Newbie DIY Surrounds

[Hal]

Hi, it's with fear and trepidation that I ask these questions on this auspicious site.

I am a pretty good woodworker and general fix anything type guy. (If it’s not broke, I can fix it!) I’ll be replacing a color wheel in my DLP TV soon.

I have a pair of L100’s form 1976 BX purchase in Japan. I bought them as used and repaired. They have N100 x-overs. 123A LR (-1’s I believe). LE 5-2 MR’s and one had an LE25 2 and the other an LE25. The LE25 had some cone damage. I recently replace both of them with 2 Epay LE25-4’s and they sound better matched. I have new Pots and Clarity Caps to freshen up the N100.

I also have 2 more LE25-4s that I planned to use in a new center or surrounds. (There is no room for 3 more L100’s )

Here’s my thinking:
Center with 1 (0r 2) LE5’s and one LE25
Rears 1 LE5 and 1 LE25
I have 2 good LE25-4’s, 1 good LE25-2 and 1 fair LE25. I do not as of yet have any Mid Ranges. A question is will LE5-10’s or 12’s sound similar enough to voice match the 100’s? I can find them cheaper than LE5-2’s.

Cabinet wise, the L100’s have the LE5-2’s in their own enclosure and the LE25’s don’t require any specific size box, so I was going to build some boxes with a baffle to hold the drivers and size the MR section to the same as the 100’s. Build x-over’s like the N100 without the two wires to the LR and the rest the same, 2 pots and 2 capacitors.

Now be gentle and tell me whether I am on the right track or not.
Thanks!

[Robh3606]

Hello Hal



Center with 1 (0r 2) LE5’s and one LE25

Le-5's don't go low enough. Take a look at the matix it might answer some of your other questions.

http://www.audioheritage.org/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=5706


Rob:)

[Allanvh5150]

Hi Hal,
I agree with Rob on the LE5's. I tried an experiment with LE5's and 2404's. They sounded good but didnt go low enough for my liking. If you have a bit more room, I would go for a compact 3 way with maybe a 116 or 117, an LE5 and a tweeter.:)

[Hal]

Thanks guys,

I hate to admit it, but I have downloaded and printed the LE5 matrix, and don't really understand everything that I was looking at. When I see Flux, I think solder, but think it has to do with the magnet power and SPL is sound pressure level, if I remember. The graphs did visualize the differences although I can read a bond chart and understand it easier.

I understand that the LE5 doesn't go low enough for a main speaker. From the L100 tech sheet, they are crossed at 1500 Hz and 8000 Hz, so I assumed that that was their range to begin with. The graph shows that down to 200-300HZ they would be ok until the big drop below that.

I do have a Subwoofer that gets way down to 15 Hz and didn't think I need to go lower on the rears since as I understand the low frequencies are not that directional. When playing music, I pretty much use 2 channel stereo plus the sub. Currently I am using some Fostex full range speakers as the center and satellites.

Would an LE8 plus LE 25 be a better choice?

Size is important in our home; the only way I got the HDTV in the living room was to build a nice entertainment center. I am designing a table to house the Sub and have it fire down or out back, just to keep it out of sight. WAF (wife acceptance factor), she likes the Bose, because they are so small. I also plan on building the rears into something with an acoustical transparent grill that matches the décor.

Hal