Tweeter and Xover assistance

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Ok, Amanda has been asking me about a nice little stereo in our bedroom. I have an old pioneer system, but that will be used for other needs. So I want to build a nice little book shelf type system.

I am starting with the Mach5 MLI-65's for mids and a MAW-12 for bass, now I want to use a crossover and tweeters that will blend with them well. This is on a slim budget!!! Going to be either from Madisound or PE. I would naturally lean towards a soft dome tweet in this case. Might go with a ported set up for the MLI's.

So I want to lean on you guys to give me some good ideas that would blend well with the Mach5s, check the Zaph test for the good results from them. So can you throw out a few ideas for tweets and crossovers, and why you chose them, not just the product name.

Thanks

A

[JimJ 11]

Well, the Zaph tweet test would be my first stop, followed by diyaudio.com

How much are you looking to spend?

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Well, the Zaph tweet test would be my first stop, followed by diyaudio.com

How much are you looking to spend?

I would like to keep this under $75 for tweets and Xovers. This is just to have a warm clean sound and to put the MLI's through their paces.

[///M5 2,833]

I'd recommend picking a tweeter that will go deeper than necessary to help simplify the crossover. On the flip side, if you are on an extreme budget the new Aura NT1 seems to be winning the under $10 tweeter recommendations, but it may make the x-over more expensive. Speaking of, do you have any measurement gear for measuring the drivers to design the crossover?

[Acidburn 10]

the Dayton $4.60 tweeter is quite nice for its price as well

[///M5 2,833]

Same buildhouse, but the Aura has a titanium dome that is supposedly much better than the Dayton.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

I am not that tight, I could spend $40 on some tweeters and allow a little more for the xover. This is not meant for my main HA usage, just something to listen to the iPod to pass out to, that has a natural neutral sound.

[///M5 2,833]

I sort see the $10 price point then jump to a bit over $30 per tweet in the Seas Prestige or Morel MDT20 and of course up from there. The advantages of the more expensive tweet will pay for themselves when you design the crossover unless you really skimp on x-over components.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

I sort see the $10 price point then jump to a bit over $30 per tweet in the Seas Prestige or Morel MDT20 and of course up from there. The advantages of the more expensive tweet will pay for themselves when you design the crossover unless you really skimp on x-over components.

For this little project, I think I would rather get a premade crossover, unless someone wants to build them for me and I pay them for it.

[///M5 2,833]

If you buy a premade crossover it will be just the same as designing a generic one. If you choose your drivers with crossover cost in mind you can get away with some real shallow sloped crossovers that are simple and also cost effective. It would be best if you could do a few measurements though. Using a generic design is never a good choice in my book.

[CustomAudioTechnology 0]

I would reccomend something like a 1 inch tweet, or possibly more for this setup. The Dayton 3/4 Neo tweet is a nice cheap (i have a set here) tweet, but rather ill suited for the MLI-65. With an Fs of 1700hz it just can't get low enough.

I talked to Mark about the Mach 5 before, and he said a reccomended xover point would be in the 2-2.5k region.

I would look into a tweeter with an FS of 1000hz or less for this setup.

http://www.madisound.com/cgi-bin/index.cgi...08&pid=1824

Although I have no first hand experience with that tweeter, Zaph has that listed in the tweeter mish-mash. He said it's not a bad performer in that price range.

Also, it has a low Fs (800hz) which would mate pretty nice at 2k, on whatever slope you want above 1st order.

Keep in mind, the shallower the slope the less parts that need to be used. Less parts equal less $$.

Aaron, I sent you an IM, get back in touch with me anytime you like.

CT

[///M5 2,833]

RS28's that are in the price realm of the Morel/Seas.

http://www.diymobileaudio.com/forum/showthread.php?t=10663

I am scared of the Chinese Hi-Vi stuff, but I guess you'd only be out $20 if they bite.

[mrogowski 6]

They aren't that bad actually. Gio and I are putting something together with a 1" HiVi dome and a pair of MLI's. We'll be working on the xover this weekend. I can't recall which model he chose to use tho...

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

That is a sweet price, nice find. But the more I think about this little project, I would like to go soft dome textile, 1" preferable.

[mrogowski 6]

I *think* it was the Q1R he chose...

[IamDeMan 0]

If this isn't meant to be a very critical set then get a dayton tweeter and then their 3-way crossover that best matches and be done with it. I personally like the sound of more silks than alloys so I would go with http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.c...tnumber=275-070

Goes low as well. XO points as low as 1800 This should help if you decide to design and build your own XO.

Me personally for a bedroom, I'd just slap a pre-made XO and be done. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cf...tnumber=260-150 Of course the woofer plays to high for my liking, but it works good enough.

Edited April 2, 2007 by IamDeMan

[///M5 2,833]

I'd spend the money on the Morel or Seas then and use just a 1st order crossover. It would allow you to upgrade the crossover later if you felt the necessity, but give you nice drivers to work with. The only other crossover pieces that you should add would be a zobel to knock out the tweeter impedance rise and perhaps an L-pad of sort to bring the levels of both drivers close.

[IamDeMan 0]

Ack you siad bookshelf style. I was thinking 3 way rock blockers. You are using the 12" as a dedicated sub then I take it. In that cae I would still save scrilla and use the dayton 1 1/8" silk and get the dayton 2.5k 2-way XO. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cf...tnumber=260-142

I am not die hard DIY when it comes to things like garage and bedroom speakers. Who the hell needs to be that critical with the XO in these situations?

Then again, the main speakers for my HT are line arrays with cheap mids, so I may not be the best to take advice from lol. I took a lesson in efficiency on my first home audio project. I will more than likely move them to the back patio though and build a suitable set of HT speakers.

Edited April 2, 2007 by IamDeMan

[mrogowski 6]

I've always wanted to try the Morels. As I understand it they were a good low-cost alternative to the Dynaudio's.

[Ga foo 88 0]

Any updates or decisions made? This would be something i would consider too, for a simple dorm set up in the fall, thanks.

[mrogowski 6]

I'd spend the money on the Morel or Seas then and use just a 1st order crossover. It would allow you to upgrade the crossover later if you felt the necessity, but give you nice drivers to work with. The only other crossover pieces that you should add would be a zobel to knock out the tweeter impedance rise and perhaps an L-pad of sort to bring the levels of both drivers close.

He probably wouldn't need impedance compensation on the tweeter since most units already have low inductance to begin with. Gio and I found the MLI to sound better with a higher order xover (18db pumped through the DCX) but we were listening to drivers straight out of the box. I'm sure exercising and work-in would result in a much more dynamic sound than what we were hearing.

Aaron, exercise the cones of the drivers before you start playing with them.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

If this isn't meant to be a very critical set then get a dayton tweeter and then their 3-way crossover that best matches and be done with it. I personally like the sound of more silks than alloys so I would go with http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/pshowdetl.c...tnumber=275-070

Goes low as well. XO points as low as 1800 This should help if you decide to design and build your own XO.

Me personally for a bedroom, I'd just slap a pre-made XO and be done. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cf...tnumber=260-150 Of course the woofer plays to high for my liking, but it works good enough.

I would like to do silm 3-way towers with side firing subs, but I dont think I have space for them at the moment. Plus I only have a single MAW-12 instead of a pair for a true 3 way. I would like to do in my next set up for my major HA downstairs, doing 2 to 4 MLI's in the same tower, then my MJ-18 get a buddy and put them in a stupid large box. I could change the future of my RL-i 8's future and make it the sub for this install, but the MAW-12 matches up well because of the dual 4 coils and added surface advantage.

But for now this is getting me back into doing a HA speaker, because I have not done one in years. The last one I did was actually using a 2-way folded horn set up in undergrad. IT way my buddies in college, using an old RF 6.5" and Morel silk dome in large FH box. Sounded awesome, no need for a sub what so ever.

So this is just a basic set up for a sweet little set of 2-ways with the single sub.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

I'd spend the money on the Morel or Seas then and use just a 1st order crossover. It would allow you to upgrade the crossover later if you felt the necessity, but give you nice drivers to work with. The only other crossover pieces that you should add would be a zobel to knock out the tweeter impedance rise and perhaps an L-pad of sort to bring the levels of both drivers close.

I was looking at the 1" seas on PE.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Ack you siad bookshelf style. I was thinking 3 way rock blockers. You are using the 12" as a dedicated sub then I take it. In that cae I would still save scrilla and use the dayton 1 1/8" silk and get the dayton 2.5k 2-way XO. http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cf...tnumber=260-142

I am not die hard DIY when it comes to things like garage and bedroom speakers. Who the hell needs to be that critical with the XO in these situations?

Then again, the main speakers for my HT are line arrays with cheap mids, so I may not be the best to take advice from lol. I took a lesson in efficiency on my first home audio project. I will more than likely move them to the back patio though and build a suitable set of HT speakers.

I have decided on Custom Audio Technology doing my crossover. So since he is here, we can pick the exact parts (as a group ) and he will build it for me. That way it will make it even more of an SSA DIY set up. Also with me being me, the more custom tweeks or adjustments I can have my hands in and less premade the better.

But thank you for your suggestions, please give me more ideas.

[Aaron Clinton 2,372]

Any updates or decisions made? This would be something i would consider too, for a simple dorm set up in the fall, thanks.

If this turns out great, maybe SSA could sell it as a nice inexpensive combo. But as mentioned above, Custom Audio Technolgies will be doing my crossovers once we decide on the tweeters and crossover points.