AudioCircle
Audio/Video Gear and Systems => The Starting Block / Introductions => Topic started by: dwmulf on 14 Jan 2021, 06:02 am
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Hi everybody!
Hope you are all doing well. Please allow me to introduce myself. I am a long time lurker on this and many other audio sites. I have a few speaker building projects under my belt but those were done a long time ago. In recent years I've put most of my hobby time into home improvement projects (of which there are still many) but it's time to get back to building speakers again. I recently introduced my two teen nephews to the hobby by helping them build the C-note speaker kits. It was a lot of fun watching them learn and get excited about HiFi. Today when I was looking for a new project to share with them I noticed some interesting ones on the site and decided to post. I look forward to learning from the collective wisdom of you all.
Thanks,
David
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Welcome David :thumb:
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Welcome!
If it's been awhile since you researched loudspeaker design, you should take a look at transmission lines (TL). In the last 20 years Martin King has developed a MathCad application to finally be able to design them (previously 'design' had been a trial and error process). Bass can be deeper, louder, more dynamic, and more musical. Cabinets are slightly larger and more complex than ported designs but the only cabinets I ever built were 6 cubic foot TL 40 years ago with 2 interior baffles. My current loudspeakers are Martin King based floor standing TL that use a single driver that I commissioned 17 years ago.
It it's been awhile since you looked into audio: CD's have been replaced with streaming. Subscription sources like Tidal stream millions of CD quality albums and music in various higher resolution formats are available for download. Not much else (majorly) has changed in audio.
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Welcome!
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Greetings & Welcome to AC David :thumb:
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Welcome David,
It's good to have another speaker designer join up. You will find a few speaker projects here at the AC, and I recommend checking out the DIY Audio Forum, where you can find tons more.
Speaker design is rather a psychosis, don't you think? It has been so for me, at least... for the many years I've been building ESL's.
If you're interested in something different; google up my website "Jazzman's DIY Electrostatic Loudspeaker Page" or check out my latest design here:
https://youtu.be/Q_4sddiBEoU
Enjoy the AC!
Charlie
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My current loudspeakers are Martin King based floor standing TL that use a single driver that I commissioned 17 years ago.
Do you no more using active two ways ?
Any reason you would tell us?
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Off topic, but here goes:
JBL 708P's (active 2-ways) are probably the best all around loudspeaker I've ever heard/owned: dynamic, room filling, accurate, wave guide design, etc. But found out that the internal DAC is at best offers pedestrian sound quality and the ADC is a notch below even that, which bothered me. On top of that discovered that my nice external DAC would have almost no effect after going through the JBL's internal ADC/DAC. The only way to "properly" feed the 708P's would be via AES/EBU digital feed to at least negate the ADC, but couldn't find such a device with remote volume control. So sold both the 708P's and the external DAC.
So dropped back to the loudspeakers I commissioned 15 years previous: Bob Brines FTA-2000 (floor standing Martin King inspired transmission lines using a single driver - Fostex F200a, 8 inch, no whizzer, 30-20,000 Hz, 90 dB/w/m, 8 ohms, with EnABL treatments from Bud Purvine himself). I use them with 3 carefully placed subwoofers, "Late Ceiling Splash" tweeters as suggested by Duke LeJeune, and a NAD M10 all-in-one "streaming amplifier". In my mid-field setup and for my preferred genre's (small ensemble jazz/classical) they work well and would be harder to sell on than the 708P's.
When it comes time to move on, I'd go back to active 2-way monitors, but probably ones that only receive analog inputs.
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Glad you return where you belong :thumb:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Zwsqj3QyIE