Hivi 3.1A DIY Speaker With Sehlin Mod Review

[Old_School_Brad]

I've used several HiVi drivers for DIY and also replacing old ultra rare drivers. They are all top quality products!
They also have a Infinity Polydome drop in replacement for the Kappa series that's pretty damn good.

 

[AlesM]

Making traces implies you're using manufacturer data, but then you stated you measured so I'm a little confused there.

If you're using manufacturer data (which it looks like you are, at least for the woofer) you need to apply diffraction sim which you can do in Virtuixcad. Honestly time to ditch xsim and just use vcad.

thx for an anser.

Yes, of course I used manufacturer data as mesurments are off because room reflections. I used them to identify Z offset.
Can someone share FRD and ZMA files for those thre drivers as my seems to be off. everytime I make new, they are a bit different. Grrrr

br

 

[Reydepancakes]

Hivi speaker kits dead? 3.1a goes out of stock and is out now. 2.2a has been dc'd for a while. I wonder what the next level for value DIY is.

 

[Amarony]

A quick note and a question. First, the kit is available on Amazon again. It was out of stock for a few weeks and seems like it has had short term out of stock notices periodically but for now seems like they are still providing inventory.

Second, forgive me I'm new to this and am learning as much as I can in the hope I only need to do this once. I'm planning on Option 6 and have some in spec but larger inductors. Trying to figure out the best way to align them on the board. So my question is whether it is acceptable/advisable/not a good idea to consider drilling a couple extra holes for zip ties? This would be in the event hot glue or another method doesn't look like an option. The image below for example where I have marked, if I stay away from the obvious traces and borders, would this work? Those marks are just for reference and not a specific plan yet. I know it's probably not ideal but if I'm careful and slow with drilling is this reasonable or is there some clear (or not so clear) reason why this should be avoided?

 

[Reydepancakes]

A quick note and a question. First, the kit is available on Amazon again. It was out of stock for a few weeks and seems like it has had short term out of stock notices periodically but for now seems like they are still providing inventory.

Second, forgive me I'm new to this and am learning as much as I can in the hope I only need to do this once. I'm planning on Option 6 and have some in spec but larger inductors. Trying to figure out the best way to align them on the board. So my question is whether it is acceptable/advisable/not a good idea to consider drilling a couple extra holes for zip ties? This would be in the event hot glue or another method doesn't look like an option. The image below for example where I have marked, if I stay away from the obvious traces and borders, would this work? Those marks are just for reference and not a specific plan yet. I know it's probably not ideal but if I'm careful and slow with drilling is this reasonable or is there some clear (or not so clear) reason why this should be avoided?

View attachment 427292

The board is mounted at the bottom of the cabinet. As long as its not flopping around I wouldn't go modifying things. Easy to add hot glue later.

 

[Paweł L]

Populate the board and see if the components need to be 'strapped' to the board. Often other than really big heavy inductors or capacitors no extra help is needed other than a bit of glue. Forget hot glue as it will be PITA to remove the component if needed - I would just use a bit of silicone, like the one used for bathroom sinks, plus it sort of acts as vibration damper.

 

[Stopher71]

Hey everyone, after years of encountering this thread I've decided to join!

My biggest question is the parts list. I'll probably be doing option 6. Looking at available parts however 18awg inductors are backordered. Would the increased resistance of using 20awg be overly detrimental? I'm fairly certain I cannot tell the difference between mod 5 and 6 and this may sway me to 5.

Anybody have any thoughts on chamfers? What's everybody been doing for fill?

To finish, I'll be doing a walnut veneer ala @AllenW and hopefully can get @direwolf08 to describe how they made their stand as it looks very good.

Amps I'll play with but anybody try out rsl's new mini class D? These go low but the sub out still seems worthwhile for a near field desktop set up with plans to repurpose?



I'll be forced to do an electrolytic cap as well - difference doesn't seem worth it to get a poly cap at 40 bucks a piece. Question though - isn't the 68uF for mod 5? Did you lower the woofer cap from @Mudjock rec 100uF for mod 6?

Quick question, I know option 4 all the polarities are the same are 5 and 6 also the same or is the woofer reversed, I’ve tried it both ways and it sounds great both ways more defined bass with reversed polarity (on 5&6) I just wanna know the correct way, I’m asking because I’m doing point to point I have no PCB, I’ve built 8 sets with number 4 and sold them all, thanks

 

[Stopher71]

While I can't remember the specifics of Mod 6, I went with a 7 ohm resistor in mine which was mod "5.5". If you want to get really exact about it you could parallel a 250 ohm with the 7 ohm to get the 6.81 value. 6.81 will make the tweeter slightly hotter vs. 7 ohm. I probably wouldn't bother with it but that's me.

If you measure a 6.5 it’s actually 6.8

 

[Stopher71]

That's correct, but if you have a reasonable way to measure inductance, it would be possible to unwind L1 from 1.5 mH to 1.2 mH.

Scott, I have a question about option 5 & 6, I’ve already asked the question, but I’m not sure if that person is still around. I know the polarities on option 4 are all the same are 5 and 6 also the same? I’ve tried it both ways on 5 and 6 and both ways Sound good. The bass is a little bit more defined in reverse polarity, but I want to do it the correct way. Thanks

 

[Mudjock]

Scott, I have a question about option 5 & 6, I’ve already asked the question, but I’m not sure if that person is still around. I know the polarities on option 4 are all the same are 5 and 6 also the same? I’ve tried it both ways on 5 and 6 and both ways Sound good. The bass is a little bit more defined in reverse polarity, but I want to do it the correct way. Thanks

The polarities should all be the same for options 5 and 6 as well.

When I originally measured all of the drivers for the modification, I must have wired the woofer in reverse polarity. So, in order to get my simulations to match the final measured response, I had to reverse the polarity of the woofer in the simulation, which is where my crossover diagrams come from.

 

[Mudjock]

If the woofer is actually wired in reverse polarity, there will be reduced output from around 700 Hz to 3 kHz. That would be likely to shift the tonal balance toward bass. You'd be missing some vocal and instrumental information around 1 kHz, as the dip is -10 to -15 dB there.

 

[gregy]

just purchased a kit also and did xover mod 5,
also the diagrams confused me …. with the “reversed” polarity of the woofer.

So to be clear, using the OEM xover, the + terminal on xover PCB is connected to + terminal of speaker? correct.
(& not as shown on the xover mod cct diagrams where woofer + is shown connected to neg side of xover)

 

[Mudjock]

Correct

 

[dmcs414]

I finally wandered back around to attempt to finish the second speaker of my pair (first DIY audio project) 2 out of the 3 drivers create sound when connected to the crossover during test tone playback, but I seem to have run into an issue with the woofer driver. Does anyone know if it's possible to order replacement drivers if and when one is blown or otherwise dead? My first step will be ordering a multimeter (Mistakenly purchased an EU multimeter when I started this project and haven't yet replaced it. It's been just a comedy of errors around here) Thanks!

 

[Mudjock]

I finally wandered back around to attempt to finish the second speaker of my pair (first DIY audio project) 2 out of the 3 drivers create sound when connected to the crossover during test tone playback, but I seem to have run into an issue with the woofer driver. Does anyone know if it's possible to order replacement drivers if and when one is blown or otherwise dead? My first step will be ordering a multimeter (Mistakenly purchased an EU multimeter when I started this project and haven't yet replaced it. It's been just a comedy of errors around here) Thanks!

The woofer (HiVi L6-4R) is available at Madisound for $50 each if HiVi won't work with you directly to replace it.

 

[eksine]

I don't have a lot of free time, but here's the progress of my speaker build. I'm using option 6, thank you so much for this information. I hope these sound good when done

 

[Stopher71]

I don't have a lot of free time, but here's the progress of my speaker build. I'm using option 6, thank you so much for this information. I hope these sound good when done

That’s how I did mine but on much smaller boards and used 3M dual lock to stick the LP and Midrange to the side walls and HP on the floor in between and also #6 I’ve done them all and 6 is best, to me anyway

 

[eksine]

oh you use those locking wire nut lever thingies. I'm putting the woofer board at the bottom and the other 2 boards in the compartment above it near the tweeters on opposite sides of each other. I have a fear of component electromagnetic interference after watching a demonstration of how inductors behave if too close. it shows interference even with the caps and such too. You can see my parts are all space far apart. Only thing I'm worries about is I put those zip ties on tight, I'm worried I damaged some of the components , I hope I didn't destroy any of it.

 

[Stopher71]

The woofer (HiVi L6-4R) is available at Madisound for $50 each if HiVi won't work with you directly to replace it.

Hi, I thought it was worth asking, now that they make the 8 ohm L6-8R, could you use the same crossover as the 3.1 if you took two of these and paralleled them and maybe stuck them in a tower? Afterthought: probably not due to spl increase, might be worth trying the 4R’s in series since spl stays the same, i’m really just looking to build a tower since I already have 8 of these drivers laying around, 4 are brand new I’d start with 3mh/24-27uf /4R? Or the same 2R

 

[Mudjock]

There are other differences between the L6-4R and the L6-8R (besides just the impedance). To make a higher impedance, the 8R has more voice coil windings and thus more inductance. If you look at the response curves of the two woofers, the 4R has more output at higher frequencies (particularly above 3 kHz). There are also differences in the Thiele Small Parameters that dictate cabinet type and volume. The 8R will support a lower tuning (F3 closer to 40 Hz) in a larger volume (about 0.7 cu. ft or 20 liters. per woofer), which is probably what I would do if designing a tower version. There might be some other more subtle differences as well.