[salva]

Hi there, I am using with my set of 1801F's a 7/15 combination, I thougth that a flat response will be the best one, but after a few days with it I'm getting tired of it, is to brigth most of the times. I guess that I have to go to a 8/12.5.

Now Dave, what is the preferred option for most of the people ? , What resistors do you ship with your kits now ?, Have you changed the standard resistors you shipped with your kits ?

Mi room, I guess that cam be considered brigth or semi brigth.

Salva

[jackman]

I tried every option and like the 7 with the 12.5.  On my system that setting was the best.  The 8 was smooth but lacked some of the air you get with the 7.  The 15 was too much tweeter for me.  12.5 teamed with the 7 was just right.  Good luck.

J

[David Ellis]

Now Dave, what is the preferred option for most of the people ? , What resistors do you ship with your kits now ?, Have you changed the standard resistors you shipped with your kits ?

I use 8, 12.5 in my living room.  I generally ship 8,15 with my kits and completed speakers.  This has not changed over time.  Very rarely do I mail a kit with 7,15 resistors.  I have only done this 2-3 times.

IMO, the difference between the resistors is fairly small, and only after being well-acquainted with the 1801 and source material can the 1db differences be audible.  

For me, I know the OW1 is a wonderful tweeter, and can still hear all of this detail at @2db down.  I don't need more spl from the tweeter to hear that it's good.

[Ron Stewart]

Over in the "music and preference" thread, I mentioned that I find my 1801F's a bit forward, even with the 8/12.5 resistor option. Dave suggested adding more resistance behind the tweeter. I'd like to experiment with that, and this thread seems like a good place to ask some questions.

As far as I can tell from reading the Resistor Options section of Dave's web site, there are two ways to reduce the tweeter's level: increasing the value of the series resistor, or decreasing the value of the parallel resistor. Which way would be better for (1) quick experimentation and (2) final application?

Dave's page  indicates that increasing the series resistor from 7 to 8 ohms drops the tweeter level by 1 dB (1 ohm increase = 1 dB drop), and that decreasing the parallel resistor from 15 to 12.5 ohms reduces the tweeter by 1 db (2.5 ohm drop = 1 dB drop). Are these relations somewhat linear, at least over some range? That is, if I add a 2 ohm series resistor, will the tweeter level drop by another 2 dB? Or, if I decrease the parallel resistor by 5 ohms, will the tweeter drop another 2 dB?

Would a quick-and-dirty method be to just connect the speaker cable (I'm single-wiring) to the + woofer post, then use resistors of different values to jumper to the + tweeter post? Once I find a value that works, would I be better off adding that much resistance in series, or deriving a parallel resistor value that produces the same level drop, and swapping out the parallel resistor?

Ron

[David Ellis]

Would a quick-and-dirty method be to just connect the speaker cable (I'm single-wiring) to the + woofer post, then use resistors of different values to jumper to the + tweeter post?

Yep, this is very quick and very dirty.  There are other issues at play, but this will provide some sense of the tweeter spl.

Once I find a value that works, would I be better off adding that much resistance in series, or deriving a parallel resistor value that produces the same level drop, and swapping out the parallel resistor?

Well, the issue is that the amplifier and filter componets (i.e. capacitors and inductors) should "look forward" at the same tweeter impedance.  Raising the series resistor and dropping the parallel resistor effectively accomplishes this.  It maintains the same impedance.  Some variation is certainly acceptable, but gross variation will effect the phase relationship in the crossover because of the impedance changes.  So, I recommend that for every 1 ohm increase in series resistance that the parallel resistance drop by about... 1.5 ohms.  This is an approximation.  Given this, if you wish to increase tweeter resitance further, I recommend:

9 series 12.5 parallel
9 series 10 parallel
10 series 10 parallel
10 series 8 prallel
11 series 8 parallel
....

I haven't tested these resistors, so I cannot vouch for how they measure.  There should be about 1db down per step, but this is only an educated guess.

[Ron Stewart]

Thanks, Dave. I appreciate the information.

Ron

[pem]

Hi all,

I was using 8-15 in a quite clear room. This was very nice and impressive on strings, but a bit aggressive.
I have replaced the 15 ohms resistor by a 13 ohms (a 12.8 to be precise). The difference is very clear:
 - the agressive sounds have diseappear
 - the result is less impressive, but smoother and more equilibrated
 - there seems to be more (sub-) bass (on drum for example)

I have now the feeling that there is too much boomy-bass, at least on pop/blues/rock music. This may come from the port that has been reduced to 6.5" instead of 7". However, on classical music, this is really perfect.

I will finish my stands before doing any other experiment. But, I can confirm that experimenting with stuffing, port length en resistors gives very interesting and different results.
Sorry Dave, but many many speakers exist in the 1801

  kind regards,
  Pierre-Etienne