Large Mid Drivers?

[the727kid 10+ year member]

Hey I like those the look of those things lol. May try that.. but I wanna pick up some of the Fi Xs for subs.

 

[BrianChia 10+ year member]

those things outta have plenty of bass by themselves, the box it tuned in the low 30's iirc

Haha, that is definitely true, but it's still designed for relatively flat frequency response. I think the OP is probably be going for exaggerated low frequency response.

Extra bass can never hurt.

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

Extra bass can never hurt.

go that right

that project is pretty cheap too

woofers are like $43 each

plus they are magnetically sheilded so they are cool next to tv's

 

[the727kid 10+ year member]

Now what's the advantage to making your own crossover like they did in that project vs. just buying one pre-made? The parts on the xovers seem to be around $100 alone

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

because the crossovers are kinda generic, you can custom build one to fit the speakers

 

[the727kid 10+ year member]

Is it really worth the extra $80 to build your own tho?

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

if you use a universal one with those speakers you may not get the same results, it couls have peaky midrange, or treble, or sound muddy etc.

if it was me i would build it just like it states

 

[thylantyr 10+ year member]

Party speakers?

One idea.

http://www.shopcerwinvega.com/detail/CER+CLS-10/CLS-10

http://www.shopcerwinvega.com/detail/CER+VE-12/VE-12

 

[ballstothewall 10+ year member]

If you've got some room to spare... Search BBBIB. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

 

[dvrmstrng 5,000+ posts]

just get some ribbon tweeters and a 18" BTL strapped to like 4 1000 watt plate amps...put it in like 10 cubes ported....itll be nasty

 

[jdawg 5,000+ posts]

just get some ribbon tweeters and a 18" BTL strapped to like 4 1000 watt plate amps...put it in like 10 cubes ported....itll be nasty

yea and he'll have to run new 220v electrical to his living room

 

[the727kid 10+ year member]

just get some ribbon tweeters and a 18" BTL strapped to like 4 1000 watt plate amps...put it in like 10 cubes ported....itll be nasty

//content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif:laugh://content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/laugh.gif.48439b2acf2cfca21620f01e7f77d1e4.gif That would be sick. How bout 2 Behinger 2500s? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/crazy.gif.c13912c32de98515d3142759a824dae7.gif

 

[the727kid 10+ year member]

If you've got some room to spare... Search BBBIB. //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Didn't find anything.

 

[BrianChia 10+ year member]

Is it really worth the extra $80 to build your own tho?

Crossovers are custom designed to match the entire SYSTEM, not just drivers or the desired crossover frequency. A good crossover takes into account the room where the speaker is to be used, the placement of the speaker in that room, the width and geometry of the speaker enclosure, sensitivity differences between drivers, acoustic vs. electrical rolloff slopes, impedance differences, impedance resonance peaks and inductive rise, the drivers' natural rolloff slopes, response abnormalities in the drivers themselves, output equalization, phase differences, driver placement and physical offset of the drivers on the baffle, off axis and on axis response, your own listening preferences, etc. etc. etc. etc.....

As you can see it is quite a complex matter. A good crossover doesn't just use hundreds of components to handle all these issues either. Too many components is not acoustically favorable and may color or distort the sound, so a well designed one may use 4-8 components total to handle everything.

The most important note of emphasis is that the entire unit must be treated as a SYSTEM. You cannot just upgrade to a "better" crossover like many car audio companies sell. The quality of the components do matter but the electrical topology is the most important. A good crossover is good because of the design, not the cost of the parts or number of components, or the size. Also different folks build them differently depending on personal preferences. Although flat response is a general goal, even difference in rolloff slopes can produce slightly different sounds. Attenuation of certain frequencies can affect brightness vs. warmth in sound, etc.

Finally, a good crossover is not necessarily expensive. Crossover components range from cents to hundreds of dollars, but the more expensive components are not necessarily worth it. While going from an iron core inductor to a low gauge air core is a significant improvement, going from a 300VAC poly cap to a 800VAC poly cap will likely exhibit little audible difference. Although more expensive components usually have better quality control and consistency allowing you to better predict response before testing (An LCR meter is handy to tests components before use so you can average out consistency differences). They don't have to cost $80 extra. Generally people tend to spend money on better drivers rather than better components. Off the shelf crossovers may be anywhere from $30-50 with decent components; I can usually build much better crossovers with equal or better components within the same price range. If extra elements are needed, driving up the price, they are usually worth it.

Haha, that turned out to be more than I expected to write. But my honest recommendation is to start doing some reading if you are really interested, then start by building a design done by someone else. Don't try to design your own (yet) and use generic crossovers, since you may end up disappointed. I can help you find good designs that have been built and tested if you are interested. Also start hanging out on DIYaudio and the PE and Madisound forums.

Good luck. And get your wallet ready... //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif

Regarding Cerwin Vega - I have a pair of their older AT-12s. They certainly play loud but the bass isn't all that good considering the size of the woofer. The highs are muddy and the imaging is virtually non-existent. They are a good party speaker but listening to music on them is not very pleasant. One could certainly do better in the same price range going DIY. I haven't heard the new ones yet so I can't comment on them. The classic red surround does look badass though.

 

[the727kid 10+ year member]

Thanks for the write up, learned a bit there //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/smile.gif.1ebc41e1811405b213edfc4622c41e27.gif. I am usually over on DIYMA but not any of those other forums... any links to other write ups so I can learn a lil more? //content.invisioncic.com/y282845/emoticons/biggrin.gif.d71a5d36fcbab170f2364c9f2e3946cb.gif