DIY version of this ... ????

[rhubarb9999]

Hi all,

First time poster .. great forum. My last big building experience goes back over 10 years when the internet rage was the Carver 5' ribbon driver, NHT 1259s, and Shiva subs (all still working happily in my theater).

Anyway, in a previous life I was a recording engineer. I have been doing IT for the last 11 or so years, but am now starting to get back into recording again. I still have my trusty NS-10s ... but I need something else as a near-field and thought about building my next set.

I stumbled on the Barefoot Sound Micromain 27 and thought that might be an interesting concept to try.

It looks to be a basic MTM arrangement (with 5" mid bass and a soft dome) BUT there are two 10" drivers in each sealed cabinet. The magnets are attached ... supposedly to cancel out any vibrations (and keep the things from dancing off the top of a console).

So I am thinking of a homemade version of these. The real ones are active, most likely bi-amped .. so I would do the same. An active crossover between the mains (front) and the side (bass) and a passive between the tweeter and the midbass. Amps and crossover would not be built into the box.

The boxes are a total of 32 liters, but that includes sealing off the midbass drivers. So the woofers don't have a lot of space to operate in. Any suggestions on good drivers?

Does physically tying the drivers together make a difference?

This could be fun .. or a hot mess ..

[ThomasW]

Does physically tying the drivers together make a difference?

If the drivers face the opposite direction in the cabinet cancels the mechanical vibrations.

[Undefinition]

This was brought up over at the Parts Express board a few months ago. I still find it very interesting, and I'm still interested in "cloning" them... or at least, building my own studio monitor using that basic design and ideas (with enough persuasion)

http://techtalk.parts-express.com/showthread.php?t=209148

[rhubarb9999]

Excellent! Thanks.

[ThomasW]

All in all it would be easier to have a separate bass module that sits on the floor...

In either instance you'd need to use a Linkwitz-Transform circuit to get any low bass out of a small cabinet. A LT circuit can be created as a separate stand alone box, or one can be created using a Behringer DEQ2496.

You'll want woofers with a high Xmax, large voice coil, and low Vas

[rhubarb9999]

I have found that I don't really like near-fields with a separate sub. I have tried several sets over the years and it feels 'disconnected' .. especially when trying to EQ individual instruments.

I know the idea of the original speaker is to serve as both a near-field and a 'big' room monitor, but I won't be cranking them up that loud (I have a set of JBL 4430s for that).