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AAAACCCCKKK!!! neophyte question: basic enclosure types

oneinchside said:
Other than the cost of hinges can you see any other drawbacks?
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It makes them more flexible (no pun intended :)). You can flatten them out or bend them up as it suits you. No problem there.

While the height itself isn't really an issue, the distance to the top of the baffle will make a difference. It provides a path for the back wave to meet the front wave. You don't want it to be the same as the distance to either side. That's why you see the drivers offset from center. You will get a cancellation at some point, offsetting the driver means that it's a gentler slope.

Those Zenith drivers will probably work fine in an OB but with a paper edge you won't get much bass out of them. At low volume you might be able to EQ it up some but you'll run out of travel pretty quick.
 
I would start with just the two Zenith woofers run full range and see what you get. Many of those old woofers were quite smooth well up into the midrange. You can then judge how much help if any is needed on the top end. Some concentrated listening tests should give you a good idea of where you might want to bring in the horn tweeters (I assume the horns are tweeters rather than midranges).

The bass may be better than you expect. I don't see how a paper surround would limit bass particularly. It doesn't seem to be a problem with my organ drivers. In any case I would expect to add a sub at some point for the really low bass.

Do you have two sets of the motorola drivers? They might be worth a shot too. Unlike the Zenith it has an open back mid so you would have the option of going three way with those if you prefer.

mike

Oh I see, you are concerned about Xmax. If they are good size woofers with high Q that might not be that big of a deal except for heavy organ and hip hop. ;)
 
RayW said:
It makes them more flexible (no pun intended :)). You can flatten them out or bend them up as it suits you. No problem there.

While the height itself isn't really an issue, the distance to the top of the baffle will make a difference. It provides a path for the back wave to meet the front wave. You don't want it to be the same as the distance to either side. That's why you see the drivers offset from center. You will get a cancellation at some point, offsetting the driver means that it's a gentler slope.

Those Zenith drivers will probably work fine in an OB but with a paper edge you won't get much bass out of them. At low volume you might be able to EQ it up some but you'll run out of travel pretty quick.
Click to expand...

What is a "paper edge"

Offset: so if the center is say, 18" from bottom, 14" from left, 22 from right and 24" from top, that would be offset from all 4 edges correct?
 
Hey, you already have the Zeniths on a baffle. Just tape some cardboard extensions on and prop them up. Tell us what you get.

mike
 
mashaffer said:
The bass may be better than you expect. I don't see how a paper surround would limit bass particularly.
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Sorry, I didn't state that very well. I didn't mean that it would necessarily limit the low frequency limit, just the potential level. You don't get much travel out of a typical paper surround.

Yes, Oneinch, that's what I meant by offset. And I agree with mashaffer about just putting some wings on the existing baffle to see what you've got. It probably won't be optimal, but it'll give you an idea.
 
Well, gentleman, to revive an old thread... I done did it.
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=263300

Made a set of OB's last night out of Lumber Yard rejects... wow. I never, never expected them to sound this good. They sure didn't sound like this in the console.
Open-Baffle-w-zenith.jpg


The horns and mids are now mounted in the back firing up, and they're just lined up against the wall for the the pic. They really do need to be about 2'-3' from the wall. Toeing them in a bit helps with these too-- the image seems to be behind the speakers... when I toed them in the sound stage seemed to be "painted" behind them along the back wall... in 3-D. Tilting them back enhanced that and made everything much smoother and more coherent.

mashaffer said:
They had usable but not powerful bass to about 60Hz and imaging that blew my mind. I have been hooked on OB ever since.
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ditto. In spades.

Thank you, all you for your help, I can't even begin to tell you how well this worked, and how easy it was.

you guys rock :ntwrthy:
 
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