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Any helpful resources for DIY speaker projects?

alex-z

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I wanted to make something that resembled Auratone in regards to a reference single driver, that wouldn’t suffer from crossover issues, but not sound as crappy.
I don’t plan on making a stereo pair, just a single central mono monitor.

Your goals are conflicting with each other. Single driver designs inherently have a lot of problems which cause crappy sound, and listening in mono actually reveals more flaws than listening in stereo.

If you want the appearance of a single driver, but without many compromises, you could just buy a single KEF Q150 for $230.

A slight bit of EQ or a crossover mod and you have a great speaker for monitoring work in a music mixing/mastering scenario. Building a better crossover would probably only cost about $75, and that includes using high quality air core inductors.
 
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Diplo

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Your goals are conflicting with each other. Single driver designs inherently have a lot of problems which cause crappy sound, and listening in mono actually reveals more flaws than listening in stereo.

If you want the appearance of a single driver, but without many compromises, you could just buy a single KEF Q150 for $230.

A slight bit of EQ or a crossover mod and you have a great speaker for monitoring work in a music mixing/mastering scenario. Building a better crossover would probably only cost about $75, and that includes using high quality air core inductors.
What issues do you get with a single driver, aside from reduced freq range?

What’s the best way to balance a tweeter and woofer?
I would want to lower the crossover under 2kHz like Amphion did, but I’m not too sure how to achieve that!

Any good resources for designing clean passive circuitry?

I would buy one but I wanted the fun of making my own!
 

Mudjock

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Thanks!

What’s also great is that those parts I can buy on Amazon here in the U.K.

What’s the benefit of having the passive radiator slightly larger than the actual woofer?
Their description says that a passive radiator should have double the air displacement than the woofer, is this the reason?

Also, what’s your take on the Dayton PS line?

Air displacement is a key factor for the larger PR. The other factor is simply coming up with a combination of box size and added mass that provides the desired tuning. This particular combination has strong output down to 75 Hz, then drops 24 dB from 75 Hz to 50 Hz, offering good protection to the 3" woofer that would otherwise require active filtering to achieve.

I've used the Dayton PS95-8 as a midrange in a three way design called "Zirconium" It works better as a full range than a lot of 3" drivers out of the box because it has a slightly rising on axis response at high frequencies to counteract the reduced dispersion a 3" driver will have. I've listened to it that way, as well as in a two-way prototype with the AMT Mini-8. The PS95 doesn't do bass as well as the ND90, though, which is why I prefer the ND90 for your goal of 80 Hz - 16 kHz range and desktop size.
 
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Diplo

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Air displacement is a key factor for the larger PR. The other factor is simply coming up with a combination of box size and added mass that provides the desired tuning. This particular combination has strong output down to 75 Hz, then drops 24 dB from 75 Hz to 50 Hz, offering good protection to the 3" woofer that would otherwise require active filtering to achieve.

I've used the Dayton PS95-8 as a midrange in a three way design called "Zirconium" It works better as a full range than a lot of 3" drivers out of the box because it has a slightly rising on axis response at high frequencies to counteract the reduced dispersion a 3" driver will have. I've listened to it that way, as well as in a two-way prototype with the AMT Mini-8. The PS95 doesn't do bass as well as the ND90, though, which is why I prefer the ND90 for your goal of 80 Hz - 16 kHz range and desktop size.
Thanks for the info!

I’m open to the idea of a 2 way, but I feel that I’ll struggle with the crossover unless I can get it down under 2kHz.

Does the shape of the cabinet matter if the internal volume remains the same?

And what would you advise for cabinet filling?
 

Mudjock

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Thanks for the info!

I’m open to the idea of a 2 way, but I feel that I’ll struggle with the crossover unless I can get it down under 2kHz.

Does the shape of the cabinet matter if the internal volume remains the same?

And what would you advise for cabinet filling?
My simulation for that configuration assumed a Qa of 20 and Ql of 10, which correspond to fairly careful attention to prevent leaks but moderate stuffing (loosely fill the entire enclosure with something like polyfill or lining with a more substantial material - like an inch or so of denim fiber insulation or good acoustic (open cell) foam).
 

Mudjock

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My simulation for that configuration assumed a Qa of 20 and Ql of 10, which correspond to fairly careful attention to prevent leaks but moderate stuffing (loosely fill the entire enclosure with something like polyfill or lining with a more substantial material - like an inch or so of denim fiber insulation or good acoustic (open cell) foam).
Heavier stuffing lowers Qa and tends to pull down the bass output a little, so that is a good adjustment if the bass is a little exaggerated and peaky. If the bass is a little thin, you can pull some stuffing out. I should also note that the passive radiator should have no added mass to the cone in the proposed configuration. Sometimes the ND105-PR comes with a weight already attached, in which case you will want to remove it.
 
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Diplo

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Heavier stuffing lowers Qa and tends to pull down the bass output a little, so that is a good adjustment if the bass is a little exaggerated and peaky. If the bass is a little thin, you can pull some stuffing out. I should also note that the passive radiator should have no added mass to the cone in the proposed configuration. Sometimes the ND105-PR comes with a weight already attached, in which case you will want to remove it.
What is meant by Qa and QI?
 

dfuller

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I wanted to make something that resembled Auratone in regards to a reference single driver [...] but not sound as crappy.
The only reason Auratones are useful is because they sound crappy.


suffer from crossover issues
Um, what do you mean by "crossover issues" exactly?

What issues do you get with a single driver, aside from reduced freq range?
You have problems with dispersion, but the elephant in the room is the wildly higher IMD. Two ways are the minimum you can get away with, that's why there are essentially zero high fidelity single driver systems outside of esoteric audiophile stuff.

I’m open to the idea of a 2 way, but I feel that I’ll struggle with the crossover unless I can get it down under 2kHz.
Why? Most tweeters don't like going much below 2k unless waveguide (horn) loaded, and it's entirely possible to get good dispersion behavior with the right choice of cabinet, driver, etc.
 

dwkdnvr

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I would want to lower the crossover under 2kHz like Amphion did, but I’m not too sure how to achieve that!
Let go of your preconceptions. The idea of "keeping the crossover out of the critical range from XXX to YYY" is almost always just audiophile superstition. Look at the overall system design. The suggestion of a Kef coax as a replacement for a compromised full range driver is a good one.
 
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Diplo

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The only reason Auratones are useful is because they sound crappy.



Um, what do you mean by "crossover issues" exactly?


You have problems with dispersion, but the elephant in the room is the wildly higher IMD. Two ways are the minimum you can get away with, that's why there are essentially zero high fidelity single driver systems outside of esoteric audiophile stuff.


Why? Most tweeters don't like going much below 2k unless waveguide (horn) loaded, and it's entirely possible to get good dispersion behavior with the right choice of cabinet, driver, etc.
Ok, so what 2 or 3-way designs do you suggest then..?
 

dfuller

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Ok, so what 2 or 3-way designs do you suggest then..?
If you're wanting to start with something simple, maybe look at some of the SEAS kits? I think Falcon Acoustics sells some.
 
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