Hello everyone,
I would like to turn the enclosure of a vintage radio into a bluetooth speaker. I have a volume of 2.81 liter/0.10 feet3 to play with. Now I wonder, what drivers work best in this situation? Given the dimensions of the radio the driver diameter can't be greater than 65mm/2.5 inch.
Would it make sense to go for a closed setup and use two Dayton Audio ND65-8 2-1/2" full range drivers together with two Dayton Audio ND65-PR 2-1/2" passive radiators for some additional bass? This would also fit my budget.
What do you all think? What would you suggest me?
Best,
Simon
I would like to turn the enclosure of a vintage radio into a bluetooth speaker. I have a volume of 2.81 liter/0.10 feet3 to play with. Now I wonder, what drivers work best in this situation? Given the dimensions of the radio the driver diameter can't be greater than 65mm/2.5 inch.
Would it make sense to go for a closed setup and use two Dayton Audio ND65-8 2-1/2" full range drivers together with two Dayton Audio ND65-PR 2-1/2" passive radiators for some additional bass? This would also fit my budget.
What do you all think? What would you suggest me?
Best,
Simon
Hello again,
I tried to simulate the suggested setup with WinISD:
Simon
I tried to simulate the suggested setup with WinISD:
- The yellow curve is the setup with 2.81 liters Dayton Audio ND65-8 2-1/2" drivers with two Dayton Audio ND65-PR 2-1/2"
- The blue curve is the ND65-8 2-1/2" in a sealed enclosure exactly the volume as suggested by Parts Express (for comparsion)
- The green curve is the ND65-8 2-1/2" in a vented enclosure with vent and volume as suggested by Parts Express (for comparsion)
Simon
Honestly, since you mentioned bass I'd try to find a way to use a larger driver. It's always a struggle getting appreciable bass from small speakers. The only 2-inch-ish driver I've had any luck with on that front is the Tang Band W2-2040S, which is not full range, and is now marked unavailable at Parts Express.
I tried a passive radiator on the ND64 and wasn't impressed. For the complication it just didn't add much. I like the ND64 for midrange and up nearfield, but even an array of 4 of them just can't do much bass without sounding strained. If you have low output and low fidelity expectations, you may be OK with this kind of performance though.
Something like the ND91 will give far more bass and sound better doing it.
I tried a passive radiator on the ND64 and wasn't impressed. For the complication it just didn't add much. I like the ND64 for midrange and up nearfield, but even an array of 4 of them just can't do much bass without sounding strained. If you have low output and low fidelity expectations, you may be OK with this kind of performance though.
Something like the ND91 will give far more bass and sound better doing it.
And yes, you asked about the ND65 and I was talking about the ND64. They are different, with the ND65 having more Xmax, lower Fs, and lower sensitivity.
Thanks a lot for your suggestions, @mattstat and @Dieter Geissel. Much appreciated. Would the Dayton Audio ND91 and the the Visaton FR 10 both work fairly well in a sealed enclosure?
Both suggested drivers are larger than I'd hoped for. If I'd go just for good overall sound quality without needing to much bass, are there any smaller full range drivers, which would work in my situation? I know that I have to make compromises here and there.
Best
Both suggested drivers are larger than I'd hoped for. If I'd go just for good overall sound quality without needing to much bass, are there any smaller full range drivers, which would work in my situation? I know that I have to make compromises here and there.
Best
The ND91 will do fine in a sealed box, but will roll off relatively high in that configuration. Something like this would typically use equalization to boost the bass, since the driver has a lot of excursion capability you can take advantage of.
If you're not as worried about bass quantity/extension, the ND65 is probably a good choice. It has similar construction and response to the ND64, which I like. I've tested a pile of 1.5-3 inch drivers, and the ND64 is the one I liked most in the end (but I did not test the ND65 because its depth was greater than my project would allow). The ND65 will get you more bass than the ND64 at the cost of lower sensitivity. Given your application it may be the best trade-off if you want to stick with the smaller driver.
If you're not as worried about bass quantity/extension, the ND65 is probably a good choice. It has similar construction and response to the ND64, which I like. I've tested a pile of 1.5-3 inch drivers, and the ND64 is the one I liked most in the end (but I did not test the ND65 because its depth was greater than my project would allow). The ND65 will get you more bass than the ND64 at the cost of lower sensitivity. Given your application it may be the best trade-off if you want to stick with the smaller driver.