SpeakerCamp Redux.....!

[ThomasW]

As Bullwinkle J Moose says..."this time for sure"...... :B

[kingpin]

Hey.
You stole my mouse. lol

[JonMarsh]

Logitech VX's RULE!!!!

[JonMarsh]

Well, as we say around my workplace, "Slow work takes time", but the crossover elves have been busy, as this Modula NeoD Tweeter crossover illustrates....




Working on the woofer boards now, later today will start the Isiris crossover boards.

~Jon

[cjd]

Nice crossover. Foil inductors, eh?

VX is nice. I use an MX at home. Some day will have a VX for on the road I think, but the dock and built-in battery of the MX is so nice.

C

[JonMarsh]

Foil inductors were for size and DCR, not supposed HF characteristics.

I've got a couple of VX for my laptops, the battery life is fantastic, and the integration of Mac desktop functions like Expose is very good. Plus, they read and track reliably on surfaces like light maple tables that flummox M$ mice. A highly recommended product.

This is the second set of MkII crossovers, for the Modula NeoD build for Tom's home.

[cjd]

I figured you were foiled when it came to finding the right DCR etc. and not for other reasons.

VX is great. I love the scrollwheel on the entire line, and the sensor is shared so they all do that well on just about any surface. I like the USB dongle on the newest, but want the two thumb buttons so it'll be VX for the laptop.

I like the thumbwheel on the MX at home, I have it set to switch desktops in Linux. (desktops finally making it to the Mac with Leopard!)

[JoshK]

[QUOTE=JonMarsh;n457823]Well, as we say around my workplace, "Slow work takes time", but the crossover elves have been busy, as this Modula NeoD Tweeter crossover illustrates....




Working on the woofer boards now, later today will start the Isiris crossover boards.


Rainbow crossovers eh?

[JonMarsh]

That's right- the new look is multi-color components, not just yellow caps and red inductors!

[---k---]

Jon,
Stupid question about your crossover. Do you just strip the whole length of the ground and tin it?

Has the RS180 crossover been published yet? ETA?

[JonMarsh]

The "ground loop" is AWG 12 or 14 silver plated copper, with the TFE insulation stripped, and tinned where it enters the Euro terminals.

I have the RS180's all "in stock", and a test baffle ready, but I'm traveling the next weekend I'm "back" on business, so my guess is early November for the RS180-4 and RS180-8 crossovers (series wiring on the 4 ohm, parallel on the 8 ohm). Had requests for both versions, due to amplifier considerations. OTOH, the series 4 ohm version will still be around 5 ohms due to the degree of overlap required in a Deulund crossover implemented on a flat baffle (playing some games with the phase).

I'll also be finishing up a lot of the build thread for the Modula NeoD between now and next Tuesday.

Not long, IOW. Sorry it's taken so long, but things like business travel on weekends keep messing me up. In more than one way. :W

The Isiris Jr. Demo for Tom is another of this week's projects; I'm nearly finished with the second set of crossovers for the Modula NeoD CC's, and next I start on that- I've been laminating up front panels, bases, and braces, and he's doing the driver cut outs right now as I write, to build another set of these....




...but with the Dayton RS390HF. A Biamp plus passive crossover has been designed and I'll be building those tomorrow. Gonna be a busy Friday, I think.... :B

[---k---]

No worrys about the delays. You don't owe us anything, we owe you. Wish I could make it out to RMAF and hear those. Maybe next year.

[JimS]

...but with the Dayton RS390HF. A Biamp plus passive crossover has been designed and I'll be building those tomorrow. Gonna be a busy Friday, I think.... :B

Nice!!

Don't forget to enjoy the weekend :T

[JonMarsh]

Nice!!

Don't forget to enjoy the weekend :T

There's a rumor that RMAF is in town this weekend, but I think Thomas is going to keep me locked in the basement building crossovers....

[chasw98]

There's a rumor that RMAF is in town this weekend, but I think Thomas is going to keep me locked in the basement building crossovers....

I am sure he will provide with lots of Latte stuff out of that machine he bought!

[JonMarsh]

Yeah, just to make sure he keeps productivity up, and so I don't go whining about wanting to sleep... tried to do that to me yesterday evening around 8 PM! :W

[ThomasW]

I am sure he will provide with lots of Latte stuff out of that machine he bought!

He's turning into an old lady. No afternoon latte's, can't seem to work past 7:30-8:00PM. Gees, next we'll start seeing afternoon naps .... :roll:

[JonMarsh]

He's turning into an old lady. No afternoon latte's, can't seem to work past 7:30-8:00PM. Gees, next we'll start seeing afternoon naps .... :roll:

Not as long as I get my Le Peeps for breakfast per Speaker Camp assembler Union Rules!

[---k---]

According to the Producers of Kid Nation, if you're at a "Camp" you're technically not working, therefore labour rules don't apply.

[chasw98]

He's turning into an old lady. No afternoon latte's, can't seem to work past 7:30-8:00PM. Gees, next we'll start seeing afternoon naps .... :roll:

Well, after seeing the way those crossovers are built on masonite instead of FR-4 glass epoxy, I might have to agree with you. He proably uses hot glue, also! :rofl:

And I see where a set of Arvo's go away and a set of Isiris take their place, huh? :T

[ThomasW]

And I see where a set of Arvo's go away and a set of Isiris take their place, huh? :T

You're a clever lad.....

[ThomasW]

Progress is our most important product.... :T

Below we're laminating up the braces for the back of the Isiris



Assembling one of the NeoD CC



We're always talking about the high wool content felt gasket material. Here's what a partial roll looks like...think $pendy... 8O

[Fred333]

Nice pics of the progress. Keep up the good work.

[JonMarsh]

QA'd the crossovers with a baffle assembly of one of Tom's Modula NeoD cabinets- had a passive preamp issue we should have remembered from the last time, so it took twice as long to sort out... :W



Now we'll be ready to load the boxes shortly. Lots more pics taken, but need to work for now. :W

~Jon

[ThomasW]

Jon's working on the NeoD, I'm slaving away on the Isiris...

[JonMarsh]

Testing, Too

Testing is as important as building, and all the Modula NeoD crossovers were connected and tested outside and compared against the reference plots.




Biggest glitch we ran into was the same issue that arose previously with Tom's Marchand passive preamp, fixed by hauling out a Sony; don't know the exact cause, it could be the RCA connectors in the preamp. All's well that ends well...







The boxes don't have the crossover in them, so with the extra volume, the port tuning drops to ~ 27 Hz. With crossovers, it's around 38 Hz.

[chasw98]

Jon's working on the NeoD, I'm slaving away on the Isiris...

Nice manly corner clamps!

[JonMarsh]

dA brief respite at RMAF

Well, so far our three day pass has turned into a 2-1/2 hour visit at RMAF- hit the highlights on a number of floors- some rooms you'd just stick your head in and duck back out as quickly again based on the sound. We did stop in on some of the more unusual displays, including the three and four way horn systems with the built in subs. Interesting, sort of the acoustic equivalent to the video settings on TVs in most showrooms.

The highlight of conspicuous consumption was the Coltrane Supreme from Marten Design, presented by Audio Federation of Boulder.


As Thomas had commented in past RMAF year's posts, the balance and definition was not what one expected from a system with this driver configuration and cost; even in a large room, the bottom end was not well defined, and the midrange through treble integration was not what was expected with the diamond series midrange and tweeter drivers. Me thinks they need crossover and voicing lessons from Neil Patel. :W

But some rooms adhered to old fashioned values in audio reproduction more appealing to my jaded ears...

Salk was teamed up with Van Alstine again, with some nice sound with Holst, but it was fairly clear the small room was hampering them from really "blooming".

Rick Craig was teamed up with Moon Audio, and showing two new models not on his web site yet; we had the opportunity to listen to his new MTM with Accuton C82 and the air circ 66000 from Scan speak. Built in trapezoidal enclosures, they had some satisfying heft on drums and percussion for a smaller system. Excuse the low light phone camera photo, but it gives a rough idea...



Our last stop was the Avalon/Ayre room on the 4th floor of the Atrium tower, not the only room using Ayre, but the only one with these Boulder, CO. favorites teamed up. It's a small town still in Boulder, as this time Gary Mulder, Ayre's former sales manager, is working for Avalon.



Though the room was rather on the small side also, a smooth articulate performance was made by the pairing of Ascendents and Ayre electronics.

Ah well. It's not like I'm impartial, after all- some of these guys I've known for many years. :W

[ThomasW]

We apologize to those wanting to hear the Isiris, there weren't enough hours in the day for us to finish them by Sunday PM.....

[JonMarsh]

Crossover progress....

Not quite there, but should be ready to test tomorrow morning....

In the slow work takes time motif, these are some of the boards finished today, after working most of yesterday:


HF waveguide & Driver zobel board:




HF High Pass crossover and Lpad for BMS4540 with DDS waveguide:




Accuton C95 Midrange Low Pass:



One more board to finish wiring, then we'll be ready to roll.

~Jon

[ThomasW]

JM burning the midnight oil....ahh well, more like the 21:15 oil...

[---k---]

Jon,
thanks for the crossover pictures. I learn a little about good cross-over layout and wiring every time I look at one of your crossovers.

[ThomasW]

Jon,
thanks for the crossover pictures. I learn a little about good cross-over layout and wiring every time I look at one of your crossovers.

When we layout the first generation of crossovers for any speaker, we use larger than average boards with lots of free space between the components.

Doing this allows for the inevitable tear-out and rebuild or addition/substitution of components as the system is fine tuned.

[wackii]

Thanks for the hard work Thomas and Jon. I'm patiently waiting for the November for the RS180S-8 crossover version I have all the goodies... Thanks again.

Al,

[Brian Walter]

So Thomas, do you have the latest pair of NeoD speakers at your house? If so, how do you like them? Other than probably not having as much bass response, how do they compare with those Maggies I see setting next to them. At least I think those are Maggies? Maggies mated with a cardiod woofer might be my next project after I build a NeoD CC to go with my RS-3ways.

Brian Walter

[ThomasW]

So Thomas, do you have the latest pair of NeoD speakers at your house?

Yes the ones you see being built are my personal pair.

If so, how do you like them? Other than probably not having as much bass response,

Suffice to say they're very detailed but at this point my time with them is limited since the focus has been on optimizing the Isiris. When we post the final info on the Neo build thread, I'll post some indepth listening impressions.

how do they compare with those Maggies I see setting next to them. At least I think those are Maggies?

Yes they're MMGs. I've never been able to draw valid comparisons between monopole box speakers and dipole planars given the fundamental operational differences in them.

Maggies mated with a cardiod woofer might be my next project after I build a NeoD CC to go with my RS-3ways

Sounds like a busy few months for you ... :T