ASR Directiva Open Source Speaker Review

[digitalfrost]

That should be ok. How about back wall and what is distance between speakers?

Heh back wall is 50cm behind speakers (measured from baffle to wall), distance between is ~80cm.

 

[ctrl]

Seeems like a lot of headroom was sacrificied here. I have to admit I wasn't expecting a filter with such large amplitude at this particular frequency. Is it here to boost the entire LF range?

Note the negative sign of the PEQ.
This is the "baffle step correction" for the woofer. The PEQ reduces the sound pressure level of the frequencies that are still radiated by the driver as in the half-space (baffle is "large" in relation to the wavelength).

Great work by the team. I'm definitely intrigued and would like to hear them someday. Would be even more interested in seeing them put up against the Revels/Kefs/Nuemann/Genelecs of similar size in a double blind listening test.

Can you really design by measurements alone?

Nope, that is why Rick still needs to do some fine tuning.

I don't think the DI would be as smooth with the Bliesma or Peerless, but it might be acceptable. That DA32 is a serious tweeter for the money.

With these tweeters you would have to change the name of the speaker in any case

jesus 1400 for something that needs dsp?

LOL!
If this was not meant as a joke, you should read the thread again

I would argue that absolute output level and extension are more important than distortion. I'm not sure how this speaker performs in that respect; it seems like the PR and the tweeter would run out of steam before the purefi, but I await comments from the designer.

See post#123, in the low frequency range, one reaches approximately the sound pressure level of two "normal" 6-6.5'' drivers.
If these two normal drivers use a BR port instead of a PR, they are at a slight advantage, with the usual disadvantages of a BR concept.

 

[Spocko]

I'm not the one comparing it to a Genelec - there are many posts in the thread doing exactly that, though, and I agree with you. They are completely off base.

To be honest I myself, don't particularly care about headroom once you get up past 90dB or so. It has more than enough as is. This looks like it'd make for an absolutely exceptional studio monitor, vastly superior to anything else in its price range or even well above. Has extension almost equivalent to my KH310s, in a much smaller cabinet, with better directivity - although the vertical notch is a bit of a bummer. Not sure how that factors in nearfield but a monitor that doesn't need a ceiling cloud would be great.

It feels like the DEQX Pre-8 was designed for this sort of project - although more than the miniDSP, it's also a bit classier and of course raises the price by another 2 or 3K, so might as well go whole hog and use Benchmark AHB2 as your amplifiers With this budget, we're talking about the Dutch & Dutch as competition!

 

[Rick Sykora]

Heh back wall is 50cm behind speakers (measured from baffle to wall), distance between is ~80cm.

You making have to think too hard as my old brain does not do metric well. That close to back wall likely means need to rolloff bass more, but depends if they sit on top of desk or something too.

In any case, if enough members want some nearfield contouring, could develop something and store in alternative config slot in minidsp.

 

[Chromatischism]

The dip in the sound power frequency response is mainly caused by the unavoidable vertical cancellation of the tweeter and woofer frequency responses.
The crossover frequency was deliberately chosen so that this dip lies precisely in the frequency range most sensitive to humans (ear channel resonance).

For those of us extra sensitive to that, thank you for that consideration! Too many people see that as a "flaw" in speakers and want to boost it. Nope.

 

[eboleyn]

It feels like the DEQX Pre-8 was designed for this sort of project - although more than the miniDSP, it's also a bit classier and of course raises the price by another 2 or 3K, so might as well go whole hog and use Benchmark AHB2 as your amplifiers With this budget, we're talking about the Dutch & Dutch as competition!

For my version (Purifi 6.5"/Raal 70-20XR) I use the existing DEQX HDP-5 (3-way, but that's all I need) and Purifi 1ET400A stereo amps for them.

Indeed the DEQX products cost rather more than the miniDSP, but it's pretty easy to use (and nearly completely automatic!) and performs both driver and room correction for you while letting you select crossover points very easily.

 

[HooStat]

Just curious as to the current design allows one to focus less on low frequency extension? I am thinking of the use case of someone with 2 subs already who might want more headroom, for example. Perhaps using these in a bigger room and an 80 Hz cross-over. Could this be tweaked for that application?

 

[Spocko]

For my version (Purifi 6.5"/Raal 70-20XR) I use the existing DEQX HDP-5 (3-way, but that's all I need) and Purifi 1ET400A stereo amps for them.

Indeed the DEQX products cost rather more than the miniDSP, but it's pretty easy to use (and nearly completely automatic!) and performs both driver and room correction for you while letting you select crossover points very easily.

That's what I hoped to hear!

 

[thorvat]

Note the negative sign of the PEQ.
This is the "baffle step correction" for the woofer. The PEQ reduces the sound pressure level of the frequencies that are still radiated by the driver as in the half-space (baffle is "large" in relation to the wavelength).

Sure, I noticed the negative sign, hence my note about the loss of headroom. I'm aware it is not easy to speak about 1W/1m efficiency equivalent with the active speakers, but if 83dB is all that is left after this correction it really makes me wonder how loud this speaker can play and what would compression test show.

Edit: I just noticed you already answered that. So what would 98dB@50Hz in free-filed translate to in a typical room? 6dB more if not too far from corner, so app 104dB?

 

[eboleyn]

That's what I hoped to hear!

My setup:

• DEQX HDP-5 using digital sources
• Purifi 1ET400A amps
• Purifi 6.5"/Raal 70-20XR - sealed box
• Rythmik 15" sealed sub

It sounds amazing, like nothing else I've heard before. Eerily accurate.

 

[CtheArgie]

Someone with one of the DEQX should get them to @amirm for proper testing. It would be a great "comparison" with miniDSP sets.

 

[amirm]

Someone with one of the DEQX should get them to @amirm for proper testing. It would be a great "comparison" with miniDSP sets.

I tested one and its performance was not great but may be better than minidsp.

 

[617]

Seems like the hypex plat amps would be a good fit with this thing
Wouldn't fit of course but fewer cables.

 

[ctrl]

Just curious as to the current design allows one to focus less on low frequency extension? I am thinking of the use case of someone with 2 subs already who might want more headroom, for example. Perhaps using these in a bigger room and an 80 Hz cross-over. Could this be tweaked for that application?

Sure that would not be a problem.

But in such use cases it would make more sense in terms of price to use a cheap and good woofer, such as a SBAcoustics SB17NBAC35-4, in the unchanged speaker cabinet, as a CB concept. To create this, however, you definitely need measurement equipment.

 

[eboleyn]

I tested one and its performance was not great but may be better than minidsp.

The HDP-5 in my setup above is clearly the weak point in my chain until you get to the drivers (I'm using digital sources and Purifi ET1400A amps).

I put level reducing resistors on the analog outputs of the HPD-5 bringing the active range down by ~15db since I never listen to 95db+ audio, but I'm sure it's beyond overkill. When making my room dead quiet (< 30db!), I can't hear any "hiss" even with my ears right up against the tweeter.

 

[617]

Anybody have opinions of troels's design with the viawave?

 

[thorvat]

For those of us extra sensitive to that, thank you for that consideration! Too many people see that as a "flaw" in speakers and want to boost it. Nope.

Well, that really depends on listening distance - as the dip practically doesn't exist on LW graph it would be ok to leave it be on short distances, but witl larger distances correcting that dip would make some audible difference and would also make the score slightly better.

 

[Chromatischism]

Well, that really depends on listening distance - as the dip practically doesn't exist on LW graph it would be ok to leave it be on short distances, but witl larger distances correcting that dip would make some audible difference and would also make the score slightly better.

Maybe. At longer distances you have more carpet and furniture to absorb sound. At least I do. I also still have the acoustic "popcorn" ceiling that everyone seems to hate these days.

 

[EXIF68]

Im happy not to use the purifi driver. in my speaker the wavecor 152DB06 is making a really good Job. The passive radiator is from seas. Bass responce is excellent.
hehe

 

[Spocko]

My setup:

• DEQX HDP-5 using digital sources
• Purifi 1ET400A amps
• Purifi 6.5"/Raal 70-20XR - sealed box
• Rythmik 15" sealed sub

It sounds amazing, like nothing else I've heard before. Eerily accurate.

My greatest fear is cross-over programming - should I assume it was a lot of trial and error or did you already know the sort of cross-over you would apply? And more relevant to this review, can I just duplicate the cross-over settings of the miniDSP to the DEQX and get the same results?