I have been loving my BIBs with Tang Band W8 2145's in them.
(They were designed with both, the W8 1772s and W8 2145s in mind. The measurements were 99% the same, just the BIB is a few centimeters taller because the Fs is 40Hz on the 1772 and 42Hz on the 2145.)
However I also have framed pictures of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ronnie James Dio and a few others on the wall, which are currently somewhat obstructed by the BIBs.
So I had a random thought: Why not try to fold the BIBs?
Of course they need corner and ceiling/floor loading, so a folded BIB would be too far from the ceiling, so the more precise question is:
Why not fold an inverted BIB (sideways)?
That way the wall would be unobstructed again and instead I'd have 2 cupboard-like speakers that I could put my plants and bonsais on.
The only catch:
I can formulate my idea and I am able to visualize it in my head. But I fail at trying to draw up a plan, let alone re-calculate the excel sheet's BIB-plan.
(I have thought about folding other speakers, but my mind isn't very creative when it comes to "re-formulating geometrical 3D figures)
Could anyone help me with that or even make a 3D-setch of what I have in mind?
I've added an image that maybe helps convey what I mean more precisely. (Long story short: Make a cut in an inverted BIB and fold the top half down)
Also, if my idea is totally bogus and wouldn't work or have serious problems, please tell me! 😀
@Scottmoose oh, on a sidenote, if I turn up the volume on the baby labs you designed, I can really feel the "bass" not just at the vent, but also in my body. Sure, the office room is a little small and it's not as much of a bass as a "BIB in corner"-bass, but extremely impressive nonetheless. The baby labs work damn well.
(They were designed with both, the W8 1772s and W8 2145s in mind. The measurements were 99% the same, just the BIB is a few centimeters taller because the Fs is 40Hz on the 1772 and 42Hz on the 2145.)
However I also have framed pictures of Stevie Ray Vaughan, Ronnie James Dio and a few others on the wall, which are currently somewhat obstructed by the BIBs.
So I had a random thought: Why not try to fold the BIBs?
Of course they need corner and ceiling/floor loading, so a folded BIB would be too far from the ceiling, so the more precise question is:
Why not fold an inverted BIB (sideways)?
That way the wall would be unobstructed again and instead I'd have 2 cupboard-like speakers that I could put my plants and bonsais on.
The only catch:
I can formulate my idea and I am able to visualize it in my head. But I fail at trying to draw up a plan, let alone re-calculate the excel sheet's BIB-plan.
(I have thought about folding other speakers, but my mind isn't very creative when it comes to "re-formulating geometrical 3D figures)
Could anyone help me with that or even make a 3D-setch of what I have in mind?
I've added an image that maybe helps convey what I mean more precisely. (Long story short: Make a cut in an inverted BIB and fold the top half down)
Also, if my idea is totally bogus and wouldn't work or have serious problems, please tell me! 😀
@Scottmoose oh, on a sidenote, if I turn up the volume on the baby labs you designed, I can really feel the "bass" not just at the vent, but also in my body. Sure, the office room is a little small and it's not as much of a bass as a "BIB in corner"-bass, but extremely impressive nonetheless. The baby labs work damn well.
Last edited:
interesting layout!
However how much of a role does the tapering play? I don't know if I will be able to reconstruct the tapering of a BIB 1:1 when doing geometric shenanigans. Or is the most dominant factor the terminus size/area? And how close should the driver be positioned along the line? IIRC it is suggested to be about 1/3, but that's mostly a suggestion so the driver doesn't sit too close to the floor on a BIB (and that's why an iBIB has a better driver position)
However how much of a role does the tapering play? I don't know if I will be able to reconstruct the tapering of a BIB 1:1 when doing geometric shenanigans. Or is the most dominant factor the terminus size/area? And how close should the driver be positioned along the line? IIRC it is suggested to be about 1/3, but that's mostly a suggestion so the driver doesn't sit too close to the floor on a BIB (and that's why an iBIB has a better driver position)
Inverting a BiB is easy, you just turn the standard BiB upside down. Obviously, the mouth is then blocked because it is standing on the floor, so you need to make an alternative mouth opening. Everything else, volume, length, areas, driver placement etc, remain the same.
So I had a crashcourse in blender and came up with the following.
It looks decent and quite elegant. Can't believe I came up with it. (I had been doodling along for 1-2 hours at the time, deleted the excess forms and things and was left with this, ha).
But I don't know if it has any hidden flaws, so if the more experienced people here could take a look, I'd be very glad 🙂
What I'm not sure about is the placement of the drivers. I would prefer position 2, opposite the terminus side, so I can place the terminus further into the corner while having the speaker oriented towards the inside.
Keep in mind it's just a sketch with the folded geometry, I will calculate the exact measurements later on. Rough details are: ~1.1m high, ~85cm wide and ~50-55cm deep. Wooden feet or whatever will be used to lift the cabinet in the end.
Speakers used will be most likely the W8 1772 (https://oaudio.de/out/media/e263c72d3f68918f607.pdf) or maybe the W8 2145 (https://oaudio.de/out/media/W8-2145.pdf) because I have both. I tend towards the 1772, though, due to its looks. I didn't notice much of a difference between the two
It looks decent and quite elegant. Can't believe I came up with it. (I had been doodling along for 1-2 hours at the time, deleted the excess forms and things and was left with this, ha).
But I don't know if it has any hidden flaws, so if the more experienced people here could take a look, I'd be very glad 🙂
What I'm not sure about is the placement of the drivers. I would prefer position 2, opposite the terminus side, so I can place the terminus further into the corner while having the speaker oriented towards the inside.
Keep in mind it's just a sketch with the folded geometry, I will calculate the exact measurements later on. Rough details are: ~1.1m high, ~85cm wide and ~50-55cm deep. Wooden feet or whatever will be used to lift the cabinet in the end.
Speakers used will be most likely the W8 1772 (https://oaudio.de/out/media/e263c72d3f68918f607.pdf) or maybe the W8 2145 (https://oaudio.de/out/media/W8-2145.pdf) because I have both. I tend towards the 1772, though, due to its looks. I didn't notice much of a difference between the two
Attachments
Last edited:
My bad, but fortunately you have made progress.
The BiB style of single fold is a convenient recipe to get a "close enough" parabolic fold. It puts the mouth and the throat together at one end and the two "half pipes" together at the other end. I think that you should preserve those two combinations, because they have the same cross section or surface area. Combine one half and the point, it will be smaller. And the mouth and one half will be larger. It will not turn into a neat rectangular box.
I see that you have exactly this layout in your drawings, so I think you have the right idea. Otherwise, what I said does apply, as long a length/area/driver placement/volume remains roughly the same, the result will remain roughly the same.
In principe folds improve performance by reducing unwanted frequencies, so a good idea.
The BiB style of single fold is a convenient recipe to get a "close enough" parabolic fold. It puts the mouth and the throat together at one end and the two "half pipes" together at the other end. I think that you should preserve those two combinations, because they have the same cross section or surface area. Combine one half and the point, it will be smaller. And the mouth and one half will be larger. It will not turn into a neat rectangular box.
I see that you have exactly this layout in your drawings, so I think you have the right idea. Otherwise, what I said does apply, as long a length/area/driver placement/volume remains roughly the same, the result will remain roughly the same.
In principe folds improve performance by reducing unwanted frequencies, so a good idea.
Thanks for your input @Ivo !
Could you maybe just explain in different words what you mean with "throat" and "mouth" area?
Because what I think you are saying is exactly what I had in mind first when playing around in blender. However I ended up with a non-rectangular box. The exit/terminus-side would need to be ~15-20 deeper, meaning one side of the cabinet would go 15-20cm further back if I want to keep an even front/baffle surface.
Then I suddenly had the idea that you see in the pictures, where I used one side of the cabinet for both, the beginning and the end of the TL.
So basically it comes down to "more difficult to build + better sounding" vs "easier to build and use as furniture, but worse sounding".
If I went with the "easier to build"-route, would it be noticeably worse? Because I can tell you, I don't have the "golden ears" as many in this forum do 😀 So if it sounds worse "within reason", I probably will not notice it 😀
However I have a quick question: When using an iBIB, how far from the floor is "far enough" for the soundwaves to be properly guided into the room? Is it "more is better" or is there a point of diminishing return?
Could you maybe just explain in different words what you mean with "throat" and "mouth" area?
Because what I think you are saying is exactly what I had in mind first when playing around in blender. However I ended up with a non-rectangular box. The exit/terminus-side would need to be ~15-20 deeper, meaning one side of the cabinet would go 15-20cm further back if I want to keep an even front/baffle surface.
Then I suddenly had the idea that you see in the pictures, where I used one side of the cabinet for both, the beginning and the end of the TL.
So basically it comes down to "more difficult to build + better sounding" vs "easier to build and use as furniture, but worse sounding".
If I went with the "easier to build"-route, would it be noticeably worse? Because I can tell you, I don't have the "golden ears" as many in this forum do 😀 So if it sounds worse "within reason", I probably will not notice it 😀
So you're telling me my plan worked...? Yes!
However I have a quick question: When using an iBIB, how far from the floor is "far enough" for the soundwaves to be properly guided into the room? Is it "more is better" or is there a point of diminishing return?
Throat area is zero, mouth area is teh size of the opening.
Also would like to add, folding the pipe will shorten it but also doubkle its footprint.
I’d sugest making it adjustable.
Start with an opening area the same as teh mouth area, but there will be some enbd correction and room influence so being able to fine tune is probably a good idea.
dave
Last edited:
Ah, alrighty, then I misunderstood @Ivo, gotcha!
Is there a rule of thumb by how much the line gets shorter with each fold? If yes, then I'd try to compensate for that. If not, I'll just ballpark it 😀
Ok, alright. Then I'll save making proper feet for the end, after I will have tried different heights. Thanks for the headsup!
Last edited by a moderator: