Hello all!!
I've been lurking for the last couple weeks (since I recently found this fantastic forum!), and decided to hop on board and try to learn some more! It appears that there's a veritable fountain of knowledge here, and even though I get lost in most of the science and theory that goes into the design of loudspeakers, I figured at least I could avail myself of some of the goods! :W
A little background: I've been known to dabble in car audio and home theater. My system is almost always in flux, but I'm finishing a dual-purpose room, and I'm trying to come up with a set of speakers for the front. My previous system consisted of the (old) Fosgate Audionics speakers, three LCR-220's, two SD-180 dipoles, and a pair of the FA-400 passive subs. I've since given the LCR-220's to my dad, and acquired another pair of the SD-180's. As far as electronics, my system is always in flux. Currently, I have a Sunfire TGP-IV processor, and 3 Fosgate 4125 amps. I'd like to sell the Fosgate amps, as I have a stack (7) of the Soundstream DA-2 amplifiers, though they are the 240v versions, not 110v. No problem there... and old high school chum is a licensed electrician.
Anyhow... I can relate to one of the other members here (Kingpin) as far as wanting BIG sound, which may or may not relate to BIG speakers. I've always dreamed of having a front three consisting of Dunlavy SC-IVa's and an HRCC center channel, but hate to spend that much money. Then, when I see that Dunlavy's have been talked about, and that a similar or BETTER sounding speaker can be built for less money (and the fact that HRCC's are about as rare as hen's teeth), I'm up for building some.
I've poured over the designs in Missions Accomplished, and think that the Dayton RS 3-way MTMWW fits the bill for the L&R, and was hoping to see a tried and tested center channel design come out of that exercise.
(Man, am I long winded or what?? :P )
A few questions:
1. Dunlavy made use of a stepped baffle, and I'm assuming it was in an effort to time align the radiating surfaces of the drivers. Is there any real advantage to this, or is it a moot point with proper crossover design?
2. Would a center channel complimentary to the Dayton RS 3-way simply be a matter of placing the woofers on either side of the MTM, and for aesthetic reasons, is there a problem with aligning the MTM in the vertical plane (as opposed to having the tweeter offset)?
3. Lastly, much has been made about making the crossovers readily accessible for possible modification at a later date. Is there any particular reason why they could not be "divorced" from the cabinet, and in their own enclosure, or is there an ideal "maximum length" for the leads from the crossover to the drivers, and should the lengths for all drivers be equal?
I picked up a copy of Vance Dickason's LSDC (6th Edition) a couple years ago, and have only recently picked it back up and started getting back into it. Like I said earlier, I'll never get to the point of understanding the science and theory behind all of it, or the real "black magic" of crossover design. But, one thing I CAN do, is build the cabinets. And do some other trick things as far as the construction (I've got a CNC mill at my disposal... just as good as a CNC Router). Also, I've been investigating an alternative material for the cabinets, one that I've been intrigued by for a long time (since I've had opportunity and experience in machining it). It's a product called Richlite. It's a composite made of paper fiber and resin. Extremely dense and rigid, and looks like it could be the hot ticket for cabinets. It comes in 3/4", 1", and 1-1/2" thicknesses, and has a pretty pleasing appearance in it's raw form.
Whew!!! I'm done talking for now... I'll take a breather and start soaking in all the info I can!
Cheers!!
I've been lurking for the last couple weeks (since I recently found this fantastic forum!), and decided to hop on board and try to learn some more! It appears that there's a veritable fountain of knowledge here, and even though I get lost in most of the science and theory that goes into the design of loudspeakers, I figured at least I could avail myself of some of the goods! :W
A little background: I've been known to dabble in car audio and home theater. My system is almost always in flux, but I'm finishing a dual-purpose room, and I'm trying to come up with a set of speakers for the front. My previous system consisted of the (old) Fosgate Audionics speakers, three LCR-220's, two SD-180 dipoles, and a pair of the FA-400 passive subs. I've since given the LCR-220's to my dad, and acquired another pair of the SD-180's. As far as electronics, my system is always in flux. Currently, I have a Sunfire TGP-IV processor, and 3 Fosgate 4125 amps. I'd like to sell the Fosgate amps, as I have a stack (7) of the Soundstream DA-2 amplifiers, though they are the 240v versions, not 110v. No problem there... and old high school chum is a licensed electrician.
Anyhow... I can relate to one of the other members here (Kingpin) as far as wanting BIG sound, which may or may not relate to BIG speakers. I've always dreamed of having a front three consisting of Dunlavy SC-IVa's and an HRCC center channel, but hate to spend that much money. Then, when I see that Dunlavy's have been talked about, and that a similar or BETTER sounding speaker can be built for less money (and the fact that HRCC's are about as rare as hen's teeth), I'm up for building some.
I've poured over the designs in Missions Accomplished, and think that the Dayton RS 3-way MTMWW fits the bill for the L&R, and was hoping to see a tried and tested center channel design come out of that exercise.
(Man, am I long winded or what?? :P )
A few questions:
1. Dunlavy made use of a stepped baffle, and I'm assuming it was in an effort to time align the radiating surfaces of the drivers. Is there any real advantage to this, or is it a moot point with proper crossover design?
2. Would a center channel complimentary to the Dayton RS 3-way simply be a matter of placing the woofers on either side of the MTM, and for aesthetic reasons, is there a problem with aligning the MTM in the vertical plane (as opposed to having the tweeter offset)?
3. Lastly, much has been made about making the crossovers readily accessible for possible modification at a later date. Is there any particular reason why they could not be "divorced" from the cabinet, and in their own enclosure, or is there an ideal "maximum length" for the leads from the crossover to the drivers, and should the lengths for all drivers be equal?
I picked up a copy of Vance Dickason's LSDC (6th Edition) a couple years ago, and have only recently picked it back up and started getting back into it. Like I said earlier, I'll never get to the point of understanding the science and theory behind all of it, or the real "black magic" of crossover design. But, one thing I CAN do, is build the cabinets. And do some other trick things as far as the construction (I've got a CNC mill at my disposal... just as good as a CNC Router). Also, I've been investigating an alternative material for the cabinets, one that I've been intrigued by for a long time (since I've had opportunity and experience in machining it). It's a product called Richlite. It's a composite made of paper fiber and resin. Extremely dense and rigid, and looks like it could be the hot ticket for cabinets. It comes in 3/4", 1", and 1-1/2" thicknesses, and has a pretty pleasing appearance in it's raw form.
Whew!!! I'm done talking for now... I'll take a breather and start soaking in all the info I can!
Cheers!!
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