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Zilch's AK Design Collaborative - Econowave Speaker

Testing: Econoptimus Wave

This project took longer than I anticipated to come together (over a year and a long-distance move, but that's another story), and now I just have a little more to go. They are/were Radio Shack Optimus 7s found in a local thrift and bi-amped with stuff from my closet. As you can probably tell, I'm using the JBL waveguide. I'm planning to do the proper baffle cutouts later, but I wanted to hear them and got a little fired up about it; so here they are, Rev 0.

It may seem kinda de rigeur by now to thank everyone who's participated in the collaboration, but I wouldn't have been able to accomplish this without the knowledge, guidance, and patience of people here at AK. Hell, a year ago I knew how to connect a speaker, and that was about it. Particular thanks to jackgiff and Zilch.

Ironically, I found the KEF 105s standing behind them on the same day I placed the order for the Selenium drivers. So now I have two pairs of outsized speakers in one room--will someone teach me the AK secret handshake now? :D
 

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watt said:
This project took longer than I anticipated to come together (over a year and a long-distance move, but that's another story), and now I just have a little more to go. They are/were Radio Shack Optimus 7s found in a local thrift and bi-amped with stuff from my closet. As you can probably tell, I'm using the JBL waveguide. I'm planning to do the proper baffle cutouts later, but I wanted to hear them and got a little fired up about it; so here they are, Rev 0.

It may seem kinda de rigeur by now to thank everyone who's participated in the collaboration, but I wouldn't have been able to accomplish this without the knowledge, guidance, and patience of people here at AK. Hell, a year ago I knew how to connect a speaker, and that was about it. Particular thanks to jackgiff and Zilch.

Ironically, I found the KEF 105s standing behind them on the same day I placed the order for the Selenium drivers. So now I have two pairs of outsized speakers in one room--will someone teach me the AK secret handshake now? :D
Click to expand...

You'll likely get better results with the woofer closer to the waveguide. try flipping them upside down. If the sound improves, you may want to consider
making a new front baffle...

russellc
 
Russellc said:
You'll likely get better results with the woofer closer to the waveguide. try flipping them upside down. If the sound improves, you may want to consider
making a new front baffle...

russellc
Click to expand...

I've mocked up the baffle for when I cut them, and the waveguide should sit comfortably with it's lower edge just above the woofer.
 
bwaslo said:
The JBL 123A-1 woofer pair I bought measures a little high on Qes (0.771 and 0.660 compared to the nominal 0.49 that JBL says a 123A should be). I'm guessing this might be from some demagnitization of the alnico from heavy use during their prior history. Any opinions on whether it would be worth tracking down someone who can recharge the magnets? The Qms is coming in lower than the JBL data says, so Qts isn't far from where it should be. I'd guess the only difference that might come out of a recharge might be efficiency. Would anyone here care about a difference like that?

Just wondering while I'm waiting till the weather gets cool enough to work out in the garage again....
Click to expand...

The efficiency will indeed be lower, and in a box, these will be "boomier" than the original which is already demanding of a relatively large box. They're great drivers and worth the cost of recharging if it's less than the cost of a proper spec version.
 
Rapidroy said:
I'm staying with the tried and trued L14 woofer and Selenium D220Ti-8 and Z's xover. I got the cab's free and slowly getting the drivers and parts.
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Those look great - call me jealous! I've wanted to find a pair of 220 or 222 cabinets for a long time to do just what you're doing! I hope to eventually build tall tower Ewaves with LE14As but it would be so much easier to start with those nice L220 cabinets. :yes:
 
MFaughn said:
Hi,
I have some Klipsch KG4 that I am/was in the process of parting out. The tweeters are gone already so each still has the twin 8" woofers and 12" passive. The just always sounded scooped to me, not enough richness in the midrange. I was wondering though if these would be good candidates for econowaves? Might I expect to get some nice midrange out of them?
Click to expand...

You might be on to something here.

The way to tell, would be to bypass the crossover for the woofers (connect them directly to the input terminals, with the original crossover removed), in the box- block off the tweeter hole, and measure the frequency response. If they're flat up to around 1500 Hz before rolling off, then yes, you should have a fine E-wave candidate. I'd expect it to work fine.

Regards,
Gordon.
 
djnagle said:
Doesn't the L pad bring down the whole horn? I just want the very top to roll off a bit while keeping the midrange in tact.
Click to expand...

C3 is the component that provides the compensation to the upper end. Reducing the value will allow the high end to roll off just as you desire. Removing it altogether will allow the maximum amount of droop.

Edited: Zilch beat me to it, cause he used fewer words.
 
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HA!

By mere seconds, it would appear; gotta be REALLY fast to beat the venerable alacritous Jackgiff.

[We agree, at least.... :tongue: ]
 
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OK, Thanks. I am using .47 now, should I go down to .40 or should it be more dramatic than that?

In the TechTalk, I saw this crossover. Is this an updated version of the ewave crossover or was it just for the BC driver? Should I be thinking about this crossover for these?

I Really like the sound of these speakers and would like to do the crossover right. Cheers.
 

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Same topology, but different filter for different driver and waveguide. I have not worked up a custom one for the 6" square waveguide and Selenium driver, though I got a start on that in the SpitWad version over there before switching to the 8".

If you're at 0.47uF, then next down is 0.33uF, then 0.22uF, and 0.10 uF.


djnagle said:
I Really like the sound of these speakers and would like to do the crossover right.
Click to expand...
Somebody in SMAC needs to get set up and practice making measurements, then. There's simply no other way.... :no:
 
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Thanks Z. Between all of us we have the knowledge and equipment to do the measurements but as close as we all are to eachother, we are all busy at different times. Maybe we could arrange something though. I'll work on that.

It you told me that I could not change a thing on these, I would not be too upset. If you have 16 of the NSBs laying around, you might try it.:D
 
Ross's RTA would get you a good idea of what's going on. Jack developed the standard EconoWave crossovers using the same unit.... :yes:

[Rant] ... Deleted.... [/Rant]
 
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Next update, L14a's in, old tweeter hole blocked. I'm just waiting for the xover parts. BTW the surround's on the L14's seemed soft so I haven't refoamed them yet, I have the foam but thought I would wait for now.
 

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Rapidroy said:
Next update, L14a's in, old tweeter hole blocked. I'm just waiting for the xover parts. BTW the surround's on the L14's seemed soft so I haven't refoamed them yet, I have the foam but thought I would wait for now.
Click to expand...

Yep, those should kick like a mule. Good job:thmbsp:
 
Haven't listened to them yet, but they work! Next up legs, stain, and grill cloth. I don't know why the wave guide looks crooked because it really isn't. Also, this is the Selenium 220ti and Dayton DC300 with Zilch boards.


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