Recommended DIY Speakers for Zen Amp

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#21
Originally posted by Hewie:

Can anyone make any recommendations on a DIY speaker project or kit that will make a good match for a Zen. My hopes were to find an existing design or a kit with the following characteristics: 2-way, MTM or TM, simple box construction (ie no TL design), >92 dB, 8 ohm nominal for around $500, but the beast doesn't seem to exist.
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After i finished ZEN 4 i was in the situation to think about ZEN suitable speakers. Now i´m here:

http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=7032&perpage=15&pagenumber=1
 
#22
I'd rather a floorstanding loudspeaker

planet10: what do you mean in low impedance? the proacs are 8R

I just want to know if low efficiency speakers sound bad on a zen, or do they just play on a low volume, but with the same good sound?
 
#25
dshortt9 said:
http://www.proac-loudspeakers.com/stphres2.htm
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Not much to work with. I've attached the imp with some processing to make things clearer. Far from flat impedance to say the least, but at least at the lowest points the phase is close to 0.

dave

red is phase, blue is magnitude. To imagine the 3-D curve, rotate the red curve so that it is end on, and then it is a projection of the blue curve seen from the top.
 

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#27
Sorry for interrupting you, but this is just for your info.

My original Zen (3A) had driven ATC SCM20 (8ohm/83dB) for two years. For me, the taste of sound was great at normal listening volume.

My brother in law is now the happy owner of the system.

JH
 
#32
I think that the quality of amplifier sound is hardly dependent on the speaker sensitivities. I see the matter of speaker selection in this way.

When I select a speaker, first I look over the impedance of the speaker and its flatness. If I have to select a speaker among different makes rated at 4 or 8 ohms, I choose the one having the least fluctuation (dips) of the impedance, in order to secure certain dynamic sound. Then, I consider the sensitivity of the speaker for my room size and sound loudness. In these respects, my old ATC SCM20 (8ohm-83dB) has been working well, with Pass Zen.

These days, however, I use 8ohm-97dB horn speaker, even with a higher powered amplifier. This is not for loud sound, but for another reason. As you might know very well, most amplifiers show up with low distortion at the first watt and high distortion at the high power levels. Therefore, I want to play the music at the very first watt of my amplifier, using the efficient speaker. And, I want to keep the remaining watts just in case the speaker sucks where there are the impedance dips.

My current Marantz SA-14 SACD/CD player, SOBOZ and XSOZV2 are working very well for the ugly looking 3-way 8ohm-97dB horn speaker, at the first watt I like. Mmm... really sweet... :lickface:

Happy New Year!

JH

PS
If you go here http://www.welbornelabs.com/recomendspeaks.htm, and scroll down to the middle part of the page, you will find very useful information about a proper selection of speaker.
 
#34
jh6you said:


As you might know very well, most amplifiers show up with low distortion at the first watt and high distortion at the high power levels. Therefore, I want to play the music at the very first watt of my amplifier, using the efficient speaker. And, I want to keep the remaining watts just in case the speaker sucks where there are the impedance dips.
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Do you talk about low power amps, or even powerfull amps?
If it's also true for powerfull amps; we also should use efficient speakers on thos amps 😕
 
#35
Bricolo said:
If it's also true for powerfull amps; we also should use efficient speakers on thos amps 😕
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Not should, but efficient as much as possible. IMHO, more efficient speaker might give us better flexbility in selection of amps than less efficient speaker. Eee...?!?! I also start to be confused myself.

🙂

JH
 
#37
Bricolo

If you actually want to build a speaker from scratch, I highly recommend to send your private e-mail to planet 10 in the aaaaaabove. I am sure that he will give you a good guide.

Good luck to you. 😉

JH
 
#38
ok thanks

what do you call "fron scratch"?

I don't want to start from zero, and calculate the wolume and everything like this

I want to buid "well known" diy speakers, something that many other people have already build, and like
 
#39
Bricolo said:
I want to buid "well known" diy speakers, something that many other people have already build, and like
Click to expand...

There are a zillion good projects out on the net to look at. You want something with reasonable efficiency, a fairly flat impedance curve with not too low a magnitude), and fairly well damped in the Bass.

Then you need to add your musical taste to the equation. One of my favorites are Bert Doppenberg's bipolar ML-TQWTs (wired in series to get the impedance up). You give up a bit of bass for pretty awesome midrange and seemlessness. These can be built with a broad range of drivers from the RS 40-1197 ($60 USD including helper tweeter) thru the Fostex FE103 to the ACR FE103 or maybe even the new FE108 ($340 USD) -- generally spend more -- get more (prices in brackets are approx driver cost)

dave
 
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