[Jon_Patrick]

Over the years i have been forced to replace crossovers and drivers in my Polk SDA's, to the point where i even built my own centerchannel and bookshelf speakers for my surround system.


I have since moved away from my Polks, the fronts took up to much space and I am considering building new speakers for my theater. I am taking a good hard look at the Atohm drivers, I am thinking about using a Atohm high-excursion 7" and 5.25" drivers along with a vifa tweeter in all of my speakers, crossing at 25hz-150hz, 75hz-2.5khz, 2.5khz-35khz.


Any one have experience with these drivers?


I have heard some little book shelfs that where using the tweeter and the 5.25 driver and i was impressed.

 

[colofan]

Could you provide a link for these drivers I had tried a quick search and can't seem to find the specifications on them

 

[Jon_Patrick]

parlez vous francis?


This is the best pricing i have found, Atohm wont sell direct, but this link is a custom builder who sells kits. I was actually looking at the Dzhari kit for the six surrounds and then making a smaller box but using the same components for the center. I also just noticed that they upgrade the kit to include two 7" drivers instead of a 7 and a 5.25.


I have been told that these are some of the best drivers made in the world.

 

[Jon_Patrick]

As for pricing info, my cost delivered to usa is just under 3500 for the kits. The little bookshelf's that i listened to at my local highend shop which used the tweeter and a 5.25 where on sale for 2200 a set. I guess these drivers are used in a lot of highend speakers, at least that is what i have been told. Does anyone know who is using these drivers?

 

[Jon_Patrick]

 http://www.lamaisonduhautparleur.com/


after all of that i still left out the link, sorry.

 

[rlj5242]

Quote:

I am thinking about using a Atohm high-excursion 7" and 5.25" drivers along with a vifa tweeter in all of my speakers, crossing at 25hz-150hz, 75hz-2.5khz, 2.5khz-35khz.

You can spend a bunch of money on some of the best drivers in the world but if you don't have the proper crossover to integrate them, then they will sound like garbage. You need the proper testing tools to find the correct crossover points. You need to take into account BSD (baffle step diffraction), driver phase and the difference in sensitivities. After all of this you still need to tweak the crossover by ear. If you don't have a talent for this, then this is another potential area to make a mistake.


-Robert

 

[Jon_Patrick]

thank you for your reply Robert.


I did a little checking, the company listed above is selling kits/designs/drivers crossovers and they are claiming they are all tested. In reading a little deeper they mention 4th order crossovers and claim that these speakers match Onix Reference 3 in performance other than the 35-50khz which they claim is not needed for premium sound. I believe this is a Onix copy using same drivers and crossovers and box design.


other than the ultra high frequency tweeter they look real similar, use the exact same drivers and the new updated system has the exact same crossovers and crossover points as the onix 3's.

 

[colofan]

Well I admit I don't speak French however I did find this kit on the web page eventually. 87dB/1watt/1meter is not exactly a high efficient design. Dynamic range and distortion levels would be a concern to start with.


I would prefer a morel or seas driver over a vifa when it comes to tweeters and their performance. Robert makes very valid points about designing without all the tools now available. I would consult various suppliers in the audioexpress magazine for consultation usually done free of charge for different transducers they carry.


Typically fourth order filters are good in active designs but can be very lossy in passive systems and are very part tolerance sensitive.

 

[M NEWMAN]

Jon, the company you provided the link to uses drivers that are available from several sources. For example, they list Seas, Peerless, etc, of which are available at Madisound, Zalytron, as well as a couple other sources. These others also have a variety of pre-designed and tested kits available - possibly for significantly less too. Looks like at least one of the tweeters on those kits you linked to were using the Raven tweeter - that's available in good/better/best in the form of R-1/R-2 & R3. The cost goes sky high too, with the top of the line costing around $1200 (going from memory here so I could be a little off, but you get the point...). I'd look into some of the other offerings too - don't forget to check out J Salk's outstanding Veracity's - you can find reviews here on the forum (I haven't heard them, but from what I can tell, they're very well done). Good luck.

 

[Jon_Patrick]

thanks everyone for your comments, sounds like i need to do some research. I need to keep busy so i am always working on something, i was going to build a rear projection system using four projectors but after looking at a couple of board room applications it became apparent that the edge blending technology was not up to snuff, so now i will build speakers.


thanks again

 

[M NEWMAN]

Jon,

Here's a couple links to get your feet wet...

http://www.audiodiycentral.com/sd_250.shtml

http://invalid.ed.unit.no/~dunker/horns.html

http://www.partsexpress.com/webpage....&WebPage_ID=29

http://www.diy-systems.com/

http://www.zalytron.com/

http://www.madisound.com/


Have fun!!

 

[fieroloki]

Im going to eventually do mine from Parts Express. Looks good and sounds good.

 

[jheoaustin]

I recently god my Wilmslow custom Forte, fully finished, and the result was great. They also carry various kits. Try www.wilmslow-audio.co.uk.

 

[jsalk]

Jon_Patrick -


If you have never designed a speaker and do not have computerized speaker design and measurement tools, my advice is to forget trying to "roll your own." The exception to this is if you want to learn how to do it. But you should know that you will likely not achieve very good results, even with the best drivers. It usually takes many tries and a few years of experience to get the hang of it.


There are many great existing designs out there. The Ellis 1801's are a good example. The drivers are first class, the crossovers are first class and they would probably cost at least $3500 per pair at retail. Very solid design.


But I would steer clear of any kits offered by parts suppliers. They must offer kits in order to sell drivers and parts, but their crossover designs are generally somewhat marginal at best. There are exceptions (North Creek Music, for example), but in general, I think that is a fair statement.


If you choose a great design to begin with, you will have excellent results. You will certainly never consider buying retail again. But be careful. You will be so happy with your new speakers, you will immediately begin looking to build an even bigger and better pair. It is easy to get hooked.


Best of luck...


- Jim