DIY 2way or 3way Build / Midbass Midrange

[Cft66]

Looking for clarity and guidance. I'll cut right to it.

Looking to complete first build for small living room home audio. Goal is to have immaculate sound quality under all volume levels. Apartment complex so I won't need to shake walls but would love the capability.

I'm having a hard time finding out what would be a nice way to build with what after diving deep, my understanding is. My thoughts on a build to have greatest control and quality would be to include drivers all intended for specific range.

Would you stack a 3way build with a tweeter, midrange AND midbass drivers? I see a lot of builds just including 2 of the same mid driver but nothing specifically with both.

Does a full range driver accomplish this?

At a later date, I would want to build a smaller separate sub that I could disconnect and still have decent quality if the sub caused too much trouble with the neighbors.

 

[abdo123]

Since you're not that experienced it's better to start with an established design.

These ones are some of my favorite: https://heissmann-acoustics.de/en/lautsprecher/

 

[alex-z]

Full-range drivers have serious disadvantages. The radiation pattern narrows severely at high frequencies, and the inter-modulation distortion is high.

A system with 3-4 drivers covering specific frequency ranges is ideal. There are certain tradeoffs you might make, like selecting a coaxial mid-range+tweeter for optimal time alignment, or using a compression driver for higher SPL + narrow directivity.

However, even the best quality speakers still benefit from a subwoofer, because the optimal positioning for stereo imaging rarely aligns with optimal positioning for bass response. All the best systems are running 2 or more subwoofers to achieve a smooth in-room bass response that is consistent across multiple seats. Acoustic treatment is similarly recommended, to reduce overly strong reflections, and create consistent decay times across the whole spectrum.

 

[Cft66]

Full-range drivers have serious disadvantages. The radiation pattern narrows severely at high frequencies, and the inter-modulation distortion is high.

A system with 3-4 drivers covering specific frequency ranges is ideal. There are certain tradeoffs you might make, like selecting a coaxial mid-range+tweeter for optimal time alignment, or using a compression driver for higher SPL + narrow directivity.

However, even the best quality speakers still benefit from a subwoofer, because the optimal positioning for stereo imaging rarely aligns with optimal positioning for bass response. All the best systems are running 2 or more subwoofers to achieve a smooth in-room bass response that is consistent across multiple seats. Acoustic treatment is similarly recommended, to reduce overly strong reflections, and create consistent decay times across the whole spectrum.

So I could accomplish a 2way with a coaxial mid/tweet + midbass and it sound well or would a 3way with tweeter + mid + midbass be best for maim speakers?

 

[alex-z]

So I could accomplish a 2way with a coaxial mid/tweet + midbass and it sound well or would a 3way with tweeter + mid + midbass be best for maim speakers?

Doing a coaxial mid/tweeter + mid-bass woofer as a 2 way design would make no sense. You don't want the mid and mid-bass playing the same frequency range, that leads to worsened sound quality and radiation pattern. It may seem counterintuitive, but the mid-range cone is acting as the waveguide for the tweeter, so you want to keep the excursion of the mid-range minimal, a moving waveguide results in varied frequency response.

The KEF R3 is an example of an "optimal" speaker. The tweeter is crossed to the mid at 2900Hz, and mid is crossed to woofer at 400Hz. That results in a super consistent radiation, and ability to play pretty loud. Of course, no speaker is perfect, there will be some people who want a wider radiation pattern, some who want narrower, and some who just outright want more SPL than a dome tweeter can provide.

 

[D!sco]

Post deleted by Moderator.

He's right though. What you're suggesting doesn't make sense. Fullrange drivers suck, most coaxials are pretty bad, too. Designing a three-way or even a 2.5-way is a trial and I doubt you'd reach your goal of "immaculate sound quality under all volume levels" Heissman already has those designs. Why do you need to come up with your own? Sounds like a way to not meet your goal.

 

[Holmz]

… Goal is to have immaculate sound quality under all volume levels. ...

1. Are there some metrics that describe “immaculate sound”?
2. How good are you at building crossovers?
3. Do you understand diffraction?
4. Do you want a wide or narrow radiation pattern?
5. Do you have some ideas for the amount of distortion you abide?
   1. And is it HD, IMD, Doppler etc?
6. Do you have SPL numbers in dB
   1. And distance to speakers?
   2. and room dimensions?
7. Do you have an idea of how low you want them to go in Hertz?