[zobsky]

No cigar yet, ..but I finally got all the drivers mounted. Here's a pic. I need to wire up the woofers. At that point I should be able to hook them up to an amplifier via my active crossover for initial evaluations.

[JohninCR]

What do you mean wire up the woofers?  That should have been a 5min job at most.  Don't tell me that you ignored my advice to solder wires on first.  If that's the case, do yourself a favor and go buy spade connectors and prewire the connectors.  Also, don't make the parallel/series wiring scheme permanent so you can try both an equal distribution and power tapering.

[tallclyde]

Also, don't make the parallel/series wiring scheme permanent so you can try both an equal distribution and power tapering.

Why would you use power tapering on the woofers with a full length tweeter line?  Thanks for any info in advance

[JohninCR]

Power tapering would likely be more helpful with the tweeters, but personally I'd try it with both (just a quick wire change).  They image quite a bit differently.  The tweeter line helps overcome the comb filtering resulting from driver spacing, but it does nothing to address the latest arrival times of the top and bottommost drivers' output reaching your ears, which is what power tapering helps overcome.  With equal power distribution it's easy to hear the top and bottom.  This effect gives a bigger than life sound, a really front row center stage quality, but depending on the material it can overly skew and distort the image (eg Barry White's head sounds like it's at least a meter in diameter with a normally wired array).

[zobsky]

What do you mean wire up the woofers?  That should have been a 5min job at most.  Don't tell me that you ignored my advice to solder wires on first.  If that's the case, do yourself a favor and go buy spade connectors and prewire the connectors.  Also, don't make the parallel/series wiring scheme permanent so you can try both an equal distribution and power tapering.

Hi John,
Guilty as charged, .. somewhat.
I pre-wired all 70 tweeters (there's hardly any clearance between the solder tabs and the cutout). For the woofers, however, there's plenty of space to access the solder terminals from behind (esp. since the cabinet is open backed). I plan to wire 7-8" of wire to each woofer and bunch them up as required (allows for modifying the wiring scheme in future).  I did try to damp the frames somewhat with plumbers putty.

[zobsky]

I got one of the arrays running in a temporary setup last night. I wanted to post some info here, after all the help I've gotten  from this circle so far, The following is an excerpt from my thread at diyaudio.com

Not so flattering pic at http://img267.imageshack.us/my.php?image=testing1zo7.jpg


I dragged one of the arrays up for preliminary testing. I used my behringer active crossover in 2 way mode.

Haven't run through all the tests I want to , but here are my brief impressions.

Big Room-filling sound (similar to what I get from horns or my 15" Stephens co-axial). Not quite the sonic purity I get from single drivers, but pleasant to listen to and can get much louder. Wide sweetspot (perfect for the intended A/V setup)

1. The usual near field effect (music in the next room is almost as loud as in the listening room). The foster wide-ranges work, and work well. It's almost as though they're made for open baffle arrays. I get output down to the 40 Hz, though the woofers are complaining at that point . Easily useable from 80 Hz upwards (probably even from 50 - 60Hz up). Although, at that point, we've lost some bass "kick".

In short, perfectly usable for acoustic music, .. could benefit from a subwoofer (or two) for music with notable bass content.

2. The tweeter line is smooth. Not a detail monster, but smooth and pleasant to listen to, . kinda like the "PSB" sound. I crossed over at 3.5 - 4 KHz @ 24dB/octave. It seems to me like the woofer line is as or more a little bit more efficient than the tweeter line, . not what I had calculated, or maybe it's just that there isn't that much detail up there above 5 KHz (yes, .. my hearing extends way past that ..) I probably need to set up a frequency sweep. The power meters on my amp (marantz 170DC) are idling at between 1 and 2 W at a fairly loud level of music

3. I haven't yet braced the rear of the cabinet or stuffed it to damp the mids / highs coming from there. I expect the sound to improve somewhat as I do this.

[Paul Hynes]

Hi Audiotone,

How is your B200 trial progressing?

I’ve finished bench trialing a passive contour correction circuit for the B200, with a tweak pot to adjust shelving. Looks ok on the scope. Next task is to find time to build it into my line preamp. Will let you know when I have heard the result on the line source.

Regards
Paul

[audiotone]

Hi Audiotone,

How is your B200 trial progressing?

I’ve finished bench trialing a passive contour correction circuit for the B200, with a tweak pot to adjust shelving. Looks ok on the scope. Next task is to find time to build it into my line preamp. Will let you know when I have heard the result on the line source.

Regards
Paul

Hi Paul,

I cancelled the order and bought a deq2496 instead to play with...
I still do not know what to go for...
single full range or line array...
but open baffle it will be.

the supravox rtf 215 bicone is on my short list...

Tony

[Paul Hynes]

Audiotone,

Hi Tony,

I seem to have ended up on another thread not strictly about line sources (OB’s with Entertainment Center). There is some information on there about the differences between single driver and line source performance that may help you decide which way to go. It’s a shame you live so far away. You could have dropped in for a listen. I still have the old single driver baffles as well as the line.

The Supravox looks interesting particularly at the top end. The UK distributor is only about an hour away from here. If I get time I will try to get a listen in.

How are you finding the Beringer?

Regards
Paul

[audiotone]

How are you finding the Beringer?

Regards
Paul

Well...you can make measurements/changes endlessly...
Seemes it does not take me any further with my Jordans...
I may buy the supravoxes...

[JohninCR]

How are you finding the Beringer?

Regards
Paul

Well...you can make measurements/changes endlessly...
Seemes it does not take me any further with my Jordans...
I may buy the supravoxes...

Find a driver whose tone, level of detail, and top end extension suits your taste.  From there the physical construction of your baffle is what dominates.  Then you already have the tool with the DEQ to shape your response the way you like.

[audiotone]

Find a driver whose tone, level of detail, and top end extension suits your taste.  From there the physical construction of your baffle is what dominates.  Then you already have the tool with the DEQ to shape your response the way you like.

That is why I bought it.
I already have the wood to built the NoBox.
I will built it with one fullrange and if needed a woofer later.

[audiotone]

BTW I am still very pleased with my Jordans.
But it is like looking HDTV on a mini screen.
I want HDTV on a big screen...
I think OB is the the way to.