Shefffield
Member
Hello, Amir! Hello, Forum!
I found my way to this website through Floyd Toole's book and Amir's excellent YouTube channel. I'm hoping to find a similarly grounded approach to our fascinating hobby here.
Who am I?
I guess my 'hifi career' has been fairly typical until roughly 12 years ago. The hifi bug got me in my teens, I couldn't afford the dream speakers, and Germany had a lifely DIY scene in the 90s. So I built several concepts designed by speaker brands and DIY magazines and spent a happy time listening without much demand for more. Once settled in a job, different city and own flat I began testing different concepts in earnest. At some point in my journey towards the 'best speaker' for myself I came to the conclusion that passive crossover design wouldn't cut it.
I pretty much skipped the passive XO design stage and tried to start directly with active crossovers. Before I could heat up my soldering iron, I stumbled upon Uli Brüggemann's phenomenal measuring and filtering tool Acourate. And saw a whole new world of potential.
What followed was a heated, but brief discussion with the (paid) hifi forum I was a member of. The forum hosts completely denied to even look at digital speaker development. But they hosted a yearly, open competition for hobbyist speaker developers. Nothing to win, beside praise or friendly critique and a good time among like-minded people. I took the bait and felt challenged to enter with a fully digital concept. With valuable help from a friend (wouldn't have been possible without him!) the speakers got ready at the last minute. And the massive computer, multi channel DAC and amping setup needed to run it. The rest is history (see Avatar pic).
For the contest I wrote a lengthy paper about the design concept, but that's in German. I can sum up the basics for you: One target for Zoé was a combination of drivers and cabinet that showcases the possibilities of super steep, linear phase, substractive digital crossovers. And also massive cone area with a small footprint.
Tweeter: Ciare 1.38 TW2, 38 mm, fs 1300 Hz - crossed over between 1600 and 1750 Hz (different setups)
Midwoofer: B&C 8NW51, 20 cm, fs 74 Hz, crossed between 100-120 Hz and 1600-1750 Hz
Subwoofer: Beyma 15G450/N, 38 cm, fs 44 Hz, crossed over at 100-120 Hz, enclosed in ca. 30 l (closed), EQ'd for a flat response down to 25 Hz
Since 2010 Zoé went through multiple software upgrades and received refined filters that also allow time alignment for all drivers.
Ah, and of course Acourate offers clever room correction.
What am I looking for?
Zoé still is a well-behaved speaker that is great fun with good recordings and brutally reveals flawed ones, but I am well aware of its limitations. With my next project I'm aiming to optimise the parameters that I can not (or only to a small degree) correct digitally: resonances and directivity.
I'm looking forward to sharing ideas and experiences with you!
Servus from snow-covered Bavaria,
Axel
I found my way to this website through Floyd Toole's book and Amir's excellent YouTube channel. I'm hoping to find a similarly grounded approach to our fascinating hobby here.
Who am I?
I guess my 'hifi career' has been fairly typical until roughly 12 years ago. The hifi bug got me in my teens, I couldn't afford the dream speakers, and Germany had a lifely DIY scene in the 90s. So I built several concepts designed by speaker brands and DIY magazines and spent a happy time listening without much demand for more. Once settled in a job, different city and own flat I began testing different concepts in earnest. At some point in my journey towards the 'best speaker' for myself I came to the conclusion that passive crossover design wouldn't cut it.
I pretty much skipped the passive XO design stage and tried to start directly with active crossovers. Before I could heat up my soldering iron, I stumbled upon Uli Brüggemann's phenomenal measuring and filtering tool Acourate. And saw a whole new world of potential.
What followed was a heated, but brief discussion with the (paid) hifi forum I was a member of. The forum hosts completely denied to even look at digital speaker development. But they hosted a yearly, open competition for hobbyist speaker developers. Nothing to win, beside praise or friendly critique and a good time among like-minded people. I took the bait and felt challenged to enter with a fully digital concept. With valuable help from a friend (wouldn't have been possible without him!) the speakers got ready at the last minute. And the massive computer, multi channel DAC and amping setup needed to run it. The rest is history (see Avatar pic).
For the contest I wrote a lengthy paper about the design concept, but that's in German. I can sum up the basics for you: One target for Zoé was a combination of drivers and cabinet that showcases the possibilities of super steep, linear phase, substractive digital crossovers. And also massive cone area with a small footprint.
Tweeter: Ciare 1.38 TW2, 38 mm, fs 1300 Hz - crossed over between 1600 and 1750 Hz (different setups)
Midwoofer: B&C 8NW51, 20 cm, fs 74 Hz, crossed between 100-120 Hz and 1600-1750 Hz
Subwoofer: Beyma 15G450/N, 38 cm, fs 44 Hz, crossed over at 100-120 Hz, enclosed in ca. 30 l (closed), EQ'd for a flat response down to 25 Hz
Since 2010 Zoé went through multiple software upgrades and received refined filters that also allow time alignment for all drivers.
Ah, and of course Acourate offers clever room correction.
What am I looking for?
Zoé still is a well-behaved speaker that is great fun with good recordings and brutally reveals flawed ones, but I am well aware of its limitations. With my next project I'm aiming to optimise the parameters that I can not (or only to a small degree) correct digitally: resonances and directivity.
I'm looking forward to sharing ideas and experiences with you!
Servus from snow-covered Bavaria,
Axel