The BBC paper gives the dimensions including that for the old "diamond" aperture which apparently gave way to the "lemon" aperture.
I think JBL's lens would work in some cases with RJ venting.
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/reports/1955-08.pdf
my 4-18" reflex in the old days were vented like the R-J. Its cool to poke a mic into the aperture
and pretty much see the real response. Did James Novak use this arrangement for vented horn ?
I think JBL's lens would work in some cases with RJ venting.
http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/rd/pubs/reports/1955-08.pdf
my 4-18" reflex in the old days were vented like the R-J. Its cool to poke a mic into the aperture
and pretty much see the real response. Did James Novak use this arrangement for vented horn ?
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I and member Vunce both have a set of BB ply XKi’s for W5-2143 in transit from Washington State. Looking forward to hearing these excellent drivers in a proper cabinet. Will probably do hand rubbed boiled linseed oil as well for the finish.
Aha, eventually! I've been waiting for this and your impressions for a long time now. I am very interested in this driver, using it in a fast setup and at what frequency to pass to a sub.
looks like W5-2143 should play in Scottmoose's A11 "Pensil" alignment
a little less stuffing density looks better than what is shown below
a little less stuffing density looks better than what is shown below
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In this case, I like the low end extension of a large TABAQ. Pretty much the same enclosure as your pensil, just a little longer vent.
F3 is a hair under 40Hz.
The only thing is that it will run out of Xmax really quickly, so, not a party speaker! 🙂
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This past Friday I received my meticulously crafted XKi cabinets. They are absolutely stunning!! Since I didn’t have the W5-2143 drivers yet, I got to work right away on the exterior finishing.
Since these are made from Baltic Birch ply, I treated them with a pre-stain conditioner to help the cherry stain apply evenly.
Two coats of stain were applied with about 12hrs between coats.
Then one coat of rubbed Tung oil. That’s where I’m at so far, I have to wait 24 hrs between oil applications. Probably go with 3-4 coats of Tung Oil. By then my drivers should be delivered 🙂
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Very nice work Vunce! Those cabinets turned out really nice. The stain and Tung Oil looks fantastic.
My cabinets just arrived. Still in the box but unfortunately, I am booked with deadlines tonight so the unboxing will have to wait until tomorrow.
That looks sweet! The look has a nice proportion and overall size is just perfect.
That stain looks really smooth and even. Nice.
My cabinets just arrived. Still in the box but unfortunately, I am booked with deadlines tonight so the unboxing will have to wait until tomorrow.
That looks sweet! The look has a nice proportion and overall size is just perfect.
That stain looks really smooth and even. Nice.
XKi W5-2143 Final Assembly
I finally had some time to do the final assembly and setup of my W5-2143 XKi's today.
First look at the raw unfinished cabinets and they look excellent:
Then added some more melamine foam padding on the front chamber:
Then added a layer of foam core absorber lined with felt on the inside of the K aperture:
Testing with an external baffle step correction (BSC) in order to tweak adjust resistor values to taste and settled on 1mH air core (20ga) parallel with 4.7ohm 10w Dayton 2% Audio Grade non-inductive resistors:
Then installed BSC internally and buried it in the melamine foam:
Initial listening tests in the speaker lab with a 50w SE Class A amplifer:
Speaker Lab:
Finally, testing upstairs with Hugh Dean's Aspen Deltic 65w Class AB amp:
Still need to finish them with boiled linseed oil. But the initial listening impressions are being gathered now. So far they sound very good. Nice deep tight bass (after adding some fiberglass to the internal wall already lined with melamine foam0. The highs on the W5-2143 are quite remarkable for a 5in driver. Break-in may improve sound, so will reserve final judgement after a week of playing and listening. The soundstage is wider than the speakers, and the imaging is excellent. Sweetspot is very wide with the K aperture acoustic lenses doing their thing.
I finally had some time to do the final assembly and setup of my W5-2143 XKi's today.
First look at the raw unfinished cabinets and they look excellent:
Then added some more melamine foam padding on the front chamber:
Then added a layer of foam core absorber lined with felt on the inside of the K aperture:
Testing with an external baffle step correction (BSC) in order to tweak adjust resistor values to taste and settled on 1mH air core (20ga) parallel with 4.7ohm 10w Dayton 2% Audio Grade non-inductive resistors:
Then installed BSC internally and buried it in the melamine foam:
Initial listening tests in the speaker lab with a 50w SE Class A amplifer:
Speaker Lab:
Finally, testing upstairs with Hugh Dean's Aspen Deltic 65w Class AB amp:
Still need to finish them with boiled linseed oil. But the initial listening impressions are being gathered now. So far they sound very good. Nice deep tight bass (after adding some fiberglass to the internal wall already lined with melamine foam0. The highs on the W5-2143 are quite remarkable for a 5in driver. Break-in may improve sound, so will reserve final judgement after a week of playing and listening. The soundstage is wider than the speakers, and the imaging is excellent. Sweetspot is very wide with the K aperture acoustic lenses doing their thing.
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Hi X,
Phat or otherwise, good lookin' build. 🙂
Once you've spent more time with them, let us know how they sing.
Phat or otherwise, good lookin' build. 🙂
Once you've spent more time with them, let us know how they sing.
+1
I am particularly interested in how they compare to the dual 3FE25 mini Karlsonators. I am also curious as to why (any particular reason) you have chosen this enclosure as opposed to the mini Karlsonators?
I ran sims using both the Karlsonstor and the XKi for the W5-2143. The TS parameters are such that the Karlsonator would be very large and unwieldy. The XKi came out much more compact so I chose it. Off the bat, the dual 3FE25’s are much more sensitive (as expected). But the bass reach on the W5-2143 in the XKi is quite impressive. I hear notes down below 50Hz that were absent on mini Karlsonators. Will keep you all updated as I listen more.
Who made the boxes?