All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

[JimNazium]

Hey All.

I am by no means a speaker builder. I am a cabinet maker. I have built cabinets and put together a handful of speaker kits, but have never come up with the components myself.

Recently I got an idea to build an "All-In-One" speaker cabinet that would sit under a 55" TV. It would be around 24"H x 70"W x 18"D and house the Left, Right, Center, and Sub. See the attached pic below (obviously, I will size the cabinet to the drivers accordingly).

I have some left over drivers that I'd prefer to use and need advice on missing drivers (tweeters, sub) and crossovers that would work well together. This doesn't need to be anything great, just something to use some of my existing components.

What I have;

2 - Dayton Audio RS125T-8 5" Reference Woofer Truncated Frame 8 Ohm

http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-rs125t-8-5-reference-woofer-truncated-frame--295-340

2 - Dayton Audio RS125-4 5" Reference Woofer 4 Ohm

http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-rs125-4-5-reference-woofer-4-ohm--295-370

2 - Peerless 830643 5-1/4" SDS Shielded Woofer

http://www.parts-express.com/peerless-830643-5-1-4-sds-shielded-woofer--299-244

1 - Dayton Audio Es25f-8 1" Euro Series Textile Tweeter

http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-es25f-8-1-euro-series-textile-tweeter--275-100

So, I need to decide which woofers to use and, if it will match, the tweeter I have (which I see isn't available anymore).
Also, whether I should have a center speaker. Since the left and right will be so close together, maybe just phantom a center, which would then give me an area in the middle for shelving for AV components.
Then pick a sub that will fit well with the rest.
And, I don't know much about crossovers, so that will have to be addressed too.

I'd appreciate any feedback to get me going on this project.

Thanks!
J

[bullittstang]

Re: All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

Unless you are already designing speakers, or want to do many more in the future, my suggestion is to take a hit on the tweeters you own and build a proven design, either from PE, Meniscus or DIYsoundgroup and integrate those in your cabinet. Having a center is a personal opinion, I have heard both with and without and I think your ears adjust to the sound of either very quickly.

A few (you can easily find others at the site's I mentioned earlier) that come to mind are:
Overnight Sensations (what I use for a small room HT system, all TM's)
Swope's (you can find the kits at Meniscus)
Classix II's if you have enough room, and might be able to forego a sub with 2-3 of these.

Sub possibilities:
Any of the HO version RS woofers from PE, so you can have a small sealed enclosure and can live upside down (pretty stiff suspension)
Might go with Jeff B's Baby Boomer (again on Meniscus) but use your cabinet as the box and modify the plans to fit your needs.

If you really want a "custom" design using that tweeter, you will get some great help here for that too, but will make it more difficult without some Manufacturer and/or Actual FR graphs.

[Chris Roemer]

Re: All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

I'd say to use the 125-4s for the L/R (each needs only 0.35cf, vented). IF you need a CC (I don't have one, and my L/Rs are more than 6' apart.), I'd use the 125T-8s in parallel, which will make a 4 ohm load (which will match the 4 ohm L/Rs), and require about 0.6 cf. So that's 0.7cf for L/R, or 1.3cf for L/C/R.

You won't need anything like your original 14cf. Will this be a TV stand (& electronics cabinet?), so the height is fixed at 24"? Most of the volume would be used by the sub. You could go TangBand W6-1138? (ferrite is less expensive), or an 8", 10", or 12" sub. Even a 12" (vented) shouldn't need more than 3cf or so. So, 2/3rd of your volume could be shelving. You probably CAN cut the depth down (to whatever minimum your electronics require).

[bret191]

Re: All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

You should have no problem using your drivers at all. The Es25f-8 I don't know much about but I am sure it can be measured and implemented. Sounds like a nice project and you being cabinet maker should help a lot. There is lot of good help here to steer you the right way. I personally use a center but you don't have too. I like the integration of using a center and I can really tell a difference in the dialogue when listening to movies etc.The main difference I notice is when the action clip starts and the sides start to open up, but then with only 2 and no center you seam to have a fuller dialog and not so concentrated in the center so both have there strong points.I notice with only 2 the imaging is good when I sit in the center but off center is lacking but still good. I even turn the surround off just to use stereo with all my music some time as I like the way it sounds for movies also as some movies have very poor surround tracks and 2 channel works much better. Its nice to have the option and can produce some very nice experiences!
I have been planning a similar build all winter now and have just been waiting for the weather to change as my garage gets a little cold even though I have a heater in it.


I have been gathering the materials to build a all in one that is similar "80" W x 19" D x 37.50" H I raised the TV and speakers to a height that matches our seating height, all speakers LRC and sub space is going to be removable baffles as to facilitate different speaker designs and be bolt in. Cross over will have its own compartment which will be hidden by one of the doors for easy access, it will also hold power distribution. Center are RS150's and Morel tweeter they are great at reproducing voices and that design is done all ready. I have the left and right design finished all so. A few more pieces of wood and I will have everything.

I hope you get yours finished and look forward to seeing your done!

[fpitas]

Re: All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

A famous example of an all-in-one speaker, with toe-in and horns:

[LongHorn64]

Re: All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

fpitas, what in the heck is that beast? It's gorgeous, and I love the horns. More info please. I did notice the image is labeled paragon, perhaps a hint there, huh? All the best, Mike

[fpitas]

Re: All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

That's the JBL Paragon:

http://www.audioheritage.org/html/pr...bl/paragon.htm

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/JBL_Paragon

[LongHorn64]

Re: All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

Hey fpitas, thanks a million for the quick reply and the links. Benny Goodman is already my new monitor wallpaper (:->) I love the mids labeled "overtone producers." That speaker looks mind blowing, I'll bet it sounds pretty darn skippy too. All the best, Mike

[JimNazium]

Re: All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

Thanks for all the info guys.

So here's what I've picked for drivers;

My existing 2 - Dayton Audio RS125-4 5" Reference Woofer 4 Ohm

http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-rs125-4-5-reference-woofer-4-ohm--295-370

2 - Tymphany BC25SC06-04 1" Textile Dome Tweeter

http://www.parts-express.com/tymphany-bc25sc06-04-1-textile-dome-tweeter--264-1028

1 - Tang Band W5-1138SM 5-1/4" Neodymium Subwoofer

http://www.parts-express.com/tang-band-w5-1138sm-5-1-4-neodymium-subwoofer--264-831

Since the RS125 don't require large cabinets, I decided to make the full width of my cabinet the same width as the TV, around 42". I also decide not to add a center so I'd have a place to put my components.



Now I have to choose a crossover, which I know nothing about.
If you guys could give me a few suggestions, with a very concise reason why, I'd appreciate it.

Thanks again,
J

[Rory Buszka]

Re: All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

Thanks for all the info guys.

So here's what I've picked for drivers;

1 - Tang Band W5-1138SM 5-1/4" Neodymium Subwoofer

http://www.parts-express.com/tang-band-w5-1138sm-5-1-4-neodymium-subwoofer--264-831

You're not going to have enough bass with that subwoofer. And buying an off-the-shelf crossover is virtually never a route to a high-fidelity, good-sounding speaker, because a proper crossover design must be done from scratch for the specific drivers involved. Not all speaker drivers are created equal.

Just saying.

[Whitneyville1]

Re: All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

+1 on more sub-woofer. An 8" RSS sealed sub powered by a Dayton Audio SPA250 amp (or something similar) or a 10" sub will reach down with authority for music. You could even probably squeeze a ported sub enclosure into your space for movie SFX. The 10" Titanic 4 or RSS265HO both fit in relatively compact ported enclosures and give nice HT bass, with the edge going the Titanic.

[Wolf]

Re: All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

Thanks for all the info guys.

So here's what I've picked for drivers;

My existing 2 - Dayton Audio RS125-4 5" Reference Woofer 4 Ohm

http://www.parts-express.com/dayton-audio-rs125-4-5-reference-woofer-4-ohm--295-370

Thanks again,
J

My Stances might suit well for the RS125-4 and use a Beston RT003 tweeter. Meniscus has the kit currently.

If the room is larger than say 12' x 12', you'll want more than a 5.25" to make it shake. The UM10 may fit that space if there's enough volume.
Alternatively- if you wall off the back of the entertainment rack in the center, you may actually be able to go dipole in an H-frame just because of the way it's
constructed. Then volume becomes less of an issue.

Later,
Wolf

[Chris Roemer]

Re: All-In-One Speaker Components Advice

Never a good reason for extra space between a tweeter and mid-bass. make them as close as possible. Check out Wolf's design, then your XO work is done for you.

I'd also recommend a 10". Closed for music, but probably vented (w/an unboosted plate amp) for more HT.