Fun with the new ND Passive's - The Passive Aggressives

[Chris Roemer]

Exiting it out the back, and/or running a (router) "roundover" around the exit will greatly diminish chances that you'd hear any chuffing (even a 1/4" RO is quite beneficial).
OR you could go up to a 1-1/4"id port, but then it needs to be 6" long.

[a6walter1]

Chris Roemer will port noise be a concern with a port that small of a diameter?

[Chris Roemer]

I don't see your concern.
PRs model similarly to ported boxes, not closed boxes.
It DOES look like in a box 3x the size, that you would not add extra mass to the PRs.

In a 0.15cf box, I see a plotted F3 (using 2 unweighted PRs) near 70Hz (Fb also near 70).
OTOH, a 1"id port that's 4" long tunes the box to the mid 50s (which is actually listed as the "target" on the P/As), with an F3 near 50.
The 2 plots look nearly identical, except the PRs roll off about 20Hz higher.

[a6walter1]

The biggest thing I would be concerned about with a ported enclosure is the over excursion of the woofer below the tuning frequency. That is why i was thinking of going the PR route.

[Chris Roemer]

If your desired tuning is in the mid 50s (which should yield another 10-20Hz extension in 0.15 cf), then you COULD just use 4" of 1" tubing for tuning. While the larger box will reach lower, you'll lose power handling.

[a6walter1]

mattp I am considering this little powerhouse of a speaker. However, I would like to make new cabinets so that the PRs are on the front baffle below the woofer. The volume of the enclosure I am thinking about is 0.15 ft^3. When I model this, it appears that I should not add any weight to the PRs and just leave them at their standard mass. Does that sound right to you? Thanks!

[ckr]

Yeah, the PA's need a sub. I am happy with my setup. The mini sub provides the bass that the PA's are missing. I'm sure the PA's are fine as a stand alone full range speaker but the mini sub really helps them. My 6.5 inch tang band sub is a bit too much bass for a PC setup with the PA's. My setup sounds better than the Harman/Kardon 2.1 system I purchased many years ago.

The 3" sub provides much more bass than the PA's! Its not an "I feel". Its an I built and hear it. Thanks for the feedback.

[3rutu5]

whyt do i get the impression that most folks actually do this i was thinking about what i actually want out of my speakers yesterday when working from home. Most of my time im at my PC and enjoying some music at a lower level. I think that these would be a great setup at a pc, maybe even for when people come around. Even though i give my builds an absolute thrashing to make sure that they can hit ear drum bursting levels, i wouldnt actually use that in a day to day. A prime example of this is that phantom clone i built recently, at a low to mid volume the bass note is very noticeable and gives me a little grin and the 12v battery setup just keeps on going, but when i was testing i wanted to get all the 60 watts that amp had to give and wanted no distortion..... i would easily just take it outside and let it play.

I also assume most of you guys have a few sets of speakers and have some large towers or 2 ways that are very capable of filling a large room, so wouldnt actually use the PA's for that anyhow I know i have more speakers than i have ears and barely use them all.

[wogg]

I feel like the PA's could easily pump more bass than that tiny sub. Also, if you had a larger sub, perhaps the classic TB 5 or 6" Voxel style and a proper high pass on the PA's you could very easily fill a room.

Not that you should change anything, that's great for near field PC use so if you're happy that's awesome.

[ckr]

The setup sounds great up close. PA's are not going to fill a room with sound. Have them placed about 2 feet from my ears. Same with the mini sub. Sub in the middle, PA'a spread to the left and right for separation. Picture is not actual placement. Build an enclosure 4"x4"x4" from 1/2" MDF(external dimensions) for this Tang Band W3-1876S 3" Mini Subwoofer. Sealed enclosure for tight crisp bass.

[djg]

Nice. How do you like them?

[ckr]

Here is my setup with these little guys. I run them with the Tang Band sub.

[3rutu5]

rutu, I realize that part of you looking into the PAs is to do a(nother) PR design, but PRs DO add to the co$t.
I can tell you that sometimes I can't duplicate a vented box rolloff using (existing) PRs, but I've never seen a PR design that couldn't be matched (or bettered) using ports (they have fewer design constraints w/out the PRs).

I'd think that (aside from a box vol. increase) if you did a non-PR vers. of the PAs (esp. w/your printing abilities) w/a (folded) slot, that you'd be happy w/them.

that they do Chris, even my crazy attempt at the 2inch variant comes close to the PA's in cost and i even had the kit in the cart ready to buy last week, but pulled the pin after i couldnt get the right model happening right, but to be honest i've only ever been able to get a PR to model nicely once, the rest has been failures. I will tell you one thing, i wont be using the knock down box if i ever get this kit, 3d printing most likely.. At the moment i'm trying to learn how to do a cross over so might go that ported option still yet.

[Chris Roemer]

rutu, I realize that part of you looking into the PAs is to do a(nother) PR design, but PRs DO add to the co$t.
I can tell you that sometimes I can't duplicate a vented box rolloff using (existing) PRs, but I've never seen a PR design that couldn't be matched (or bettered) using ports (they have fewer design constraints w/out the PRs).

I'd think that (aside from a box vol. increase) if you did a non-PR vers. of the PAs (esp. w/your printing abilities) w/a (folded) slot, that you'd be happy w/them.

[3rutu5]

It is a combination of a lot of things. Placement, room, nearfield or not etc. Nearfield they have a surprising bottom end but in a larger room from a distance may lack a little below 60. For their size 60 is nothing to shake a stick at really.

I never paired mine with a sub for use in my kitchen or at my computer but adding a sub is never a bad idea for any small system.

-MP

interesting matt, yeah after getting a ND65 with 2x90 PR's to get around the same F3, i think that is a good amount of bass for sitting at a computer enjoying yourself. I think to use mine in a similar fashion i would need a tweeter. I really want to try these after reading through all the comments, just not liking the exchange rate, additional tax i would need to pay and shipping :( Maybe one day, fingers crossed.