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Thread: 2386 Horn with 2482 Driver?

  1. #1
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    2386 Horn with 2482 Driver?

    I'm thinking of building a pair of Klipschorns and I'm looking for a cheap solution for the midrange. How would this combination work if crossed over at 400Hz? Normal listening position will be approximately 10 feet straight in front of the speakers.

    I have the 2482 drivers already, and the 2386 horns are almost free on eBay. I am limited to a horn that is about 29"x11", and length isn't a concern.

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    Why not simply buy a pair of these "almost free" 2386 horns and find out for yourself ( how the 2482 does on it ) ?

    Some free test software and a USB based test mic ( another $100.00 ) will tell you the low end limit of any possible combo .

    For my listening preferences I suspect that the narrow 40deg horizontal coverage would be a real draw-back / though one might be able to widen the coverage with some ( largish ) custom built slant plates .

    BTW, the Klipsch Forum have already parsed these very same questions every which way.

    You'll get much more thorough answers there .


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    Senior Member Rudy Kleimann's Avatar
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    The 2386 wouldn't really "load" the driver at 400Hz, as the horn is simply too small to place much additional load on the connected driver at such a low frequency. Pattern control and horn loading are two sides of the same coin. The 238x horns don't really live up to their advertised pattern control until ~1200 Hz in the horizontal plane, and ~2Khz in the vertical plane.
    Loudspeaker designers did not realize this in the early days. Many speakers were quite enjoyable despite the fact the horns were mis-shapen.
    I doubt that the 2482 would be bothered by your combination in a home environment though- your ears will probably hurt before the diaphragm hits the phase plug... think woofer excursion vs. frequency in a sealed cabinet application.
    As Earl K says: buy a pair on ebay and try them out.

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    There isn't any information on the Klipsch forum or the internet on the 2386 horn. There is a bit on the 2380, but the opinions vary from good to terrible. I've read good things about the Eliptrac 400 horn, they are about $300.00 in a DIY kit. From what I have read about horns the Eliptrac would be too small to go to 400Hz? The more that I read about horns, the less I know.
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    Senior Member Rudy Kleimann's Avatar
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    Judging by that picture that horn is smaller than the 2386.
    The 2386 Specification sheet is available on the JBL website, with plenty of good data. It may also be posted on this site.

    Plentiful on ebay at $25-30 each, how could you go wrong? Mount drivers on them, lay them on top of the cabinet, and enjoy listening while learning first-hand.

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    Senior Member Rudy Kleimann's Avatar
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    At the frequency range you're covering, the 2386 (and any similarly-sized horn) will have much wider coverage area than its' 40*x20* spec. See my earlier post. Better yet- look at the spec sheet here:
    http://www.jblpro.com/pub/components/2386.pdf

    If you look at the horizontal & vertical beamwidth graphs you will see it is exhibiting a 57*x75* beamwidth (coverage area) at 1KHz and doesn't narrow to 45*x25* until 5KHz, a factor dictated by the relatively small horn mouth. The 2482 is well rolled off by then and you're crossing over to the tweeter long before then anyway...

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    I think you convinced me to try the 2386.

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    To my ear everything sounds good. When I stand a foot away from the speakers you can hear the mid and high separate, but further back they become one. I think I might try buying a USB microphone and see what is going on.

    I have aDBX Driverack and I don't notice a difference in sound when I the crossover from 400 Hz to 500 Hz.

    I am am having a problem with the low end. At very high volume levels it sounds like the E145 is bottoming out? I didn't use a gasket and they are flush mounted. Hopefully a gasket will fix my problem.

    Overall they sound pretty good, but my Hartsfields with a 130A, 2446, and a 2402 sound better. When I play the beginning of Joe Walsh's Life's Been Good, it sounds like a shotgun blast.

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    Senior Member hsosdrum's Avatar
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    You're likely to get more meaningful suggestions about the Klipschorn woofer on the Klipsch Forum, but I would suggest confirming that the back chamber is 100% air-tight (this most definitely includes using a gasket on the E145) and that the woofer horn's tailpiece is in firm contact with the wall along its entire length. If you haven't already done so, attach flexible rubber flaps that will act as gaskets along both sides of the tailpiece, assuring contact with the walls. When I owned Klipshorns (factory-made 1978-vintage) they negotiated Joe Walsh's "Life's Been Good" with ease.

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    I built backs around them, so sealing isn't a problem. It sounds like the cone is extending outward and hitting the motor board. I'm not using a gasket, so I might try one made from cork, or make a wood spacer.

    Im not sure how much the cone moves on an E145, but it is all that I can think of.
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    Senior Member hsosdrum's Avatar
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    Before going to all the trouble of fabricating wood spacers, I would try several layers of cardboard cut into rings. They might even work better than wood, since they would compress, assuring a better seal against air leaks.

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    Senior Member Rudy Kleimann's Avatar
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    C'mon fellas!

    This ain't rocket science...

    Ever heard of cardboard spacer gaskets? They're made for ALL sizes of speakers, ~1/4" to 3/4" thick, have relief notches for bolt holes, cut into 4 pieces with a dove-tail or stagger-cut fit to make the circle. Glue 'em on or just stack 'em up.

    They're cheap to buy and ship, and should be available at most speaker repair shops or DIY speaker and electronics parts websites such as www.partsexpress.com Surely you've heard of 'em?

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    I searched for spacers online but couldn't find much. Shipping to Canada is always expensive anyway. I just made a couple of spacers out of 5mm plywood, it took about an hour with a router including making a tool to cut circles. It cured my problem.

    I have a DBX microphone that came with my PA2 crossover, so I might see if I can hook it up to my computer to do some testing.

  14. #14
    Senior Member Rudy Kleimann's Avatar
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    Use yer noggin...

    Quote Originally Posted by robertg View Post

    I have a DBX microphone that came with my PA2 crossover, so I might see if I can hook it up to my computer to do some testing.

    Why don't you use the mic with the DriveRack's built-in 1/3-octave measurement graph function?

    That's what it's made for!!!


    This ain't rocket science, but it might take all of 5 minutes reading and setup...
    I could've found and ordered the gaskets you needed faster than that...

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