Speaker newbie... suggestions? (Tube powered)

[Zap]

Hi,

I'm curious if anyone could make any suggestions for me as I'm new to speaker building / design. I currently have a set of Telefunken RB46 speakers that I believe are three way, and somewhere about 91-93dB sensitive. Not sure about that, but if anyone has more information it would be appreciated.

What I am wanting to do is find a design I could build nice cabinets (good plywood or hardwood) and crossovers for that would exceed the performance of my current speakers (the higher the efficiency the better, without sacrificing sound quality). Good sound, good bass without being excessive. These will be used with tube amplifiers, so I believe that has an impact on the design. For that matter, things to look for when designing a speaker setup or any crash courses would be helpful.

Any suggestions?

Thanks!

 

[Brett]

For your first DIY build, you are crazy not to build something known, as otherwise you'll be on a learning curve that may take several iterstions to get you somewhere significant.

Look at these for starters.....
Ariel v6
Troel Gravesen's DIY designs
Tony Gee's designs
or Zaph's designs .

Other people will no doubt suggest others, but mid 90dB sensitivity passive designs with passive xovers and typical 'phile drivers are not common. There are a couple on Troel's site.

None of them are to my personal taste (except the Ariel which I built), but they are fully developed and documented and if you follow the plans will yield excellent results.

If forced, I'd pick the Acapella WB with the JBL12" on Troel's site.

Enjoy.

 

[ttan98]

Brett's suggestion is a good one, I think you should think about it seriously.

You need to think seriously of the type of speakers you want, open baffle, 3-way like you say, there are not many 3-way conventional(cabinet) speakers that will give you more than 90db. If you still want to a three high effciency then try Pi speakers, the owner, Wayne, is friendly and willing to help,

http://www.pispeakers.com/.

Also once you have decided, then do a search here of the types available and if you have specific questions there are many knowledgeable people here who can help you.

 

[Zap]

Thanks for the information... I will be checking out those links.

I may be misinformed, but I was under the impression that two or three way speakers had better reproduction. Is this generally the case? Also, if the audio quality is fine, a two way (or maybe even a single driver?) would be appropriate as well.

Thanks!

 

[Brett]

Thanks for the information... I will be checking out those links.

I may be misinformed, but I was under the impression that two or three way speakers had better reproduction. Is this generally the case? Also, if the audio quality is fine, a two way (or maybe even a single driver?) would be appropriate as well.

Thanks!

If you want decent bass as well as dynamic range, then a 3 way is mandatory IMO, unless you get something like Geddes' Summa15.

Single driver FR systems have all sounded ike headphones across the room to me and lose all the juice of the performance. That will get some response I bet.l

 

[ttan98]

I have built FR, 2-way and 3-way, OB or cabinet speakers.

I have to say 2 or 3 way sounds better than FR, some will disagree.

Unless you build from proven designs, design from scratch of a 2-way or 3-way will be difficult to get it right unless you have measuring instruments and know how to use them correctly.

For a small/medium size room 2-way is good compromise. I find the x-over easier to design and easier to get the sound right. Don't be too ambitious in your 1st project. Try an easy one first, learn and perfect it the next one.

cheers.