1st and probably last coat of polyurethane. I'm tired of painting 16 boxes. They've been baking a good 4 hrs so far in 85 degree heat. The black really seems to accelerate the drying process in the sun.
Already wired and 'stuffed'. Last step is to install the MA Pluvia 7 drivers. I hope to get that done today, although I am redoing my entire entertainment system today as well looking forward to listening to this system!
Already wired and 'stuffed'. Last step is to install the MA Pluvia 7 drivers. I hope to get that done today, although I am redoing my entire entertainment system today as well looking forward to listening to this system!
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I am, almost!
1 thing I need to consider is that I have 8 MA drivers that are semi-burned in, and another set of (8) that are brand new.
I should have a first listening test today. I installed all the drivers. The newest ones I mounted on the very top and very bottom of both sides.
1 driver got damaged during the prototype(3rd up on the left). I still have it hooked up so I can listen, the cone still moves freely, amazingly enough! I'm ordering 1 more today.
When mounting the MA drivers I took great care not to overtighten the mounting screws. When I was assembling the first box, I noticed that the frame was flexing if I overtightened the screws with the insulation in between the driver and the box. For the prototypes, I opted not to use the insulation in order to save them for the final construct.
Overall, there are alot of imperfections my eyes see, maybe the pics reveal them too... 1) boxes don't line up perfectly, 2) towers are arched from welding/heating, 3) box construction not so uniform, 4) paint very revealing of imperfections (MDF). But at least I don't think they're an eyesore, and this project should provide a great vehicle for experimentation.
1 driver got damaged during the prototype(3rd up on the left). I still have it hooked up so I can listen, the cone still moves freely, amazingly enough! I'm ordering 1 more today.
When mounting the MA drivers I took great care not to overtighten the mounting screws. When I was assembling the first box, I noticed that the frame was flexing if I overtightened the screws with the insulation in between the driver and the box. For the prototypes, I opted not to use the insulation in order to save them for the final construct.
Overall, there are alot of imperfections my eyes see, maybe the pics reveal them too... 1) boxes don't line up perfectly, 2) towers are arched from welding/heating, 3) box construction not so uniform, 4) paint very revealing of imperfections (MDF). But at least I don't think they're an eyesore, and this project should provide a great vehicle for experimentation.
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Nice project, Great choice of driver
I would have made the box one solid unit with all drivers on the front baffle rather then individual boxes. More bass this way with shared port on bottom back
Interested in how you think it sounds
I would have made the box one solid unit with all drivers on the front baffle rather then individual boxes. More bass this way with shared port on bottom back
Interested in how you think it sounds
stocktrader - this system has evolved over the past several month, but he's also incorporating at least( 4?) subs & active XO / multi-amping for the heavy lifting
Sorry I couldn't respond till now. My cell alerted me earlier today, but work took precedence!
I'm going to reserve my 'subjective' comments for later. Quite a few variables have changed since I fell for these speakers.
Most importantly, I only had 4 Pluvia 7's per side with an AMT tweeter in the middle. Impedance was 8ohms. Now with 8 Pluvia's, impedance is 16 ohms. I could've set it up for 4ohms, but my amp is not spec'd for this low impedance... Been looking into Behringer class A/B Amps... Comments welcome!
Second most drastic change from the prototype (possibly MOST important!), I gambled and changed from the original vented box of .5cuft to a sealed box of half the volume. I did this because I wanted to save these poor small drivers from approaching xmax, hence the active crossover DEQ2496 and the smaller sealed boxes. I'm cutting off at 100Hz
BTW, thanks for posting!
I'm going to reserve my 'subjective' comments for later. Quite a few variables have changed since I fell for these speakers.
Most importantly, I only had 4 Pluvia 7's per side with an AMT tweeter in the middle. Impedance was 8ohms. Now with 8 Pluvia's, impedance is 16 ohms. I could've set it up for 4ohms, but my amp is not spec'd for this low impedance... Been looking into Behringer class A/B Amps... Comments welcome!
Second most drastic change from the prototype (possibly MOST important!), I gambled and changed from the original vented box of .5cuft to a sealed box of half the volume. I did this because I wanted to save these poor small drivers from approaching xmax, hence the active crossover DEQ2496 and the smaller sealed boxes. I'm cutting off at 100Hz
BTW, thanks for posting!
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Chris, you don't miss a beat. Thanks! (actually 8 subs, 2 amps per 4 in order to avoid extreme back emf).
I'm working on the AMT tweeter enclosure, which will go in the middle of the Pluvia's. Currently, I have a single 2uF 1% poly cap which I used in the prototypes. Will start there and report back...
I can definately hear the lobing effect in the mid frequency range as I go up and down. Adding the AMT tweeter may help this to a certain degree.
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Burn-in EQ for the Pluvia's... The sound does improve over time (a very short time), but I still think these Pluvia's favor lower frequencies over higher, which is not necessarily a problem. They're excellent midrange -> top end drivers. Just, if you like your top end abit 'bright' for cymbals etc, like I prefer, a tweeter is needed to augment the highs. AND subs for the lows to save these delicate things from burning up!
Cheers!
Cheers!
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if that is the room response, it will be excellent.
years ago I had a 1980 Mustang and put Boston 704's in the door and Radio Shack 3" midrange tweeters with the acoustic chamber in the dash. I had an RTA done that was flat from 500hz to 20khz. below that the bass increased about 12 db.
I had 220uf on the 704's and 47uf on the 3" ( 8 ohm)
I have never been able to find a better setup then fullrange speakers
years ago I had a 1980 Mustang and put Boston 704's in the door and Radio Shack 3" midrange tweeters with the acoustic chamber in the dash. I had an RTA done that was flat from 500hz to 20khz. below that the bass increased about 12 db.
I had 220uf on the 704's and 47uf on the 3" ( 8 ohm)
I have never been able to find a better setup then fullrange speakers
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Are you sure you're not thinking of co-axial speakers?
I remember they were popular years ago for auto audio, but that design has made a comeback recently..
This setup is sounding awesome on the right side! Sorry for the bad pics. Also subs are not working yet. AMT Tweeter is hooked up. EQ is bypassed. Base is at least down to almost 100Hz F3 with these .15cu.ft. sealed enclosures.
Pink Floyd guitar sounds awesome in Wish You Were Here.
Working on the left side now.
Pink Floyd guitar sounds awesome in Wish You Were Here.
Working on the left side now.
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No, the Boston Acoustics 704 was a dual cone 4" speaker spec'd at 70 Hz - 20 khz
the 3" mid tweeter was spec'd at 700 to 20khz with 14uf cap
with a .35 inch hole drilled into the bottom of the tuned chamber response was lowered to 150Hz from 700Hz
the 3" mid tweeter was spec'd at 700 to 20khz with 14uf cap
with a .35 inch hole drilled into the bottom of the tuned chamber response was lowered to 150Hz from 700Hz
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I bought a carton of those. A recent cleanup turned up at least a half dozen never used.
dave
Finally got the subs working! I had a bad audio cable I custom made...
Also, hooked up the unpainted AMT tweeters.
As far as I can tell, the lobing is gone and off axis response left to right is excellent. Off axis response for these Pluvia's are not provided for some reason.
This is the setup I'll be listening to for awhile and today I can start testing FR with REW.
Just a few comments:
1) The amp powering the Pluvias and tweeters is a Pioneer VSX812. It has the ability to provide a 100Hz, 150Hz, or 200Hz crossover to the subs and Pluvias. I had forgotten about this and have it correctly programmed now. It only has 1 mono sub output I use for both channels.
2) The amp powering the upper 2 subwoofers on the L & R is an Audiosource Amp3. The output is set too about 75%. The amp powering the 2 lower subwoofers on the L & R is another Audiosource Amp3. That output is set to 100% since the bass is deeper as they sit on the floor.
3) The DEQ2496 isn't really even needed now, but I do use the expander function for some things I listen too. I will be using it to try to achieve a flat frequency response and see how much I like how how the speakers sound EQ'd.
Also, hooked up the unpainted AMT tweeters.
As far as I can tell, the lobing is gone and off axis response left to right is excellent. Off axis response for these Pluvia's are not provided for some reason.
This is the setup I'll be listening to for awhile and today I can start testing FR with REW.
Just a few comments:
1) The amp powering the Pluvias and tweeters is a Pioneer VSX812. It has the ability to provide a 100Hz, 150Hz, or 200Hz crossover to the subs and Pluvias. I had forgotten about this and have it correctly programmed now. It only has 1 mono sub output I use for both channels.
2) The amp powering the upper 2 subwoofers on the L & R is an Audiosource Amp3. The output is set too about 75%. The amp powering the 2 lower subwoofers on the L & R is another Audiosource Amp3. That output is set to 100% since the bass is deeper as they sit on the floor.
3) The DEQ2496 isn't really even needed now, but I do use the expander function for some things I listen too. I will be using it to try to achieve a flat frequency response and see how much I like how how the speakers sound EQ'd.
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