I am wanting to build a pair of speakers for our camp. They would be powered by 2 audiobahn 12v amps. One amp per channel. Rated 150Wx1 @4 ohm stable to 600Wx1 @1 ohm. I want quality sound and lots of it. Would the combination of : Eminence Kappa 15" bass 4 ohm and a Vifa XT25TG30-04 be a good combination with a crossover set @2000Hz? If I need more volume I can add another set.Isn't 2000 Hz awfully high for a 15 inch woofer? You might possibly have reasonably flat response on axis, but dispersion/polar pattern is going to be pretty bad, so that you won't have good response anywhere else, and room reflections wil be uneven also.
I don't know the driver, so I may be wrong...
I don't know the driver, so I may be wrong...
Gary I dont think your going to get any usable sound from a 15 inch driver up to 2000 Hz....maybe go for a 3 way design....the 15 inch driver is good to approx 500 Hz
Is the manufactures Hz range overated, or does the speaker work at its upper limits but with a compromise in sound quality?
Manufacturer's specs are often optimistic, but even if they are absolutely on the level, they need to be interpreted. A 15 inch woofer may have some response up to 2000 Hz, but it is unlikely to be smooth -- a driver this size will create all sorts of diffraction patterns (since it is acting like many sound sources over a large area, and they will interfere with eachother). It is true that the problem sometimes is not as bad as theory suggests, because the cone actually doesn't move as a piston -- the central part decouples to some degree, but that means by definition the driver is no longer behaving in a linear fashion at all. So you need to look carefully at the response curves, to see what the specs mean.
Regardless of whether you use the speaker outside or in, there are going be boundaries which will reflect sound -- the ground for example -- so the off axis response matters to the overall response, even on axis. I agree with the previous writer that a threeway is probably a better bet.
Regardless of whether you use the speaker outside or in, there are going be boundaries which will reflect sound -- the ground for example -- so the off axis response matters to the overall response, even on axis. I agree with the previous writer that a threeway is probably a better bet.
HORN OR TWEETER
Ok fine a 3 way it is. I do appreciate the input. My next question is the upper range. Should I use a horn driver or a tweeter.
Ok fine a 3 way it is. I do appreciate the input. My next question is the upper range. Should I use a horn driver or a tweeter.
The answer is: It depends. You could use either, but which will be more satisfactory is to a large degree a matter of taste. Horns are not for everyone -- they are usually more colored than regular tweeters, but are typically more efficient and have higher outputs. Their dynamics may be just what you want. On the negative side, they can be expensive and physically hard to integrate, especially midrange horns. Many horns are supposed to be orientied vertically, but its easier to build them into speakers horizontally (and they look right that way) so that's often how its done.
Speaker Builder (now Audio XPress has some good horn articles).
Speaker Builder (now Audio XPress has some good horn articles).
Is that the Kappa Pro-15A or the Kappa Pro-15LFA?
In either case, both are rated to extend to 4000hz. These are specifically designed for pro-pa use. A two way is not out of the question since this sounds like what you'll be using them for. Combine them with a high power capable horn tweeter (or even more than one) crossed over about 2500hz and you could have a quite competent two-way PA system.
In either case, both are rated to extend to 4000hz. These are specifically designed for pro-pa use. A two way is not out of the question since this sounds like what you'll be using them for. Combine them with a high power capable horn tweeter (or even more than one) crossed over about 2500hz and you could have a quite competent two-way PA system.
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