Mini Karlsonator (0.53X) with Dual TC9FDs

[perceval]

Building a 0.4x TC9 box right now. Only need to cut and place the front aperture.
Had plywood, no gatorboard around here.

 

[xrk971]

Great. Don't forget to line back chamber around driver with felt or foam.

 

[perceval]

I did. I used some of that magic white foam (basf) behind and around the driver, and polyfill inside, as per the drawing I saw in this thread.

Putting my ear to the top slot, I can barely hear anything higher up. Mostly, it is lower bass.

 

[xrk971]

So is it playing music yet?

 

[Jstevensiam]

xrk,

Thank you for past responses, If i make the .53x with 2 tf9cd each as asked before a little thinner, say 6 inches wide and deeper, i understand you ok'd just making the volume loss in the back so would be deeper. should i just also leave the trans line inside as original, yielding then a bigger cavity in the back by say 2 inches, or stretch the line to the back?

 

[xrk971]

You want to adjust the scale of the drawing in the depth direction so that everything eveneloe grows in that direction by loss in width. Don't chant length scaling (vertical). So keep length of TL the same.

 

[perceval]

So is it playing music yet?

Had a quick test, without the front aperture to make sure it was playing.

I am guessing add the aperture will increase the bass a bit.
As soon as I cut it, and place it, I'll put a mic and do a sweep to see how it does, then listen to some songs.

 

[xrk971]

A Karlsonator (or K's) in general will not look pretty on a measurement. They sound subjectively very good though. Just don't expect it to be flat.

 

[perceval]

Cut and installed the aperture.

First impressions:
- Bass is there and believable.
- it sounds "boxy". I either messed up the lining and stuffing, or I am too used to the sound of OB these days. Will need to measure.

For the stuffing, I followed the picture in post #xxx. There is white basf foam behind the driver, and polyfill in the cavity up there down to just before the driver.

 

[xrk971]

BASF foam or felt is needed on sidewalls adjacent to driver and on bottom floor as well. Felt or foam lining the back side of the K aperture may also be needed. Good that you got bass - not leaking.

 

[perceval]

I have foam on the bottom, side walls, and back wall around the driver.

I'll add some foam inside the aperture wall to see if it improves.

Thanks, X.

Not sleeping? Insomnia? I have it all the time.

 

[xrk971]

I only have night time to work on audio so pretty much don't sleep if I need to get stuff done.

 

[perceval]

And yet, you are chatting on the forum...

One last question, before you go back to audio work. Would you line the whole interior of the aperture, or just the bottom wings?

 

[xrk971]

Just the portion on bottom directly in front of driver and extend a couple inches higher than actual driver location. Responding to posts in diya is part of audio work I guess. Just tested an ACA Class A amp with XKi fitted with W5-2143. Superb combo - sounds wonderful and gets loud too.

 

[bonjonno]

xrk971- would you consider the XKi a better candidate than an MK 0.53X for the W5-2143? From your past writings I deduced that the MK's are better for my listening tastes, mostly acoustic instrumental jazz. I've built the 0.41X's w/TC9FD18's and love the sound; the 0.53X's w/ PA130's didn't have a sound I liked. I just sent them off to a friend in northern Minnesota who will probably LOVE them. The upper midrange grated on me. And even when they sounded good they weren't accurate to real instruments. I'm a drummer and know what the instrument can sound like. The TC9's nail it, not so the PA130's. I'm thinking my next project should be 0.53X's w/ two TC9FD18's, but would spring for the Tang Bang's in either box if a clear improvement.

 

[xrk971]

Bonjonno,
If the single TC9FD works for you, I would recommend the dual driver 0.53x with TC9FD. It sounds very good and is 6dB more sensitive. I have not built a Karlsonator with the W5-2143 yet, and am awaiting some professionally made wooden cabinets of the XKi for the W5-2143, slated to arrive any day now. So I cannot say which cabinet sounds better for the 2143. If it is any consolation, know that you can make the 0.53x with dual TC9FD's but allow yourself the ability to change the driver board to accept a single W5-2143. The cabinet should work pretty well. The 2143 is much smoother in response than the PA130-8. It sounds like you like smoother more accurate frequency response - and the PA130-8 has some breakup peaks arounf 5k to 7kHz that grate on your ears.

Let me listen to the XKi with W5-2143 in a real wooden cabinet and I will let you know more if it should sound as good or better than a dual TC9FD mini Karlsonator.

 

[xrk971]

I was planning to document my build of the xrk971 W5-2143 Kalsonator in it’s own thread but it didn't turn out the way I thought it would so I just document it in here…

Background and rationale: I got a pair of TB W5-2143 and I really like the way they sound, especially the midrange for vocals and jazz. Not excelling in bass extension or SPL but good enough in a bog standard vented box so I have been in search for better alternatives for these drivers. The Karlsonator intrigues me and I also think that the Decware DNA Horn could be a good match. I decided to tackle the Karlsonator first. I constructed a drawing based on simulations and measurements by xrk971, who also provided me with some additional guidance.

Some use foam board for prototyping I use chipboard and scrap pieces. I made some minor changes to my drawing and started to build the xrk971 W5-2143 Kalsonator Special. Sanding sealer would have been a better option to seal the chipboard but I wanted to try a new water based sealing primer. Total fail, I really hate this product (white in the pictures), deluded PVA glue would have been much better (if schellack based sanding sealer is not an option). The boxes came together quite easily and I was planning a more modern looking take on the Karlsonator aperture (please refer to the pictures). I was planning to mount them against the triangular strips with velcro.

I used chipboard for the base (planning to veneer it if they sounded great), some ply to stiffen the baffle and to drive the mounting screws through, MDF for the aperture and additional stiffening the back panel (I planned to paint these off white and edge trim the chipboard with solid wood). I wanted to put it together in a state where I could actually get a feel for how it would sound before I invested time and money into finishing.

Today I manage to put the first one together with the W5-2143 element and benchmark it side by side with my original boxes. Maybe I had too high expectations but I immediately felt something was wrong with these new speakers. The bright open midrange that I love about the W5-2143 was gone. It sounded dead, muted, muffled in a way. Bass extension was way better than my vented boxes but pretty much everything else sounded worse. I really hate when projects doesn't turn out the way you anticipate and I guess there is much room for improvements but I will abort this build just based on how the midrange got affected. I also ran them without the aperture. They now sounded more open and airy but still way more artificial and closed than the vented box.

I will miss the bass extension and continue to augment bass with a set of subwoofers.

Hi EmuMannen,
I was wondering what the status of your project is, and did you get a chance to try out the larger K aperture? It needs to be opened up from what you had it for the mids/highs to get out properly. I would make the front aperture something like this - where the line intersects the midpoint of the surround (the definition of the Sd).
Cheers,
X

 

[bonjonno]

X- thanks so much for the quick reply. I'm not in a rush. Will gladly wait for you to test out the new build. Professionally made wooden cabs used to be the norm until you introduced foamcore builds

 

[xrk971]

Professionally made wooden cabs used to be the norm until you introduced foamcore builds

But if one wants to either get the wifey to approve of its use outside of the man-cave/speaker lab, it needs to look good. Or if one wants to sell it as a product, it needs to look good. On this thread, I think a lot of us will agree that FC cabs can sound fabulous. They just don't look fabulous unless you are the one who built them.

 

[xrk971]

Skylar88 said in the other thread that he built 0.53x MK with dual 3FE25-16's (8ohms nominal and 96dB/2.83v)! And it sounds good. Can't wait to see photos.