suggestions for diy front soundstage - Page 2

I'd suggest a phantom center with 3π or 4π for left and right. Can you move the book case?

Don't move the dog. He (she) looks really comfortable.

indeed.

I tried several different placements and toe ins to try the phantom center and the stage was always a little finicky. for my MLP it was perfect for the most part, but anywhere else, it was just too far off. maybe I just didnt find that perfect toe in. There was also a slight amount of compression that I could catch every now and again in the L/R having to do the vocals along with their dedicated content.

"LTD02, I'm hearing this news of dynamics being more important than FR for the first time. Even on these dynamics touting boards. I was under the impression that flatness and extention were shown to be the highest priority - for music we'll say. Is there some research on this I haven't seen? Thanks."

the idea of high sensitivity is tied to dynamics and compression. our ears/brains are incredibly sensitive to changes in dynamics. the quietest sound that we can hear is when our eardrum is moving back and forth by about the size of a hydrogen atom.

our brains are so good at adjusting to frequency response that we can recognize our friends and family talking on a telephone and after a conditioning period, they sound real even though the lower end of the telephone system frequency (250-300hz) is chopping off the fundamental tone in our voices...the mind recognizes the harmonics and puts the fundamental back in!

there are people who like high sensitivity and or horn speakers not because they like to blast them to insane levels, but because the dynamic range of the source is preserved.

some people like old fashion lp's for the same reason. when an analog signal is digitized, dynamic range is lost (because the digital point is an average of the analog signal across a section of time). all the noise on an lp is tolerated because the dynamic range makes the music sound more realistic, which leads to it being more involving and emotional.

formal/academic research on dynamics is something that i have not seen and that is actually kind of surprising given its import. then again, i haven't done a comprehensive survey of the literature. anecdotally, the evidence is overwhelming.

I suggest a DIY TV stand/Rack and an upgrade on the center channel. The Paradigms are a very capable mains and a good match output wise to the subs you made. Maybe a DIY center channel to get your feet wet? A WCW arrangement with the C being a coaxial would be a nice upgrade and a worthwhile endeavor. That TV stand's gonna give way so better to focus your attention there first, but NICE job on the subs though!

Check out Audiogon for used or new old stock. Avg price around $500 plus shipping. Adding one of these or similiar would really help with dynamics

Immensely so! The alignment alone will show you a big improvement with dialogue intelligability and the dual mids/dual woofers will yield big gains in dynamics and bass response considering that 70% or better of todays film content is mixed to the CC.

only way to improve more is to go for a vertical alignment

Not sure about sensitivity, but the overall look is similar:

http://clearwaveloudspeaker.com/Dynamic/4CC.html

JSS

88db/2.83v/m. Hmm. And even that looks optimistic based on the FR. I'm shocked that many drivers can't muster up more than that.

There are a few centers on the DIY scene that have that type of configuration. Maybe not 4 woofers. But stacked TM with flanked woofers is common enough.

if you want high sensitivity in that form factor, get a triple 8 and turn it on its side.

http://jtrspeakers.com/home-audio/triple-8ht/

or build one yourself.

It looks like it should do more than 88dB....but I guess not.

100W will only net 108dB at 1m. You'd need around 300W to even get near reference at 4m, as long as the drivers could take it...

JSS

+1

I wouldn't mess with these wimpy little speakers. The differences in dynamic capability will be incremental at best.

IMO, if you want to make a significant upgrade in dynamic capability, you either go with horns on the L/R with a phantom center or you go with 3 JTR T8's. The JTRs are an excellent value and about the only way I can think of to get a horizontal center that is capable of significant dynamics. Since it is a retail speaker you are paying a premium over DIY but the JTR is pretty damn cheap when you take into account the nice finish and components used.

I'd still go with a pair of 3Pi or 4Pi myself. That can be done for around $1k for the pair and the finishing costs are up to you. It just depends on how fancy you want them to look.

That is what I just did But dont count on mounting that sucker on the wall, it's a beast! Mine will actually be vertical placement behind the new AT screen but should be an excellent match for the L/R triple 12's

That RC62 II is a much better option than the cc as it is 98db sensitivity. That is 10db more sensitive than the CC!!

Nope, i got them from Jeff already built. He has dont a lot of work and due diligence on the xover portion of the speaker and the value really shows through. They are spectacular. AFAIK there are no DIY plans available from Jeff.

Ok that makes it a little different then, on the sensitivities. If I were you, id steer clear of the clone with that low efficiency.

That RC62 looks nice, but 98dB with 2.83V in. Depending on impedance, that can be much more than a watt. Under impedance it says "8ohm compatible". Not sure if some specmanship is going on there....and they do not spec if it is a 2pi (groundplane) efficiency spec.

Also, for Wayne Parham's speakers, please do pay attention that his specs delineate that they reach the dB sensitivity mark with 2.83V in quarter space, or wall-loaded (except for the corner horns, which are of course corner loaded, and the 12pi sub which is a groundplane spec). This is different than a 4pi (freespace) specification.

Granted, most will use Wayne's speakers in a 1pi environment, and 0.5pi for his cornerhorns, and they will see this efficiency.

Odds are Jed at Clearwave may spec his for 4pi space, netting the 88dB rating, which may be bumped up inside a room. But the best place to ask is over at his forum.

JSS

97db from a dome is really questionable IMO. I find a lot of commercial designs skew this spec. And I'm a paradigm fan