Just talking to myself at this point😂
Second enclosure is assembled, sanded, stained and the first coat of clear has been applied. 2 more coats to get it caught up to the other cabinet and then tomorrow morning I will be doing one final coat on both. A quick paint of the bottom covers and they should be good to go. Going to be using foam tape to seal it instead of acoustic caulk like the originals mostly to minimize the mess.
Very happy with how they’re turning out.
Second enclosure is assembled, sanded, stained and the first coat of clear has been applied. 2 more coats to get it caught up to the other cabinet and then tomorrow morning I will be doing one final coat on both. A quick paint of the bottom covers and they should be good to go. Going to be using foam tape to seal it instead of acoustic caulk like the originals mostly to minimize the mess.
Very happy with how they’re turning out.
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Ok I have a question for everyone here, I'm ~considering~ making these 3 ways with a super tweeter and crossover in the 10khz region as the 2446h's have a pretty serious dip around 13khz. This is still a big maybe as I haven't gotten to sit down and play around with dsp yet but I'm considering it.
The question being how much headache am I going to deal with if I put the tweeter to the side of the mid horn. Does the mid being a horn exacerbate or mitigate the issues of comb filtering on the horizontal? I mostly ask because the horns are 15" wide and the tops will be around 24" wide giving tons of room to make these mirrored without adding a lot of extra height.
So main question: is this worth considering or just a recipe for disaster, if it's worth considering what would people suggest for a tweeter that would be crossing fairly high that is somewhat budget oriented?
The question being how much headache am I going to deal with if I put the tweeter to the side of the mid horn. Does the mid being a horn exacerbate or mitigate the issues of comb filtering on the horizontal? I mostly ask because the horns are 15" wide and the tops will be around 24" wide giving tons of room to make these mirrored without adding a lot of extra height.
So main question: is this worth considering or just a recipe for disaster, if it's worth considering what would people suggest for a tweeter that would be crossing fairly high that is somewhat budget oriented?
I have a pair of 2445s in 2385 clones and I tried to add some sort of tweeter. I ended up using EQ in a DSP inspired by this thread: High efficiency 2 way - JBL 2445J CD on a 2380A Bi-Radial - not ideal, but good enough for now.
I tried many ways of integrating a tweeter with a passive crossover (trying to save two channels of amplification) but so far, the EQ'd version was the best. I yet have to try integrated K-Tubes, I am missing suitable compression drivers.
Since it is almost impossible (and maybe even unnecessary) to time align the tweeters above this frequency, there is no ideal placement. I think it is worth experimenting with them without lowpass on the horn, just highpass on the tweeter and maybe also experiment with pointing the tweeters to the ceiling or the back wall - just to fill in some energy in the HF to the room.
I tried many ways of integrating a tweeter with a passive crossover (trying to save two channels of amplification) but so far, the EQ'd version was the best. I yet have to try integrated K-Tubes, I am missing suitable compression drivers.
Since it is almost impossible (and maybe even unnecessary) to time align the tweeters above this frequency, there is no ideal placement. I think it is worth experimenting with them without lowpass on the horn, just highpass on the tweeter and maybe also experiment with pointing the tweeters to the ceiling or the back wall - just to fill in some energy in the HF to the room.
Awesome thanks! I just hooked them both up for the first time and besides needing tweaking amplifiers to minimize the hiss they’re already sounding impressive. Now that I see them with just the bare horns on the top I’m thinking I might do a smaller enclosure instead of the LS2 clone tops. Right now just going to dial in the sound.
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So after a little while of tweaking and listening I’m very happy with where the dsp and crossover is. So it’s time to tackle the enclosures for the horns. I was originally going to make clones of the LS2 HF boxes but have since decided to go with something smaller. It’s exactly the same width as the doghouse In the bass bin which should be a nice continuation up the center of the speaker. Also a slant on the rear to keep things from being too boxy.
Also using the heritage Klipsch grill fabric to make some grilles.
Also using the heritage Klipsch grill fabric to make some grilles.
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You should build a pair. It is a fun build that does go pretty fast once you get through the tricky angles. As far as room size, the pictured speakers live in a 11x12 room. Plenty of space to enjoy. Good corners and plenty of acoustic treatment help as well. The bass bins are like a Swiss Army knife. The top half has gone through several horn and driver changes. Now a double stacked heil lives above them. Keepers for sure.
Got the frames for the horns figured out today, god bless tee nuts and did I ever under estimate the costs for hardware on this build. Nice and solid, finishing the cabinets this weekend and took the horns back inside for evening listening to see how they are woh the grills. Turns out just a little smoother so they’ll probably live grill-on once they’re finished.
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Hi Zeagan,
You've managed to finish your horns while I am still in the sanding / painting process! Well done they are looking great.
What's the amp /( pre? ) above the Bryston amp in the pic?
Cheers,
Rob.
You've managed to finish your horns while I am still in the sanding / painting process! Well done they are looking great.
What's the amp /( pre? ) above the Bryston amp in the pic?
Cheers,
Rob.
Hey Rob, purely a side effect of being able to work from home all summer, amazing what you can get done when there’s no commute and coats of clear or stain can be slapped on during lunch breaks.
The amp on top is actually an old Realistic radio shack unit I’ve had around as an emergency backup power amp. It’s not amazing but it has adjustable gain which my Bryston 2B doesn’t so it helps with calming down the hiss from the compression drivers. I’m actually waiting on a class D 4 channel board I’m hoping will be silent enough to work for all four drivers that can go in an enclosure along with the dsp board. You don’t realize just how noisy your fancy amps are until you plug a 111db horn straight into them.
The amp on top is actually an old Realistic radio shack unit I’ve had around as an emergency backup power amp. It’s not amazing but it has adjustable gain which my Bryston 2B doesn’t so it helps with calming down the hiss from the compression drivers. I’m actually waiting on a class D 4 channel board I’m hoping will be silent enough to work for all four drivers that can go in an enclosure along with the dsp board. You don’t realize just how noisy your fancy amps are until you plug a 111db horn straight into them.
Thanks Zeagan,
I'm a sucker for vintage looking amps with vu meters so had to ask 😀
Funny thing, either my house is really noisy or my ears are shot but I've had loads of random amps, pro and hifi on my compression drivers over the years and never had hiss problems.
I've never had to have any of the amps gain pots fully open so maybe that's helped. (All my speakers are set up to home theatre reference levels which usually leaves the amp pots somewhere between 9 o'clock and 1o'clock)
Cheers,
Rob.
I'm a sucker for vintage looking amps with vu meters so had to ask 😀
Funny thing, either my house is really noisy or my ears are shot but I've had loads of random amps, pro and hifi on my compression drivers over the years and never had hiss problems.
I've never had to have any of the amps gain pots fully open so maybe that's helped. (All my speakers are set up to home theatre reference levels which usually leaves the amp pots somewhere between 9 o'clock and 1o'clock)
Cheers,
Rob.
Hit a bit of a wall with the upper cabinets as I was focused on tracking down the source of my noise on the HF horns, a mix of high gain amps and a noisy minidsp were the culprit. Did a little upgrade today and good god it’s nice working with a good interface. Ashly Protea 3.24CL handling EQ, crossover and delay. Couldn’t be happier.
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Zeagan, I have followed your project with interest and read the thread. The big challenge is the 111dB of the JBL 2446h. The significant improvement was achieved by switching from the noisy miniDSP to the Ashly Protea 3.24CL-d as speaker processor for equalisation, crossover and time delay.
Which amplifier and power supply do you use for the JBL 2446h compression drivers?
You had informed yourself about the e-audio TPA3255 modules in the forum and then ordered the LRS-350-24 as a power supply. Is this now the solution or have you changed to another solution? Is the solution noise-free or so low-noise that it doesn't interfere with listening to music?
I ask because I am planning a similar project with a 18sound XR1464C tweeter horn with 18sound ND3ST 1.4" driver. The low frequency range up to 800..1000hz is handled by two 10" Visaton GF250 in CB actively equalised or BR.
My chosen solution with 18sound ND3ST has the same sensitivity of 111dB as your JBL 2446h. However, I am still unsure which power amplifier I should go for at 111dB.
I will solve the functions of your DSP processor via PC, Acourate and an audio interface by okto.
In the same room, which is fortunately large enough, a second project is being built at the same time, a replica of the LX521 by Linkwitz, which requires 8 channels.
Horn with woofer extension and a 4-way open baffle are very different speakers, but in their own way they bring music listening to a high level - open baffle or horn, depending at the whim.
Which amplifier and power supply do you use for the JBL 2446h compression drivers?
You had informed yourself about the e-audio TPA3255 modules in the forum and then ordered the LRS-350-24 as a power supply. Is this now the solution or have you changed to another solution? Is the solution noise-free or so low-noise that it doesn't interfere with listening to music?
I ask because I am planning a similar project with a 18sound XR1464C tweeter horn with 18sound ND3ST 1.4" driver. The low frequency range up to 800..1000hz is handled by two 10" Visaton GF250 in CB actively equalised or BR.
My chosen solution with 18sound ND3ST has the same sensitivity of 111dB as your JBL 2446h. However, I am still unsure which power amplifier I should go for at 111dB.
I will solve the functions of your DSP processor via PC, Acourate and an audio interface by okto.
In the same room, which is fortunately large enough, a second project is being built at the same time, a replica of the LX521 by Linkwitz, which requires 8 channels.
Horn with woofer extension and a 4-way open baffle are very different speakers, but in their own way they bring music listening to a high level - open baffle or horn, depending at the whim.
hi. nice project i own ashly 3.24cl i have change all the in out smd capacitors with high quality nichicon muse and the procecor sound more more smooth and hi fi big diference from the standard caps.i used on my third system with 2 inc compresion drivers from b&c and 15 bass and four 12s tapped horn subs.
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So, here's another Ashly Protea 3.24CL user. Which amplifier do you use for the 2" compression driver? Are there any problems with audible noise when listening to music?
I use pa amps dynacord lx series ev p series crown xls and xli series no noise at all only good clear powerfoul sound.on ashly i use RL filters and only the high eq up 4khz for the comp drivers i don't use any other eq.i own all so bss ev and dynacord dsps and i can compare the sound between devices.
Almost a year later, restorations on Magnepan MGIIIa's, old Harbeths and a few dozen projects fixing old amps and I finally decided to finish these. Apologies to the folks that replied since I stopped checking this thread as I sort of assumed I would get notifications but didn't!
Anyway here's the final product. Still using the 2445h with k510, they now have homes and grilles. Used 3/4" baltic birch to match the bass bins, same stain and water based matte polyurethane. Grill cloth is from Crites to match the old heritage Klipsch speakers, and the badges, honestly I never intended to put badges on these as they're kind of bastard step children of a bunch of Klipsch ideas with a pair of JBL compression drivers but I was sent the wrong design replacement badges for another project and the seller told me to keep them so they were just laying around.
Anyway here's the final product. Still using the 2445h with k510, they now have homes and grilles. Used 3/4" baltic birch to match the bass bins, same stain and water based matte polyurethane. Grill cloth is from Crites to match the old heritage Klipsch speakers, and the badges, honestly I never intended to put badges on these as they're kind of bastard step children of a bunch of Klipsch ideas with a pair of JBL compression drivers but I was sent the wrong design replacement badges for another project and the seller told me to keep them so they were just laying around.
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And here are some photos of the assembly of the HF enclosures. Nothing too fancy just some butt joints, a 5/8" roundover on the top edges and some black paint for the inside bits. There's also now a small hole with a grommet for the speaker cable to go through to the bass bin which isn't shown.
