EAD100MKII Speaker designs?

[Paul7777x]

Hi gents.

I’ve decided I like these…

EAD100MKII

bkelectronics.co.uk

I’m looking for a design or two for them, preferably a closed box design and the bass is not too important as they will be used with two subs and Room Perfect.

It’s easy enough to find designs for the Jordan drivers but less so for the EAD100s.

If any one can help I’d appreciate it.

 

[DVDdoug]

Are you going to use it full-range or in a 2 or 3-way design?

If you using it full-range the main consideration is box volume (and port dimensions if you wanted to go ported). Plug the Thiele-Small Parameters into some speaker design software (WinISD is free). The software will help you optimize box size (or experiment virtually with other sizes) and you can also virtually experiment with ported boxes.

...WinISD is only for the "woofer" and box design. If you want a multi-way speaker you'll need something more advanced for the crossover and driver matching, etc.

 

[Paul7777x]

Just a single full range driver , cheers.

I’ll be using corner subs up to around 100hz, do ideally a design that is happy down to around 80Hz I suppose.

Thanks for the link. I’ll see what I can make of it.

 

[staticV3]

I hope your MLP is a lounge chair that's bolted to the floor, as the E100HD MKII has roughly a ±7º listening window when used full-range:


Along with a laser level for aiming the finished speakers at your head.

Stray further off-axis and the treble response will dip away dramatically, leaving you with a dull sound.

Data source: https://cdn.abicart.com/shop/17596/art89/35947689-6b6ca3-E100HD_MKII_HQ_v1.5_large.pdf

 

[Paul7777x]

I hope your MLP is a lounge chair that's bolted to the floor, as the E100HD MKII has roughly a ±7º listening window when used full-range:
View attachment 515942

Along with a laser level for aiming the finished speakers at your head.

Stray further off-axis and the treble response will dip away dramatically, leaving you with a dull sound.

Data source: https://cdn.abicart.com/shop/17596/art89/35947689-6b6ca3-E100HD_MKII_HQ_v1.5_large.pdf

Yeh. I’m good with that.

I even have the laser.

If I’m sitting off the best axis for any speaker it’s because I’m not doing any serious listening.

And, it just be be slightly more forgiving with no serious bass to play.

 

[alex-z]

The response above 5000Hz is not just narrow but will likely have audible breakup modes. Meaning there is ringing in the time domain. You can verify this by looking at the normalized spectral decay.

I would strongly recommend using a cheaper woofer, getting some good quality tweeters, and using an active crossover in the 2000-2500Hz region. SB26ADC and miniDSP Flex for example.

This approach will also reduce multi-tone distortion, the woofer excursion no longer modulates high frequencies.

 

[TheLastGerman]

Yeh. I’m good with that.

I even have the laser.

If I’m sitting off the best axis for any speaker it’s because I’m not doing any serious listening.

And, it just be be slightly more forgiving with no serious bass to play.

Please keep us updated, I'm curious to hear your opinion and see your results. Attached is an article from the German DIY magazine “Hobby HiFi”. I have translated the most important parts of the text for you:

The recommended enclosure is smaller than before: 22 to 28 liters in a bass reflex design prove to be optimal. The predecessor felt comfortable in 27 to 29 liters. The lower volume range at that time resulted from the higher resonance quality back then. The lower cut-off frequency achievable with the MkII version is slightly lower; it now falls just below the 30-hertz mark (previously 32Hz).

Enclosure recommendation: Bass reflex | Bass reflex
Resistance in signal path: 0.2 ohms | 1 ohm
Enclosure volume: 22 | 28 l
Tuning frequency: 35Hz | 32Hz
Lower cutoff frequency (-3 dB): 33Hz | 28Hz
Port diameter: 50mm | 50mm
Tunnel length: 170mm | 160mm

The same magazine also developed a transmission line for the E100HD MKII: http://www.hobby-hifi.de/Archiv/21/04_21/hh214_titel.pdf
The issue can still be ordered: https://www.lautsprechershop.de/hifi/zeit_hhi_en.htm

 

[Smithlog]

Nice choice! With subs handling bass, a small sealed box should work, maybe 6–8 L per driver. You might find DIY threads or box calculators online for EAD100MKII.

 

[BalintK]

Interesting thread, I'd be curious to hear about your opinion if you have built your speakers. I ended up here because I asked AI (Claude) what type of speaker it would recomment for my PassDIY B1 Buffer + LM3875 Gainclone combo for a 20 sqm living room, knowing that I have a REL Quad sealed sub to take care of the lowest frequencies. My current speakers are JPW AP2 (classic 2-way sealed design), which I have upgraded a bit. I also told Claude that my problem with the current setup is that it lacks a bit of air or sparkle at the top end, and also the vocals are slightly recessed for my taste. I have experimented a lot with positioning the speakers all around within the limits of my speaker cables, the main issue cannot really be solved like that.

Long story short, Claude recommended this EAD Driver in a MLTL-31 cabinet, ranking it way above all other options (considering all parameters, the room, the rest of my system, my musical preferences, etc). At some point it said: "A slim floorstanding MLTL around 800–900mm tall, tuned to ~45–50 Hz, crossing to the REL Quake somewhere around 60–80 Hz. Both the VTL-style and the MLTL-31 sound great, but the MLTL seems easier to drive and sounds great without needing an amp with tons of headroom. That's meaningful if your amplifier is already a touch lacking in sparkle — you want it working comfortably, not straining."

It's a pity there are so few reviews available for this specific EAD driver. Given the popularity of the Gainclone, one would think more people have already tried to match it with these full-range speakers, if they are such a good match as Claude claims them to be. But of course my interest is not limited to those using Gainclones... If I ever get round to build them (E100HD MKII in MLTL-31), I'll drop a review here.