3 way - Recommendations

[Avoletta]

Hi all,

I would like recommendations on Daytons 6" Woofers (Mid Range) and 8" Subwoofers to use in a pair of 3 way speakers.


I really intend to do something like http://www.troelsgravesen.dk/Jenzen-NEXT.htm

My workshop has all the most common tools and I had some success building smal pair of transmission line speaker.

Now I want to try something biger.


Tks.

[Geoff Millar]

I'm assuming that you don't wish to build the speakers to which the link refers?

Do you mean the Dayton RS180 (6") series, which have a similar appearance to the SEAS? If so, I can highly recommend the RS180P; lovely sound, look great and excellent value. I'm using them in Curt Campbel's "Slapshot" MTMs and they have enough low end for most of our recordings; they play quite loudly enough, too.

The RS180 (aluminium cone) has been used in many, many builds and is highly regarded, but I haven't used it.

The RS225 (8") is also very highly regarded, again, it's been used in many builds and has the same cool appearance as the RS180. I've read nothing but praise for its performance and value.

If you're not experienced in speaker and crossover design, I would look an existing, proved and documented project .

Geoff

[Drummer]

Geoff, your rs180's are 7 inches. The rs150 is a 6 inch driver. I have the rs225p in a 3 way, and it sounds great too. The p has higher sensitivity, and the aluminum 225 goes deeper in frequency. The 225 has more to deal with as to breakup, but it's going to cross much lower in a 3 way. Why not go with a 10 or 12 incher if you're using a 6inch.mid? If size is an issue I get it, but you could have a more potent bottom end, and a more dynamic presentation with the right woofer choice. What music do you listen to, and at what volume? How big of a room? What type of sound do you prefer? Have you heard specific speakers that you love, and more importantly ones that you didn't like much, or at all? If you're set on a 6 inch Dayton mid, you will need to figure out awood, and tweet that will work with the mid that you pick with regards to frequency response, sensitivity, output desire, and crossover points. If you could come up with a goal of what you want your speaker to be capable of, and what type of presentation you want, I think you'll get more feedback.Do you like a laid back warm speaker, or do you like an in your face detail revealing scalpel? So many ways to go about what it is that you most prefer. Are you able to design enclosures and crossovers, and do measurements? If not, you would be well served to duplicate an existing design, or see if the guys that do would be willing and able help you. If you're going active, that opens up a whole other world of driver candidates and sound shaping potential. Glenn.

[rpb]

The x-overs for 3-ways that I've played with always end up not being practical. There's a point where the part count simply gets too high, and expensive, even if the speaker sounds very good. I've used 6.5" woofers in a 3-way in the past, but I now think that, for me, if I'm building a 3-way, I want a woofer that can shake the room at 25hz. Those woofers are not cheap these days. If I only need 40hz, then a 2-way can easily can do that. A few days ago, I bought a pair of small 2-ways from the Dorcas shop for $4. The boxes looked usable, and I gambled on the drivers not being blown. I measured the response, and was impressed with how smooth they were out to about 8k. (Full BSC, etc.) They had a big peak at 16k though. I played them with my 15" sub crossed 4th order at 50hz, and was really impressed. The Blu-ray player I was using had bass management options, and some quality Dacs built in. Crossing the sub at 50hz with a 24dB slope made the sub location undetectable! I worked out a notch filter for the 16k peak, but did not add it to the speakers.(Got Lazy). These will end up used as surrounds. This got me to looking at sub-woofer plate amps. Several that I would consider, have high-pass filters at 20hz, which makes me wonder what the manufactures are thinking. I'd rather not lose anything at 20hz. after building a sub capable of mid teens!

[Geoff Millar]

And as well as the key questions above, what's your budget?

NB Apologies for calling the RS180 a "6 inch", but I think of it that way as that's the width of the cone; 180cm is the diameter including the cone and surround. I haven't noticed any projects using the RS180 as a mid-range, probably because both the paper and aluminium versions have breakup issues.

The RS150 has the same cool family look of the RS range. I've auditioned it in the Dayton RS621 kit, and played about half an hour of test tracks. I thought it was a bit 'clinical' compared with a paper woofer speaker to which I was comparing it, but it seemed very clean-sounding. That was a two way bookshelf speaker, not a three way.

Geoff