Zilch's AK Design Collaborative - Econowave Speaker
- Thread starter Zilch
- Start date
skywave-rider
Slumming in Akihabara
Let me guestimate, is that a 1.5 in the plane? And are you setting up for glow-plug dB readings here with ECM mic, for the sake of science?
Control line or rc?
Attachments
LE85 E'Wave
Standard E'Waveguide and crossover:
Could use more comp to extend the VHF further (-6 dB @~15.5 kHz,) but played with LE14A woofer, as beautiful as I remember. A slam dunk. :thmbsp:
LE85 is heavy, and requires more support than just the E'Waveguide. JBL used a sheetmetal bracket sandwiched between the horn and driver (as shown) in products like L200 and large-format monitors, or a 2x4 crossbrace in others; a U-bracket fabricated from padded plumbers' pipe hanger strapping (top) would also work, securely attached to the cabinet:
Impedance curves of two units of different vintage. Let's call them 10 - 11 Ohms in the crossover region....
Standard E'Waveguide and crossover:
Could use more comp to extend the VHF further (-6 dB @~15.5 kHz,) but played with LE14A woofer, as beautiful as I remember. A slam dunk. :thmbsp:
LE85 is heavy, and requires more support than just the E'Waveguide. JBL used a sheetmetal bracket sandwiched between the horn and driver (as shown) in products like L200 and large-format monitors, or a 2x4 crossbrace in others; a U-bracket fabricated from padded plumbers' pipe hanger strapping (top) would also work, securely attached to the cabinet:
Impedance curves of two units of different vintage. Let's call them 10 - 11 Ohms in the crossover region....
Attachments
Thanks Zilch! You are incredible.
I agree, a little padding and that could be dynamite. The LE85 sure sounds good and the LE14A produces superb bass.. Your cabs are about 3.3 Cu Ft. tuned to 30 Hz, right?
They are remarkably uniform, considering their 35-40 year age and indeterminate provenance.
Here they are on HL91, along with two more, measured two years ago; they play better on E'Wave, and without the exponential's beaming and distortion issues:
http://audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?p=135642#post135642
Doubtless, there are impedance issues to resolve with E'Wave's highpass; LE85 is not 8 Ohms. I just wanted to see how they'd play "out of the box" without optimizing anything.
Yes on the LE14A. Use the lowpass Jack worked out, tho.... :thmbsp:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=90115&d=1210028771
[Doubters are invited to contemplate the solitary green line above 20 kHz in both plots.... :tongue: ]
Russellc
Addicted Member
Excellent job as usual Jack. One of the nicer HT setups I've seen, sure it sounds great when done.
russellc
Russellc
Addicted Member
Both drivers worked superbly in the 5 cu ft 4647 (4507) JBL cabs. The 2225H with all four ports open had bass, way more than Altec A7, and the mid range punch is excellent. The switch to 2235H gave way more low frequency information, an impressive amount, at a loss of a little of that slam. The 2225H is a great driver in my opinion, I wouldnt feel to bad about having one, plus they recone to exactly 2235H. I have a spare pair of 2225H that I wont be reconing anytime soon, however.
With the 2235H, one or two ports plugged give lots of bass, with my preference to the one port plugged on most material. Tried 2225H with one plugged, seemed to remove the "life" from the sound.
Russellc
Russellc
Addicted Member
Buy a pair, build the E'Wave crossover, and stick them on top of your upside-down AR4x.
If you like the result, break out the SawZall, install them in the cabs, and sell the vintage tweeters to recoup some of the cost. :yes:
http://audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?p=1534352#post1534352
[You'll be experienced....
Is that the stock woofer there Zilch?
Russellc
Russellc
Addicted Member
Standard E'Waveguide and crossover:
Could use more comp to extend the VHF further (-6 dB @~15.5 kHz,) but played with LE14A woofer, as beautiful as I remember. A slam dunk.... :thmbsp:
I'm starting to experiment with JBL 2425H (somewhat kin to the LE-85) on the Econowave setup. With the <95 db filter, it seems to benefit from a massive "turn up" on the L-pad, and a second port plugged on the 4647 Cabs. Wayne indicated to me that the 24 25H would likely need at least 12 db of compensation, according to his charts posted several pages back. I guess I'll order up some resistors and try a few changes out and report back.
First impressions are increased smoothness, but less extension on the high end. Hopefully the additional compensation will help in this regard.
Russellc
Jack, those are very nice.
What do you calculate the box volume at and what size are the port(s)? I estimated ideal size for LE14A at 3 to 3.5 cu ft. Yours do not look that big or is it just me?
Also, I see a shine on your LE14H-?. Did you apply something or are the later versions treated differently than LE14H-1?
In any case, bet that system will sound great! It sure looks good!
jackgiff
Well-Known Member
Let me guestimate, is that a 1.5 in the plane? And are you setting up for glow-plug dB readings here with ECM mic, for the sake of science?
Control line or rc?
That is an old Fox 15, and that plane hasn't been flown for about 16 years or more. It is control line, and was a blast to fly. Never put that one into the ground.
By the way, if anyone wants those Electrovoice cabinets the plane is sitting on, they are free. Just need to be picked up. The top one is upside down to keep the tops protected, and they are mirror imaged. Hold an 8 Inch woofer, which is missing. They do have a pair of EV tweets, which were private labeled for someone else.
jackgiff
Well-Known Member
Those cabinets are roughly 2 cubic feet. Not really optimum size for the LE14A's, but they still sound pretty nice. The Altec Santana cabinets with those woofers makes much better bass. I need to figure out how to get another cubic foot in these cabs. The ports are 1.75 inch ID, and the cabinet is tuned at 36 Hz. I haven't played with tuning yet.
The LE14's are shiny cause the cones were painted with a satin finish spray can. The black grille cloth is pretty transparent, and the white cones would be very visible behind the cloth. A recent thread here talked about painting cones, and the result was that it didn't seem to make a big difference. I can't tell any difference in the black painted ones versus the standard white cones.
Russellc
Addicted Member
I always enjoyed the old controll line airplanes. Still have a half built Ringmaster and Lil' Satan i bought one day at a hobby shop. Now where are the old engines?
russellc
Are any of you using a low power SET amp to power your E-waves?
I am building a 2A3 amp for my Valencias and am also on track to
build a pair of E-waves with JBL LE14a's and am curious if the 4.5 watts
is going to be enough to reach normal listening levels with them(I don't expect to rock the house).:scratch2:
I am building a 2A3 amp for my Valencias and am also on track to
build a pair of E-waves with JBL LE14a's and am curious if the 4.5 watts
is going to be enough to reach normal listening levels with them(I don't expect to rock the house).:scratch2:
I hope so as I plan on running mine with my Almarro A205 with 4.8 wpc...
I probably will end up biamping down the road, but I will be fairly tapped
out after these projects and will have to wait on the active crossover and amp for the low end. Unless I sell the Valencias:sigh:
I rely pretty heavily on intuition though, and I think a pair of these E-waves with the 2a3 amp, active crossover, and big solid state dog on the LE14a's is going to get me closer to where I want to be than I've ever been.
Currently the Valencias are making me happy. I do feel a bit like they are
similar to a fish-eye lens on the sound, magnified center with information dropping off towards the extremes. Spellbinding for some music, not so great for other types.
out after these projects and will have to wait on the active crossover and amp for the low end. Unless I sell the Valencias:sigh:
I rely pretty heavily on intuition though, and I think a pair of these E-waves with the 2a3 amp, active crossover, and big solid state dog on the LE14a's is going to get me closer to where I want to be than I've ever been.
Currently the Valencias are making me happy. I do feel a bit like they are
similar to a fish-eye lens on the sound, magnified center with information dropping off towards the extremes. Spellbinding for some music, not so great for other types.
No, I'm afraid the W5m's are long gone at this point. One of the power transformers went bad so I had them stored in a friends basement, which I later learned had flooded! Heartbreaking. When I went to check the output transformers neither was any good. I don't know exactly why being immersed in water caused them to fail, but there you have it. Those were great sounding amps, live and learn I guess.
I don't know that they would have been the last word in authoritative bass anyway....
I don't know that they would have been the last word in authoritative bass anyway....