This design is based on a pyramid cabinet/horn design I built about a year ago (see pic) with the TB W3-2141 and HiVi M6N, but I was interested in improving bass response and doing a better job of construction with improved bracing to control cabinet resonance. Further, the W3-2141 was a little harsh in the upper register. The Viking Acoustics Berlin R influenced the overall design aesthetic.
I stepped up to the TB W3-1878 and the Vifa NE180W-08. WinIsd shows an F3 of around 40 Hz in a 23 liter BR cabinet with a 2” D by 4.75” L port. PCD models a simplified 2nd order crossover without the notch filter I needed in the previous design to flatten the response of the TB W3-2141.
Construction: I had the horns made to spec by a woodturner in Iowa. The horn closely follows a spheroid contour with a 3” throat diameter, 12” mouth and 4” length (I am still trying to work through the challenges of understanding the calculations for a horn design). Cabinet material is .75” walnut veneered MDF. The overall dimensions are 10W x 16H x 14D, including a .75” thick solid walnut baffle, which brings overall baffle thickness to 1.5”. The W3-1878 is in a small sealed enclosure to avoid interference from the woofer. There are two shelf braces in the cabinet, one of them recessed back to accommodate the depth of the woofer. Construction utilized mitered corners and rabbited joints for the braces. Acoustic foam and .5” felt was used for the cabinet walls.
Crossover: I’ve kept this as simple as possible. Electrical x-over is 535 Hz; acoustic is about 700 Hz. This keeps the rising response of the Vifa well out of reach, down approximately 25 dB at 1400 Hz and allows the TB to work well within its range. I haven’t added BSC as yet; as I’m still evaluating in room response with the 2” port on the back of the speaker. I’m using Mundorf Supreme caps and Goertz and Jantzen coils. The crossover is built on two boards and the speaker can be biwired.
Sound: after approximately 50 hrs of break-in, things have started to open up. The bass is there- not overwhelming, but in re- listening to favorite tracks I've discovered a lot of low frequency material that I missed with the HiVi. What is striking is the soundstage- dimensionality and detail are amazing. The W3-1878 just has better air around it, and on good material I get a great sense of the recording space, instruments are sharply defined, and the music extends beyond the speakers. They were a little more tricky to dial in with regard to placement; not sure if this was due to the horns, but once I got this correct they provide a pretty wide sweet spot.
Associated equipment: NuForce STA-200 amp, Luminous Audio Passive Pre-amp, CEntrance dacMini, DIY cables.
I stepped up to the TB W3-1878 and the Vifa NE180W-08. WinIsd shows an F3 of around 40 Hz in a 23 liter BR cabinet with a 2” D by 4.75” L port. PCD models a simplified 2nd order crossover without the notch filter I needed in the previous design to flatten the response of the TB W3-2141.
Construction: I had the horns made to spec by a woodturner in Iowa. The horn closely follows a spheroid contour with a 3” throat diameter, 12” mouth and 4” length (I am still trying to work through the challenges of understanding the calculations for a horn design). Cabinet material is .75” walnut veneered MDF. The overall dimensions are 10W x 16H x 14D, including a .75” thick solid walnut baffle, which brings overall baffle thickness to 1.5”. The W3-1878 is in a small sealed enclosure to avoid interference from the woofer. There are two shelf braces in the cabinet, one of them recessed back to accommodate the depth of the woofer. Construction utilized mitered corners and rabbited joints for the braces. Acoustic foam and .5” felt was used for the cabinet walls.
Crossover: I’ve kept this as simple as possible. Electrical x-over is 535 Hz; acoustic is about 700 Hz. This keeps the rising response of the Vifa well out of reach, down approximately 25 dB at 1400 Hz and allows the TB to work well within its range. I haven’t added BSC as yet; as I’m still evaluating in room response with the 2” port on the back of the speaker. I’m using Mundorf Supreme caps and Goertz and Jantzen coils. The crossover is built on two boards and the speaker can be biwired.
Sound: after approximately 50 hrs of break-in, things have started to open up. The bass is there- not overwhelming, but in re- listening to favorite tracks I've discovered a lot of low frequency material that I missed with the HiVi. What is striking is the soundstage- dimensionality and detail are amazing. The W3-1878 just has better air around it, and on good material I get a great sense of the recording space, instruments are sharply defined, and the music extends beyond the speakers. They were a little more tricky to dial in with regard to placement; not sure if this was due to the horns, but once I got this correct they provide a pretty wide sweet spot.
Associated equipment: NuForce STA-200 amp, Luminous Audio Passive Pre-amp, CEntrance dacMini, DIY cables.
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Thank you! Not using any EQ- and honestly not sure what’s really happening from 700 Hz on up. I’m thinking of getting the hardware to measure what’s going on, but that’s sort of after the fact. I read the hornresp threads over a few times- I’m really rookie status here, but the impression I get is that OS horns are less likely to beam and response is about 100 degrees- is that correct?
I'd imagine the driver beams more than the horn. Due to the large throat and short length, the OS looks similar to an exponential after a point as illustrated in that thread:
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/attachments/subwoofers/754955d1557215637-hornresp-freddishorns-png
if it sounds balanced, then that's the main thing. It wouldn't hurt to measure.
https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/attachments/subwoofers/754955d1557215637-hornresp-freddishorns-png
if it sounds balanced, then that's the main thing. It wouldn't hurt to measure.
. Would be good to verify the xover is behaving as designed. Would be interested in the Horn measurements!- Status
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