Few Q's about x-overs and DIY kits... (1 Viewer)

[Frank Grimes]

Say bloods. I'm quasi-new to the home audio world and from what I've read so far, it seems x-overs are much more important for home audio than car audio, not to mention much more expensive. So are there any competent places that will build a passive x-over network without raping my pocketbook? I'm willing to spend a bit extra if it means buying from a place that has a good reputation rather than one that has a good chance of botching the project because they didn't pay much attention to the T/S's of the speakers in use. I was also confused as to why partsexpress is selling passive crossovers designed for 8 ohm speakers while a speaker's nominal impedence is never exactly it's rated, and with impedence being based on frequency... Are these x-overs just a cheap yet imprecise way of running speakers?

Second question: Is it unlikely that the $700 or so that I plan on spending on my towers will better, say, an Adire 281 kit? I was looking into using Seas Excel 8" drivers, Peerless midrange, and Vifa XT25 tweeters. If the aforementioned threeway x-over setup would cost too much, I would consider changing the 8" Excel to a 7" Excel and ditching the midrange, or changing the 8" to Dayton or Peerless.

 

[Frank Grimes]

I'm practically a newbie and my post gets moved to the "'graduate school' of HTF"?

 

[Patrick Sun]

This is where the topics you brought up would be discussed. The other area is for finished speaker products you can buy at stores or online stores, not roll-your-own speakers.

 

[Pete Mazz]

If you know little about designing xovers, like me, then look for tried and true designs/kits that are all over the web. I've seen a few using the Vifa tweet, which seems to be a little tricky to design around, from what I've read.

Pete

 

[Frank Grimes]

I know of how to build xovers, yet I never have so you never know how it will turn out, especially since I would want a 3rd order xover.
But I may not even have to worry about it if I know it's a moot point. Is it likely that my first home DIY setup would sound better than one with lesser quality products but designed by Dan Wiggins?

 

[Anthony_Gomez]

Hey Frank, what are the particular requirements of your speaker that you want to design. There are many designs out there that are not 3-ways that may work perfectly for you. Also, any particular reason for those drivers?...like you already own them? A phrase I have heard before that is very true is: A speaker with high quality components all around with a crappy XO will sound like crap compared to a speaker with much lesser quality components but a quality designed XO.

 

[Brian Bunge]

You could always contact Madisound about designing the crossover for you. As long as they sell the drivers they will work up a computer modeled design for a nominal fee.

Brian

 

[Frank Grimes]

I chose those drivers because I'm familiar with them through car audio. I've had a little experience with Vifa and SEAS, just not Peerless. I'm not deadset on a threeway setup + sub, I may go with a two way + sub in each tower. Is it common in the home audio industry to wire the two seperated subs in a mono load? I know it gets more difficult to differentiate the origin of a sound the lower the frequency being played, but I'd imagine that a stereo sub setup could be beneficial with movies. On the other hand, I figure that with so many people having towers in addition to just ONE sub, it wouldn't make a difference.

 

[Patrick Sun]

I will only offer that you keep an open mind, actively read other boards (especially over at Madisound, and Parts Express' Tech Board for starters). As things start to come together for you, start asking questions with specifics in mind. You'll get better responses than with general, open-ended questions.

 

[ThomasW]

If you like metal cone drivers and the Vifa XT25 tweeter you might want to consider making a pair of these and using a separate sub. The parts cost is ~$700/pr if you use the Woodstyle Rev123 cabinet shown in the picture

There's more info about them HERE and yes Pete we are currently creating the XO for a MTM version .
Regards
Thomas

 

[Pete Mazz]

Bout damn time!
Pete