New Build: Paul Carmody's Classix II

[DrDyna]

Hey guys!

A few days ago, I've ordered the parts from Meniscus to make a pair of Paul Carmody's Classix II speaker. I haven't started the cabinet yet, but I've completed the crossovers.

My TW+ is marked incorrectly because the polarity is flipped on the tweeter and Meniscus shorted me 2 4 ohm resistors to finish the L-Pad - but other than that, so far so good.

I'll update this in a few days once I get to making sawdust.

 

[MCPete]

It definitely looks like you have the choke coils too close together given that they are all oriented in the same way (flat on the board). When they are that close together you're going to get some transformer-like effects.

-Not that I've confirmed cross-coupling by testing, but people like Dickason, Weems and others advise against a layout such as what you are doing.

Dickason recommends at least 3" of separation between coils given that they are a right angles to each other. It looks like your board might be able to accommodate that.

Regards,
Pete

 

[oneplustwo]

Here's a good reference.

 

[DrDyna]

You might be correct Pete, I'll have to look into that. The crossover is actually laid out exactly as Meniscus says that it should in the kit. They include a sticker that you can place on the crossover board which has the layout printed on it. While I opted not to stick it down, I did place the components as they suggested.

It's possible that the first tweeter coil was intended to be placed on it's edge though, I'll have to check that out and see. I don't think it'd be too hard to pop the alex dap loose and reorient it.

Here's a good reference.

Sweet, thanks! I hadn't seen that before, definitely a worthy bookmark.

 

[DrDyna]

And a test fit.

I have to re-cut this baffle, it appears I fat fingered the woofer cutout by almost 1/4" .

"Dear speaker gods, I promise to have a complete cup of coffee before handling the router in the morning."

Sincerly, me.

 

[fastbike1]

For your next time

While you're at it, don't glue your resistors flat to the board. They need some air space for cooling. The Classix are designed to "rock out"; wouldn't be the first time a crossover caught on fire.

 

[Cambe]

@DRDyna,
Please tell how they sound. When,you get them broke in.

 

[DrDyna]

@DRDyna,
Please tell how they sound. When,you get them broke in.

I finished the new baffle for the one I f'd up a little while ago. Going to order some veneer shortly.

I've got them together and I'm playing some fairly quiet tunes through them in the background. So far so good. The mids and upper treble seem to be relaxed just enough to make it very easy to listen to. They definitely will not glare at you.

The bass is a little thin, but I'm sure they'll open up a little during the next couple of weeks of break in. I've got them out on my stands that I normally have my mains on which are used with 4 subs, so they might be pulled out a bit too far from the wall as well, which could contribute a little to the bass thinness.

This little Dayton woofer is surprisingly good for the money though and as a whole it seems to play very nicely. I'm quite happy with them so far, they're a great little speaker.

Gonna go set up a measurement in a little while to get a baseline for measurements after break in.

Edit: I did also re-orient the first tweeter coil following Troel's advice, I just ran out of camera battery for the moment.

 

[DrDyna]

While you're at it, don't glue your resistors flat to the board. They need some air space for cooling. The Classix are designed to "rock out"; wouldn't be the first time a crossover caught on fire.

LOL, the resistors in the tweeter circuit are 10w, something tells me I'd need to drink a whole lot more beer than I normally do to start a fire. I've never had a problem with any resistors being stuck down before.

 

[DrDyna]

Here's how it looks with REW in my room right now.

Bass traps are in my future plans for this media room, yes.

I've managed to place all my subs so that the bass isn't as wonky as this, but it looks like my room - not the speaker or stand - that is at fault for bass thinness here.

Ignoring everything under 150 cycles though, it seems to be doing very well.

 

[DrDyna]

So, I spent a couple of hours tinkering and with the speaker placed in the middle of the room up on a stand about 3 feet tall, with the mic around 1 foot away, I managed to get this measurement.

I had the level down pretty low, trying to get as much of my terrible room effects out of it as possible and it looks much better now.

Does anyone have any suggestions for any type of DIY bass traps that might cure these issues? That's probably a whole new thread

 

[DrDyna]

And, here they are!

Went with the Dayton vinyl wrap from parts express. It's actually very easy to work with and gives great results for the price if you're careful about application.

 

[sso]

Hi, Question for DrDyna. The schematic of the crossover shows that the tweeter connection is inverted phase. Looking at your crossover pictures you have the '+' of the tweeter connected to the 6.2ohm. Do you hear any phase differences?
Thanks!
Stanley

 

[DrDyna]

Hi, Question for DrDyna. The schematic of the crossover shows that the tweeter connection is inverted phase. Looking at your crossover pictures you have the '+' of the tweeter connected to the 6.2ohm. Do you hear any phase differences?
Thanks!
Stanley

I have the tweeter polarity reversed at the tweeter's terminals.

 

[kiske1]

Hello!

I'd like to build the classix II by myself, and so I bring up this old thread...
The problem is that living in Italy, the expeditions costs from Meniscus will be over 75$, and will take so long to have it...
So I thought to buy the components here in europe, but as I've VERY little electronics knowledge, I have some doubts about the right components to buy for the crossover... Here's the list from europe-audio... Could someone please tell me if they could fit for the project?

4.7uF Ploypropylene capacitor (100+ V)
4.7u Standard Z - Jantzen Standard Z-cap 4.7 uF 400V 5% - Europe Audio

6.8uF Ploypropylene capacitor (100+ V)
6.8u Standard Z - Jantzen Standard Z-cap 6.8 uF 400V 5% - Europe Audio

10uF Electrolytic capacitor (100+ V)
100uF Electrolytic capacitor (100+ V)
Here comes the problem... I SUPPOSE the those should be bipolar, but I can't find any suitable at europe-audio... has anyone any suggestion for those?

0.25 mH air core inductor (19-20 awg)
JANTZEN-1528 - Jantzen Wire air coil 0,250mH 0,330Ohm 0,80mm - Europe Audio (not sure about the AWG that is toward 21)

0.50 mH air core inductor (19-20 awg)
JANTZEN-1034 - Jantzen Wire air coil 0,500mH 0,490Ohm 0,80mm - Europe Audio (same as above)

1.2 mH air core inductor (16-18 awg)
JANTZEN-1995 - Jantzen Wire air coil 1,200mH 0,590Ohm 1,00mm - Europe Audio

6 Ohm wirewound resistor (10+ watt)
4 Ohm wirewound resistor (10+ watt)
10 Ohm wirewound resistor (10+ watt)
Cant't find any on europe-audio...

So if anyone has any suggestion for the components or for another online european shop....

Many thanks to all in advance, Juri

 

[mondogenerator]

try lautsprecher.de if you dont find what you need at europe.audio, but i thought they stocked these items. Or try RS, farnell. Also search or learn how capacitors add in value in series and parallel. Its likely you will have to parallel a few together to get 100uf, say 2 47uf and a 6uf all in parallel.

 

[xjr100]

... So if anyone has any suggestion for the components or for another online european shop....

Mundorf parts are avalable here: www.audiohobby.eu
Bipolars: Mundorf ECap - Fidelity Components Shop
Resistors: Resistors - Fidelity Components Shop

 

[ynotech]

Hi everybody, I would really appreciate, if somebody helps me
I would like to build this classix II, but i cannot find that kit in europe- so i need to build it on my own. I have some questions:
1) Sizes are in inches, when i calculate it to centimeters, there are a lot´s of sizes like 66,675 mm - would it be better to round it to 67 mm, or every size round (some up, some down) and count them = to get the most similar volume of the box?
2)I have a lot of MKP capacitors at home - is it possible to replace all capacitors with my MKP?
3) In the BOM, i can see coils without resistance ( so the resistance doesn´t matter in this project? )

Thanks all for his help

 

[DrDyna]

Hi everybody, I would really appreciate, if somebody helps me
I would like to build this classix II, but i cannot find that kit in europe- so i need to build it on my own. I have some questions:
1) Sizes are in inches, when i calculate it to centimeters, there are a lot´s of sizes like 66,675 mm - would it be better to round it to 67 mm, or every size round (some up, some down) and count them = to get the most similar volume of the box?
2)I have a lot of MKP capacitors at home - is it possible to replace all capacitors with my MKP?
3) In the BOM, i can see coils without resistance ( so the resistance doesn´t matter in this project? )

Thanks all for his help

1.) You're only going to be off by 1 or 2 percent, so it shouldn't make much difference. Mine are probably off by that much just on table saw mis calibration.

2.) If they're the right value, it should be fine, but I'm not familiar with MKP. Perhaps someone else is.

3.) The coil who's impedance is the most important I think is the primary woofer inductor. It's not make or break, but it should probably be fairly low impedance to maintain sensitivity. Most standard iron core inductors should be in the right ballpark.