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Zilch's AK Design Collaborative - Econowave Speaker

Bauhausler said:
I built the low sensitivity version, as they're going in Advents. In the high sensitivity version the lowest resistor is in series and the highest resistance is the shunt.
Click to expand...
When in doubt, folks, refer to the schematic diagrams in the Project Summary linked from Page #1 for guidance:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1856214#post1856214

My pic shows the high-sensitivity version, with the biamp option implemented:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2636636#post2636636

Bauhausler said:
Dummied up with waveguide and woofer on baffle.
I need to remove that masking tape. I plan to reinstall the plastic edging on the baffle rim.
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Did you have to shave the waveguide for this installation?

When first I looked at E'Waving the chamfered-edge OLAs, it appeared that only a notch in the vinyl trim would be required for it to fit, and removing the trim to do that would make easy work of it. It's not glued in, merely stapled.... :yes:
 
Zilch said:
When in doubt, folks, refer to the schematic diagrams in the Project Summary linked from Page #1 for guidance:

http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1856214#post1856214

My pic shows the high-sensitivity version, with the biamp option implemented:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=2636636#post2636636

Did you have to shave the waveguide for this installation?

When first I looked at E'Waving the chamfered-edge OLAs, it appeared that only a notch in the vinyl trim would be required for it to fit, and removing the trim to do that would make easy work of it. It's not glued in, merely stapled.... :yes:
Click to expand...

Your crossovers are upside down. Do they work on hole flow rather than electrons, or do the speakers have to be upside down for them to work?

After removing the plastic trim I had to shave 1/16" off of each edge of the WG to get the WG to fit. I think the baffle width should be considered 11 5/8" for practical purposes. The WG will fit with a little fiddling and it's worth doing IMHO.
Using a disk sander I cut a relief in the plastic to clear the rim of the WG. I will reattach the side trim with screws, as it will have to be removed to get the WG out.
I have a set of Large PE speaker grille frames. I plan to make new grilles covered with teh original fabric if possible, and attach them with Velcro.
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testwork said:
doh! Thanks, Zilch! :)
Maybe one of the woofer leads fell off. I had trouble getting them to stay on and had to crimp the connectors to get them to be tigher.

Btw, I was going off this pic for the location of the 16ohm resistor. It's Bauhausler's picture of his crossover.

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=2830228&postcount=6236
Click to expand...

I added the missing J3 jumpers and fixed one of the sub leads that wasn't tight enough.

Now everything is playing great.

This is my first ewave project. I wanted to test the Selenium driver/JBL horn/Zilch crossover before building my JBL 2226 scoop enclosures. And these seem to match up just fine with the beat up Cerwin Vega 211-R with 123-W woofers. I'm using the high sensitivity crossover and the l-pad is tentatively set at about 30%. So room to spare in either direction!

I've only listened to them for about 15 minutes so far. I've got Santana Abraxas in the CD player.
About 30 seconds into my first listening session, I started to grin. And I didn't stop grinning for the next 15 minutes!

I can't wait to start treating my room this weekend. Finish my sub project and then start working on the scoops for the 2226H!

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testwork said:
I added the missing J3 jumpers and fixed one of the sub leads that wasn't tight enough.

Now everything is playing great.

This is my first ewave project. I wanted to test the Selenium driver/JBL horn/Zilch crossover before building my JBL 2226 scoop enclosures. And these seem to match up just fine with the beat up Cerwin Vega 211-R with 123-W woofers. I'm using the high sensitivity crossover and the l-pad is tentatively set at about 30%. So room to spare in either direction!

I've only listened to them for about 15 minutes so far. I've got Santana Abraxas in the CD player.
About 30 seconds into my first listening session, I started to grin. And I didn't stop grinning for the next 15 minutes!

I can't wait to start treating my room this weekend. Finish my sub project and then start working on the scoops for the 2226H!

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Click to expand...

Well done. What's your impression of the Ewave sound at this point?
There are theoretical - and probably audible - advantages to reducing teh center-to-center distances of the drivers. You could try putting the CV cabinet on its side or upside down to get the woofer as close to the tweeter section as possible.
 
Bauhausler said:
Well done. What's your impression of the Ewave sound at this point?
There are theoretical - and probably audible - advantages to reducing teh center-to-center distances of the drivers. You could try putting the CV cabinet on its side or upside down to get the woofer as close to the tweeter section as possible.
Click to expand...

It's difficult for me to give a real impression at the moment. For the last couple of months, I've had only my CV 211-R's which roll off drastically at 10khz. Why, I don't know. All three speakers in it work (woof, mid & tweet). Maybe it's a crossover issue, but it's like that on both speakers.
So it's been two months since I've had decent speakers in here, my old Onix Rocket RS550's that I had for several years. I haven't even done anything with the placement or Audyssey EQ yet. So I'm not ready to declare them "king of speakers" yet.

Right now I'm very impressed with how super easy it is to understand voices. I got rid of my Rocket RC200 "bigfoot" center channel speaker six months ago. It was referred to by many as "one of the best" center channel speakers out there. So for the last six months I've been going with a phantom center 4.1 setup. And the ewave is by far the most vocal intelligible speaker I've ever heard, that I can remember. It's been six months, but so far I think it's easier to understand vocals with the ewave phantom center than it was with my old Bigfoot center channel speaker? Understanding vocals is a huge pet peeve of mine. So I'm absolutely thrilled at this right now!

But I only have a couple hours in them now. And terrible room acoustics. I do have a box of ten 2" thick Owens Corning 703 to mount on my walls to help with the room accoutics. I don't want to talk about what I have issues with, not until I do some tweaking of placement, EQ & accoustics.

I'm wavering on cutting up the cabinets to install the waveguide. If I start doing that, then I'll want to remove the veneer that's cracking at the top of one of the speakers. Then it'll just snowball into a whole re-do of the speaker and just one more project I don't have time for right now. :no:


Man, it's just amazing how getting rid of the CV mid/tweet/xover, in favor of the Selenium driver, JBL horn & AK x-over... has transformed these speakers for the better!!!!!
 
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OLA Ewaves trimmed out

With grilles made from a PE Large grille kit. The original fabric was too aged to re-use. I settled on sheer brown Nylon, which will have a minimal acoustic effect. I attached it, with a few wrinkles, with double sided tape. I ground the mounting posts on the frame corners down and attached the frame with Velcro, adding a fabric tab for pulling off the frame.

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I'm callin' that "Mighty SNAZZY," Bauhausler!

It just needs your new EconoWave logo to be complete.... :thmbsp:
 
Well , it's time for a new project . And after seeing a few of these and hearing the reviews I figured it was time for me to give the e-waves a shot . My goal is to end up with something that will keep me happy so I can defer funds to building an amp and not buying more speakers :D. I think these may just be the ticket .

I need help deciding on which of my available "donors" to use . I know these are intended for 2-ways , but I have a RS nova 8 which is a 3-way but the wave guide would fit perfect in these . I am picking up some Utah HSC-1's 12" 3-way from a local SMAC member tonight , maybe these might work . I also have woofers out of Infinity RS9's I could use , along with a hand full of stray 8 and 10 inch woofers . I have no problem designing and building new enclosures for these at all .

So........... what do the e-wave gurus think ? Any and help is much appreciated . Thanks in advance . :thmbsp:
 
Maron said:
So........... what do the e-wave gurus think ? Any and help is much appreciated . Thanks in advance . :thmbsp:
Click to expand...
Build the E'Wave, and try it with various options. It doesn't have to go in a cabinet with the woofer, you just bring out the connection experimentally.

Start with the high-sensitivity version first, which can be dialed down, and if you end up mating it with a low efficiency woofer, it's just two components to change in the crossover, all of $5 for pair.

Duffinator said:
What eWave logo???
Click to expand...
In his inimitable style, the Bauhausler will unveil this in due course.... ;)
 
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I placed the CV 211-R speakers upside down, with the ewave still on top.
Then I added DIY acoustic treatment panels behind the speakers, at the first reflection spots on the side walls, and some easy bass traps at a couple corners.

1st pic is the CV speakers without ewave or acoustic treatment. This measurement was taken a week earlier than the ones below.
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2nd pic is the CV speakers with the ewave but no acoustic treatment. I did move the speakers around also.
I'm impressed with the extension of these 12" speakers.
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3rd pic is the CV speakers with the ewave, acoustic panels added and Audssey EQ'ing + a pair of 15" subwoofers crossed over at 80hz. Front speakers at full-band.
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Wow, it's going to take awhile to get used to these DIY acoustic panels on the walls. They're each 2x4 in size and I placed ten of them on the walls. But there is a tremendous difference in sound. For the better! But my room has always been terrible for sound.
 

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Duffinator said:
What eWave logo???
Click to expand...

The one that my sister is going to use her hard earned UofM MFA degree to design.
I figure that with so many people building ewaves there might as well be a symbol, logo, badge, emblem or graphic for the project.
I think it should say 'Ewave' or eWave for brevity and have a symbolic representation of either a waveguide shape or a CD dispersion pattern as a graphic element. The image would be provided for anyone to print, etch, engrave, laser or burn on their project speaker and I suppose any related documentation.
We'll get around to this shortly. Sis just got back from Hell (Mi) to Syracuse NY and when she settles in I'll pester her to deliver some designs. Might have to take a poll to chose a logo.
 
Here is a pic of my homemade logo,base should have been flat black.
Yes we need an official logo with maybe a sticky back.

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Anybody on the fence about building a pair of these should just get on with it
and "get er done" I am getting Mcintosh like performance with a Marantz
receiver. Its a 200.00 or so project but much cheaper than buying a new
amp or gear and you will have the satisfaction of "building it yourself".
I finished my second pair a month or so back and loaned them to my brother
so they could get some burn in time. They replaced a mint pair of KLH 5's
and he said I could not have them back.:sigh:
Are they perfect? no, but close enough to start fine tuning and better
than anything else I've listened to.
 
Bauhausler said:
With grilles made from a PE Large grille kit. The original fabric was too aged to re-use. I settled on sheer brown Nylon, which will have a minimal acoustic effect. I attached it, with a few wrinkles, with double sided tape. I ground the mounting posts on the frame corners down and attached the frame with Velcro, adding a fabric tab for pulling off the frame.

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Click to expand...

Looks Good B. I wonder if a heat gun would tighten them up???
 
testwork said:
I added the missing J3 jumpers and fixed one of the sub leads that wasn't tight enough.

Now everything is playing great.

This is my first ewave project. I wanted to test the Selenium driver/JBL horn/Zilch crossover before building my JBL 2226 scoop enclosures. And these seem to match up just fine with the beat up Cerwin Vega 211-R with 123-W woofers. I'm using the high sensitivity crossover and the l-pad is tentatively set at about 30%. So room to spare in either direction!

I've only listened to them for about 15 minutes so far. I've got Santana Abraxas in the CD player.
About 30 seconds into my first listening session, I started to grin. And I didn't stop grinning for the next 15 minutes!

I can't wait to start treating my room this weekend. Finish my sub project and then start working on the scoops for the 2226H!

attachment.php
Click to expand...

Congrats!!! I also like the graphs you posted. What program did you use?
 
djnagle said:
Looks Good B. I wonder if a heat gun would tighten them up???
Click to expand...

I dunno. I may try that. Nylon is pretty stable stuff. I recommend stretchy fabric for this. I might just live with wrinkles. The second grill might come out less wrinkly. I just need one that photographs well.
I'm off to the tooling shop to make another fancy baffle. I made the first one the hard way (OLDSKL Cesar jig and jigsaw). I'm going to use the Bridgeport mill and a flycutter for the second one and low tech be damned. I'm running out of time on this project...
 
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