Hi everyone! These are my first DIY speakers. For about a year I read forums, watched videos, chose drivers. And I decided to make the main mistake of a beginner, I did not choose a ready-made project, since I did not find a project that would suit me.
Tweeter - Viawave SRT-7 . In queue, will be ready soon.
Mid - x2 .Kartesian Wom120_vMS 4.5". Purchased, I already have 4 pieces.
Low - "Noema 300GDN39-8" Purchased, in the process of delivery. Very budget 12" russian driver. Approximate the final price for x1 - $93. This driver doesn't have a good reputation in the russian DIY community, but my budget made me believe on him.
My budget is very tight, so I couldn't afford a good 12-15". There were several options, but my intuition told me to choose this one, even though I don't like the idea of the driver with a large x max parameter (+-12 mm). But I liked its powerful magnetic system and the low weight of the moving part (though a small voice coil, 2"/5 cm).
I bought UMIK-1 microphone.
So far I am planning DSP on PC with ASUS Xonar U7 MKII via Jriver or EqualizerAPO may be. The problem is that I often watch YouTube and a little delay will annoy me.
I thought for a long time TM or MTM. I still could not decide for myself which option would have more advantages, but I decided for myself that if I don’t try MTM, then I will regret and think, but what would happen if .. Moreover, I have 2.4 meter ceiling without processing and laminate on the floor. Listening distance 2.5 meters.
My dad already had an amplifier SMSL SA300 - $130. I couldn't think of a better option with digital volume control for the same price than asking him to borrow from him and buy 2 more for $260. Yes, this is not a very good amplifier, in the future I will make a DIY amplifier on ready-made boards
Tweeter - Viawave SRT-7 . In queue, will be ready soon.
Mid - x2 .Kartesian Wom120_vMS 4.5". Purchased, I already have 4 pieces.
Low - "Noema 300GDN39-8" Purchased, in the process of delivery. Very budget 12" russian driver. Approximate the final price for x1 - $93. This driver doesn't have a good reputation in the russian DIY community, but my budget made me believe on him.
My budget is very tight, so I couldn't afford a good 12-15". There were several options, but my intuition told me to choose this one, even though I don't like the idea of the driver with a large x max parameter (+-12 mm). But I liked its powerful magnetic system and the low weight of the moving part (though a small voice coil, 2"/5 cm).
I bought UMIK-1 microphone.
So far I am planning DSP on PC with ASUS Xonar U7 MKII via Jriver or EqualizerAPO may be. The problem is that I often watch YouTube and a little delay will annoy me.
I thought for a long time TM or MTM. I still could not decide for myself which option would have more advantages, but I decided for myself that if I don’t try MTM, then I will regret and think, but what would happen if .. Moreover, I have 2.4 meter ceiling without processing and laminate on the floor. Listening distance 2.5 meters.
My dad already had an amplifier SMSL SA300 - $130. I couldn't think of a better option with digital volume control for the same price than asking him to borrow from him and buy 2 more for $260. Yes, this is not a very good amplifier, in the future I will make a DIY amplifier on ready-made boards
Attachments
Today I measured one driver from 10 cm. I started with 8 liters and went up to 4 liters unchanged. At 2 liters, we managed to see a slight change, but still nothing critical.
Why is that? I was told that the size of the midrange cabinet is important and it is better to make a test cabinet.
REW .mdat:
Измерения - Google Drive
Why is that? I was told that the size of the midrange cabinet is important and it is better to make a test cabinet.
REW .mdat:
Измерения - Google Drive
Attachments
I am thinking of a 250-350Hz and 2000-2500Hz crossover. It turns out that the unevenness of Wom120_vMS is only 3 dB in the area of interest to me, so I chose it initially. Together with delivery to the door, 1 piece cost me $ 95
Interesting project you have there
Only one thoughts though. The woofer. I am not sure if +/-12mm us Xmax or Xmech. They mean different thing. 12mm is a too high Xmsx for a woofer, it would be more a subwoofer. Which also means a very heavy coil. But if Xmech it would be okay. Without any more TS parameters, can't really tell. My experience tells me it might not do well in doing a punchy bass. Poor transient response.
Since it is your first time DIYing such an expensive and high end system, 1 word of caution. Put a capacitor in series with your tweeter even though you are going active. Any sudden pop from power up or bad connections will immediately ruin your very nice tweeter. Maybe about 22uF.
You have a very capable mid, I would push the crossover frequency a bit higher to about 4kHz. Avoid crossing in the telephone band and it will sound more natural. Give that a shot.
Good luck.
Oon
Only one thoughts though. The woofer. I am not sure if +/-12mm us Xmax or Xmech. They mean different thing. 12mm is a too high Xmsx for a woofer, it would be more a subwoofer. Which also means a very heavy coil. But if Xmech it would be okay. Without any more TS parameters, can't really tell. My experience tells me it might not do well in doing a punchy bass. Poor transient response.
Since it is your first time DIYing such an expensive and high end system, 1 word of caution. Put a capacitor in series with your tweeter even though you are going active. Any sudden pop from power up or bad connections will immediately ruin your very nice tweeter. Maybe about 22uF.
You have a very capable mid, I would push the crossover frequency a bit higher to about 4kHz. Avoid crossing in the telephone band and it will sound more natural. Give that a shot.
Good luck.
Oon
Yeap, Хmах ± 12 mm Xmeh ± 20 mm. it's more like a sub, right, but according to the manufacturer's frequency response, it plays up to 400 Hz before exiting the piston mode. I know this is not the best choice, but my intuition tells me to choose this bad option over other bad options. 😀
T-S: Fs 27 Hz, Qts 0.51, Qes 0.54, Qms 9.7, Vas 149 L, Bl 12.9, Mms 85 g
I am very worried about HF, so I chose amplifiers with a volume level, and not immediately DIV amplifiers, as I originally wanted. Yes, I will put in a capacitor.
I thought about 2500 Hz, since I have MTM and, it seems, it is desirable to choose the lowest crossover frequency. Probably, I will, in fact, tune on the microphone and listen to the result.
Thank you!
T-S: Fs 27 Hz, Qts 0.51, Qes 0.54, Qms 9.7, Vas 149 L, Bl 12.9, Mms 85 g
I am very worried about HF, so I chose amplifiers with a volume level, and not immediately DIV amplifiers, as I originally wanted. Yes, I will put in a capacitor.
I thought about 2500 Hz, since I have MTM and, it seems, it is desirable to choose the lowest crossover frequency. Probably, I will, in fact, tune on the microphone and listen to the result.
Thank you!
I think you've made a good compromise regarding driver choice.
Closed cabinet will do fine, Fs is nice and low. You should measure woofer impedance to see if it will be similar to the one in datasheet.
Neumann, Genelec and few other well regarded brands use chipamps TPA3118 and TDA7294. When there is no heavy load to amplifiers (no crossover) they behave good enough - even for professionals. Having said that, SMLS SA300 really doesn't look good but there are few cheap but good amplifiers out there - such is Ayima A07 TPA3255.
Amazing Budget Amplifier Find: AIYIMA A07 TPA3255 Review - YouTube
With better power supply it will get even better.
Anyhow, if you want to use full potential of your drivers (which seems resonable) you must learn how to measure loudspeakers. Napier Lopez made a thread with instructions on how he does it.
How to make quasi-anechoic speaker measurements/spinoramas with REW and VituixCAD | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
Closed cabinet will do fine, Fs is nice and low. You should measure woofer impedance to see if it will be similar to the one in datasheet.
Neumann, Genelec and few other well regarded brands use chipamps TPA3118 and TDA7294. When there is no heavy load to amplifiers (no crossover) they behave good enough - even for professionals. Having said that, SMLS SA300 really doesn't look good but there are few cheap but good amplifiers out there - such is Ayima A07 TPA3255.
Amazing Budget Amplifier Find: AIYIMA A07 TPA3255 Review - YouTube
With better power supply it will get even better.
Anyhow, if you want to use full potential of your drivers (which seems resonable) you must learn how to measure loudspeakers. Napier Lopez made a thread with instructions on how he does it.
How to make quasi-anechoic speaker measurements/spinoramas with REW and VituixCAD | Audio Science Review (ASR) Forum
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It has Qts 0.356 and VAS 4.17L, Qts is very optimal for all size closed box and changes can be seen better in near field (as close to cone as possible) measurements. To see some changes volume must be very small.
What I said about the woofer is purely speculative? It might be good after all. I just had some bad experience at one time trying to get a subwoofer to fo a woofer's job and it didn't work out well, the bass was sluggish and had poor resolution. But that need not be the case in your situation. I bought a amplifier with built in DSP crossover from another Diyaudio guy. You can find him under ZOaudio. If you could get by with 40W, you can look for it. It might be what you are looking for in your price point. I have not received my unit yet and looking forward to receive it.
SMSL has already been paid for a couple of weeks ago.
I wanted a digital volume control so that I could change the volume without a mic on 3 amps in proportional amounts whenever I wanted to turn it up.
It will be ideal if all 3 SMSLs work synchronously from one remote control. I can turn on and change the volume with one remote control. It would be cool. I'll check it out.
I would have chosen another D class amplifier, but my father already had one SMSL and I needed to buy 2 more in total, I have a limited budget.
There is a place for the HF driver (104 mm) + 6 mm up and down as a reserve. 116 mm in total (4.56")
If I had known this before, it would have been possible not to make a test cabinet 🙂 Probably an average value between 4 and 8 liters + sintepon would be the right decision?
Ideally, I want to try to make a hemisphere from layers of plywood, that is, it will be a ladder overlapping
I used a simulator, in a closed box of 140-200 liters, the graph looks more like a low frequency graph, not a subwoofer. This is my plan. If it doesn’t work, when there’s money, I will replace it with another 12 ", though most likely I will have to redo the cabinet, I want to make the final cabinet right away.
If it weren't DSP, it would be 99% a bad idea.
If I had MiniDSP or Dbx, there would be even less doubts
ZOUDIO AIO4CH: 4-channel amplifier with DSP and Bluetooth
Here is the amp I was talking about. A caveat, I haven't tried it myself. Built in DSP crossover with 4 channel amp. If you haven't bought the SMSL yet might be an option.
How do you intend to do your crossover anyway? Through active analog before the amp or speaker crossover after the amp.
I was looking at the specs of your speaker compared it with other woofers, seems at 85gm, it is probably a woofer. If it was subwoofer, it would be about 150gm. So it should be okay.
Good luck.
Oon
Here is the amp I was talking about. A caveat, I haven't tried it myself. Built in DSP crossover with 4 channel amp. If you haven't bought the SMSL yet might be an option.
How do you intend to do your crossover anyway? Through active analog before the amp or speaker crossover after the amp.
I was looking at the specs of your speaker compared it with other woofers, seems at 85gm, it is probably a woofer. If it was subwoofer, it would be about 150gm. So it should be okay.
Good luck.
Oon
I'd remove the SRT-7's face plate and integrate it into the baffle (..though "suspended"/de-coupled so that baffle vibration doesn't affect it).
IF you do that - then you can get those midranges closer together and reduce vertical combing effects.