General Speaker Advice and Recommendations

Discussion in 'Speakers' started by shotgunshane, Mar 7, 2017.

  1. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    Iirc marv recommends you try the Fostex P1000 kit (240$ pair from madisound) to see if you'll like full rangers. I think he meant the -BH horn cabinet.

    You'd need a sub cuz they ain't elf maiden pubic hair magic for bass.
     
  2. Elnrik

    Elnrik Super Friendly

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    That's what I need right now. Elf maiden pubic hair magic.
     
  3. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    Been single for a while. Will also settle for Crone's nest.
     
  4. Druid

    Druid Hyperactive Tree

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    Looking at the various Fostex drivers on Madisound, I see "rated input" and "music power". I read somewhere that the amps output power shouldn't be less than the speakers input power. Should I be concerned with these specs at all or just sensitivity? Also, how difficult are these kits to put together for a first-timer?
     
  5. Taverius

    Taverius Smells like sausages

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    The PH1000 cabs are preassembled, all you have to do is connect the drivers to the wires poking out the holes and screw the drivers into the cabs.
     
  6. udin

    udin Acquaintance

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    Wondering about a little assistance for an issue I am having with my ELAC ea101eq-g amp. I currently have it paired with the ELAC f6.2 towers and the 3010 sub. Sounds great, and for the most part the amp is everything I could ask for in a compact sized amp. However, when powering off the amp, I get a slight pop sound from the left channel, something akin to a power discharge or something. Even if the amp shuts down automatically due to a period of inactivity, I still get a single pop. You can sort of hear something similar from the right channel as well, but it's not as pronounced as the left channel. My biggest concern is obviously some sort of potential damage to the speakers, and I thought a power conditioner might help, but if it's coming from the amp, I'm not sure this would solve the problem. Any thoughts or help would be appreciated!
     
    Last edited: Dec 31, 2018
  7. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    A while back I had wondered this as well about my Schiit pre/amp (Freya/Vidar) and Jason said this is normal:
    Not sure if it’s the same thing in your case/amp, but just thought I’d throw that out there.
     
  8. Slaphead

    Slaphead Facebook Friend

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    A slight pop isn‘t going to damage anything - I get something similar when I power off my ADI-2 DAC through my active monitors - I also get it, but louder when the monitors go into automatic standby. If it was making a loud bang when powering off then yeah, something‘s wrong and there is the potential for speaker damage.

    IME most audio related devices pop slightly when being turned off - it‘s just a small electrical discharge, and quite benign.
     
  9. udin

    udin Acquaintance

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    Well, that's reassuring. I've noticed little pops in other setups I've heard in the past, but I guess this was just a little disconcerting since it is all new gear. Thanks for the replies.
     
  10. Lautreamont

    Lautreamont New

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    I recently bought his active Navis ARB51 and A/B tested the Navis and LS50W at home and I preferred the fuller and richer sound of the Navis. I also like that I can directly connect my external DAC and turntable without going through an internal DAC that can't be bypassed as on the LS50W.
     
  11. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    DIY Bass trap project. Speakers for Speaker stands, I think I'll invest in some nice Argosy stands next month.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]

    @furiousipaduser showed me this video when I was looking at buying some sonitus bass traps. I also had a look at GIK and vicoustic and after seeing them in person and realizing they are just foam, I didn't think they would target the 80-110hz frequency I was aiming at (I have a null here as well as a bit of a spike lower down).

    I can show the step by step process to build these, I made some alterations/improvements from the video and learnt plenty of tricks to get a nicer result that looks decent and works well. I just don't know if there is any interest as its not a difficult project. Let me know please.

    Here is my on axis measurements now that I have the traps:
    [​IMG]


    Here is the null before I began:
    [​IMG]

    There was a significant change since this measurement^ that I should mention, I had the rear wall of my room filled with the same ultratel glass wool I used in my traps. So the room has probably got nearly 1m3 of wool in the room and about .5m3 in the wall.
    I also got 10 vicoustics wavewood panels but only managed to hang a few of them up, They claim 0.59 at 100hz. Fairly unbelievable.

    Still a lot of work to go but starting to look and sound a lot better!
     
  12. Hrodulf

    Hrodulf Prohibited from acting as an MOT until year 2050

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    No better stands like subs.
     
  13. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    I couldn't imagine needing subs with these Adams, taming the bass in this room with them has been a mission!
     
  14. AdvanTech

    AdvanTech Friend

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    Thanks for sharing! I would definitely be interested in the step-by-step for these DIY traps.
     
  15. westermac

    westermac Friend

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    Nice work! Acoustic treatment can either be fun or tedious depending on the person, but the satisfaction of getting the most out of your speakers and room is well worth the trouble in my opinion. The only real practical downsides being the expense (particularly for those not comfortable going the DIY route) and the visual impact on the room (historically not popular with significant others).

    I was also using speakers for stands (@Hrodulf and did try subs for stands but unfortunately it turned out to be a poor location for the subs) but recently upgraded to Argosy stands and have been very happy with them. I ended up going with the basic ones as opposed to the integrated Isoacoustic models as I already had Isoacoustic stands to place on top of them. Their wider stands would fit your A77X's really nicely; my M1's are a bit smaller otherwise I probably would have opted for those.
     
  16. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    No worries.
    Disclaimer: I am not very experienced or good at DIY,

    This is an easy DIY project if you have the right tools, it's not so easy, if you, like me, have limited access to space and tools.


    I watched this video and followed the instructions but had to make a few alterations.

    First.
    Have a look at the space you want to put your traps, how much space do you have? Will it obstruct any power outlets or door ways? Possibly adjust the sizes to suit your room.

    What you need to make 2 traps:
    6 post. 600mm x 10mm long 90 degree triangle pieces of pine ($10)- buy square and cut diagonally or use a table saw and 45 degree blade or straight blade and make a sleigh. You can't hand saw this or circular saw this accurately enough.
    I did a real quick and dirty sleigh using two scrap pieces cut roughly at 45 degrees to make a guide then just ran through 10 of my square posts to give me 20 of these triangles.

    Rough wood:
    [​IMG]

    i used 40mm posts, I would recommend going a lot thicker. Maybe 100mm or so for more rigidity. Also you can easily get two screws into the bigger post, I would of split the post if I tried to get more than one screw in.

    4 triangles mdf board: 1200 x 600 x10mm ($12) thick cut these into 600x600 triangles which will give you 4 triangles - I used the pine like the video suggest but it's more flexible and kinda pointless. I had my wood supplier cut these to size for me then I tidied them up and sanded them all even at home.

    [​IMG]

    some sort of acoustic insulation. In Australia I found we had a pretty limited bunch of options. I did a tonne of research and found the best product for my solution was 50mm Bradfords ultratel glass wool boards ($180aud for 3 sheets of 2.4x1.2m). The datasheet demonstrated the best 100hz absorption of any material on the Australian market. It can be faced with foil to achieve even better low frequency results but this will also result in minimal absorption above 2000hz.

    The only issue with glass wool is it is itchy stuff. you will need enough to fill a 600mm high box. I used 50mm thick boards, so i needed 12 triangles per box which meant i needed about 1.2x1.8 metres to fill each box.

    [​IMG]
    I bought a truck load to shove in the wall and ceiling as well.

    Will also need a pack of timber screws about 40mm long. Will need 24 screws for 2 traps ($5).
    Some sort of speaker grill fabric. I got 10 lots of this stuff $14 per 1x1.5m
    You only need one of these per trap. I doubled it over.
    [​IMG]

    under floor foam $27.25 for 10m: This is something that I added to the rear of my traps just to seal them, I didn't like the idea of leaving the glass wool exposed in a room I spend so much time in. I doubt this will affect their performance as this foam is 90% air.

    [​IMG]

    Finally a staple gun and a shitload of staples ($24).
    [​IMG]


    Assembly:
    1. OK, we have got our 6 x 600mm or however tall you want to make your trap. We have right angled triangle mdf board with 600mm sides or however big you're trap needs to be. We've double checked that they are all the exact same size and sanded down any rough edges from making the cuts.

    We want to assemble the frames using A style: short edge to the face of the trap.
    [​IMG]

    Drill pilot holes to avoid splitting the timber and countersink (because you are likely stacking them) - insert 2 screws ideally to secure each post, flip and repeat.
    Line it up so it's flush.
    [​IMG]
    See with only one screw I was getting a little rotation, I had to add some washers in to give me a bit more surface area to stop the rotation, unfortunately two screws would of split the posts I used.

    2. Now that we have assembled the frame we want to get our insulation material ready.
    I recommend full PPE (glasses, mask, gloves, long sleeves and trousers) when working with glass wool or any of this stuff (not enough research about long term affects).

    Using one of our mdf pieces as a cookie cutter, cut your insulation material into triangles. The trick is to make sure you are cutting perpendicular to the board to get a nice 90 degree cut and to take particular care with the long edge of your triangle piece. I just used a stanley knife to cut the glass boards, they are a lot easier to work with than pink bats and the fluffy stuff which you will need an electric bread cutter or a serrated knife.


    [​IMG]

    I would cut about 4 pieces then stack them up then cut out the space for our posts, remembering we used the A configuration, you can use a pole to double check then trim the corners so it fits snugly in the frame.This is not a necessary step if you are using the fluffy stuff.
    I chose A configuration because it is easier to get the angle correct when trimming.

    [​IMG]

    [​IMG]
    Production line.
    [​IMG]

    NOTE: I have tried to make the front facing part of the trap as tidy as possible as this is the part that may push into your fabric and make it lumpy.

    3. The next part is easier with a friend but I did build a pair on my own so it is possible, just neater and way faster with two people.
    Cut the foam into 700x700mm squares and staple to the rear sides of the trap.
    Trim off any excess which might get in the way of the front part of your fabric.
    [​IMG]
    ^Since mine are about 2 metres tall I can't see the top, so I have not bothered to cover the top in black fabric

    [​IMG]

    4. Once the two squares are secured we want to then secure our speaker fabric to the front. Fold it in two so it is a bit thicker then use the opposite side to where the fold is, securing it to the top left and top right first then securing across the top, next do the corners.


    [​IMG]

    ^this looks neat from the front but not so much from the side.

    [​IMG]
    ^this was the neatest technique we could manage. the seem is stapled into the mdf.

    Flip it and pull it tight, securing again along the top (you should have the fold for this bit which makes it easier to get rid of the wrinkles) before tackling the corners then pull the sides tight and secure with staples every few inches.



    DONE!

    [​IMG]

    Future improvements.
    I wouldn't mind covering the rear in a single layer of the speaker fabric so from the side you can't see the excess fabric (there is no way to secure the excess into the wool or foam).

    I also might remake mine with the thicker posts because the thin posts tend to rotate with only a single screw.
    Possibly also get some black staples or spray paint the staples before i do it, so they are less visible from the side.
     
  17. rlow

    rlow A happy woofer

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    That’s a pretty cool DIY bass trap. Great work. But why do you need to build the frames? Could I not just get 2 long front triangular posts (like the ones used, but the full height of my walls) attach them to the walls, cut the triangular insulation pieces, stack em from floor to ceiling, and then just cover from post to post with fabric? Would there be downsides to that kind of an appraoch?
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2019
  18. Boops

    Boops Friend

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    The dude in the video built the blocks/frames so the traps could be easily broken down, moved to a different room or alternate corner.
     
  19. Xecuter

    Xecuter Brush and floss your amp twice a day

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    @rlow bass traps will work much better if you can pull them off the wall and allow an air gap behind and on the sides. So I wanted them to be free standing so I mess around with positioning.

    You could build in an air gap in your idea. However I mainly don't like the idea of attaching anything to the walls for resale/moving house down the track.
     
  20. mscott58

    mscott58 Friend

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    When I built my bass traps I used recycled denim insulation (http://www.bondedlogic.com/ultratouch-denim-insulation/) instead of mineral wool/rock wool. It's harder to work with in terms of cutting, but much better in terms of not getting all itchy. Also if you have any chemical sensitivities or concerns (especially regarding formaldehyde) then denim is a much better choice. My mom has a sensitivity to formaldehyde so rock wool was not an option since our guest room was very close to my listening room. I think they make formaldehyde-free rock wool now, but they didn't back when I made my traps.

    One additional trick in making corner bass traps. I built a triangular-pyramid shaped trap that I mounted in the top corners of the room right above the standing bass traps.

    [​IMG]

    Sadly enough I had all of my traps in storage and a burst water heater flooded the space and destroyed them all. Ugh.
     
    Last edited: Jan 20, 2019

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