Your thoughts on custom speakers

[HipoFutura]

I'm a newbie and this is my first post, so be gentle. I've decided to build (for fun) a set of speakers. I'd appreciate your thoughts and opinions. I was in college in the 70s when JBl 88s reigned supreme, and always had JBL or Altec speakers in my guitar amps. I'm a retro kind of guy and have a soft spot for JBLs. I'll use a Phase Linear power and preamp with the speakers.

I have LE-5-2 mids and LE26 tweeters. I'm considering Infinity Kappa Perfect 12s for the subs. I've a couple design options. 1) Build a seperate sub enclosure with the two Kappa and then build two satellite enclosures for the mids and tweeters. 2) Build two enclosures to hold a sub, mid, and tweeter.

Then there is the choice of sealed or ported enclosures for the sub.

I'm looking for bone crushing bass and bright high freqs that will shatter the windows. I listen to Pink Floyd, Super Tramp, Doobie, Eagles, etc. and not at loud volumes.

Any thoughts??

[Zilch]

I'm looking for bone crushing bass and bright high freqs that will shatter the windows ... not at loud volumes.

Well, THAT ain't gonna happen.

Welcome aboard. You've come to the right place!

[HipoFutura]

Thanks Zilch! I should add that I'd rather use JBLs for the subs, but I've found the Kappa to be a very impressive speaker. Any vintage JBLs that would be comperable with the kappa? The other consideration is enclosure size. I don't want these things to be the centerpiece in my livingroom. I'd rather they be somewhat out of sight.

[hapy._.face]

Welcome!

Any vintage JBLs that would be comperable with the kappa?

What's your budget?
Oh, I'm sorry - You said 'comperable'- "No."

.

[GordonW]

I'd build seperate main-speakers and sub-cabinets. Use a good 10" woofer (like a JBL 127H-1 or LE10H) with the LE5s and LE26s in a 3-way "main" cabinet, and put the Infinity 12" in seperate subwoofer cabinets, with their own "plate amps" for power for the subwoofers.

Regards,
Gordon.

[HipoFutura]

Gordon, that's exactly what I'm up to. However, I have a set of 123A-1 woofers and L100 X-overs I'll use in the satellites. I'll use a Phase Linear active crossover, a pair of PL 400 amps, and PL 3000 preamp to drive it all.

Since the 123a woofers will not be doing the heavy lifting can I build a smaller enclosure for the 123a, LE26, and LE-5-2 speakers? Also, what would be a good x-over freq between the Infinity subs and the pseudo L100s?

I'm considering a single sub enclosure with one firing down and the other up. Both against baffle boards for deflection. I'd like to keep everything as small as possible.

[GordonW]

Build the enclosures for the 123As to be around the size of an L100 (1.6 cubic feet or so), but DON'T put a port vent into it. This will give you a sealed-box rolloff of around 50 Hz or so. Crossover to the Infinity speakers, at around that same 50 Hz point, so that the rolloff of the woofer is where the Infinity sub "takes over", from there down.

If, with your electronic crossover, you high-pass the 123A enclosure at 12 dB/oct and the sub at 24 dB/oct., the combined rolloff of the woofer (which is 12 dB/oct in a sealed box) and the high-pass, will combine to give a good 24 dB/oct. acoustic highpass, total rolloff rate. Should create a very good blend with the Infinitys...

If you do the 123A cabinet as above, a good start for a crossover topology, would be the L50 network. If you do a search for L50 here, you should find several posts with schematics...

Regards,
Gordon.

[HipoFutura]

I really hate exposing my ignorance, but being unencumbered by knowledge it can't be avoided!

Gordon, your reference to crossover topology has me confused. I have the L100 x-overs. My intent was to use them with the 123A-1/LE-5-2/LE26, eliminating the need to design and construct any electronics.

Another month and it will be warm enough in the garage to start constructing the three enclosures. Going to have to neglect my hotrod while I play with this new project.

Thank you again for the help. Very much appreciated!

[GordonW]

Try the L100 crossovers... it should work OK.

My suggestion, was that if you didn't already have crossovers, L50 crossovers might be a good starting point...

Regards,
Gordon.

[epoch5]

Try the L100 crossovers... it should work OK.

My suggestion, was that if you didn't already have crossovers, L50 crossovers might be a good starting point...

Regards,
Gordon.

Since I am a dummy about this stuff what advantage would the L50 xover have over the L100 xover.

[Titanium Dome]

Since I am a dummy about this stuff what advantage would the L50 xover have over the L100 xover.

See for yourself:

[Titanium Dome]

Original L100 network:

[Titanium Dome]

L100A network (what the clustered driver L100s have):

[Robh3606]

See for yourself:

What does posting the three networks tell him?? It certainly doesn't answer his question.

Rob

[Zilch]

Since I am a dummy about this stuff what advantage would the L50 xover have over the L100 xover.

Unless it's very early L100s with LX12-10, the networks don't even qualify as crossovers, just highpass filters. The range of frequencies the several drivers are playing overlap substantially, NOT a good thing.

L50 has a "real" crossover assigning specific frequency ranges to each driver.

L100 networks will work, but L50 will likely work better, I believe Gordon is suggesting....