GoodSoundClub - Romy the Cat's Audio Site

In the Forum: Horn-Loaded Speakers
In the Thread: DIY Firefly Horns

Post Subject: DIY FireflyPosted by green heron on: 4/8/2011

As the builder behind these horns, I can answer some of your questions. It's true, I was primarily focused on the woodworking/building side, and now I'm experimenting with amplification and crossovers. I can't speak authoritatively on those subjects, so I didn't focus on that part on my website.
That picture that you posted was just after I built the horns, but prior to experimenting on the amplification/crossover side. I ended up moving the horns further apart and away from the corner of the room. Then I placed the tapped horns toward the center to reduce the boundary gain I was hearing. I haven't had enough experience with a variety of tapped horns to form an opinion of the concept. But I can say that I'm looking to replace the 38 Hz tapped horns and try something more efficient--probably 25 Hz tapped horns at around the same efficiency as my midbass horns (101 db) if I can get them to reach high enough to mate well with my 100 Hz midbass horns, which is the challenge with tapped horns (they have a very narrow range). The throats of the 320 Hz tractrix horns are 34" tall, right at ear level. All drivers were time aligned with a scope. I added a passive first-order crossover between the tractrix midrange horn and tweeters (JBL 2402) and that set-up is powered by a 45 amp. I'm happy with my results midrange on up at the moment, but I'd like more slam from the midbass horns. The backchamber may be a bit too large, so I'm planning to experiment with the cabinet volume. Do you have any suggestions to tell what the ideal cabinet volume is and what the typical sound characteristics that indicate if a backchamber is too large?

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