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Zilch's AK Design Collaborative - Econowave Speaker

The DC300 (i.e, 295-320) specs seem to be pretty much on-target, from my experience. A 3 cubic vented enclosure, moderate-heavy-stuffed with fiberglass (6" thick on all walls), tuned to 24 Hz, gave quite satisfying bass down to 30 Hz. I wouldn't go smaller than that, but that combo worked out quite well...

Regards,
Gordon.
 
GordonW said:
Well, another pair is up and running.

Standard 6512-type waveguide, with D210Ti drivers (had a pair of the originals around, decided to use them), and JBL 128H woofer/PR300 passive radiator in a cabinet of 2 cubic feet (decided to use that, rather than the LE14s, as I was able to get the 128Hs up and ready to run, well before I could get a proper recone kit in for the LE14s).

Due to the rising-response of the 128H above 1KHz, I used a slightly modified LE14-variant crossover (2mH woofer choke, but with a 10uf cap instead of the 12uf, and a Zobel of about 7 ohms and 12uf, so far... may do some re-tweaking).

Amazingly "articulate" and "detailed" sound. I wonder if I'm "choking off" the midrange region a bit much (it seems to measure pretty flat, but "sounds" a little "laid-back"). Also, it's relatively low-efficiency (though, the L150, which this woofer and passive combo came from, is rated at only 89dB sensitivity, IIRC?). May play around with the Zobel and lowpass a bit more... to see if I can coax a little more output from it...

In all, though, even if this is as good as it gets... boy, it really GETS INTO the details in the music. Extremely well-behaved bass response (tight, "quick", but with very good LF extension). I credit some of that to the extremely-low-distortion of the SFG-magnet 128H with Aquaplas-coated woofer cone... it may be just that the lack of distortion makes it seem a little more "polite". I could live with that, if that's the issue. I can always find a bigger amp (it's currently on only 40w/ch; 100-150w/ch would be a cakewalk for the drivers). :D

Regards,
Gordon.
Click to expand...

I think I have a couple of those woofers laying around....hmmm? Lack of distortion is a great thing regardless of how it sounds. I'd rather have a clean polite sound than a ragged dynamic sound. In the long run clean is better.
 
GordonW said:
Well, another pair is up and running.

Standard 6512-type waveguide, with D210Ti drivers (had a pair of the originals around, decided to use them), and JBL 128H woofer/PR300 passive radiator in a cabinet of 2 cubic feet....
Click to expand...
Pics, please, Gordon, when you get a chance.... :yes:
 
The Ravinia Project: some of you checked-in on my thread on the Sherwood Ravinias I got for practically nothing at Goodwill. They turned out to be big sturdy cabinets packed with a very mixed bag of old or damaged or Radio Shack drivers. It's econo-wave time.

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The low SPL CTS woofers will go along with everything else. So I'm shopping for 12" woofers. A pair from Altec Model 14s just showed-up locally. Good choice? It is from a 2-way with a horn system....
 
Altec M14 woofers are standard in a somewhat larger box, but yes, I'd build with them anyway. They're larger than standard 12" diameter, as I recall, so confirm that they'll actually fit your cab width there before jumping on them.... :yes:
 
I scored a pair of Infinity Qa's for 8 dollars. The problem is one of the emit tweeters is off-song. Do I look for an emit or do I do I go e-wave? I don't want to invest too much in this project. Also, I refuse to buy from PE so the parts have to be sourced elsewhere if i go e-wave
 
Zilch said:
Altec M14 woofers are standard in a somewhat larger box, but yes, I'd build with them anyway. They're larger than standard 12" diameter, as I recall, so confirm that they'll actually fit your cab width there before jumping on them.... :yes:
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Gotcha. Got some pics of the local offering, and that is one heck of a flange on those.

Been reading on the Model 14's, and there are those who say it is bass-challenged. A too-small cabinet isn't going to help with that. As near as I can figure from photos, given the overall height of 30", the Model 14 bass box is 18" h, 21" w, and maybe 15" d. I estimate a volume of about 2.5 cu ft. It is vented. With that, the published range starts at 35 hz.

Now I'm more concerned with goodness than absolute lowness, but I wonder if another driver might be a better choice for my 1.9 cu ft cabinet. I'm also wondering about ported vs not. I've got this very solid acoustic suspension cabinet, seems a waste to put a hole in it....
 

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DonQuixote99 said:
Gotcha. Got some pics of the local offering, and that is one heck of a flange on those.

Been reading on the Model 14's, and there are those who say it is bass-challenged. A too-small cabinet isn't going to help with that. As near as I can figure from photos, given the overall height of 30", the Model 14 bass box is 18" h, 21" w, and maybe 15" d. I estimate a volume of about 2.5 cu ft. It is vented. With that, the published range starts at 35 hz.

Now I'm more concerned with goodness than absolute lowness, but I wonder if another driver might be a better choice for my 1.9 cu ft cabinet. I'm also wondering about ported vs not. I've got this very solid acoustic suspension cabinet, seems a waste to put a hole in it....
Click to expand...

Looks to be similar to the woofer from the Altec 9842 monitor which has a cabinet size of 28"w x 24"h x 14"d outside...in the right size cab a good ewave candidate because it's original application design is VERY similar...

http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/specs/pro-speakers/9842.htm
 
JoMoCo said:
Looks to be similar to the woofer from the Altec 9842 monitor which has a cabinet size of 28"w x 24"h x 14"d outside...in the right size cab a good ewave candidate because it's original application design is VERY similar...

http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/specs/pro-speakers/9842.htm
Click to expand...

I've read that the 'late 9842's' and the Model 14 used the same woofer.

9842 cab was 4.35 cu ft by my calculation. Has same response specs quoted as the Model 14: 35-20,000 Hz.

BTW, I'm told the overall diameter of the woofer is 13.25". The basket will fit in my cabinet just fine, but that 1" flange gives me about 1/4" of 'extra' to manage....
 
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Altec 50-03-034633-01 ?

DonQuixote99 said:
I've read that the 'late 9842's' and the Model 14 used the same woofer.

9842 cab was 4.5 cu ft by my calculation. Has same response specs quoted as the Model 14: 35-20,000 Hz.

BTW, I'm told the overall diameter of the woofer is 13.25". The basket will fit in my cabinet just fine, but that 1" flange gives me about 1/4" of 'extra' to manage....
Click to expand...

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=21441&postcount=14

The later Altec years shared woofers between models mentioned but the variant you are considering are from the mystery years when there is very little factory spec info avaiaible. Those dims I mentioned are outside cab...if you need to use your 1.9 cabs, there are many fine receipes both here and on the more technical thread over on the techtalk "Flex Your PCD Mettle" for that volume size. Every midwoofer needs to be in its optimal sized box and specific crossover for true ewave performance...:scratch2::thmbsp:
 
Zilch said:
Pics, please, Gordon, when you get a chance.... :yes:
Click to expand...

I just found out that Canon MAY, (repeat, MAY) fix my broken camera for free (known optical pickup defect).

If so, then pictures will be coming right after I get it back!

Regards,
Gordon.
 
JoMoCo said:
http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=21441&postcount=14

The later Altec years shared woofers between models mentioned but the variant you are considering are from the mystery years when there is very little factory spec info avaiaible. Those dims I mentioned are outside cab...if you need to use your 1.9 cabs, there are many fine receipes both here and on the more technical thread over on the techtalk "Flex Your PCD Mettle" for that volume size. Every midwoofer needs to be in its optimal sized box and specific crossover for true ewave performance...:scratch2::thmbsp:
Click to expand...

Thanks. Will be doing some searching.

I did have enclosure thickness (.75" all around) and took that into account in calculating the 9842 vol. But I now find there is conflicting data out there. This document: http://www.lansingheritage.org/html/altec/specs/pro-speakers/9842.htm provided the data I used to calculate 4.35* cu ft, (and the text there says it is 6 cu ft). This other document: http://www.altecpro.com/pdfs/vintage/SpeakerAndMics/systems/9842-8D Speaker Systems.pdf gives different dimensions and I calculate a vol of 6.05 cu ft (and the text says 5.5 cu ft in this one).

All bigger than 1.9 though....


* I reported 4.5 in error in previous message. Will fix.
 
GordonW said:
I just found out that Canon MAY, (repeat, MAY) fix my broken camera for free (known optical pickup defect).

If so, then pictures will be coming right after I get it back!

Regards,
Gordon.
Click to expand...

Hey Gordon, we've had the Canon A75 PowerShot for almost 8 years and it when bad this summer. Called Canon and they said "send it back" It was the optical pickup that went bad. Fixed it for free. Working like new again.

When it was bad, all we saw on the back monitor was black with faint lines.
 
Hey Gordon, we've had the Canon A75 PowerShot for almost 8 years and it when bad this summer. Called Canon and they said "send it back" It was the optical pickup that went bad. Fixed it for free. Working like new again.

When it was bad, all we saw on the back monitor was black with faint lines.
Click to expand...

A80 here. Squiggly horizontal lines .. ( in color ), this Summer ..
Same thing, Fixed good as new!
Go Canon! :thmbsp:
 
altec valencias' VS ewave?

Hey Folks,
Can anyone here definatively say which gives abetter frequency response?
Better frequency response I would define as a flatter, broader response.

I think the Altecs will be a bit more sensitive, but will they be better?

Oh, my ewave will be a 15" reconed by GordonW and a standard ewave(selenium D210i and horn). The woofer should be able to go to about 35-40hz and top end easily for an ewave. SPL is about 95/96db

I am asking because I am considering some options and need to make a few decisions before I continue.

Anyone ewave a set of altec valencia cabinets?
Mark
 
E-Wave is constant directivity, whereas Altec 811B is not. Even after changing out the Val HF drivers and crossovers to achieve extended high-frequency response, they still beam in both the horizontal and vertical.

Yes, others have EconoWaved Vals, but they typically get converted back to stock for resale.... ;)
 
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