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Hivi 3.1A DIY Speaker With Sehlin Mod Review

stevenswall

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This is correct, Sehlin = ScottS = Mudjock. The ScottS perfectionist crossover is what was tested.

Good to know, thanks! Started with a HiVi DIY3.1a as my first venture into speakers, and posted about it and your crossover on Reddit. Thanks for doing the work developing that. Price to performance wise it was difficult to justify an upgrade from a value perspective!
 
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stevenswall

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Okay, I jumped in and built a pair of these for myself. Find out how I did in this video.

Great job! White is definitely the way to go!
 

beagleman

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It is harder to do small EQ adjustment using passive parts. They are expensive to boot. Here are my EQ settings by the way:

View attachment 81444
On Scott S's site he does not seem to show the boost at 4khz, but it could be reduced very easily by rolling off the upper end of the midrange, High pass filter a bit.
(Mudjock in here)
https://sites.google.com/view/sehlin-sound-solutions/hivi-diy-3-1-modifications
Again, his measurements do not totally match, but I am certain he could do that with just a slight mod of a cap size.


Hope it was okay posting your site Scott.
I know you from the Parts express forum, where we discussed your mods.
 
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Mudjock

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On Scott S's site he does not seem to show the boost at 4khz, but it could be reduced very easily by rolling off the upper end of the midrange, High pass filter a bit.
(Mudjock in here)
https://sites.google.com/view/sehlin-sound-solutions/hivi-diy-3-1-modifications
Again, his measurements do not totally match, but I am certain he could do that with just a slight mod of a cap size.


Hope it was okay posting your site Scott.
I know you from the Parts express forum, where we discussed your mods.

It's important to consider that this wasn't a clean sheet modification. In order to make it helpful to the majority of kit builders, I wanted to allow the original circuit board to be reused along with the most expensive components. These constraints manifest themselves most severely on the woofer filter, so the peak between 600 Hz and 1 kHz is something we are largely stuck with in this design (I reduced it a little by changing R3). The elevated response in the 3-5 kHz area approximately matches the 600 Hz to 1 kHz SPL level. In my experience, that has been a good way to maintain a balanced design, particularly if the troughs between the peaks aren't too deep.

I made some suggestions on page 4 for further adjustments to bring down the peaks shown in the spinorama measurements. It's possible that those changes will raise other issues. The next peaks, although lower in magnitude, are around 7 and 11 kHz and they might become more noticeable. Also, the mid and tweeter level would be almost exactly the same as the woofer level, and the rise in distortion at and below 100 Hz with increasing SPL might become more audible.

Thanks for the comments. One of the advantages of having DIY reviews here is that we can discuss some of the tradeoffs and design decisions in a way that wouldn't happen with a commercial speaker.
 

maxxevv

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https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...offerlist.normal_offer.d_image.35ad2b7fcr5vu6

Could we maybe get a group buy going? I know the kit is like $300. But the wood casing for $200 extra/pr is interesting.

If I could, I'd buy 3 for a 3.1 setup.
The one you linked is not the 3 way.

Anyway, the kit with/out case is pretty expensive with an MOQ. Amazon offers seem much more attractive.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...spm=a2700.details.deiletai6.12.1bdf2497L7KQXP
 
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Mudjock

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The one you linked is not the 3 way.

Anyway, the kit without case is pretty expensive with an MOQ. Amazon offers seem much more attractive.

https://www.alibaba.com/product-det...spm=a2700.details.deiletai6.12.1bdf2497L7KQXP

When I pull up 16/44's link, I get the 3 way M3 with the same drivers as the DIY-3.1. That cabinet looks slightly better than my completely rectangular cabinet with textured white paint ;). I've paid $200 (the difference in price between those and the kit) for much worse cabinets.
 

16/44

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Contacted them to see if they'd sell me a single pair! If not, might have to try and get 9 other guys.

EDIT: Seems like they are receptive to selling a pair at a time.
 
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beren777

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I'm currently piecing together a set of these. Is crossover option #4 worthwhile if you plan to apply digital room correction anyway?
 

Mudjock

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I'm currently piecing together a set of these. Is crossover option #4 worthwhile if you plan to apply digital room correction anyway?

This is the driver responses of the stock kit from the Swans Speakers website, which actually agrees pretty closely to what I measured. Crossover option 4, in addition to improving the level matching of the drivers, helps with integration between the drivers. In particular, there seems to be too much overlap between the midrange and tweeter response around the crossover point. This likely has adverse consequences off axis.

1609191459840.png


If you are still in the assembly phase, I would recommend it as it doesn't cost much. In addition to helping with driver integration, you will have a much more neutral speaker if you ever repurpose it for a system without eq/room correction.
 

beren777

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If you are still in the assembly phase, I would recommend it as it doesn't cost much. In addition to helping with driver integration, you will have a much more neutral speaker if you ever repurpose it for a system without eq/room correction.

Thanks for the feedback. I am still in the "did I use too much glue or not enough" phase of cabinet assembly. Any advice? I'm afraid I may have underglued one joint, but I guess I'll find out if it rattles. It was too late to try to pull it apart and reglue. Speaker #2 will get more glue there.

I have all the parts on order for the #4 crossover, and you make a good point about better balance for non-DRC use. Definitely improves flexibility for future repurposing.
 

Mudjock

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Silicone caulk on the inside corners will ensure a good seal. If you can only work from the outside, you are looking at things like bondo, wood filler, or spackle. Bondo is stronger, but can be a pain to work with.
 

MrJoePike

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My kit of these arrives tomorrow. Also have the option 4 items on the way.
@Mudjock did your testing include using the shipping foam in the boxes for dampening?
 

Mudjock

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My pair used the included acoustic damping material, but not the shipping foam. I purchased my pair from a local seller who assembled them and decided not to keep them, so I didn't really get to do any testing with that foam. A word of caution: some shipping foams are closed cell and may not be well-suited for damping of internal reflections.
 

npol

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It doesn't seem like these are currently available on amazon, ebay, or from their online store (https://swanspeakers.com/product/hivi-swans-bookshelf-speaker-diy-kits-diy3-1/#inline). If you try to add it to cart, it doesn't let you. I emailed them asking about their availability. An amazon price tracker shows that they have only been available for purchase for a few days between mid-November and today. Just wondering if anyone has any ideas of whether these are being discontinued or are still available.
 

MrJoePike

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They popped up on Amazon on 12/20. I used the Amazon notify me when back in stock feature. I ordered right away. They have been with USPS in various towns around Atlanta. Last update I had was on 1/6 that they were on their way to another facility. Hopefully I see them by Spring.
 

npol

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UPDATE I figured out how to place the order on the website. you have to click in the quantity (click on the '1'), and then press enter (on your keyboard). Then from there you click 'view cart' and it's straightforward. I was able to put in the order, let's see how it goes. Shipping was an additional $70, fyi. There is definitely something up with their website though.

EDIT package is on the way...
 
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beren777

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I'm probably overthinking it, but I feel weird soldering stranded wire to a PCB. Would I be crazy to install some 2-position terminal blocks there instead? Would you concur the distance between the holes for the driver outputs is 7.5mm? I was thinking of grabbing a few of these:

https://www.mouser.com/ProductDetai...GAEpiMZZMvPvGwLNS6718PaoTt7FM7cTG%2BvBorjbNc=

All the quick connect-style male connectors I've looked at expect two holes for each tab, and I would be asking for trouble if I tried to drill holes in this PCB.
 

beren777

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Any thoughts on active DSP settings for these speakers if I wanted to play around driving them with a pseudo-active crossover? I have a miniDSP 2x4 HD which I could use on one of them, for testing purposes.
 
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