[eclein]

OK, I'm thinking about retrofitting some cabinets I have with new drivers, xovers etc...the existing cabinets are .41 cubic ft. and the specs on the new drivers,xover etc. call for .50 cubic ft...in general terms how will the sound differ with the smaller cabinets?? Will the low end suffer or will it be too intense? How about the high end??
 I'm just trying to get an idea of whether I'd be OK with the smaller cabinets or whether it would just outright suck and I shouldn't waste my time??
 Thanks..Ed L.

[jakelieb]

A little less bass than optimal, but should sound ok.  I assumes you are putting it into a sealed cabinet and not bass reflex.

[mfsoa]

Can't adding stuffing to the box make the box act bigger than it is?

Someone who knows what I'm talking about please help!

-Mike

[gprro]

Yeah, you could add a half a pound, maybe a little more poly fill to compensate. Should end up close volume wise. More importantly the the baffle width and woofer to tweeter spacing would need to be really close to the design spec.

If the box is too small, you'll get a mid to upper bass bump up in response, and less low end, it'll sound a little boomy.

[chlorofille]

Eclein,

Pls provide some driver specs.

[eclein]

OK...the driver specs aren't available yet its one of the X-LS Encore's that GR Research has coming which he mentions work with the .5 cu ft. PE cabinets. The cabinets I have are JBL-L20T's, which are actually front ported. I might use the tweeter in these in another set of speakers, I got the DIY bug, this would be easy I just wanted to make sure I wasn't shooting myself in the foot before starting. I cracked them open and they just have crappy insulation in them for stuffing, so I'll take everything out and have some nice walnut cabinets to play with. The only other thing is physical size of the drivers matching up or closely matching the current baffles but that can be worked out.

[chlorofille]

Oic. The drivers could still work but you might need to play around with the port tuning for desired bass tastes 

Stick a sock in the port if there's a bass hump @ 70Hz 

Let us know what the speaker sounds like once you get the drivers =)

[eclein]

Thanks chlorofille!! 

[roymail]

Stick a sock in the port if there's a bass hump @ 70Hz 

Actually, there is a specific benefit of doing that.  I'd recommend putting some foam in that port hole and create an aperiodic box.  Althought it's not optimum, this will help to smooth the impedance and enable your slightly smaller box to act as a larger enclosure.  If you do this, don't over fill your cabinet, just an average amount of polyfill will work fine.

[srb]

I would be more inclined to sell the JBL's (after all, they are working and the drivers and crossovers are fine, as opposed to having blown drivers and salvaging the cabinets for something), and use the money towards a pair of Parts Express .5 cu. ft. cabinets.
 
Steve

[mfsoa]

Ed sell his JBLs?

Bwahaha  Never gonna happen!!

 

[eclein]

Actually...I was thinking take the tweeters out of the L20T's and put those tweeters in the 4311Bs. The 4312A's use the same tweeter as the one in the L20T's so I'd kind of halfway create another pair of 4312's----like 4311B-1/2's...confused??? I would use the L20T cabinets and put an X-LS Encore in them and call them the "ecleinjr". Get my youngest involved in the build, teach him and myself how to create speakers without the need for cabinet making 101.
 Finished speakers would be:
 4312A's-not touching them, they are my "go to" speakers
 4311B's with the tweeters from the L20T's-a franken JBL 4311B&1/2's
 ecleinjr-X-LS Encore in disguise as a set of L20T's...
Total cost $149 plus shipping
 

[srb]

It is possible that you may need to reconfigure the 4311B's HF portion of the crossover (3112B) if replacing it's LE25-2 cone tweeter with the 035Ti dome tweeter from the L20T.
 
Also, it was pointed out that "The 035ti tweeter will fit into the LE25 cutout but the screw holes do not match up and the 035 will overhang the woofer hole by about 1/4 inch"
 
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=231406
 
 
Steve

[eclein]

I've been off 1/4" for my entire life so far....I could tell the screw holes didn't match up from my rough measurements but the 1/4" overhang thing is new to me, thanks Steve for digging that up. It doesn't look to me that it will overlap but I've been wrong before. Most likely I'll just retrofit the cabinets with the XL-S stuff and be done diying, then again I am on the list for the N2X tour so I may be rethinking the whole shabang.