All done, and very pleased with the results. Sims and speculation are good, but the facts are that high efficiency drivers don't need a "certain amount of power to get them moving", and commercial crossovers have no issues at all with low power. My 2x7w has no problem driving these past 100dB with no audible distortion and great clarity. There is more available, but it would literally be painful.
Btw, I wasn't happy with the rear ports, so I tried another way: spacing the horns out from the baffle. I used an assortment of nylon spacers and the DAT V3 to set the tuning to 40Hz. Port effect is much better, and driver alignment was also improved.
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Four months in, 500+ hours, and these speakers have really opened up and are sounding better than ever. The biggest difference after extensive break-in is transient response and overall detail. These are heavy duty drivers, so in retrospect I could recommend breaking them in with something more powerful than tube amp I'm using if you want to hear the best sooner.
But there is absolutely no issue with my 2x7w EL34 amp being able to drive them. 120dB is easily achieved, way beyond what I will ever use. Regardless of what some would say, sensitivity is sensitivity - you don't need megawatts to drive these.
Here's the final list, with part numbers and prices:
But there is absolutely no issue with my 2x7w EL34 amp being able to drive them. 120dB is easily achieved, way beyond what I will ever use. Regardless of what some would say, sensitivity is sensitivity - you don't need megawatts to drive these.
Here's the final list, with part numbers and prices:
| PRV Audio 10MB800FT 10" Professional Midbass Driver 8 Ohm | 294-2988 | 2 | 119.91 | 239.82 |
| PRV Audio 15SW2000v2 15" Pro Audio Subwoofer 8 Ohm | 294-3007 | 2 | 189.91 | 379.82 |
| PRV Audio D260My-B 1" Mylar Horn Compression Driver | 294-2992 | 2 | 49.91 | 99.82 |
| PRV Audio 3DF400/1800 Three-Way Crossover Board 400/1,800 Hz | 294-2869 | 2 | 139.91 | 279.82 |
| B&C ME45 1" Exponential Horn 90x40 2-Bolt | 294-622 | 2 | 56.42 | 112.84 |
| Parts Express Gold Recessed Binding Post Banana Jack 5-Way Speaker Terminal | 260-309 | 2 | 5.98 | 11.96 |
| KLËARVŪE Cabinetry® 18"W x 14"D x 40"H Wall Cabinet - Box Only | 4780022 | 2 | 69.69 | 139.38 |
| KLËARVŪE Cabinetry® 18"W x 14"D Shelves - 2 pk | 4783504 | 2 | 16.97 | 33.94 |
| 3/4 x 2 x 4 Oak Plywood Handi-Panel | 1254541 | 2 | 38.39 | 76.78 |
| GSCIT Club Oak Edge Banding, 7/8 inch x 50ft | 1 | 19.99 | 19.99 | |
| 3/4in W x 1/8in T High Density Adhesive Closed Cell Foam | 1 | 9.98 | 9.98 | |
| misc paint/hdwe/filler/insulation | 1 | 100.00 | 100.00 | |
1504.15 |
Eight months since these went into daily use, and still hearing improvements. Detail and transients are even further improved from my last post four months ago, not as much as then but definitely noticeable.
I'm extremely glad that "other forum" didn't discourage me from trying this. It is clear that when using drivers this "heavy duty", extensive break-in is necessary for best results. If I use such drivers again - and I will - I'll set one out of phase and set them face to face for a fairly long time on 200w+ worth of drive.
I'm extremely glad that "other forum" didn't discourage me from trying this. It is clear that when using drivers this "heavy duty", extensive break-in is necessary for best results. If I use such drivers again - and I will - I'll set one out of phase and set them face to face for a fairly long time on 200w+ worth of drive.
Checking in at 15 months of daily use and I couldn't be more happy. I've seen yet more improvements in transient response, and have tweaked eq a bit here and there.
With such low power it took a long time for things to settle in (though sound was great even from the start), and I would definitely recommend prolonged break-in at higher power if you choose such drivers. But my EL34 handles them with ease now, so I'm going to just keep enjoying them and do the occasional tweak.
With such low power it took a long time for things to settle in (though sound was great even from the start), and I would definitely recommend prolonged break-in at higher power if you choose such drivers. But my EL34 handles them with ease now, so I'm going to just keep enjoying them and do the occasional tweak.
This is such a neat build, I Recently learned about PRV and I have been loving these very efficient drivers, The only problem I have is simulating them, do you have any inputs on going for a smaller version ? I used the 10" as a midbass , 6 inch mid and a horn tweeter before , I'm still working on them as I feel they are not tuned correctly on the crossover, I did them at 1order and now I'm waiting for the parts to do the 2nd order. I was looking now to do a tower speaker with the 8" midbass but I have my questions, hope you can help. I love how yours came out !