Looking for a new speaker project....or am I?

[LewisMT]

You might also consider a TQWP/TQWT design. I've got a pair of the Dayton PS-220s (I think that's the right number) TWQPs in the home theatre, and they do quite nicely. You're welcome to come out and hear them sometime, I can easily put them in the main system.



Roscoe

Thanks very much for the kind offer to hear your TWQPs. I'd like to take you up on it. Where do you live?

My understanding of that type of enclosure is limited to what I've read on various DIY sites, mostly referencing Martin King's work. I haven't built any yet. Aren't they designed to extract all the deep bass possible, or are they also useful for midrange? I've got plenty of bass with my sub. I don't NEED to use a sub if the mains can produce enough bass, but I don't think there is much chance of any 5" driver doing that. Whatsmore, I found that my current speakers sounded better, especially at high volumes, when I eliminated the lowest frequencies from the signal. All remaining frequencies were clarified and the soundstage tightened right up.

When i started this thread I was thinking that my enclosure was probably not the problem and I needed a whole new speaker system. Perhaps I just need to try a new enclosure.

I looked at some of the Onken designs awhile ago. Planet10 designed one specifically for my driver, called the Fonken-steen:

http://p10hifi.net/FAL/downloads/Fonken ... -plans.pdf

Perhaps I'll give this a try. I could make a matching stand with my sub in it for, say, below 100hz. If I use a 2nd order crossover I might attenuate the lows from the Fostex enough to gain the clarificatoin and soundstage benefits mentioned above.

[brombo]

If you are a competent woodworker you might consider making a wooden midrange horn preferably for a 2 inch driver. Compound curved surfaces are not needed. A straight exponential design could be accomplished with thin plywood (1/8" baltic birch) and heavier bracing. The trick is to print out the flattened top, bottom, and sides (some math required) and from the printout make a thin (1/8" fiberboard template). This could be cut out slightly over sized with a jig saw and sanded to the shape of the printout that was cut out and glued to the fiberboard. Then the fiberboard and a router (template bit) could be used to cut the plywood. Alternatively, if you go to someplace like the woodworkers club that has a large numerical controlled router table the plywood top, bottom, sides, and braces could be directly cut out. An adapter to go from a round driver to a square throat could be fabricated on a 3d printer available at several different types of hobby clubs these days.

If you want to go whole hog a numerical router could cut compound surfaces for more advance horn designs.

[ratbagp]

You might also consider a Synergy horn or one of the variants.

http://projectgallery.parts-express.com/speaker-projects/synergy-horn/

There are quite a few threads on diyaudio.

ray

[Roscoe Primrose]

Thanks very much for the kind offer to hear your TWQPs. I'd like to take you up on it. Where do you live?

I'm out near Warrenton VA. I'm off Friday through Monday this weekend, although Monday might be bad.

My understanding of that type of enclosure is limited to what I've read on various DIY sites, mostly referencing Martin King's work. I haven't built any yet. Aren't they designed to extract all the deep bass possible, or are they also useful for midrange?

TQWTs will provide a little help for the bass, w/o the driver having to work too hard. Probably not enough with your current driver, but there's only one way to tell That small Onken-like enclosure might be a good option, but I've never heard any of the smaller ones, so no idea how they sound.

Roscoe

[LewisMT]

If you are a competent woodworker you might consider making a wooden midrange horn preferably for a 2 inch driver. Compound curved surfaces are not needed. A straight exponential design could be accomplished with thin plywood (1/8" baltic birch) and heavier bracing. The trick is to print out the flattened top, bottom, and sides (some math required) and from the printout make a thin (1/8" fiberboard template). This could be cut out slightly over sized with a jig saw and sanded to the shape of the printout that was cut out and glued to the fiberboard. Then the fiberboard and a router (template bit) could be used to cut the plywood. Alternatively, if you go to someplace like the woodworkers club that has a large numerical controlled router table the plywood top, bottom, sides, and braces could be directly cut out. An adapter to go from a round driver to a square throat could be fabricated on a 3d printer available at several different types of hobby clubs these days.

If you want to go whole hog a numerical router could cut compound surfaces for more advance horn designs.

I'll give myself myself semi-competent on a good day.

What you are describing sounds like it is similar to some Shindo speakers I've seen, though most of them use some kind of back-loading as well and larger drivers. Do you have any examples you could point me to?

[LewisMT]

You might also consider a Synergy horn or one of the variants.

http://projectgallery.parts-express.com/speaker-projects/synergy-horn/

There are quite a few threads on diyaudio.

ray

Thanks, Ray.

I'll give those a look.