Driver Selection- 8" 3 way

[michaelmoran]

Thinking of building a 3 way using PEs .75 cf cabinets. Not much on woodworking.

Will be sealed (I have a closed mind).

Have more or less decided on Dayton RS225 8"
or 8" Peerless SLS. Leaning toward RS 225 but would like any advice.

Midrange is where I am having real problems. Looking at Peerless 830970 - the new 2" full range. Has anybody though about using it as a mid? What are issues or problems in doing so?

Also looking at Aurasound NSW2-326-8A 2" , the Hi Vi BS3 3", the Hi Vi M3N 3", and the Tang Band 1337SA 4".
Would like to use a mid where the SPL was 3 or 4 db lower than woofer to deal with BSC?

Tweeter will likely go with Dayton Neo ND20FA-6

I need the help as I am a clueless clown

Thanks in advance for any advice.

[Pete Schumacher ®]

> Thinking of building a 3 way using PEs .75
> cf cabinets. Not much on woodworking.

> Will be sealed (I have a closed mind).

> Have more or less decided on Dayton RS225
> 8"
> or 8" Peerless SLS. Leaning toward RS
> 225 but would like any advice.

If you're going Peerless, go for the 830884 HDS Exclusive. Otherwise, the RS225 is an exceptional performer with very low distortion and good low end extension.

> Midrange is where I am having real problems.
> Looking at Peerless 830970 - the new 2"
> full range. Has anybody though about using
> it as a mid? What are issues or problems in
> doing so?

If you're going to use a 2" mid, go with the Dayton RS52. Cross it to either the RS225 or 830884 around 800Hz.

> Also looking at Aurasound NSW2-326-8A
> 2" , the Hi Vi BS3 3", the Hi Vi
> M3N 3", and the Tang Band 1337SA
> 4".
> Would like to use a mid where the SPL was 3
> or 4 db lower than woofer to deal with BSC?

Compensate for BSC with the 8" woofer rather than trying to get a smaller woofer to cover it. You can always pad down a mid to get it matched well with the woofer. That being said, the TB 1337 is a really nice little mid.

> Tweeter will likely go with Dayton Neo
> ND20FA-6

I've got a working XO for the RS52 and ND20 if you're interested. And I'd be happy to work up a version using either the HDS 8" or the RS225. Of course, there'd be a little bit of adjusting to taste down the road, likely limited to padding resistors.

> I need the help as I am a clueless clown

> Thanks in advance for any advice.

Below is something I worked up a while back but haven't built yet. It's based on PE's data files for all the drivers with baffle diffraction effects included and compensated for.

[mike1234]

I've decided on the TB titanium 4" and am going to try it full-range. If I don't like the treble I'll add a tweeter.

Wolf has an *excellent* filter network for the TB, BTW. Curt designed it and Wolf tweaked it.

> Thinking of building a 3 way using PEs .75
> cf cabinets. Not much on woodworking.

> Will be sealed (I have a closed mind).

> Have more or less decided on Dayton RS225
> 8"
> or 8" Peerless SLS. Leaning toward RS
> 225 but would like any advice.

> Midrange is where I am having real problems.
> Looking at Peerless 830970 - the new 2"
> full range. Has anybody though about using
> it as a mid? What are issues or problems in
> doing so?

> Also looking at Aurasound NSW2-326-8A
> 2" , the Hi Vi BS3 3", the Hi Vi
> M3N 3", and the Tang Band 1337SA
> 4".
> Would like to use a mid where the SPL was 3
> or 4 db lower than woofer to deal with BSC?

> Tweeter will likely go with Dayton Neo
> ND20FA-6

> I need the help as I am a clueless clown

> Thanks in advance for any advice.

[romanbednarek]

Provided Link: RJB Audio Projects


> Thinking of building a 3 way using PEs .75
> cf cabinets. Not much on woodworking.

> Will be sealed (I have a closed mind).

> Have more or less decided on Dayton RS225
> 8"
> or 8" Peerless SLS. Leaning toward RS
> 225 but would like any advice.

> Midrange is where I am having real problems.
> Looking at Peerless 830970 - the new 2"
> full range. Has anybody though about using
> it as a mid? What are issues or problems in
> doing so?

> Also looking at Aurasound NSW2-326-8A
> 2" , the Hi Vi BS3 3", the Hi Vi
> M3N 3", and the Tang Band 1337SA
> 4".
> Would like to use a mid where the SPL was 3
> or 4 db lower than woofer to deal with BSC?

> Tweeter will likely go with Dayton Neo
> ND20FA-6

> I need the help as I am a clueless clown

> Thanks in advance for any advice.

You might want to look into a midrange with a sealed back if you plan to put everything in the 0.75 PE cabinet, otherwise you would have to create a separate compartment for the midrange. There are several midrange domes available including ones by Dayton RS, Usher, Morel, Tang Band, etc. These smaller drivers will make it easier to cross to the ND20 tweeter but may cause an issue with a metal cone woofer like the RS225 due to the cone resonance. You'll have to use a higher crossover point and steeper slopes to be successful with one of these 2" dome midranges. I think there are a few sealed back cone midranges as well. Don't worry about matching the SPL of the mid to the woofer because you should have a little bit of headroom so you can shape the response better with resistors.

Just keep in mind that the crossover for this design will be tricky regardless of what drivers you choose. I suggest that you learn how to use a crossover simulator and some of the FRD Consortium tools to model this design. There are a few tutorials under the "Audiofiles" section of my site below. I actually simulate all of my designs before purchasing anything because this helps me determine which drivers will work best.