Hello everyone,
I purchased the SB Acoustics ARA from madisound about half a year ago and have been wondering if it's possible to upgrade these further without buying new speakers.
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...ra-2-way-speaker-kit-pair-with-cabinets-2694/
Currently they use the MW16P-4 woofers (https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...w16p-4-black-egyptian-reed-cone-woofer-4-ohm/) and was wondering if I could possibly swap those with the new MW16TX-4 woofers (https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...satori-6-mw16tx-4-textreme-cone-woofer-4-ohm/) without messing with the crossover. I have the BE tweeters so the crossover was designed with a 2300 hz crossover I believe. I'm not too familiar with the crossover so I didn't want to mess with that too much.
I've seen an audio store online sell a configuration with the TX woofers but they also say they changed the crossover without much detail as to what changed.
I'm probably simplifying it too much to hope that I can just swap the woofer but just wanted to get a second opinion.
Appreciate any responses. Thanks!
I purchased the SB Acoustics ARA from madisound about half a year ago and have been wondering if it's possible to upgrade these further without buying new speakers.
https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...ra-2-way-speaker-kit-pair-with-cabinets-2694/
Currently they use the MW16P-4 woofers (https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...w16p-4-black-egyptian-reed-cone-woofer-4-ohm/) and was wondering if I could possibly swap those with the new MW16TX-4 woofers (https://www.madisoundspeakerstore.c...satori-6-mw16tx-4-textreme-cone-woofer-4-ohm/) without messing with the crossover. I have the BE tweeters so the crossover was designed with a 2300 hz crossover I believe. I'm not too familiar with the crossover so I didn't want to mess with that too much.
I've seen an audio store online sell a configuration with the TX woofers but they also say they changed the crossover without much detail as to what changed.
I'm probably simplifying it too much to hope that I can just swap the woofer but just wanted to get a second opinion.
Appreciate any responses. Thanks!
In a perfect world it deserves some modelling and measurements to answer the question.
But, they are not to dissimilar in terms of impedance or level, but with differing Break up modes.
Whether the existing crossover adequately controls the roll off frequency and break up to give you the performance of the original design, and its integration with the tweeter only modelling and measurements can show.
If you can use Xsim or Vituixcad you can take the data from the links you provided, plus your tweeter data and compare both reed cone or texteme responses.
I think they will be very close and may only need a small adjustment. I would expect a subtle improvement over the already good reed cone, and probably a much safer bet than buying expensive capacitors etc. What is the main reason making you think about an upgrade?
Maybe a chat with Madisound will be useful, you never know Sb acoustics may update the design themselves just to demonstrate the texteme qualities.
But, they are not to dissimilar in terms of impedance or level, but with differing Break up modes.
Whether the existing crossover adequately controls the roll off frequency and break up to give you the performance of the original design, and its integration with the tweeter only modelling and measurements can show.
If you can use Xsim or Vituixcad you can take the data from the links you provided, plus your tweeter data and compare both reed cone or texteme responses.
I think they will be very close and may only need a small adjustment. I would expect a subtle improvement over the already good reed cone, and probably a much safer bet than buying expensive capacitors etc. What is the main reason making you think about an upgrade?
Maybe a chat with Madisound will be useful, you never know Sb acoustics may update the design themselves just to demonstrate the texteme qualities.
I'm mostly curious if I can bring the speakers up another level. I compared against another speaker with a lower tier driver and was impressed on how well the ARAs compared when it came to details and refinement.
Unfortunately I don't really have any software to use to compare. That's a good idea though. I'll see if Madisound has any color as to whether or not I can replace them.
Thanks for your responses. I'm guessing it's probably not possible but thought it wouldn't hurt to get some more opinions.
Though about the Rinjani maybe this would be of interest, USXX is the designer of the drivers and he is on diyaudio too I believe
http://forum.speakerbuilder.dk/forum_posts.asp?TID=2027&title=sb-acoustics-rinjani-be
Translate with Chrome or something.
I have the be & tx in a cabinet equivalent to the Ara, but I'm using an active crossover and eq and have never heard the mw16p
http://forum.speakerbuilder.dk/forum_posts.asp?TID=2027&title=sb-acoustics-rinjani-be
Translate with Chrome or something.
I have the be & tx in a cabinet equivalent to the Ara, but I'm using an active crossover and eq and have never heard the mw16p
Sorry, I didn't see this post until now. I designed a dedicated crossover for the ARA-TX. This is a different crossover configuration compared to the other ARA models. It brings out the best in these drivers (dynamics and transparency). I built external crossovers for these speakers (it was a little difficult to fit everything inside the cabinet, though it is doable if you split it on two boards). You can also find the schematic on SB Acoustics website under Open Source Kits. I'm not going to elaborate on the design here.
Attachments
Yes! This is not unusual with 1st order networks. One equalizes the single break-up (peak) above the crossover point, one shapes the upper roll-off (and corrects the phase) in the crossover region, and one deals with the baffle-step. This ensures a neutral balance, excellent integration with the tweeter and no residual energy that would otherwise cause a little bit of coloration.
