Hello everyone,
Remembered I had an account here since 2010, making my debut post now. Better late than never.
I've been researching quite a lot and have decided to invest in the SB Acoustics ARA two-way speaker design. I've owned the Buchardt S300 and was looking to upgrade to the S400 but the ARA's seem like a really good middle-ground if not on par with the S400. Anyway, I've found kits from various sites, most offering the standard crossover from SB Acoustics. Some others also offer the same crossover with upgraded parts mostly from Mundorf for a smaller price increase which I'm considering.
However, one reseller also offers a complete new crossover-design while also doing driver matching and assembly. I have no problem doing the assembly myself but this custom crossover is only offered when letting them doing the assembly. I've recieved several measurements from them which seem very good and proffessional, but since I'm no expert at reading measurements I thought I'd post them here and see if I can get some guidance in which option to go for. I work in sales myself and even though they are swearing by their upgrade I would like a second opinion.
The attached pictures and explanations are from their support/sales
/customer service. The original ARA is named "ORIGINAL" and the rest are measurements with their crossover, I hope my naming of the files and explanation of the graphs below is enough.
ORIGINAL: ARA on tweeter axis: green is frequency response and blue is min.phase
1: ARA Beryllium/SoftDome - Green/Red - they have same woofer's response, the difference is the tweeter response and off-axis response
2: Frequency (Green) and Phase (blue)
3: Tweeter axis, complex summ of gated far field, nearfield and port response
4: ARA SoftDome Off-axis: Green/Red/Ornage 0/30/45grad Horizontal, Blue/Light Blue +15/30Grad Vertical
Now for the million dollar question, add 400 Euros and get the new designed crossover or save some money and get the original, with or without upgraded components?
Thanks in advance!
Remembered I had an account here since 2010, making my debut post now. Better late than never.
I've been researching quite a lot and have decided to invest in the SB Acoustics ARA two-way speaker design. I've owned the Buchardt S300 and was looking to upgrade to the S400 but the ARA's seem like a really good middle-ground if not on par with the S400. Anyway, I've found kits from various sites, most offering the standard crossover from SB Acoustics. Some others also offer the same crossover with upgraded parts mostly from Mundorf for a smaller price increase which I'm considering.
However, one reseller also offers a complete new crossover-design while also doing driver matching and assembly. I have no problem doing the assembly myself but this custom crossover is only offered when letting them doing the assembly. I've recieved several measurements from them which seem very good and proffessional, but since I'm no expert at reading measurements I thought I'd post them here and see if I can get some guidance in which option to go for. I work in sales myself and even though they are swearing by their upgrade I would like a second opinion.
The attached pictures and explanations are from their support/sales
/customer service. The original ARA is named "ORIGINAL" and the rest are measurements with their crossover, I hope my naming of the files and explanation of the graphs below is enough.
ORIGINAL: ARA on tweeter axis: green is frequency response and blue is min.phase
1: ARA Beryllium/SoftDome - Green/Red - they have same woofer's response, the difference is the tweeter response and off-axis response
2: Frequency (Green) and Phase (blue)
3: Tweeter axis, complex summ of gated far field, nearfield and port response
4: ARA SoftDome Off-axis: Green/Red/Ornage 0/30/45grad Horizontal, Blue/Light Blue +15/30Grad Vertical
Now for the million dollar question, add 400 Euros and get the new designed crossover or save some money and get the original, with or without upgraded components?
Thanks in advance!
Attachments
Hi @flakkz, I too have been pondering this kit, and the supposedly better crossover you mention. It's not really feasible for me to order though, because shipping to Australia plus import duties etc would make a completed pair too expensive.
In my research, I also came across a crossover design from the German publication Hifi Hobby (in their edition 6/2019), which seems to be available in a kit from a German DIY outlet, although unfortunately not as a plan. The xo point for this one is said to be 2kHz, but you have to subscribe to HH to get the measurements I think.
I find myself wondering now whether the SB designer(s) chose a 3kHz xo point because of the distortion characteristics of the TW29 tweeter - Troels G has some interesting comparisons here: SBAcoustics-tweeters which illustrate this point.
In my research, I also came across a crossover design from the German publication Hifi Hobby (in their edition 6/2019), which seems to be available in a kit from a German DIY outlet, although unfortunately not as a plan. The xo point for this one is said to be 2kHz, but you have to subscribe to HH to get the measurements I think.
I find myself wondering now whether the SB designer(s) chose a 3kHz xo point because of the distortion characteristics of the TW29 tweeter - Troels G has some interesting comparisons here: SBAcoustics-tweeters which illustrate this point.