Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

[pknaz]

Hey all, I know I should take everyone's advice and build a proven design first, but what is the fun in that? I have zero skills in wood working, and quite honestly, don't have the time or patience for building enclosures. To this end, I'm very interested in designing a tower system based around two of the PE enclosures stacked on top of each other. With the 1ft^3 enclosures being 22" high, with another 2-3" for spikes/feet, I have plenty of options for the top enclosure.

I think I can get away with putting some damping material between the enclosures and bolting them together to make a single solid tower. My thoughts are two 6.5" or 7" woofers in the bottom enclosure, and then an MTM type design in the top enclosure.

I'm very interested in thoughts!

Thanks!
-Nate

[Pete Schumacher]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

Why not? Though you don't even need to bolt them together.

[Jay1]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

Your enclosure plan should work fine, the problem is going to be having a crossover designed specifically for your build. We can help with that....

[benchtester]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

You might find this thread interesting:

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthr...=Modula+Xtreme


Here are two MTMs Jon Marsh did in PE cabinets:

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthr...3969-Natalie-P

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthr...uction-Details

[pknaz]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

I'm thinking of this tweeter: http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=277-112 - any thoughts on this ribbon from the community?
With that, I'm thinking two 4" metal cone mids in an MTM design for the top enclosure, and then some form of woofer combination that will get into the 20's for the bottom enclosure. Is this possible in a single cubic foot?

[djg]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

Pete's Schumakubin variants would fit perfectly. They are like two PE cabs stacked. Info is in his sig line.

[bolland83]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

If you want extension into the 20's you may consider going with a sub/satellite combo instead of towers. 20hz in 1 cubic foot isn't impossible, but it isn't easy or cheap either. The other obstacle is finding a woofer that will fit the front of the PE cabinets you mentioned. I don't think you're going to get 20hz from a 6 or 7 inch driver. That said, you could do a sealed, side firing 10" sub and come close, but that's going to require a separate amp and some sort of eq/boost to bring up the low end.

[isaeagle4031]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

Iam not sure of your budget or size constraints, but my intrepid build is along these lines. If you use the PE 3 cube sub box, it will get you close to the tuning I have.

[craigk]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

nate,

have you decided on those mids yet ? nothing wrong with metal, i know your set up, cone breakup is always something to look at. let me know before you spend any money, i have a collection of mids, maybe something you could use.

craig

[jsr]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

Lots of those uber-pricey speakers use 2 separate enclosures. I don't know of any 6-7" drivers that will get you to 20Hz though. My Digger8 is the only thing I know of that gets to low 20s without electronic aid to boost the low end. If you want that low, you'd likely only be able to use a single driver in that 1cf space, but then you won't get much SPL with a single 6-7". If you want a pair of them for more cone area, you'll need some major EQing to get the low end up to reach even high-20s with decent SPL. Most towers don't go to the 20s though, so you may be expecting too much from your design. No problem with going with a design that hits 40s with authority and adding a sub to fill in the extreme lows when you want/need them.
P.S. My definition of "hitting" those frequencies is an F3 at those frequencies. Others may be referring to F10.

Oh, regarding the tweeter, I don't have direct experience with the RT002, but I LOVE the RT003C. Great sounding tweeter with good "airiness" and love the small form factor so I can space it close. Plus, I like round faceplates (squares always look weird to me). Gets you some of that true ribbon performance without being near the price.

[pknaz]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

Hey Craig, how are you?

I haven't decided on much of anything yet, but I did find 4 x 8" woofers, 2 x 4" mids, 2 x 3/4" tweets boxed up in my closet from when I was into car audio. These drivers are at least 12-13 years old, they seem to play fine. I got a DATS so I can get T/S parameters on them. Gonna mock something up to toy around with and learn software before I spend money on better drivers.

To all the other responders, thanks! After I had made this post, I read someone in another post that does CNC knock down boxes, so I think I might look him up when I've learned a bit more about what I'm doing.

[pknaz]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

isaeagle4031,

Your Intrepid build is the one in your profile pic? You had them at InDIYana, right? I remember liking their bass extension quite a bit.

[Jay1]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

Getting the ts parameters is one thing, you will also need to have the drivers measured in the enclosure, hopefully they work well together.

[isaeagle4031]

Re: Thoughts on using two PE enclosures as a single tower

yep, that was where I debuted them. The woofers are tuned to an f3 of 25 and f6 of 21. I received a lot of great feed back on them. The cabinets are going to get some more attention, to bring the appearance in line with the sound.