Open Baffle Epiphany!
- Thread starter cptnCanada
- Start date
PR Audio
Super Member
No problem! I have built a few DIY's, but nothing like some of the art pieces shown in that thread.
You are greedy, wanting to have your cake and eat it to! Every now and then there are compromises to be made, even at the expense of better bass.
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
OB active crossover aka frequency divider
An active crossover can make your DIY OB's so easy to bi-amp without the worry and expense of building passive crossovers and the sound will be better. You can still use your nice RCA cables with 1/4 inch adaptor jacks ( I found 8 on ebay for $5 ).
The active takes the left and right signal from the preamp, divides the frequency between the highs and lows sending the appropriate signal to the HF amp and the LF amp. With an active you can even use an old AVR to power the bass woofers.
With a passive crossover the signal is altered at the speakers but with an active the signal is altered before it is amplified ( upstream of the amp ). It may look complicated but it's really not.
In addition to dividing the frequency between two amps most of the 2 way active crossovers have an extra connection for a sub which means it's more like a 3 way.
Actives don't have to be pricey. The Behringer CX2310 for 2 ways cost around $90 and 3 ways can be had for under $150. Good used ones on ebay can go for even less.
An active crossover can make your DIY OB's so easy to bi-amp without the worry and expense of building passive crossovers and the sound will be better. You can still use your nice RCA cables with 1/4 inch adaptor jacks ( I found 8 on ebay for $5 ).
The active takes the left and right signal from the preamp, divides the frequency between the highs and lows sending the appropriate signal to the HF amp and the LF amp. With an active you can even use an old AVR to power the bass woofers.
With a passive crossover the signal is altered at the speakers but with an active the signal is altered before it is amplified ( upstream of the amp ). It may look complicated but it's really not.
In addition to dividing the frequency between two amps most of the 2 way active crossovers have an extra connection for a sub which means it's more like a 3 way.
Actives don't have to be pricey. The Behringer CX2310 for 2 ways cost around $90 and 3 ways can be had for under $150. Good used ones on ebay can go for even less.
Thanks Poultrygeist,
Haven't yet finished with my first pair of open baffles, but after perusing the link that PR gave us (I'm only on page 56) I'm already planning the next pair.
The Behringer will certainly make the process easier.
Art
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
As far as looks the Jamo's are hard to beat.
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
Nelson Pass is an aficionado of open baffle speakers. Here he's shown with his Lowthers which I believe also use slot loaded bass woofers behind the front baffle.
He recently developed the First Watt B5 which is an analog active crossover designed specifically for open baffles.
He recently developed the First Watt B5 which is an analog active crossover designed specifically for open baffles.
jhoyt
Incomprehensible space llama
So this thread has inspired me to have my own open baffle epiphany. The simplest mockup I could come up with features a 3" driver pulled from Yamaha home theater speakers. The baffle is a cut up cardboard box, approximately 12"x18", with 6"x18" wings.
Holy cow, these things sing. The usable FR is about 100Hz-11KHz, using a sweep generator from my phone. I played "Frio Suite" by Phil Keaggy and Jeff Johnson. Primarily acoustic instruments and ambient sounds. Only a little percussion, and no deep bass.
In this far from ideal baffle setup these speakers performed really well. Soundstage and imaging were amazingly good, and detail was superb. The obvious downside is virtually no bass (better baffles would help), but the other downside is that the drivers are 3Ω. My amp can handle it, but not comfortably for long periods of time. Maybe I should double up on the drivers in series, present the amp with 6Ω.
Now I'm playing Interdimensional Traveler by Phil Keaggy, which features more electric and electronic instruments. You can definitely hear the missing bottom octave(s), but it sounds great from 100Hz on up.
I also have some Tang Band 3" full-range drivers I'll try. Man, this is cool stuff!
Holy cow, these things sing. The usable FR is about 100Hz-11KHz, using a sweep generator from my phone. I played "Frio Suite" by Phil Keaggy and Jeff Johnson. Primarily acoustic instruments and ambient sounds. Only a little percussion, and no deep bass.
In this far from ideal baffle setup these speakers performed really well. Soundstage and imaging were amazingly good, and detail was superb. The obvious downside is virtually no bass (better baffles would help), but the other downside is that the drivers are 3Ω. My amp can handle it, but not comfortably for long periods of time. Maybe I should double up on the drivers in series, present the amp with 6Ω.
Now I'm playing Interdimensional Traveler by Phil Keaggy, which features more electric and electronic instruments. You can definitely hear the missing bottom octave(s), but it sounds great from 100Hz on up.
I also have some Tang Band 3" full-range drivers I'll try. Man, this is cool stuff!
PR Audio
Super Member
These is the link for my very first OB project, they are big. I used the same SABA mids used by Lampizator. The woofers were vintage Pioneer CS 15" with Alnico, and the paper tweeters were 3" x 1" oval. Amazing sound!
Lampizator P17 Speakers
Lampizator P17 Speakers
cptnCanada
Active Member
jhoyt:
You have a sub to hook up with your cardboard OB's? It could give you an idea how they sound with bass supplement.
Also, get those Tang-Band's hooked up asap! I bet they would blow you away!
PR:
Those look great! What kind of veneer is that?
You have a sub to hook up with your cardboard OB's? It could give you an idea how they sound with bass supplement.
Also, get those Tang-Band's hooked up asap! I bet they would blow you away!
PR:
Those look great! What kind of veneer is that?
Zolton
Well-Known Member
I have the guts from some JBL 4612OK pro speakers and have been patiently waiting for some decent used woofers or sub to pop up so I could build something.
I am now very interested in matching these drivers up with an Alpha 15a H-frame after reading this thread.
Would these drivers suit an open baffle set up? They are double 8 inch 2123J mid woofers and a 2404H baby cheek tweeter.
I have a Kenwood Basic M-2 that I could use for the H-frames and a Sansui BA-2000 for the JBL drivers on the OB
The Kenwood puts out 220 watts per channel and has a damping factor of 1000. Should be a good match for the Alpha 15a's
I haven't tried active crossovers yet but this would be the perfect time to give that a go too.:scratch2:
I am now very interested in matching these drivers up with an Alpha 15a H-frame after reading this thread.
Would these drivers suit an open baffle set up? They are double 8 inch 2123J mid woofers and a 2404H baby cheek tweeter.
I have a Kenwood Basic M-2 that I could use for the H-frames and a Sansui BA-2000 for the JBL drivers on the OB
The Kenwood puts out 220 watts per channel and has a damping factor of 1000. Should be a good match for the Alpha 15a's
I haven't tried active crossovers yet but this would be the perfect time to give that a go too.:scratch2:
Last edited:
PR Audio
Super Member
Captain, Of course they look great! Those are Lampizator's and his instructions/specs, mine are in an old thread here, and shown in bare wood, never got around to veneering them, actually I have never veneered anything. Just purchased some pieces of surplus veneer on EBay to practice at home. But, thanks for the vote of confidence...
pqrannes
Tubes warm your heart too
This beautiful thread is new to me, open baffle is not.
It started out with a pair af divine OBs that I got from the local cathedral.
"Some old speakers are located the attic of the old cathedral, do you want them?" a friend asked me. "Heck, yes" I said.
Here (on the left) one of them is seen:
The sound took me (and many others) by surprise. "The baffle is too narrow, the baffle is thick, the speakers are serial connected", one critical listener said; "how come they sound so damned good?"
I move on to JB Lab styled OBs:
They are here shown with Isophon 2134E speakers.
Presently I listen to the OBs with Siemens Klangfilm 8'' fulltones driven by the associated film projector SE EL84 amps. I don't look back.
But I can't wait to try the OBs out with eg. a pair of Goodmans Axiette 101 (8''), that I have here, and what else that will come around.
PQR
It started out with a pair af divine OBs that I got from the local cathedral.
"Some old speakers are located the attic of the old cathedral, do you want them?" a friend asked me. "Heck, yes" I said.
Here (on the left) one of them is seen:
The sound took me (and many others) by surprise. "The baffle is too narrow, the baffle is thick, the speakers are serial connected", one critical listener said; "how come they sound so damned good?"
I move on to JB Lab styled OBs:
They are here shown with Isophon 2134E speakers.
Presently I listen to the OBs with Siemens Klangfilm 8'' fulltones driven by the associated film projector SE EL84 amps. I don't look back.
But I can't wait to try the OBs out with eg. a pair of Goodmans Axiette 101 (8''), that I have here, and what else that will come around.
PQR
cptnCanada
Active Member
Just posting an update on my cardboard open baffle speakers in the first post..
I have a thread in the DIY on the build progress but here are a few pics of where I am at now.
Eminence Alpha 15A
2x Foster Fe103 Alnico per side.
They are now byamp'd using the Pioneer VSX-D1S for the bass and a small but nice sounding Realistic STA-52 running the Fosters.
Both drivers are running wide open with the Alphas EQ'd to the low side.
This is still a prototype version, but they are very promising. Best speakers I have ever heard. Can't even compare to box speakers as the sound is nothing like them.
Waiting for my miniDSP to show up in the mail so I can start on the xovers.
I have a thread in the DIY on the build progress but here are a few pics of where I am at now.
Eminence Alpha 15A
2x Foster Fe103 Alnico per side.
They are now byamp'd using the Pioneer VSX-D1S for the bass and a small but nice sounding Realistic STA-52 running the Fosters.
Both drivers are running wide open with the Alphas EQ'd to the low side.
This is still a prototype version, but they are very promising. Best speakers I have ever heard. Can't even compare to box speakers as the sound is nothing like them.
Waiting for my miniDSP to show up in the mail so I can start on the xovers.
i'm very curious about the miniDSP. looked their website and couldn't even figure out where i'd find a crossover. please walk us through the setup once you get it sorted out.
pqrannes,
very nice OBs!
pqrannes,
very nice OBs!
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
Keep them epiphanies coming. 
This beautiful thread is new to me, open baffle is not.
It started out with a pair af divine OBs that I got from the local cathedral.
"Some old speakers are located the attic of the old cathedral, do you want them?" a friend asked me. "Heck, yes" I said.
Here (on the left) one of them is seen:
The sound took me (and many others) by surprise. "The baffle is too narrow, the baffle is thick, the speakers are serial connected", one critical listener said; "how come they sound so damned good?"
I move on to JB Lab styled OBs:
They are here shown with Isophon 2134E speakers.
Presently I listen to the OBs with Siemens Klangfilm 8'' fulltones driven by the associated film projector SE EL84 amps. I don't look back.
But I can't wait to try the OBs out with eg. a pair of Goodmans Axiette 101 (8''), that I have here, and what else that will come around.
PQR
What is your impression of the Isophon 2134E?
I have a pair available to me but have balked on actually going to pick them up.
Thanks
Art
Poultrygeist
Lunatic Member
Here's a view looking up at the Tang Band H-frames. I used rubber feet on the upper baffle to isolate it from the H-frames. The indentions inside the H-frames are from the Kreg jig pocket hole screws. Using screws along with wood glue result in some very strong frames.
MWalt
Super Member
I was about to say the same thing. Keep 'em coming!