a bass peak to form, conversely with the B&C, its low Qts cause a wide depression in the mid bass. I think the Kappa 15Aand Kilomax 15 looks great and it has outstanding efficiency and flatness in the response. I hope this helps.
This probably belongs in the "Speaker than Kicks Butt in Large Spaces" thread. Where are you going to get a speker that throws a bass shelf of 100 dB at 2.83V from 55 Hz to 700 Hz! Great for PA use, superb dynamics and impulse response. Man I got build one one of these days to hear it myself.
Attachments
Last edited:
Well yeah, bigger is better. Comparing a pro 12" + horn to 3" drivers is really not a fair fight!
I'm a big fan of the FF series, but IME using pro drivers with accordion surrounds for PA work is really the way to go. It seems to me an 8" coax would about right for a relatively compact PA, but they tend to be pricey. Perhaps consider an 8" pro bass/mid and a (CTS) piezo.
Anyone tried the Faital 6" full range drivers?
Last edited:
Xrk
What do you think about a .53x karlsonator unit with 2 of these HiWave 3.5s per enclosure? I have 4 of these drivers.
Product Specifications
Thiele-Small Parameters
regards,
Bob
What do you think about a .53x karlsonator unit with 2 of these HiWave 3.5s per enclosure? I have 4 of these drivers.
Product Specifications
- Nominal Diameter3-1/2"
- Power Handling (RMS)20 Watts
- Power Handling (max)40 Watts
- Impedance8 ohms
- Frequency Response80 to 20,000 Hz
- Sensitivity81 dB 2.83V/1m
- Voice Coil Diameter1"
Thiele-Small Parameters
- Resonant Frequency (Fs)86 Hz
- DC Resistance (Re)7.2 ohms
- Voice Coil Inductance (Le)0.055 mH
- Mechanical Q (Qms)4.9
- Electromagnetic Q (Qes)1.09
- Total Q (Qts)0.89
- Compliance Equivalent Volume (Vas)0.04 ft.³
- Mechanical Compliance of Suspension (Cms)0.65 mm/N
- BL Product (BL)4.33 Tm
- Diaphragm Mass Inc. Airload (Mms)5.25g
- Maximum Linear Excursion (Xmax)3.5 mm
regards,
Bob
Bkanabe,
Yes, the HiWave BMR 3.5 in driver can work as a dual parallel driver in a 0.6x scale (height and depth) x 0.33x scale (width) Karlsonator. This one was kind of tricky to get a flat response. It is similar in Qts, Sd, and has more xmax than the TC9FD but lower efficiency. I wonder how the high end sounds? Looks promising - let us know how it works out.
Results: SPL vs Freq, Cone Displacement
Yes, the HiWave BMR 3.5 in driver can work as a dual parallel driver in a 0.6x scale (height and depth) x 0.33x scale (width) Karlsonator. This one was kind of tricky to get a flat response. It is similar in Qts, Sd, and has more xmax than the TC9FD but lower efficiency. I wonder how the high end sounds? Looks promising - let us know how it works out.
Results: SPL vs Freq, Cone Displacement
Attachments
Freddi and I are in the Virginias (West and East, respectively) - but we might as well be located across the country as I don't go West much. 
Freddi has been kind enough to ship me some Beta 12CX's which I want to put in a K15 or a Karlsonator when I can build a cabinet. Although they are off spec with a rather high Qts of 0.63 so not sure how well they will do in a K15 - probably more suited to an OB - which I am also very fond of and currently tinkering with.
Freddi has been kind enough to ship me some Beta 12CX's which I want to put in a K15 or a Karlsonator when I can build a cabinet. Although they are off spec with a rather high Qts of 0.63 so not sure how well they will do in a K15 - probably more suited to an OB - which I am also very fond of and currently tinkering with.
Bknabe,
The original Karlsonator plans by Greg B are in post 1 but here it is again:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IsPCPSK6_lQ/TtU92CD8zMI/AAAAAAAABik/txissf4J4PI/w678-h524-no/Karlsonator.png
Good luck!
The original Karlsonator plans by Greg B are in post 1 but here it is again:
https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-IsPCPSK6_lQ/TtU92CD8zMI/AAAAAAAABik/txissf4J4PI/w678-h524-no/Karlsonator.png
Good luck!
if X had a way to my place, I'd probably give him my other set of K15 - one has a messed up front shelf edge where I stupidly tried to increase the gap to the wings. When i got the k15's they were falling apart and before knowing much about them, I re-glued them with the front shelf a bit too far forwards in the dado slots so the shelf is a bit forwards and the port panel tilts a bit.
If only I had an excuse to drive by WVA... Do you have some pics of the K15 cabinets?
an old grainy picture of one - kinda feel like I might not be 'round a long time longer
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
hey X - is BG20 unsuitable for a Karlsonator? - I know it sounds "ok" in K12.
here's Q's but not Vas on one of mine which has had no play- got to get a roll of nickels and a scale - a lot of times a sealed box is better than adding weight
btw - those K's are missing chunks of veneer -pretty rough
here's Q's but not Vas on one of mine which has had no play- got to get a roll of nickels and a scale - a lot of times a sealed box is better than adding weight
btw - those K's are missing chunks of veneer -pretty rough
I will take a look at the BG20 in a Karlsonator. I use modeling clay for the weight - I make a donut that fits right onto where cone and dust cap join. The clay is sticky and moves along with cone well. Seems to work so far and is adaptable to whatever driver size I need.
That K15 looks pretty good actually. Does it currently have a driver in it or sitting there bare?
You are going to be around much longer - don't talk like that.
That K15 looks pretty good actually. Does it currently have a driver in it or sitting there bare?
You are going to be around much longer - don't talk like that.
Last edited:
I am listening to my mini Karlosnators right now with a stock Sure TPA3110D2 powered with a 19v laptop smps brick and it sounds wonderful. It can get quite loud for a 8 watt amp. I think it is closer to 12 or 15 watts when running from a 19v supply.
This sounds really good on this speaker:
Diana Krall Why Should I Care ( Full Album ) - YouTube
You won't be disappointed! Can't wait to hear your impressions in an all wood 0.53x scale Karlsonator.
You must be very close to first sound by now
Hi! I finished glueing the speakers, and used some tape to provisionally fix the front and back boards. They sound great!! Unfortunately, couldn't play your suggested youtube video due to copyright issues in Spain. Somehow, I think they sound better standing on the floor. However, they seem to me kinda dull sounding compared with the Cornus I built some time ago. I removed some acoustastuff from the speaker chamber already as per your suggestion, but I'll probably need to remove even some more to achieve the best possible results. I saw a picture of Jim Shearer's karlsonators, and that's giving me a good idea of how to add damping material to mine, it'll be great to hear his advice in case he builds them in plywood too!
I'm currently powering the tpa3110d2 amp with a variable output switched power supply, adjusted at 16v @ 4.5A, and it's more than enough for me, way louder than needed!! The sound fills the room ( 5x6 metres ) without much effort. At max volume my neighbours would be probably knocking at my door pretty soon.
Given my limited experience I'm afraid I don't know how to explain how they sound any further. What I also realised is that they somehow emphasise the small details of the recording, which has its pros and cons. Playing live recordings can be a little annoying because small noises, the audience shouting, clapping etc are quite noticeable.
I made a couple of pictures, hope you like them!! Now it's time to lacquering the cabinets and fixing the front and back boards. Any ideas? I thought it might be a good idea to apply speaker gasket strips on the borders of the speaker to ensure perfect sealing, and use some nails to fix the boards in place.
