OK, we know that simple on axis, straight into the speaker frequency measurements aren’t the whole story – getting a range of measurements at different angles gives a better idea for speakers getting general use, not the whole glued to the magic sweetspot that a lot of hifi has.
So it was time to do some directivity measurements. I don’t have the a licensed copy of ARTA so I can’t do the heatmaps ala Gainphile’s site
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I wanted to try some different waveguide options besides the FaitalPro LTH142 before I start making enclosures – and noticed the Pyle PH916 was a quite decent looking, inexpensive, candidate – but very little information about people using it at all on the web, unlike lots of other waveguides. But it is sold as a constant directivity waveguide, and in fact the waveguide I use in my Econowave speakers is a smaller model from Pyle so I gave it a try.
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Well I had made a shortlist of all sorts of great drivers to work through the cabinet simulations with, including the B&C 15TBX100 (Italy), BEYMA 15B100/R (Spain), RCF LF15N401 (Italy), Selenium 15WS800 (Brazil), and even some from Lorantz (Dandenong, Australia), though the Lorantz ones were out of my budget, despite being locally made.
But I got very lucky with ebay and scored a pair of Lorantz 15″ C390X B1 for a great price. I’m told these are asbolutely amazing quality speakers.
Conveniently the auction even included some PA cabinets – though not great for loungeroom use long term at least I can get some instant gratification and get started with measurements and integrating the speakers before I start the big task of building some nice permament enclosures. When placed upside down they even position the speaker quite close to the waveguide, which is how I want the new cabinet to have it.
Not measurements yet. I’ve just quickly hooked up the bass drivers with some temporary banana sockets connected via the bass reflex port.
Build Intention:
A “simple” two way speaker with the advantages of the Econowave, but deeper bass than my current woofers, and more directivity by using a compression driver/waveguide that extends down to a lower frequency.
Eventually building the speakers with “modular” cabinets, to make changing parts easier.