Bkhatton tells me his XSDs are up and running. He had some issues with setting the correct polarity on his drivers. He’s using the GB crossover PCB. He said once the mids were reversed it sounded great. Not sure why this was needed as the XO I designed worked with the tweeter flipped negative. Wondering if anyone else has first sound yet and any issues with the XO?
That seems odd, I think between your XO and mine the only difference is that I used a ground plane. I just checked the single blank board I have and everything matches your printed schematic. I hope I didn't mess anything up. I'd be happy to send you the KiCad project if you wanted to double check X.
I am working on my speakers further this week, the goal is to have them ready for painting by the end of weekend. X, what scews/washers did you use for midrange mounting? Your cabinet maker suggested window clips, but I feel like screws would be more secure.
@dawa @mordikai as far as the GB goes, we aren't hearing anything further from people. I'm not sure if you still want to move forward or see if more people join in. With only 2 pair needed, the cost would be much higher than the previous GB. Let me know your thoughts please.
I am working on my speakers further this week, the goal is to have them ready for painting by the end of weekend. X, what scews/washers did you use for midrange mounting? Your cabinet maker suggested window clips, but I feel like screws would be more secure.
@dawa @mordikai as far as the GB goes, we aren't hearing anything further from people. I'm not sure if you still want to move forward or see if more people join in. With only 2 pair needed, the cost would be much higher than the previous GB. Let me know your thoughts please.
Hi Bloqhed,
I looked at the Gen 1 board you sent me and it all looks good compared to my schematic except for the incorrect polarity label on the tweeter connection, which I think you fixed on the GB boards.
If the connectors on the driver itself were reverse labeled, this would explain things.
The best thing to do is to use a 1.5v AA battery and connect to each driver and check for correct movement. Woofers should all squeeze air out of the slots in +ve polarity and mid should move forward. Tweeter is AMT so cannot tell and you have to go with their label.
I used a combination of #6 and #8 3/4in long black oxide wood screws from Parts Express. On the mid, I used a decorative nickel cupped washer under the screw head to prevent the screw from piercing the baffle.
I am pretty sure I used 4x #8 screws on the PRV’s (from the back).
On the tweeter waveguide I used 4x #6 screws. Which is what they were designed for. On mine I had a hole with a nut and bolt. But if you have a 1 piece baffle, a #6 wood screw is fine for waveguide.
On the GRS woofers, I used #6 wood screws I think. I would have used #8 but they wouldn’t fit.
Hope that helps.
More info in the technical thread.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/the-xsd-speaker.385717/
I looked at the Gen 1 board you sent me and it all looks good compared to my schematic except for the incorrect polarity label on the tweeter connection, which I think you fixed on the GB boards.
If the connectors on the driver itself were reverse labeled, this would explain things.
The best thing to do is to use a 1.5v AA battery and connect to each driver and check for correct movement. Woofers should all squeeze air out of the slots in +ve polarity and mid should move forward. Tweeter is AMT so cannot tell and you have to go with their label.
I used a combination of #6 and #8 3/4in long black oxide wood screws from Parts Express. On the mid, I used a decorative nickel cupped washer under the screw head to prevent the screw from piercing the baffle.
I am pretty sure I used 4x #8 screws on the PRV’s (from the back).
On the tweeter waveguide I used 4x #6 screws. Which is what they were designed for. On mine I had a hole with a nut and bolt. But if you have a 1 piece baffle, a #6 wood screw is fine for waveguide.
On the GRS woofers, I used #6 wood screws I think. I would have used #8 but they wouldn’t fit.
Hope that helps.
More info in the technical thread.
https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/the-xsd-speaker.385717/
Thanks X, very helpful. I'll keep build talk to the technical thread.
Correct on Gen 1 vs Gen 2, only difference is a single trace was moved. In regards to the driver itself maybe having flipped connectors, I thought the same but suspect I would be more likely to make a mistake than PRV
I'll test out my drivers with a AA tonight or tomorrow and report back. This might be a stupid question, but what if I also hook the driver up to an assembled XO board, and apply DC via a 1.5V AA battery to the XO inputs? I don't want to damage my XO components, but I would like to validate the board functionally too. I imagine it's safe on the XO components but just want to make sure.
Correct on Gen 1 vs Gen 2, only difference is a single trace was moved. In regards to the driver itself maybe having flipped connectors, I thought the same but suspect I would be more likely to make a mistake than PRV
I'll test out my drivers with a AA tonight or tomorrow and report back. This might be a stupid question, but what if I also hook the driver up to an assembled XO board, and apply DC via a 1.5V AA battery to the XO inputs? I don't want to damage my XO components, but I would like to validate the board functionally too. I imagine it's safe on the XO components but just want to make sure.
My two PRV drivers seem to be correctly marked on the connectors. Trying to test through the XO, the filter seems to enact faster than my eyes can perceive any driver movement. If I connect a function generator to the inputs of the XO, and apply a 1kHz at 1V signal, would that work?
Do we know if bkhatton tested his drivers as well?
Do we know if bkhatton tested his drivers as well?
So I did some more testing last night. I had the same experience. When I tested through the crossover, the woofer array pushes air out of the slot on positive to positive. But I couldn't see any movement on the PRV. I also tried an 18650 battery, but nothing. I did test just the PRVs on their own and they are marked correctly.
I also did some A/B comparison between only PRVs reverse polarity and only tweeters reverse polarity. Reversing polarity on the mid sounds the best, at least to my ears.
I also did some A/B comparison between only PRVs reverse polarity and only tweeters reverse polarity. Reversing polarity on the mid sounds the best, at least to my ears.
Since the PRV had a 470Hz high pass filter it may be hard to see the pulse with a 1.5v battery. Use a microphone set on tweeter axis at 0.5m and use REW software to do a frequency sweep at about 2vrms. It will show you the phase and if it’s flipped. But in the end, you ear may prefer a certain phase and you should do what sounds best.
Tweeter is negative phase.
Mid and woofer anrray are both positive phase.
Tweeter is negative phase.
Mid and woofer anrray are both positive phase.
