Hey guys,
I’m planning to make an OB PAP TRIO clone. Initially I was thinking of using all Lii audio drivers; the silver 8, and a pair of W15 woofers. But then I realised the AE dipole 15 is very similar to the W15. Both woofers are in the same price range.
the Lii W15 and the AE dipole 15 are both quite expensive (especially when you visited you need 4 to make a pair of PAP trio’s), have a high Qts, and a large Xmax.
Cheaper options for woofers are the eminence alpha 15’s and the SB Bianco 15OB350. The cheaper woofers have a fairly low Qts and a smaller Xmax.
I read a fair bit about the Leonidas speakers, which use a crystal 10 full range, and a single W15 woofer (both from Lii audio). They’re supposed to be very good. So I was planning on basing the design on those speakers, knowing that I need to reevaluate the crossovers based on my own drivers.
I recon using a Silver 15 full range driver and two W15 woofers, would keep the crossovers similar.
Since these will be my first OB speakers (and overall my first speakers), I’m actually curious to know what would be the more important factor to consider for an open bake speaker, And why: Qts, or Xmax?
Note that all be using it on an 18W tube amp, so sensitivity is a bonus
fyi,
The W15 has a Qts of 0.79 and an Xmax of 15mm
The AE dipole15 has a Qts of 0.94 and an Xmax of 15mm
The alpha 15a has a Qts of 1.26 and an Xmax of 3.8
The Bianco 15OB350 has a Qts of 0.57 and an Xmax of 11mm.
The alpha and the Bianco are comparable in price (in Europe), the w15 and the dipole15 are also comparable in price but about 3-4x the price of the alpha and the Bianco. The dipole15 is also hard to get as they can only be ordered from the US and thus import and shipping are extra (which is why the dipole and w15 are similar in price for Europe).
I’m planning to make an OB PAP TRIO clone. Initially I was thinking of using all Lii audio drivers; the silver 8, and a pair of W15 woofers. But then I realised the AE dipole 15 is very similar to the W15. Both woofers are in the same price range.
the Lii W15 and the AE dipole 15 are both quite expensive (especially when you visited you need 4 to make a pair of PAP trio’s), have a high Qts, and a large Xmax.
Cheaper options for woofers are the eminence alpha 15’s and the SB Bianco 15OB350. The cheaper woofers have a fairly low Qts and a smaller Xmax.
I read a fair bit about the Leonidas speakers, which use a crystal 10 full range, and a single W15 woofer (both from Lii audio). They’re supposed to be very good. So I was planning on basing the design on those speakers, knowing that I need to reevaluate the crossovers based on my own drivers.
I recon using a Silver 15 full range driver and two W15 woofers, would keep the crossovers similar.
Since these will be my first OB speakers (and overall my first speakers), I’m actually curious to know what would be the more important factor to consider for an open bake speaker, And why: Qts, or Xmax?
Note that all be using it on an 18W tube amp, so sensitivity is a bonus
fyi,
The W15 has a Qts of 0.79 and an Xmax of 15mm
The AE dipole15 has a Qts of 0.94 and an Xmax of 15mm
The alpha 15a has a Qts of 1.26 and an Xmax of 3.8
The Bianco 15OB350 has a Qts of 0.57 and an Xmax of 11mm.
The alpha and the Bianco are comparable in price (in Europe), the w15 and the dipole15 are also comparable in price but about 3-4x the price of the alpha and the Bianco. The dipole15 is also hard to get as they can only be ordered from the US and thus import and shipping are extra (which is why the dipole and w15 are similar in price for Europe).
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I understood that a higher Qts is desirable for OB because of the dampening effects, but that a lower Qts rejects higher accuracy.
For the money:
http://www.sbaudience.com/index.php/products/subwoofers/bianco-18sw450/
(yes, the 18" - not a 15")
There is a thread on DIYaudio about this driver with open-baffle use.
You will need a good size horn for crossover at least <700 Hz. (..preferably <500 Hz)
You can put some resistance on it to raise the Qe of the driver to get slightly higher midbass response overall. I'd do this with an Inductor (higher resistance value/cheaper) in series with the woofers that's used as part of its low-pass filter. This will of course lower the overall spl, but you should still have a decent result.
Good luck!
(..1st post I've done here in awhile: it really didn't look like you were getting any good responses - so....)
http://www.sbaudience.com/index.php/products/subwoofers/bianco-18sw450/
(yes, the 18" - not a 15")
There is a thread on DIYaudio about this driver with open-baffle use.
You will need a good size horn for crossover at least <700 Hz. (..preferably <500 Hz)
You can put some resistance on it to raise the Qe of the driver to get slightly higher midbass response overall. I'd do this with an Inductor (higher resistance value/cheaper) in series with the woofers that's used as part of its low-pass filter. This will of course lower the overall spl, but you should still have a decent result.
Good luck!
(..1st post I've done here in awhile: it really didn't look like you were getting any good responses - so....)
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Thanks ScottG!
In this case, are we referring to a single 18” versus dual 15” (or 12” for that matter)?
I would expect any of the woofers I identified, as well as the one you recommended, to be crossed over at no higher than 500 (I was going to go for 400Hz as most bass drivers start to break up just after 500Hz).
