MattyW Posted November 9, 2020 Posted November 9, 2020 (edited) Ok so I decided to build in a centre speaker in my entertainment unit to replace the Dali Ikon Vokal centre my ultra short throw projector has been sitting on top of. I used 4x no name 4.5" Chinese full range drivers. A pair of 4ohm and a pair of 8ohm. I wired a 4 and an 8 in series for each side, though in parallel to the other pair so the amp should see a 6ohm load. The speakers are 89db sensitive. I used vintage Western Electric solid core wire between binding posts and drivers. Forgot to take photo's of that. Luckily I had the same speaker cloth as my Oatlon W2-1000F speakers on hand so it matches my two mains. It actually sounds incredibly good, being far more revealing than the Dali though unexpectedly that comes with a downside. Namely I can hear how many voices are poorly recorded with plenty of reflections in the room in which they're recorded. Movies are all perfect, but TV shows, not so much. Another downside is these drivers only reach down to 260Hz. I've ordered a pair of Dayton Audio DC130B-4 5 1/4 drivers which I'll try in place of the 8hon full range on the outside and see what that does. Should be interesting. So far though for a total cost of $100, really impressed. The baffle is angled up so the driver point straight at the listening position. https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32956171691.html?spm=2114.13010708.0.0.2f194c4dqtF0ov If there's one thing I didn't think through, it's that I have mounted my projector screen at the height needed when the projector is sitting on top of the Dali speakers. I was looking forward to getting rid of it as it wouldn't need much of a push for my baby daughter to push the projector off the speaker. My next project will be to build a box of similar hardwood of the same height and width as the Dali, though the same overall depth as the entertainment unit and fix it in place with double sided tape. Edited November 9, 2020 by MattyW 3
MattyW Posted November 19, 2020 Author Posted November 19, 2020 Well the Dayton Audio DC130B-4 5 1/4 drivers were a resounding success adding authority to sound. There is a little softness with the occasional word with women's voices or teenage male voices so I've ordered an inexpensive piezoelectric tweeter for $8 which I can slip in between the speaker cloth and the front baffle. This should take care of that. I can add a cap to limit how low it goes if needed. Piezos won't be damaged run too low but they can sound quite harsh.
Guest Old Man Rubber Posted November 19, 2020 Posted November 19, 2020 11 minutes ago, MattyW said: This should take care of that. I can add a cap to limit how low it goes if needed. Piezos won't be damaged run too low but they can sound quite harsh. The commercial passive soundbars have medium drivers and small tweeters paired to each other - do you think you'll need 4 with an appropriate crossover network? One might get overwhelmed in that driver array.
MattyW Posted November 19, 2020 Author Posted November 19, 2020 3 hours ago, Old Man Rubber said: The commercial passive soundbars have medium drivers and small tweeters paired to each other - do you think you'll need 4 with an appropriate crossover network? One might get overwhelmed in that driver array. So far it's pretty spectacular. Far better results than the Dali Ikon Vokal centre it has replaced. I'll take my cue from the Dali though and use the tweeter dead centre only. The higher efficiency of the tweeter means only one is needed.
MattyW Posted November 21, 2020 Author Posted November 21, 2020 Built a box for the projector to sit on. I can now sell the Dali centre. 3
MattyW Posted January 14, 2021 Author Posted January 14, 2021 An update on this, I had found some female voices to be a bit soft sounding at times so ordered in an el cheapo $8 piezo horn tweeter. Needless to say it didn't sound good at all so it has been disconnected. I replaced the thin Western Electric copper wiring run from the terminals to the 2x fullrange with 3mm Van Damme LC-OFC which saw an immediate improvement. I left the wiring running to the woofers with the vintage WE copper and bass seems overall more balanced with less current going through them. I have now ordered in an inexpensive beryllium copper tweeter and 2uf Russian MBGCH PIO and will see how that works out once it comes in. Fingers crossed. I recently swapped the Oatlon W2-1000F speakers for dads old B&W DM16 speakers. Overall they're detailed and punchy with deeper, more detailed bass than expected. The overall sound reminds me its full of vintage electrolytic though being warm and dry sounding. I guess I'll be recapping these in the next year or so.
MattyW Posted February 12, 2021 Author Posted February 12, 2021 (edited) Well, a few more updates. The beryllium copper tweeters have been installed with some 24awg Neotech UPOCC copper wire, and a 2uf Cornell Dubilier SF bypassed with a 0.027uf Russian SSG-1 silver mica. The end results are fantastic with the tweeter blending seamlessly (to my ears) with the 2x fullrange and 2x woofers. No softness in the sound anywhere and detail which to my ears rivals aluminium ribbons Very happy with this result. Edited May 21, 2021 by MattyW 2
MattyW Posted June 10, 2021 Author Posted June 10, 2021 (edited) Thought I'd post an update. With burn in and actually running Audyssey to EQ things this has far exceeded expectations. Extreme clarity and furthermore depth I've never experienced from any commercial centre speaker. Really rather surprised by how well these have turned out. Better fine detail than the Dali Ikon Vokal 2 as well which is surprising seeing as that driver has a ribbon installed. Edited June 10, 2021 by MattyW
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