I have successfully made a few smaller speakers using Parts Express components, and they have turned out nice. I'd like to try and something a little above beginners level. I have the woodworking skills, and equipment, so no issue there.
My idea was to use parts I have and build a design around them.
(Picture attached)
The parts I have are:
1 1/8 tweeter
4" full range
5 1/2 subwoofer
I could build the speaker to have tweeter and FR near each other, and have the sub on the bottom of the speaker, down firing. I could source a 3 way crossover. The FR and sub would have their own chambers in the speaker.
Is this possible, or am I missing a flaw?
Please be kind, I'm very new to all of this.
Thank you in advance!
My idea was to use parts I have and build a design around them.
(Picture attached)
The parts I have are:
1 1/8 tweeter
4" full range
5 1/2 subwoofer
I could build the speaker to have tweeter and FR near each other, and have the sub on the bottom of the speaker, down firing. I could source a 3 way crossover. The FR and sub would have their own chambers in the speaker.
Is this possible, or am I missing a flaw?
Please be kind, I'm very new to all of this.
Thank you in advance!
Attachments
Flaws? Um, maybe. What are your expectations for this? If you expect it to play loud, and have deep bass, you will not be happy. 5-1/2" is not going to be able to meet that goal.
Crossovers are rarely "sourced" at this point. Best route is to simulate and measure the drivers in the box, then design the crossover. Many folks here will help with that, but...
if you want deep bass and more than very quiet music, you will need much more than a 5-1/2" woofer......
It will help us to help you if you include the size of your room, and what you like to listen to and how loud you listen.
Crossovers are rarely "sourced" at this point. Best route is to simulate and measure the drivers in the box, then design the crossover. Many folks here will help with that, but...
if you want deep bass and more than very quiet music, you will need much more than a 5-1/2" woofer......
It will help us to help you if you include the size of your room, and what you like to listen to and how loud you listen.
Well, I guess I was just trying to design a speaker that had nicer highs, and lows. So far I've just built FR speakers only, and I've noticed the lack of highs and lows (to my ears). This isn't for a large room, playing at high volumes. At my office at work, I only have cheap computer speakers, and since my office is decent sized, and doesn't share walls with other people, I could play music at a nice volume, so I thought maybe this design would sound good in that setting.
Music style would be electronic, rock, some jazz. I might listen to podcasts too. Definitely not at high volumes.
I've seen crossovers at PE, and I assumed I could order a pre made 3 way. Maybe that's wrong?
Thanks!
Music style would be electronic, rock, some jazz. I might listen to podcasts too. Definitely not at high volumes.
I've seen crossovers at PE, and I assumed I could order a pre made 3 way. Maybe that's wrong?
Thanks!
I suppose I imagined it as a slightly taller bookshelf speaker type design. No particular reason for the sub pointing down.
I'd be a little wary of using a down firing woofer in such a small, light speaker. I like the idea of a full range (wideband) driver with a woofer, and tweeter if need be, using the wideband to cover most of the range and tweeter and woofer for the extremities, a ready made xover would not be suitable
Ok, I could make it front firing then. Can you suggest a crossover design that would work?
Thanks.
Thanks.
I don't have experience with simulations either I'm afraid. If you post the drivers you have, someone may well help with that. If you wanted to keep it simple, the wideband could be used without xover (maybe the woofer too) and just use a high pass filter for the tweeter. The best solution would be an active xover though, have you considered that?
Oh, the drivers are on the image.
Yes, this could be done and is s great idea minus the tweeter. No real point unless the fr driver isn't up to it but I don't have experience with it.
I have both the two small tang band subs and they go loud and low even in a reasonably large room.
The subs are hard to make bass reflex cabs for because they need long vents.
Definitely look at like minidsp and bi-amp. Passive so will be costly and won't be flexible.
Yes, this could be done and is s great idea minus the tweeter. No real point unless the fr driver isn't up to it but I don't have experience with it.
I have both the two small tang band subs and they go loud and low even in a reasonably large room.
The subs are hard to make bass reflex cabs for because they need long vents.
Definitely look at like minidsp and bi-amp. Passive so will be costly and won't be flexible.
Here are the components:
Tweeter:
Dayton Audio DC28F-8 1-1/8" Silk Dome Tweeter
Full range:
Tang Band W4-1337SDF 4" Titanium Full Range Speaker
Sub
Tang Band W5-1138SMF 5-1/4" Paper Cone Subwoofer Speaker
No, I only have one sub at the moment, but I could order another one.
Tweeter:
Dayton Audio DC28F-8 1-1/8" Silk Dome Tweeter
Full range:
Tang Band W4-1337SDF 4" Titanium Full Range Speaker
Sub
Tang Band W5-1138SMF 5-1/4" Paper Cone Subwoofer Speaker
No, I only have one sub at the moment, but I could order another one.
The 82 dB sensitivity on the woofer, and 89 on the mid, is a mismatch crying out for the active filter/bi-amp approach, as noted; otherwise for a low volume office system you might like what you get. Want a tweeter? Hook er up!
Jared has a thread using this sub in the subwoofer forum, with passive radiators.
Jared has a thread using this sub in the subwoofer forum, with passive radiators.
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How about put the subs in a separate box under your desk using a plate amplifier just for the sub with built in crossover that you can dial in yourself:
Lepai LP210PA 2.1 Channel Mini Plate Amplifier with 15 VDC 4A Power Supply
I've got a pair of Hypex plate amps - it was very easy to hear when the Full range and Sub overlapped and just dial the crossover on the plate amp back a little. Also means you can drive the main speakers with a much lower powered amp.
Lepai LP210PA 2.1 Channel Mini Plate Amplifier with 15 VDC 4A Power Supply
I've got a pair of Hypex plate amps - it was very easy to hear when the Full range and Sub overlapped and just dial the crossover on the plate amp back a little. Also means you can drive the main speakers with a much lower powered amp.
Given your limited experience plus a modest size room and modest SPL's, I agree, a single W5 run as a sub with the rest as a 2-way might be the best way to go. A little amp like the Lepai 168HA 2.1 would work nicely in that context too.
But getting the xo right for the 2-way will be the tough part. Generic off the shelf xo's rarely work satisfactorily with random drivers because every driver usually has a different frequency and impedance response and that is what the xo has to work with to create the final result. It is possible though for experienced people here to get closer to acceptable results through simulations if you know how you are going to place them in your room and therefore how much baffle step compensation they are going to need. Still, there is a bit of guess work involved so the best way is to take in-cabinet measurements and do the simulations from there.
However having said that, making a 3-way with that combination of drivers isn't out of the question, in my opinion. Sensitivity will end up being low (less so if the speakers are placed on a shelf up against a wall as apposed to out in free space) and the tweeter and mid will have to be padded down considerably, but it is possible. The Hafniums are pretty similar to what you have in mind and from all the listener reports seem to be quite satisfying given their limitations.
But you still have the problem of getting a decent xo built. If you didn't already have the drivers I would actually suggest building the Hafniums, but that might not be what you want to do. Otherwise, building either a 2-way or a 3-way with your chosen drivers will still require you to trust someone else to design a xo for you which may or may not need a little tweeking afterwards when placed in your office. Unless you are willing to try to learn how to take proper measurements which will make the simulations that much more precise. There is free software available and the calibration mic from any AVR can do the job (depending on your computer setup) but be prepared for a learning curve and some frustration.
But getting the xo right for the 2-way will be the tough part. Generic off the shelf xo's rarely work satisfactorily with random drivers because every driver usually has a different frequency and impedance response and that is what the xo has to work with to create the final result. It is possible though for experienced people here to get closer to acceptable results through simulations if you know how you are going to place them in your room and therefore how much baffle step compensation they are going to need. Still, there is a bit of guess work involved so the best way is to take in-cabinet measurements and do the simulations from there.
However having said that, making a 3-way with that combination of drivers isn't out of the question, in my opinion. Sensitivity will end up being low (less so if the speakers are placed on a shelf up against a wall as apposed to out in free space) and the tweeter and mid will have to be padded down considerably, but it is possible. The Hafniums are pretty similar to what you have in mind and from all the listener reports seem to be quite satisfying given their limitations.
But you still have the problem of getting a decent xo built. If you didn't already have the drivers I would actually suggest building the Hafniums, but that might not be what you want to do. Otherwise, building either a 2-way or a 3-way with your chosen drivers will still require you to trust someone else to design a xo for you which may or may not need a little tweeking afterwards when placed in your office. Unless you are willing to try to learn how to take proper measurements which will make the simulations that much more precise. There is free software available and the calibration mic from any AVR can do the job (depending on your computer setup) but be prepared for a learning curve and some frustration.
Ok, I will try and determine the parameters I'll need for a 3 way xo. I'll take a look at the Hafniums you suggested. Thanks for your feedback!
QUOTE=jReave;5654701]Given your limited experience plus a modest size room and modest SPL's, I agree, a single W5 run as a sub with the rest as a 2-way might be the best way to go. A little amp like the Lepai 168HA 2.1 would work nicely in that context too.
But getting the xo right for the 2-way will be the tough part. Generic off the shelf xo's rarely work satisfactorily with random drivers because every driver usually has a different frequency and impedance response and that is what the xo has to work with to create the final result. It is possible though for experienced people here to get closer to acceptable results through simulations if you know how you are going to place them in your room and therefore how much baffle step compensation they are going to need. Still, there is a bit of guess work involved so the best way is to take in-cabinet measurements and do the simulations from there.
However having said that, making a 3-way with that combination of drivers isn't out of the question, in my opinion. Sensitivity will end up being low (less so if the speakers are placed on a shelf up against a wall as apposed to out in free space) and the tweeter and mid will have to be padded down considerably, but it is possible. The Hafniums are pretty similar to what you have in mind and from all the listener reports seem to be quite satisfying given their limitations.
But you still have the problem of getting a decent xo built. If you didn't already have the drivers I would actually suggest building the Hafniums, but that might not be what you want to do. Otherwise, building either a 2-way or a 3-way with your chosen drivers will still require you to trust someone else to design a xo for you which may or may not need a little tweeking afterwards when placed in your office. Unless you are willing to try to learn how to take proper measurements which will make the simulations that much more precise. There is free software available and the calibration mic from any AVR can do the job (depending on your computer setup) but be prepared for a learning curve and some frustration.[/QUOTE]
QUOTE=jReave;5654701]Given your limited experience plus a modest size room and modest SPL's, I agree, a single W5 run as a sub with the rest as a 2-way might be the best way to go. A little amp like the Lepai 168HA 2.1 would work nicely in that context too.
But getting the xo right for the 2-way will be the tough part. Generic off the shelf xo's rarely work satisfactorily with random drivers because every driver usually has a different frequency and impedance response and that is what the xo has to work with to create the final result. It is possible though for experienced people here to get closer to acceptable results through simulations if you know how you are going to place them in your room and therefore how much baffle step compensation they are going to need. Still, there is a bit of guess work involved so the best way is to take in-cabinet measurements and do the simulations from there.
However having said that, making a 3-way with that combination of drivers isn't out of the question, in my opinion. Sensitivity will end up being low (less so if the speakers are placed on a shelf up against a wall as apposed to out in free space) and the tweeter and mid will have to be padded down considerably, but it is possible. The Hafniums are pretty similar to what you have in mind and from all the listener reports seem to be quite satisfying given their limitations.
But you still have the problem of getting a decent xo built. If you didn't already have the drivers I would actually suggest building the Hafniums, but that might not be what you want to do. Otherwise, building either a 2-way or a 3-way with your chosen drivers will still require you to trust someone else to design a xo for you which may or may not need a little tweeking afterwards when placed in your office. Unless you are willing to try to learn how to take proper measurements which will make the simulations that much more precise. There is free software available and the calibration mic from any AVR can do the job (depending on your computer setup) but be prepared for a learning curve and some frustration.[/QUOTE]
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