The XSD Speaker

[xrk971]

Odd numbered drivers have magnet facing out and even numbered drivers have magnet facing in.

The way to check is to apply a 1.5v AA battery across the terminals of each pair to make sure they squeeze together to push air out the slot. Check each chamber pair, then the whole system - all drivers should move inwards on +ve battery to +ve speaker input.

 

[wirewiggler]

So I finished off one speaker and played some music, and there is no output to the tweeter. I cannot locate my copy of the crossover schematic to ck if I assembled it correctly. Can you email me another copy. I should have the second one finished tonite.
Bill

 

[adason]

Have you tried to wiggle the wire to the tweeter?

 

[wirewiggler]

Dude my name is wirewiggler it my mo, but yes. I did find the schematic and all is correct, checked ribbon with ohm meter good and all the path back to the input terminals.

 

[xrk971]

Hi WW,
Nice looking cabinet! Congrats on the build. The XO is a parallel design so you should be able to disconnect the mid and woofer and try to play only the tweeter to see what is amiss. Usually when there is no sound in a path, I will check for either continuity, a short, or lack of return to ground.

With woofers and mid disconnected, what does ohms show between speaker terminals? Should be “open connection” since AC coupled high pass. This is the shorted test. Play a 5kHz test tone and see if you hear it. This is the AC “continuity” check.

Let me know how that goes.

Also, are you doing XO P2P or using the PCB designed by one of the members here?

 

[wirewiggler]

Ok so Adason may have been right, the positive terminal had been painted red. I sanded the paint off and it began working. I think these will require some time to break in. I swapped the little 12 watt aleph mini to 120 watt class D and that improved things as well.

 

[wirewiggler]

I used the printed circuit board, I made my bass motor assembly removable for a cleaner look on the side panels. I was going to hide the crossovers but I think they add to it.

 

[Vunce]

Really nice job WW! Speaker looks beautiful!! 🤩

 

[xrk971]

Wonderfully done - top notch execution.
Let us know how it sounds once you have some time on them. A big 4 ohm capable amp works well here for sure. Use good size 12 gauge wire on main speaker input terminals to get the bass response snappy.

 

[Plott]

Wow, it looks crazy good @wirewiggler , great job!

 

[wirewiggler]

Thanks, they turned out looking pretty good, I tend to get a little impatient with the finish but my veneer skills are improving.I plan on putting a grill on them to make them a little more wife friendly. My endgame amp will be the Wolverine and I think it will be a good match. I am trying not to listen to them critically yet but they do have a different sound but this is my first time experiencing a OB speaker.

 

[bloqhed]

Wow that looks just fantastic. What did you use for wires? They have the look I am hoping to go for.

 

[xrk971]

Reminds me of Media Bridge cables. This is what I use to connect my speakers. Nice super flexible high strand count cables with the “pants” for the Y junction.

https://a.co/d/irUQGKp

WW, the Wolverine should be perfect. Lots of power and high damping factor to drive those woofers.

 

[wirewiggler]

The speaker wire from the amp is some 14 ga zip wire. The wiring on the speaker itself is silicone covered Litzy wire used in model planes and cars. The Media Bridge stuff look nice and I have had some in my wish list but have not ordered Yet.

 

[Russellc]

I used the printed circuit board, I made my bass motor assembly removable for a cleaner look on the side panels. I was going to hide the crossovers but I think they add to it.

Very nice finish work! Hope to get boxes soon. I have all the stuff on the way for Zenmod's XA 252 power amp to power these speakers. Its large puck mosfets just keep putting out the needed power plus some.

Russellc

 

[bonjonno]

Beautiful cabinet WW!! The x-over does look cool but will likely collect dust over time.

 

[wirewiggler]

It is not time to do review on these but I wanted to mention a few things about these speakers so when you first listen to them you don’t freak out. They were terribly shouty with a nasty midrange slur , I knew X would not design something this bad so I was not concerned. Now after maybe 6 hrs of playing they have begun to come into their own. The most immediate thing is these throw out a huge sound stage, I thought with this many woofers that they may be a little bass dominate however they actually sound just right. I told my wife when I put these out I would not need a subwoofer, so we will see how that turns out. I use a mini DSP to provide room correction so I can boost the lower octaves ( I was using it for the sub out as well as room correction),however I was really hoping I could eliminate it. The other quick take away is amps do make a big difference, I have rotated 3 amps and it became progressively better with more power and running mono blocks.
Bill

 

[xrk971]

Hi WW,
There is a 4.7R padding resistor on the mid. If you think it’s too shouty, try swapping it with 5.6R or 6.8R. It might be break in as you say as the mids have a very stiff suspension and could use some time to flex the pleated/doped fabric surrounds.

The OB soundstage is what makes them so good for live music or to feel you are at the concert.

But the bass is what is most amazing. It’s got some real chest punch slam.

Thanks for sharing initial thoughts. I loved how they sounded with a 600wpc amp!

Cheers,
X

 

[wirewiggler]

350W dual mono, to put it in perspective when I say bass is just right I am comparing to my main system with 250W sub.

 

[xrk971]

That’s the sub standing up in the corner of the room?

Is that the 350wpc amp for the subs? Looks like an IRS2092 type Class D amp?