[Beardy]

I have read that it is preferable to avoid crossovers in the important range of ~300-3kHz where the ear is most discerning.
It would seem that it might be important to choose a mid that can cover this complete range, to avoid weird phase or mismatched gain etc. in this allegedly important region.  Therefore in addtion one might choose a sub for <200-250 and a tweeter that can run from >3k up.

Looking at various curves and reading around the interweb it appears that this is not often a prime choice.  The Neo 10 and the M165 both appear to cover this center range well, yet are often crossed over to the tweet at lower than 3k.
Clearly I am missing something here.

Context is that I am about to start the 60 day loan/eval on a set of MMGs.  I am led to believe that I will likely want to augment the bass with a pair of servo subs.  In the back of my mind I am wondering whether for similar money ($600) I can build an OB 2-way `top half' based upon Neo10/Neo3 or Neo3 and pair of M165s and end up with something better.
Trying to make an educated decision, so am here to learn...

thanks
Mike

[Danny Richie]

The critical range to avoid is the mid-range. But the mid-range is actually 300Hz to 500Hz. The heart of it anyway.

Crossover points to tweeters in the 1kHz range work great, but few can handle that.

And if you are considering Neo 10's and Neo 3's then there is no reason to throw a woofer into the mix. The Neo 10 can easily play down into the 200 to 250Hz range, and our servo subs easily play up to that range.

Check out this thread: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=109918.0

[Early B.]

And if you are considering Neo 10's and Neo 3's then there is no reason to throw a woofer into the mix. The Neo 10 can easily play down into the 200 to 250Hz range, and our servo subs easily play up to that range.

Aw, geez, Danny. Please offer a DIY monitor kit using the Neo 10 and Neo 3. Open baffle, of course. 

[Danny Richie]

Aw, geez, Danny. Please offer a DIY monitor kit using the Neo 10 and Neo 3. Open baffle, of course. 

It is not easy to get the baffle designed properly for these to work in an open baffle. There is a catch 22 in there that keeps it from working out well that I found a way around. The problem is that it makes the baffle really difficult for the average hobbyist to build.

I have a model in the works for Serenity Acoustics using them that way. You'll see...

[nickd]

Ok Danny, no open baffle neo 3 and neo 10 kit to compete against Serenity we get it.

But now that you teased us, you gotta work with us here a little bit. Wouldn't those drivers also be a great kit as a sealed mini monitor on top of a pair of servo 8's???
Or a sealed MTM tower with a pair of servo 12's. Plenty of guys with access to CNC these days. Complex baffles just take more programing time.

I'm just sayin, money to be made here from those of us lower in the food chain with idle hands.

[Danny Richie]

Ok Danny, no open baffle neo 3 and neo 10 kit to compete against Serenity we get it.

But now that you teased us, you gotta work with us here a little bit. Wouldn't those drivers also be a great kit as a sealed mini monitor on top of a pair of servo 8's???
Or a sealed MTM tower with a pair of servo 12's. Plenty of guys with access to CNC these days. Complex baffles just take more programing time.

I'm just sayin, money to be made here from those of us lower in the food chain with idle hands.

Have you been hacking my computer?    Serenity Acoustics smallest model is a Neo 3 and Neo 10 in a small mini monitor setting on top of stand that has two side firing 8" servo subs in it. I talked about it in another thread actually.

[nickd]

Serenity Acoustics smallest model is a Neo 3 and Neo 10 in a small mini monitor setting on top of stand that has two side firing 8" servo subs in it. I talked about it in another thread actually.

I knew that. I just can't spend the full retail $ on them.

 That's the beauty of your kits:
1. They give regular guys like me a chance to get busy in the shop.
2. I can own way better sounding gear than I can actually afford.
3. The whole process of the build and listening for the first time to a new speaker is quite rewarding.

I believe most people on your circle would only be interested in the kit (yes, my wife thinks I'm often wrong too). The buyers that don't wish to build, typically don't care if the finished product costs more if there is still perceived value in the product at "finished" price.
How about offering both? Bump the price a little on the kit, slightly reduce the price on the finished product.

[Danny Richie]

I knew that. I just can't spend the full retail $ on them.

 That's the beauty of your kits:
1. They give regular guys like me a chance to get busy in the shop.
2. I can own way better sounding gear than I can actually afford.
3. The whole process of the build and listening for the first time to a new speaker is quite rewarding.

I believe most people on your circle would only be interested in the kit (yes, my wife thinks I'm often wrong too). The buyers that don't wish to build, typically don't care if the finished product costs more if there is still perceived value in the product at "finished" price.
How about offering both? Bump the price a little on the kit, slightly reduce the price on the finished product.

If you are serious about it then give me a call. I can get you the drivers and enough tips to have you pointed in the right direction.

[Beardy]

It is an interesting option, but I for one might get a little lost in the critical stage of integrating the drivers via the relevent active filters etc.
Its one thing to build an OB mounting scheme for the drivers, another to make it look pretty and yet another still to get the best sound out of it.  I am confident I could make a damped rigid baffle and can build to size/shape via guidance, but to me the value in a kit beyond buying drivers from Parts Express, Madisound etc., is the expertise you are buying -an optimized recipe to get the active crossovers set up to achieve the optimal output.

The MMGs turned up today and they are quite different to what I have experienced before.  Not sure I am qualified to state anything beyond that!

Any one care to make any comments about SQ and $ of options
i) MMGs plus active subs
ii)Neo3&10 plus active subs??


thanks