I made the speaker slightly warped, maybe that is the problem?
Before i made this one i also made a 0.30x Karlsonator with a 2.5" jvc driver taken from an old speaker, that one goes as low as the 0.53x with very similar sound.
Unfortunately i did not take any pictures, but i lined the part behind the drivers with some felt and also the bottom of the speaker, i tried to stuff it the same way xrk did on his picture in the start of the thread.
Wire is the same wire i am using between the amp and the speaker, directly soldered to the terminals.
I am also considering making the speaker with 3x 3fe25 since i ordered 8 of them.
Could be lots of problems here. How warped? Are all the joins air tight? If we cannot see, we cannot help.
This suggests that there is something seriously wrong with your 0.53X build. I cannot find a 0.30X build on this thread - where did you get this from? You cannot simply scale this speaker to the size you like, install a driver of your choice and expect it to sound good.
Are the dual drivers connected in parallel? If the wire from the amp is directly soldered - is it sealed air tight where it goes through the enclosure?
Bad idea - a waste of speaker drivers and foam board.
Everything is air tight, it's warped by 1-2mm so not much.
I then tried a few different locations for the tweeter in it and then scrapped it, but rebuilt it to a 0.30x ish and put the jvc speaker in , so that was more of an experiment because i could not wait until i got the 3fe25s.
The 0.30x is something i made when starting to read this thread, i did not know much of anything when it came to speakers or amplifiers but since i visited this site i've wanted to make the Karlsonator so i originally made a 0.40x and just tried to put a random driver from a 2 way in, which is when i realized i need to do a bit of reading because that is not how it works, i then proceeded to make it a 2 way and came to the same realize that there is something called a crossover that you need to have then.
I then tried a few different locations for the tweeter in it and then scrapped it, but rebuilt it to a 0.30x ish and put the jvc speaker in , so that was more of an experiment because i could not wait until i got the 3fe25s.
Yes, they are connected in parallel, wire goes from speaker to bsc to terminal, terminal is screwed in and hotglued to make it air tight.
Okey, i've been thinking about it since xrk has been suggesting it a few times and i have enough drivers.
I feel like that too, i mean the highs are better (without BSC) but that's about it, they go about equally as low and they sound... i don't know how to explain it.. wobbly?
What amp are you driving it with? I have dual 3FE25-16 in 0.53X and they sound amazing driven by an Amp Camp Amp.
Also, what speaker cables do you have? Since I made new speaker cables from UTP network cable (4 strands for + and 4 strands for -) the sound quality has improved dramatically.
So far i have tried it with a tpa3110 and a tda7297, i will try it with the tpa3116 and my pioneer stereo amp when i come home to see if it sounds any better.
I'm gonna build a new amp in the future also, just need to decide which one.
I am using standard 18awg speaker wire (black and red type), both internally and to the amp.
Maybe it's the terminals? they are cheap china ones
I'll try without them and see if it makes any difference.
Would it benefit me to switch out the cables both internally and externally?
My Karlsonators sound great with a TDA7297, so it can't be the amp then.
I used to listen through just one pair UTP cable (26gauge or 0.4mm) and it sounded very good, but sounds much better after the 4 x 0.4mm upgrade.
The terminals seem to be good quality.
From the information that you provided, it should sound great.
Here is a thought: did you hook up the speakers in parallel by connection the + terminals together and the - terminals together? If it's + and - connected together, the drivers will be out of phase.
Hi Heheja,
Please post some photos and details of joints and how drivers are wired. Usually when something doesn’t sound good on this speaker - it’s either an air leak, or improper wiring.
Test polarity of wiring with +1.5v battery. Apply +ve to red speaker wire and -ve to black wire. The cones should simultaneously and decisively move out (+) by a few mm. If not perhaps plus is connected to negative or it is in series and not parallel.
Since you made it out of foam board I can’t blame the wood for the lack of sound quality.
An air leak can cause loss of bass. Think of a flute or recorder - when you try to play to lowest note with all fingers covering all holes, if there is the slightest leak on one of the fingers, you will not reach the lowest note. A small leak in the closed end (stub) above drivers will prevent low bass note from being reached.
Please post some photos and details of joints and how drivers are wired. Usually when something doesn’t sound good on this speaker - it’s either an air leak, or improper wiring.
Test polarity of wiring with +1.5v battery. Apply +ve to red speaker wire and -ve to black wire. The cones should simultaneously and decisively move out (+) by a few mm. If not perhaps plus is connected to negative or it is in series and not parallel.
Since you made it out of foam board I can’t blame the wood for the lack of sound quality.
An air leak can cause loss of bass. Think of a flute or recorder - when you try to play to lowest note with all fingers covering all holes, if there is the slightest leak on one of the fingers, you will not reach the lowest note. A small leak in the closed end (stub) above drivers will prevent low bass note from being reached.
"An air leak can cause loss of bass."
good advice from X. I struggled to hit below 70Hz until i sealed all leaks and stiffened the walls. those stiffeners X uses are necessary but if they are taking up too much volume remember freddi's dowel trick. i use those wooden food skewers in place of dowels and hot glue them to the opposite wall
good advice from X. I struggled to hit below 70Hz until i sealed all leaks and stiffened the walls. those stiffeners X uses are necessary but if they are taking up too much volume remember freddi's dowel trick. i use those wooden food skewers in place of dowels and hot glue them to the opposite wall
Heheja,
I'm wondering if your 3FE25's need a little break-in time as well. My .40x Karlsonators with PS95-8's deepened in bass after a few weeks of playing time. Just another factor in the ultimate bass extension on these. Keep at fixing your .53's with the dual 3FE25's and i'm sure you'll be impressed. I'm looking to build a pair of these next as well. Good luck!
I'm wondering if your 3FE25's need a little break-in time as well. My .40x Karlsonators with PS95-8's deepened in bass after a few weeks of playing time. Just another factor in the ultimate bass extension on these. Keep at fixing your .53's with the dual 3FE25's and i'm sure you'll be impressed. I'm looking to build a pair of these next as well. Good luck!
I think it actually had an air leak , i took the glue gun and remelted the old glue while applying new glue so i have a full layer covering every single joint now and i'm getting more lows.
I resoldered the BSC but it still sounds bad with it so i removed it, sound is clearer without, lows are still there but not as low as i'd like and it still sounds a bit boxy and the highs are a bit too high.
I did however forget to brace the braces to the sidewalls, could that be what makes it a bit boxy?
Maybe the foamboard i am using is just too bad, it's a bit hard to find here in Barcelona and the black one i bought is supposed to be 5 mm but it's slightly thinner (especially the paper) and much more fragile then the white one, could that be it?
For the next one i'm only using the white foamboard (and liteply for the baffle), i am also considering making it according to muddjesters slightly bigger drawing and see how it ends up.
Also while removing the bsc i dropped one driver on the other one and dented the dustcap pretty bad, is that the end of the driver or is it somehow possible to fix it?
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I'll try with some felt behind the aperture !
I have a picture of the felt placement and the baffle attached, how does it look?
And the way I applied the baffle, could that have any negative effects on the sound(foam board folded from bottom and attaches to the liteply on the edges)?
Anyway I will buy more white foamboard on Monday and build another one and see how it sounds, will also order new inductors and a few different type values of resistors.
Would this one be good enough?
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The picture is before bracing and stuffing, the felt was not even glued in place.
Maybe I will try that to see whether that makes the sound more pleasurable!
I have already got the foam core, I will probably start building the cabinets today.
About the air leaks you are mentioning to hehejaa, I thought that it could be a good way to ensure every joint leaving in one of the pieces one of the paper side a bit longer, and overlap the other piece with this paper tab gluing all together... Unless somebody says something bad about this technique, I will try later.
About the felp, I bought this, would it be good enough?
About the air leaks you are mentioning to hehejaa, I thought that it could be a good way to ensure every joint leaving in one of the pieces one of the paper side a bit longer, and overlap the other piece with this paper tab gluing all together... Unless somebody says something bad about this technique, I will try later.
About the felp, I bought this, would it be good enough?
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jiraiken, keep trying different things. That is the most fun part of this project. There are infinite variables and I can't see much in your picture because it is kind of dark. Are you using hot glue?
The front covers on the one I'm looking at now have carpet padding on them. Sometimes I had to -10db 300-800hz on a pair and then change something and not have to anymore.
The front covers on the one I'm looking at now have carpet padding on them. Sometimes I had to -10db 300-800hz on a pair and then change something and not have to anymore.