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This is a collaborative project between Mark65 and I, with Mark doing the crossover simulation and box modeling, and myself doing the actual build and the 3d drawings. This project came to be, because I was looking for a center channel design that could keep up with my main speakers (Paul Carmody's "Tarkus") . We decided to use drivers from the same manufactures as the Tarkus design, to keep a good visual and sonic match. However, none of these are actually the same drivers.
The woofer: Peerless SDS-160F25PR01-08 6.5" was chosen because of it's strong bass performance in a sealed enclosure, and it's near identical aesthetics to the Peerless 830657 6.5" used as a mid in the Tarkus design. As an added bonus, it's also $6 cheaper than the 830657.
The mid: Peerless 830656 5-1/4" Paper Cone SDS Woofer was chosen because of it's extended response into the upper midrange, descent spl, and again similar aesthetics and construction to the other Peerless drivers being used. We also needed it to fit on our baffle with a tweeter above it, due to the height restriction of my intended placement, inside my AV cabinet. The truncated frame definitely helps.
The tweeter: Vifa XT25SC90-04 1" Dual Ring Radiator was chosen primarily because of it's small faceplate, and excellent off axis response. Mark has used it before and agrees it was an excellent choice.
The cabinet: Pretty simple stuff, sealed cabinet 25" wide, 8.5" tall, and 14" deep with a separate 2.5 liter chamber for the mid. All .75" material. Woofers and mid are surface mounted, the tweeter is flush mounted. It's a tight fit, the edge of the mid is right at the edge of the tweeter recess, some careful measuring was required before cutting the driver holes into the baffle, but if a hack like me can pull it off, it is do-able.
The crossover: This is Marks territory here, one thing I can say is that the response is indeed very flat as the sim suggests. The only change to the crossover that was made, after a bit of listening, is a bit of additional padding on the tweeter (the 3.3 ohm series resistor). I bumped it up to 4.7 as it was just a tad hot in the top end. Mark suggested ordering a few different values to play with, adjust it to your taste, and I will suggest the same. I would think between 3-6 ohms would be good.
It does what we were shooting for, and I don't think we could be happier with it.
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