Line array - Page 3

If you're going for those $2 full ranges they take a 1 1/8" hole. I cut 16 holes in a test baffle last night so I can do some break in and pull real world TSPs to model.

For 2"+ holes you'll probably want to use a holesaw and drill press.

Have you listened to the tweeters yet? I've heard some mylar tweeters in cheaper speakers and they were a bit rough sounding. But I'm not sure if all mylar tweeters are that way or not.

I havent fooled with them yet. I'm not sure how I'm going to get them into a baffle. They're shaped to key into a specially shaped socket and there are no places to screw them down. Maybe I'll just sandwich them between 2 pieces of wood and shape the hole in the baffle to be a waveguide.

If someone sees a better way to do it, post it.

Ya know, maybe a T-slot router bit? It might allow you to slide the tweeters right down the line into place, dab a little hot glue on each one, then put the top piece on to sandwich them together. The T-slot could make them pretty tight if you found the right size.

Actually, none of that may be needed. How's this: 3/4" mdf for the baffle. You know how you flush mount a driver? Well, just do that in reverse. Flush mount from the back, problem solved. If the driver portion is 1", and those odd flanges make it 1.25", route out 1.25" from the back as deep as those flanges are thick, then cut the 1" though hole. Now use a 1/2" roundover bit on the front portion of the driver hole. Done!

Sit the tweeter in from behind, either hot glue the sucker in, or any thin piece of plastic or metal strip along the entire length.....you put a screw through that plastic strip in between each tweeter to hold it in place. Hot glue would be real quick though.


If you could find the exact size rabbet bit, man that would be quick. Cut the through hole first, then run a rabbet bit around the back side of the hole for the flange to sit into. They make rabbet bits with the guide don't they? I think I have one.

I just ordered 320 drivers.......only 200 were tweeters.......

Bring it on!

I'm envious! You get to make over 600 solder connections. Many in tight places.

Ha, I've never even done 1 before!

That was my initial thought.

I'd kinda like to play with wave guides for the tweets too. There's a lot of ways to treat the front so I may have to make a couple of baffles and see what sounds best in room.

What about this 3.5" full range driver on Madisound for $8??

http://www.madisound.com/catalog/pro...oducts_id=8659

$8! I dont know... I'm going to need to see a review first.

Very smooth response from the mfgr graphs....i ordered 4 as a test. i do a little 2 driver pair by my desk at work and see if i can sit with em for an hour at a time....that's my scientific testing procedure.

Great, I think those could work just as well as this project


http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=34726

Sweet. Thats exactly what I planned to do with those unbranded 2" aluminum cone fullranges in a sealed config.

Then Erich H talked me into more of those little JVC fullranges.

Then I needed to spend a little more to get free shipping so I bought some Peerless fullranges.

I need to stop browsing the board from work.

Hey now, don't blame that purchase on me......unless they work out real well!

By the way, I think a 3" forstner bit will handle the oval shape on those 3"x5" JVC's. Obviously you would need to drill 2 holes for each one though. My local Rockler wood store had them on sale for only $7.

Aww you bastard! I cant find any bits locally that go bigger than 2" that aren't $36 speedbors.

I haven't tried very hard though.

I saw two 3" forstners and a couple 3 1/8" and 3 1/4" ones as well. The next day I measured out what would work and took off back to Rockler. They had all sold but one 3" and one 3 1/8". I bought both figuring that the larger one might be okay.

The employee said they could be sharpened if needed and that I should be able to get a couple hundred holes drilled without any issues. So if you think the 3 1/8" may work, I could send it your way. The price was originally around $28 I think. But their new brand is a bit cheaper at around $24 if memory serves me correct. Might have been $22?

I figured 3" would be just about right, haven't looked at 3 1/8" yet.

Since I'm using a drill press I should just buy a spade bit set that goes up high. They'd come in handy for more than this.

Yeah, if its round holes then the I use 3" and 3 1/2" hole saws on my drill.

I just did my 3" ports that way with my hand drill.

If I use a hole saw I have to drill all the way through the material to get a hole. If I use a spade bit/forstener bit I can drill in part of the way and be left with a hole. The initial TSPs for the little 2" drivers show they need a tiny amount of space when sealed. One of my ideas was to mount them in a 4x4 and just drill out the required volume with a spade bit. A tiny hole at the back of the volume leading to the rear of the 4x4 would allow me to pass the leads through and then I could seal the hole with a dab of silicone. The front edges could be rounded over just enough to meet the edge of the driver.

I mounted 16 drivers in a scrap piece of MDF using a jasper jig and it took me an hour and a half. I dont want to repeat the same process for 80 drivers unless there's no other way to do it.

So you're talking about using a solid 4"x4" piece of wood and drilling straight in until you give each driver the correct volume? Basically a tiny enclosure for each one?

That's a pretty neat idea. But I'm assuming you will be gluing pieces of mdf or birch to get that thickness? If not, won't it eventually warp?


I think 16 in 1.5 hours seems pretty good.

If I go the quick route it would probably be a pine 4x4. This is really a proof of concept on building an array and active crossover. If it turns out well I'll make a proper enclosure.

It took about 15 minutes to measure, mark and drill the pilot hole on this 16. If I had a forstener bit I would have been done in another 15.

I've got to say, these little 2" drivers sound good. Granted this is my first undocumented speaker build but they dont have any of the harshness that I'm used to hearing from cheap HTIB sets. They seem to be strong in the voice range but not fatiguing. The low end is obviously lacking but considering they're just drivers stuck on a piece of wood I'm pretty shocked.

Just an FYI. These are the specs listed on the PE site for the 2" aluminum dome fullrange.


Here's what I got when I just ran WT2.



The drivers were broken in over the course of a week mounted to an open baffle under medium power.

FYI Rockler has their 22 peice forstner bit set on sale on the website for $50 instead of $120. Lowes carries a PC set for $50 but its only 14 piece. Not sure you can get a nice set for a better price.

Thanks for the heads up, I will try to get there and pick that up.

Have you hooked up one of the the 3x5's yet?

I'm hooking a handfull of them up tonight to break them in. I'll throw them on the WT2 probably next week.