CSS' Heaviest Speaker

[0verkilled]

Can you please share your thoughts on the CSS build form this youtube video -

Im looking forward to building the speakers, I will not go the route of making it heavy and use denim etc, if I am building this, it would be using solid teak panels + mdf.

Need your expert advice if this speaker is going to work?
It has 10" subwoofer + tweater with a third order crossover (I am weak in electronics, not sure what this means) and a passive radiator

I am sharing a screenshot of the SPL measurement, there is no other data on their website. Measurements are discussed at 18th minute

 

[staticV3]

Hi @0verkilled! Welcome to ASR.

A 10" woofer will start beaming around 1kHz, so if you want smooth off-axis response then you'll have to cross the tweeter over also at ~1kHz.

The CSS design does just that (even a bit lower which is impressive!). I'd like to see compression and THD of that design as those usually expose an unhappy tweeter playing too low.

That being said, I'm confident that @Kerry Armes's design is perfectly sound

 

[0verkilled]

Thanks a lot @staticV3
I do trust CSS design, wanted to hear from the experts as well. Thanks for confirming that there wont be any problems

 

[voodooless]

Are there any off-axis measurements available? As the design goes, the large waveguide and low crossover are good points. The graph shows a woofer resonance that is not tamed. An additional circuit to tame that might be beneficial. The crossover at about 900Hz is very close to the tweeters FS. Usually, that isn’t the best idea, but given that it has some excursion reserves and uses a large waveguide, that might be okay.

As to the actual build, I would recommend good-quality plywood over MDF. It’s better to work with and has less negative health effects.

 

[0verkilled]

Yes here it is, again from the video.
There is something going on around the 1kHz mark

 

[staticV3]

Yes here it is, again from the video.
There is something going on around the 1kHz mark
View attachment 493688

Yes, the woofer starts beaming before the tweeter has fully picked up.

Tricky to avoid in a 10" woofer + dome tweeter setup

 

[voodooless]

Tricky to avoid in a 10" woofer + dome tweeter setup

Yup, a good 1" compression driver + waveguide would possibly yield a smoother directivity if well implemented:

Genelec S360 Review (Studio Monitor)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Genelec S360 (S360A) studio monitor. It was sent to me by the company and costs US $3995 each. It comes in both white and black. As you can see, it is quite a departure from other Genelec speakers with rectangular shape and non-coaxial drivers...

www.audiosciencereview.com

On the other hand, the S360 crossover is 1.4 kHz, so not totally sure what is going on here around 1 kHz. Maybe it's just an integration issue.

 

[staticV3]

On the other hand, the S360 crossover is 1.4 kHz, so not totally sure what is going on here around 1 kHz. Maybe it's just an integration issue.

Easy: the S360 uses a custom waveguide that perfectly matches the tweeter's radiation to the woofer at 1.4k

The woofer is actually beginning to beam as indicated by the sharp rise in DI >1k, but still exactly picked up by the tweeter+waveguide combo at Xover:


With a custom, more constrictive waveguide, the CSS could get pretty close to that:


Or alternatively, an even lower and steeper Xover which filters out the woofer beaming entirely. The tweeter would not enjoy that.

 

[RickS]

Without more evidence to support fancy build, agree is not worth pursuing that.

Is there a kit or published design? How much does it cost? Even with DIY, there should be demonstrable value proposition.

 

[voodooless]

Even with DIY, there should be demonstrable value proposition.

Sometimes having fun is all one needs

But you can have as much fun creating a really good design

With a custom, more constrictive waveguide, the CSS could get pretty close to that

Good one. I wasn’t expecting the thing to be that wide. One could try if a dome tweeter would work in a 18 sound XT1086:

https://www.eighteensound.it/en/products/horn/1-0/0/XT1086

But generally the wavefront shape is no good and the dome tweeter might not like the horn loading.

 

[RickS]

Sometimes having fun is all one needs

But you can have as much fun creating a really good design

Yes, but even if you factor in free labor fun, needs to have value better than other alternatives (notably other DIY designs).

 

[a4eaudio]

...needs to have value better than other alternatives (notably other DIY designs).

Good point. I can't think of a DIY two-way "bookshelf" that can come close to what that CSS 10" does in low-frequency extension. I believe the waveguide was custom made, so I don't think this one is really an option for other people to build. They were played at the CSS event in Detroit in September and were pretty awesome.

 

[RickS]

So, it is a concept speaker. Would make sense as one as do not see kit on the CSS website. Also explains the extreme fabrication. Even a lighter version would be risky without a serious stand. Would not want my grandkid or pet around a top heavy speaker.

 

[kemmler3D]

Tend to agree that this is a valiant effort toward getting low bass out of a 2-way, but even with tweeter pushed to its limit, it's not perfect. Worth considering if you really need full range 2-ways for some reason? For many people subs are out of the question due to space constraints or whatever, so I don't think it's a pointless design...