@4thtry said:
1) 76 on various shelves + 82 more in various builds.
2) 40+ years, long time subscriber to Audio Amateur/Speaker Builder/Audioxpress mag's.
3) I have no idea. Drivers just keep accumulating over a long period of time.
4) I like drivers that I have heard, and that sound good in other systems.
5) If I could do it again, I would definitely do it in a different way. Hindsight is 20/20. I learn something new on every build, but I keep making mistakes. Not the same mistakes. Fresh, new mistakes on every build.
That is the beautiful thing - it is a lifetime of learning and experiences.
So I miscounted everything lol. Forgot about a tiny TM, a dual driver powered subwoofer, and three pair of 3-ways (one is a TMWW)
So... add 26 installed drivers to my total.
I have great shame, as I also forgot to count a shelf with 12 drivers sitting there. I recounted my Radio Shack collection at 57, my driver collection is at 89, my installed total is 78. That leaves me with... 224? Fuck-me. That's a lot of magnets in this house, no wonder I have problems focusing - my house has a gravity anomaly.
Here is something scary - I sold over 100 drivers (mostly older buyouts from the JBL/Infinity/AR/Dahlquist days) when I moved plus I sold over 60 Radio Shack NIB drivers when I moved. Sold both as lots on Ebay, barely broke even after shipping but it felt good to get rid of that much hardware. Here I am, still over 200.
I’ve got 11 drivers but I’ve only been in the hobby a few years. I also work on just 1 or 2 projects at a time and they take me a long while to get done. There’s always something new to learn and try (and to screw up) and the problem-solving, whether construction or xo or whatever is stimulating rather than frustrating. Been building up my tool collection too so that is helpful. Bummed I can’t get out to InDIYana because of a work commitment. Really want to get out to an event to hear all of the projects and learn from the builders and designers.
I buy drivers that interest me, I don't care if anyone builds my designs
No regrets, but I think that most guys try to complete a 3 way, before they should. It would be better to have several 2 ways under your belt, and beat a few drivers into submission before trying a 3 way.
20 years. Since I started trying to improve some Tannoy speakers. But my obsession with sound started at a much younger age. At 6 I was playing the piano. By 12 I had swapped my cutting edge game console for an audio interface to install into my PC. Today, that is the equivalent of a kid trading his latest PlayStation for a synthesiser! After that my PC with 1MB RAM could do 8 bit stereo @22.05Khz! (instead of monophonic beeps). Wow!! I was following the European demoscene, and writing songs like my audio heroes who were writing 4 track music using ScreamTracker3 (Real MIDI was too expensive) Fast forward a few years and one day whilst shopping for my next speakers the Vandersteen 2C, I heard the ProAc Studio 125. Well, I better start saving, I thought. Then by accident on DIY Audio I heard about the ProAc Response 2.5 clone. I reached out to the owner of the ProAc Response 2.5 clone website- who happened to live in my home town! One visit to his place and I was hooked. Why pay US$4500 when I could build something similar for 1/8 the price?! But my ears told me that the design was flawed, so I took a leap of faith and built the modified clone with the SS D2905/9500 and Troel’s tweaked crossover. And it was even better than the original!
So my first DIY drivers were the Scan-Speak 18W/8535 and D2905/9500; which I managed to get at a great price.
So from there, there was no way back.
All drivers were purchased with an intent to do a project. But something else comes along and off I go again. My spouse thinks I have ADHD. What’a wrong with that? It works for me! It helps me connects the dots quickly but it can confuse others. Besides, there's not enough time in the day to do everything!
I buy drivers to build designs that are different to what I’ve done in the past. I’ve only done the 6.5” a few times- a poly cone 2 way when I helped two friends build their own Dennis Murphy based Vifa P17WJ/D25AG 2 way, and introduced 2 other friends to build their own ZaphAudio SEAS L18RNXP/27TBFCG based 2 way. I built that same in a Canadian maple veneer one for my girlfriend (who later became my wife!).
Later for myself, I bought a SEAS Thor for a song from a fellow who was unhappy with the sound (who could blame him?!) and started the build for an MTM dipole with a sealed woofer (John K NaO 2). It requires more drivers and amps than I could afford, so it took awhile. Fast forward 10 years I married that girl I built the speakers for, finished college, moved house and had a child. So I’ve only finished 1 NaO speaker because it’s still at my parents home. At the new place I made a vertically symmetrical WMTMW (Jim Holtz / Curt C Statement II). A move overseas to Canada into an apartment forced me to sell up; there I made Jeff Bagby’s Revolution mini. This was final speaker from another designer that I have built.
No. Life’s too short to think about what could be done about the past. Only about what could be done differently on the future. And the truth is that modern consumers have a plethora of good products at cheaper prices, that are available off the shelf, than something they can build. IMHO this is the reason for the demise of stores like Radio Shack (aka Tandy UK/AU/CAD/Mexico), Circuit City, and former Australian giants like Dick Smith Electronics. Even today the remaining Jaycar Electronics stores are full of consumer products that are cheaper than one can build in an advanced modern democratic economy like Australia where the minimum wage is $20AUD/hour. These days passive components more difficult/expensive to find. And where on earth are all those multi-amp+ DSP on a chip for DIYers that power all those sub <$300 speakers?! Litre for litre, these speakers sound far better than the “boomboxes” of the 1980s that I grew up with. I saw the future when I heard Apple’s G3 iMac, with its Aura looking “twoofers” in 1998, and then release the SoundSticks the following year. DSP and class D was the future. I’ve been using Hypex nCore for a decade and these days I reserve passive crossovers for 2 ways or the MT section of bigger speakers. Never for twin 10+ woofers trying to crossover around 100-400Hz.
Music, Building Speakers, Woodworking, Learning new technology, Understanding one-another, being positive & Productive regardless of the noise outside our minds-doors is why I have holed-up here.
Who cares how many drivers & materials we have amassed - our creative minds made that happen (coupled with a lack of self control at times) but look - you and I have the rest of our lives to experiment with what we have now.
DSP just makes it easier/less expensive to experiment.
Once we find what works in that realm we can turn it into passive/stand-alone speaker systems that anyone with an amplifier may wish to obtain from us. (once they hear that magic we seek).
Dang I was hoping I wouldn't dip into the over 30 range but I do. Less than 40 though.. I think
Stock drivers create a common ground to work from that others can be familiar with due to past experience with the same driver, or at least play along because of their own interest in trying the same driver.
In contrast, pulling out an old buyout driver that not many have or will ever have the chance to work with can be like trying to drum up a conversation about your Citroen in a Chevrolet forum.
The draw of buyout drivers is strong though.. Sometimes, amongst the junk, you can find some drivers that would normally be out of your typical price range. On the other end of the spectrum it can be fun to let loose and build wacky stuff or mimic vintage designs with cheap drivers.
Gosh at some point they will just glue a dust cap and VC directly to a surround! I can see it already lol. Probably have to be a rear mount to accommodate giant spider/s.
That is what the label on the right says. Yup, 4" long throw woofer. Went to Meniscus' sale, and the website showed this one pair. I asked to see them, and I took them home. I have a couple ideas, we'll see what shakes out.
I also took home a pair of 3.5 ltr cabs without baffles. In this volume with spec numbers, sans half a liter for a proposed wide range making it 3.0 ltrs, it takes 75W to hit 100dB. That said, I have an Fb/3/10 of 53/49/40Hz using 2x DSA135PR plus about 25g each. Driver and PR are operating within xmax tolerance.
For reference,
The Epique5 PR is too heavy to tune right unless volume is less, and even then I get 1.5 ltrs net and an F3 of 60. The DSA175 would not fit in the box, but would tune aptly. The ND105 PR would not be sufficient, and the ND140 PR would not work physically.
I have not made up my mind on the 'tweeter', but it has to be small....
Comments
That is the beautiful thing - it is a lifetime of learning and experiences.
So I miscounted everything lol. Forgot about a tiny TM, a dual driver powered subwoofer, and three pair of 3-ways (one is a TMWW)
So... add 26 installed drivers to my total.
I have great shame, as I also forgot to count a shelf with 12 drivers sitting there. I recounted my Radio Shack collection at 57, my driver collection is at 89, my installed total is 78. That leaves me with... 224? Fuck-me. That's a lot of magnets in this house, no wonder I have problems focusing - my house has a gravity anomaly.
Here is something scary - I sold over 100 drivers (mostly older buyouts from the JBL/Infinity/AR/Dahlquist days) when I moved plus I sold over 60 Radio Shack NIB drivers when I moved. Sold both as lots on Ebay, barely broke even after shipping but it felt good to get rid of that much hardware. Here I am, still over 200.
Mrs. JR is the best wife ever.
OK, this is ridiculous - found two more in the garage, plus two that belong to Mr. Claus.
If we did a "How many crossover parts do you have" pretty sure Brad would run away with the win!
Not personal x-over parts tho. Just standing here looking at a shelf I have over 200 peerless drivers. I will be sliming the herd this year.
I could win in the paper towel contest.🤦🏻♂️
I’ve got 11 drivers but I’ve only been in the hobby a few years. I also work on just 1 or 2 projects at a time and they take me a long while to get done. There’s always something new to learn and try (and to screw up) and the problem-solving, whether construction or xo or whatever is stimulating rather than frustrating. Been building up my tool collection too so that is helpful. Bummed I can’t get out to InDIYana because of a work commitment. Really want to get out to an event to hear all of the projects and learn from the builders and designers.
There's always next year. Or Grand Rapids and Iowa in the fall.
20 years. Since I started trying to improve some Tannoy speakers. But my obsession with sound started at a much younger age. At 6 I was playing the piano. By 12 I had swapped my cutting edge game console for an audio interface to install into my PC. Today, that is the equivalent of a kid trading his latest PlayStation for a synthesiser! After that my PC with 1MB RAM could do 8 bit stereo @22.05Khz! (instead of monophonic beeps). Wow!! I was following the European demoscene, and writing songs like my audio heroes who were writing 4 track music using ScreamTracker3 (Real MIDI was too expensive) Fast forward a few years and one day whilst shopping for my next speakers the Vandersteen 2C, I heard the ProAc Studio 125. Well, I better start saving, I thought. Then by accident on DIY Audio I heard about the ProAc Response 2.5 clone. I reached out to the owner of the ProAc Response 2.5 clone website- who happened to live in my home town! One visit to his place and I was hooked. Why pay US$4500 when I could build something similar for 1/8 the price?! But my ears told me that the design was flawed, so I took a leap of faith and built the modified clone with the SS D2905/9500 and Troel’s tweaked crossover. And it was even better than the original!
So my first DIY drivers were the Scan-Speak 18W/8535 and D2905/9500; which I managed to get at a great price.
So from there, there was no way back.
All drivers were purchased with an intent to do a project. But something else comes along and off I go again. My spouse thinks I have ADHD. What’a wrong with that? It works for me! It helps me connects the dots quickly but it can confuse others. Besides, there's not enough time in the day to do everything!
I buy drivers to build designs that are different to what I’ve done in the past. I’ve only done the 6.5” a few times- a poly cone 2 way when I helped two friends build their own Dennis Murphy based Vifa P17WJ/D25AG 2 way, and introduced 2 other friends to build their own ZaphAudio SEAS L18RNXP/27TBFCG based 2 way. I built that same in a Canadian maple veneer one for my girlfriend (who later became my wife!).
Later for myself, I bought a SEAS Thor for a song from a fellow who was unhappy with the sound (who could blame him?!) and started the build for an MTM dipole with a sealed woofer (John K NaO 2). It requires more drivers and amps than I could afford, so it took awhile. Fast forward 10 years I married that girl I built the speakers for, finished college, moved house and had a child. So I’ve only finished 1 NaO speaker because it’s still at my parents home. At the new place I made a vertically symmetrical WMTMW (Jim Holtz / Curt C Statement II). A move overseas to Canada into an apartment forced me to sell up; there I made Jeff Bagby’s Revolution mini. This was final speaker from another designer that I have built.
No. Life’s too short to think about what could be done about the past. Only about what could be done differently on the future. And the truth is that modern consumers have a plethora of good products at cheaper prices, that are available off the shelf, than something they can build. IMHO this is the reason for the demise of stores like Radio Shack (aka Tandy UK/AU/CAD/Mexico), Circuit City, and former Australian giants like Dick Smith Electronics. Even today the remaining Jaycar Electronics stores are full of consumer products that are cheaper than one can build in an advanced modern democratic economy like Australia where the minimum wage is $20AUD/hour. These days passive components more difficult/expensive to find. And where on earth are all those multi-amp+ DSP on a chip for DIYers that power all those sub <$300 speakers?! Litre for litre, these speakers sound far better than the “boomboxes” of the 1980s that I grew up with. I saw the future when I heard Apple’s G3 iMac, with its Aura looking “twoofers” in 1998, and then release the SoundSticks the following year. DSP and class D was the future. I’ve been using Hypex nCore for a decade and these days I reserve passive crossovers for 2 ways or the MT section of bigger speakers. Never for twin 10+ woofers trying to crossover around 100-400Hz.
thx, you all are making me feel better
Music, Building Speakers, Woodworking, Learning new technology, Understanding one-another, being positive & Productive regardless of the noise outside our minds-doors is why I have holed-up here.
Who cares how many drivers & materials we have amassed - our creative minds made that happen (coupled with a lack of self control at times) but look - you and I have the rest of our lives to experiment with what we have now.
DSP just makes it easier/less expensive to experiment.
Once we find what works in that realm we can turn it into passive/stand-alone speaker systems that anyone with an amplifier may wish to obtain from us. (once they hear that magic we seek).
This is a life long hobby - relax and enjoy it.
I do.
Dang I was hoping I wouldn't dip into the over 30 range but I do. Less than 40 though.. I think
Stock drivers create a common ground to work from that others can be familiar with due to past experience with the same driver, or at least play along because of their own interest in trying the same driver.
In contrast, pulling out an old buyout driver that not many have or will ever have the chance to work with can be like trying to drum up a conversation about your Citroen in a Chevrolet forum.
The draw of buyout drivers is strong though.. Sometimes, amongst the junk, you can find some drivers that would normally be out of your typical price range. On the other end of the spectrum it can be fun to let loose and build wacky stuff or mimic vintage designs with cheap drivers.
Last count: 95 not including the Radio Shack collection.
I only sold one pair of drivers at Indy... and brought home five pair thanks to Charlei's fire sake
I found two more, so 97.
I grabbed a bunch from Charlie as well. I'm a sucker for a deal.
From the movie Planes, Trains, and Automobiles "You're going the WRONG way!" "How does he know where we're going?"
I boarded the train too....
Found 2 more!
InDIYana Event Website
Wolfy's Photobucket
Kartesian ???
I'm curious about those ^^^ for desktop use w/o a sub . . .
Are these those ^^ ? https://www.kartesian-acoustic.com/sub120-vhp
Gosh at some point they will just glue a dust cap and VC directly to a surround! I can see it already lol. Probably have to be a rear mount to accommodate giant spider/s.
That is what the label on the right says. Yup, 4" long throw woofer. Went to Meniscus' sale, and the website showed this one pair. I asked to see them, and I took them home. I have a couple ideas, we'll see what shakes out.
InDIYana Event Website
Wolfy's Photobucket
I also took home a pair of 3.5 ltr cabs without baffles. In this volume with spec numbers, sans half a liter for a proposed wide range making it 3.0 ltrs, it takes 75W to hit 100dB. That said, I have an Fb/3/10 of 53/49/40Hz using 2x DSA135PR plus about 25g each. Driver and PR are operating within xmax tolerance.
For reference,
The Epique5 PR is too heavy to tune right unless volume is less, and even then I get 1.5 ltrs net and an F3 of 60. The DSA175 would not fit in the box, but would tune aptly. The ND105 PR would not be sufficient, and the ND140 PR would not work physically.
I have not made up my mind on the 'tweeter', but it has to be small....
InDIYana Event Website
Wolfy's Photobucket
I’ve just finished a speaker with ~3.5internal.
Cabinet dimensions 10 1/16” x 5 1/6” x 6 11/16”
(H x W x D);
It hits 102dB with 20V (100W into 3.8ohn ) and 97dB after baffle step compensation.
F3 54 Hz / F6 48 Hz / F10 42Hz.
It uses the Purifi PTT4.0X04NF with SB19 tweeter with an acoustic LR2 4KHz crossover, and twin SB13PFCR passive radiators.
@Wolf Check out this tweeter and PR if you want to keep the costs down but maintain high performance.
The SB19 will not play as low as I'm looking to, and the Purifi PRs are a lot more money.
InDIYana Event Website
Wolfy's Photobucket
The whole Purifi thing is stupid money for butt ugly looking drivers.
I still maintain that speakers want to be ugly to sound good.
Ugly woofers?
Can run some distortion measurements of SB19 tweeter when I get to my other computer. IIRC acoustic LR4 3Khz is possible.
SB13PFCR is the SB Acoustics 5” passive radiator.
I don’t use Purifi PRs for the same cost considerations.
I don't think 3kHz is an option here....
InDIYana Event Website
Wolfy's Photobucket