[S3T]

Ok, finally i blew a tweeter on my speakers so I'm looking for upgrade.

I'm looking for airy-sounding speaker with gorgeous mids and well-controlled bass.

I think OB is the right choice.
I like Linkwitz's Orion design and approach, but its a bit pricey for me.

So I'll try to build something similar in concept but with cheaper drivers.

What makes Orion drivers so pricey?
I think it's "wrong" xover points and therefore use of high-cost drivers to support these frequencies.
SEAS Millennium is ultimate tweeter for 1.5k xover point, but moving the xover frequency little bit higher to 2k or even 2.5k gives us a choice of wide variety of cheaper yet good drivers. But here comes the W22EX cone breakup at 4kHz with almost +20db peak that will sound awful at higher xover point. More classic silk cone with Excel 5.5" midrange (W15LY/W15CY) at higher xover points (250Hz and 2.5kHz) should make comparable sound quality.
And the last one is Peerless XLS 10" inchers. They are great subwoofer drivers. But... There is SLS 12" drivers pumping twice more air at higher Qts (0.17 vs 0.47) and sensitivity (88.4 vs 91.2). Not to mention the 1/2 of the XLS's price.

So the deal of Orion going for

T25CF-002 $224.30
EX22 8" $232.55
2xXLS 10" $337.1
-----
$1600 for pair


goes for
Morel MDT33 $153
Seas W15LY $151.25
2xSLS 12" $143.3
-----
Just 900$ for pair.


Xovers and amplification is another issue to save up.
Six LM3886-based amplifiers cost less than single EX22 And they are great. Power output is not a problem since we use three of them per channel (like 200W conventional amp).
Digital xovers are easily made using old computer and good 6-ch soundcard.



The weak point in my design is
 - woofer to midrange xover frequency. I'm not shure whether 12" drivers will be able to sing up to 250hz with decent quality nor whether W15LY will not reach it's Xlin at the same 250Hz at realistic SPL.


Have i missed anything?

[oracle309]

 The Orion drivers aren't pricey...
but when you factor in the cost of good amplification, and Linkwitz's custom electronics it gets pricey. The materials for the Orion enclosure/OB are not cheap either.

I don't own Orions, nor can I afford them. But I guarantee you that SL has done all the work, and that it is an interpretation of what he thinks a speaker should be.

There are other alternatives , namely the Dick Olsher  Basszilla. I have heard these and these are very impressive, driven by 2 watts per channel (passive sub, etc).

If you can't swing the Orions, why not try some Plutos?

[painkiller]

I'm looking for airy-sounding speaker with gorgeous mids and well-controlled bass.

Airy sound can be arranged with a slight rise in response at frequencies over 10KHz.