Help me Build my HT/Music Setup....

[mavster 10+ year member]

Well to begin, Hello everyone! //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

I'm trying to piece together a complete HT/Audio system for my living room...

To begin, this is really a budget barebones Idea...I have pretty much the concept and some drivers already...

Things I currently have;

Pioneer VSX-516-K/B Receiver (7.1 Capable)

300w Plate amp

10" Dayton HF Sub...

4 x Pioneer 6.5" Woofers (seen here; http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=290-023 )

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Now my plan is to build a 2.1 System, and later add the Center and then Rear Towers.

A twist on the plan is that my reciever allows me to Bi-amp my front two channels. Basically this allows me to put 2 x 100w @ 8ohm Per Front Tower.

So knowing this information come up with a plan for me...

fyi: I want to continue using the 4 Pioneer Woofers Because of the Deal I got on them ($23 for 4 shipped, and they are IN PRESTINE condition)...

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My Original concept was to use 2 Woofers per front tower, Low XOed... on 1 channel....and Using a Mid/Tweeter combo on the other channel.

But I was thinking that would be a bad idea since, for Cost I wasn't planning to use a mid in the rear surrounds or center...

Also...Do you think I should go for a future 7.1 type setup? Using the 4 woofer for MTM setup, and later the center and 4 x rear surrounds?

Basically I have alot of ideas in my mind, So Please...Sort them out for me and put me on the correct path...to great sound and cost effective.

Click to read more...

 

[mavster 10+ year member]

Hmmm,

How about using a double Woofer Center..

and Single Woofer Towers...

Combined with this tweeter?

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showd...number=275-055

 

[BrianChia 10+ year member]

That tweeter is not going to cross over low enough to mate well with that woofer.

Also for the best results you should use the same basic crossover for all 7 pieces if you are doing 7.1. That means using the same drivers/baffle configuration for all 7 pieces.

 

[mavster 10+ year member]

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=275-055&CFID=12727416&CFTOKEN=24231170

Sure?

I really thought this tweeter would cross low enough to work..

 

[BrianChia 10+ year member]

Depending on crossover slope, you should aim for around 2-2.5x the Fs of the tweeter for the minimum crossover point. While the pioneer may be able to play at around 3000-4000hz check out the frequency response graph. That 9db peak at around 3200hz and the subsequent breakup is going to be a ***** to filter out. Here's the link to the graph:

http://www.partsexpress.com/pdf/290-023.pdf

 

[mavster 10+ year member]

Yeah I noticed that, I figured maybe a Zobel network would help...

 

[BrianChia 10+ year member]

Zobel corrects for rising impedance but will not flatten out rough response. A notch filter can help tame a frequency peak but it is hard to do accurately without measuring equipment.

I would look for a tweeter with a low Fs and crossover steep below 1800 with minimum 4th order slopes.

 

[mavster 10+ year member]

Zobel corrects for rising impedance but will not flatten out rough response. A notch filter can help tame a frequency peak but it is hard to do accurately without measuring equipment.
I would look for a tweeter with a low Fs and crossover steep below 1800 with minimum 4th order slopes.

If thats the case, I might as well...Just sell the woofers and purchase woofers that have a smoother response at high Freqs...

 

[BrianChia 10+ year member]

I would keep them for testing since they were so cheap. If you assemble a system and it sounds good, then who cares about a response peak? All that matters in the end is how it sounds to you. But most of the tweeters that will mate well with the woofer (low Fs) outclass it by far in terms of SQ. I did see a couple TB's on PE that had 600-800hz Fs which might work.

If you're serious about building a good stereo system I would personally upgrade to something a little better. Some of the Dayton woofers are very good performers for their price and should be able to crossover higher. Most low-mid end 6.5" in general will not want to cross over too high so keep that in mind when choosing your tweeter.

But I would also keep the Pioneers to mess around with. They would work for practicing a horn or bandpass sub design just for fun.

 

[BrianChia 10+ year member]

The full range route is also a popular option here and you won't have to mess around with crossovers. Also check out PE's project showcase for more ideas. I'm sure there are many moderately priced 2-way designs there to get you started.

 

[mavster 10+ year member]

You Know something...

I'm a ****ing idiot...

I'm thinking about this all wrong...

Look honestly right now my area has no place for a HT style 7.1...only a realistic 2.1....

I don't want to pour more money into this...

So I was thinking how about a Bi-amped 2.1 way?

Dual 6.5" woofers per tower on one channel...and a Mid bandpass and tweeter high passed on the other channel...

That seems very realistic for me...

Its low budget, and its something I can do...

 

[mavster 10+ year member]

Basically I can design a 3-way crossover...and then split it between the two channels...

I figure I am just going to build 2 towers...using a Pioneer Mid and Pioneer Dome Tweeter...

That will be the temp/perm setup...Until I have the funds and space avaliable to do a Full HT setup with a proven design.

Mid; http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=280-240&scqty=2

tweeter; http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=270-035&scqty=2

So updated, what do you think?

 

[BrianChia 10+ year member]

Does your bi-amp have an active crossover?

 

[mavster 10+ year member]

Does your bi-amp have an active crossover?

The reciever's Bi-amp function basically just supplies 2 Full range channels...

A crossover is needed to protect the driver...

So I can definately do it...

 

[Fast1one 10+ year member]

Well if you have two drivers than there are only two real options:

1. 2.5 way to avoid the adverse effects of having two mid bass/midrange drivers on the same front baffle. You DON'T want two drivers playing all the way up to the tweeter crossover point, you want one woofer crossed high, while the other crossed over where baffle diffraction step becomes an issue...If you don't know what baffle step is http://t-linespeakers.org/tech/bafflestep/index.html

Basically you would design your box, determine its width, and design the crossover accordingly...

2. The easier route (crossover wise) is to make a bipole configuration. One woofer firing forwards, the other directly behind, and the rear one wired out of phase. This way you can avoid the extra crossover for the ".5" woofer as well as other advantages. The disadvantage is you need to space out the speakers from the back wall for obvious reasons (usually a foot or two or a little more is sufficient)...

Both of these setups would avoid the need of a baffle step circuit, which is why 2.5 ways are so advantageous...Should be a great sounding setup since your running active...