In a perfectionist audio sense, no. But, if you have a small room, you might try it and see. I found the Betsy surprisingly good for loud rock on an OB. But, that also doesn't require the extension that electronica does.
"Muddling Up" at lower spls isn't really the issue. You won't be able to get the extension you probably want. Remember that due to dipole cancellation, the baffle I spec only gets down to the mid 60s. You could get lower if you can build a bigger baffle. But, I have a hard time imagining a room where you could fit baffles that are 3 meters wide.
With woofers, you don't have the same constraints. You can use a really high Qts woofer (like the Eminence Alpha 15), so that the "bump" reduces the need for a wide baffle. Or, you can use a high excursion woofer and EQ it. (Both of those things would sound ugly on a fullrange.) I use the later approach, but still only run the woofers down to about 80hz, as I have a tapped horn sub taking over there.
Also note that with or without woofers, getting much excursion out of a fullranger will create doppler distortion (messing with higher frequencies). So, on an OB, you want to high pass the Betsy (or any fullranger) for the best dynamic range. (Enclosures control excursion, obs do not.) My preference is for a single cap at line level, up around 150hz range. This is why I need the woofers to cover the octave down to the sub.
If I had to build the OB system again, I'd probably explore some of the woofer ideas that get down into the 30s without a sub. Even then, there is some design complexity to a multiway OB system. If that sounds like fun, go for it. But I sure do miss the BIBs. They will likely please you with one driver per side, no crossovers and no multi-amping. But, you've got to have the space and ability to build big cabinets.
The other simple option is to use sealed boxes and a sub or two. Put BetsyKs into 1-2 cu ft sealed boxes, which will get down to about 80hz and keep excursion under control. Then jam them into a corner (to avoid the need for BSC). On a budget, it is hard to beat the cheap pre-built subs available from Parts Express. If one doesn't do the job, just get more. Two would make great stands for the sealed boxes, ala the Bottlehead S.E.X.y speakers, but aren't strictly necessary as the BetsyK can hit 80hz sealed.
Paul
"Muddling Up" at lower spls isn't really the issue. You won't be able to get the extension you probably want. Remember that due to dipole cancellation, the baffle I spec only gets down to the mid 60s. You could get lower if you can build a bigger baffle. But, I have a hard time imagining a room where you could fit baffles that are 3 meters wide.
With woofers, you don't have the same constraints. You can use a really high Qts woofer (like the Eminence Alpha 15), so that the "bump" reduces the need for a wide baffle. Or, you can use a high excursion woofer and EQ it. (Both of those things would sound ugly on a fullrange.) I use the later approach, but still only run the woofers down to about 80hz, as I have a tapped horn sub taking over there.
Also note that with or without woofers, getting much excursion out of a fullranger will create doppler distortion (messing with higher frequencies). So, on an OB, you want to high pass the Betsy (or any fullranger) for the best dynamic range. (Enclosures control excursion, obs do not.) My preference is for a single cap at line level, up around 150hz range. This is why I need the woofers to cover the octave down to the sub.
If I had to build the OB system again, I'd probably explore some of the woofer ideas that get down into the 30s without a sub. Even then, there is some design complexity to a multiway OB system. If that sounds like fun, go for it. But I sure do miss the BIBs. They will likely please you with one driver per side, no crossovers and no multi-amping. But, you've got to have the space and ability to build big cabinets.
The other simple option is to use sealed boxes and a sub or two. Put BetsyKs into 1-2 cu ft sealed boxes, which will get down to about 80hz and keep excursion under control. Then jam them into a corner (to avoid the need for BSC). On a budget, it is hard to beat the cheap pre-built subs available from Parts Express. If one doesn't do the job, just get more. Two would make great stands for the sealed boxes, ala the Bottlehead S.E.X.y speakers, but aren't strictly necessary as the BetsyK can hit 80hz sealed.
Paul
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