X-onken Xpress -1
The Road Map
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| The Road to Fidelity |
Setting out on any journey at a minimum would call for mapping out our route. Travel, I believe, is not just about getting from point A to point B. Every journey is a 'trip' into many things -- getting to know places, people and stuff on the way, how they tackle life in umpteen situations, and how we could often benefit from their 'out-of-the-box' approaches... the plusses are as varied as the curves on the road, and like the road itself virtually endless. It is no different here too.
So, what are the options before us? Which route to take? Surveying the field would take us to the conclusion that, broadly speaking, there are three types of speakers (No,we surely haven't forgotten the electro-statics. How could one forget that timeless 'grande dame' of lifelike 'fi', the Quad electro-static; nor are we pretending to ignore the heroine of planar magnetics, the Magnepan. Just that our 'xpress' ways and our limited 'wheels' won't let us explore those exotic roads to Nirvana.) that we could think of building -- the closed/sealed ones, the ported open ones, or the ultimate in 'open-ness' the Open Baffle boxless avatar. Ah, cutting out that last one from our list is easy; we are out to build a (simple, easy) box, aren't we?
So, what are the options before us? Which route to take? Surveying the field would take us to the conclusion that, broadly speaking, there are three types of speakers (No,we surely haven't forgotten the electro-statics. How could one forget that timeless 'grande dame' of lifelike 'fi', the Quad electro-static; nor are we pretending to ignore the heroine of planar magnetics, the Magnepan. Just that our 'xpress' ways and our limited 'wheels' won't let us explore those exotic roads to Nirvana.) that we could think of building -- the closed/sealed ones, the ported open ones, or the ultimate in 'open-ness' the Open Baffle boxless avatar. Ah, cutting out that last one from our list is easy; we are out to build a (simple, easy) box, aren't we?
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| Speaker Types |
Sealed boxes are ...hmmm, not exactly easy for many reasons. First, there is the immense back pressure to be contained and dispensed with, and that would call for air-tight, rigid boxes constructed from strong and thick panels, which automatically call for power tools and lots and lots of experience. Our toolbox does not have a huge CNC machine ... nor are we seasoned wood workers. And sealed boxes need drivers that are within a given range of T-S parameters, and able to handle high power, and you would need more than an engineering degree to arrive at any sort of a passable design.
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| Open Baffle Speakers |
Open Sesame !
Armed with just a small knife and a straightedge, we get ready to holler 'Open Sesame'. Hold it! No need to waste your breath -- we are already in the 'open' cave of goodies. The open/ported/ducted box means there is no back pressure to be contained, and that means we could get away with simple, less rigid and lighter box structures, and we could also "take it easy" when it comes to sealing joints etc. Plus, we have a choice of material that could be worked with simple hand tools. So let's chant "bye bye" to plywood and heavy power saws and other tools, sawdust and noise!
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| A Multi-port Sub |
The 'open' boxes, again, happen to fall into two pigeon holes -- the ducted or ported variety often called the bass-reflex, or the horny .. oops! ... the 'horned' ones, with the horn taking care of either the front and/or the back radiation. This does offer another advantage -- more efficiency, and that means we could experiment with a variety of drivers (full-range) that 'drink up' less power; that does empower us with the chance to experiment with a range of lower powered amplifiers of all classes. Yeah, trying out half a dozen flea power amps is way easier (and cheaper!) than even thinking of swapping out say, two or three high power behemoths (unless our millionaire uncle has willed his fav nephew a load of greenbacks). So it is the 'open road' we are intending to take.
I am a votary of simple is great, greater and greatest, in that slow order! As one grows older and the knees creak carrying around the top half, the less luggage is the philosophy to follow, I guess. So the drivers are going to be full range ones. AND small ones. Why? Of course, the cost, dummy! Small is beautiful, and God in His infinite wisdom created the audio world in such a way that it is the smaller drivers/boxes ('point source') that ultimately score when it comes to good.. ahem! great 3-D stereo imaging.
Full range -- as full as full can be, so that the critical mid range does not get coloured by unnecessary crossovers or other (unwanted) stuff. Whatever is lacking, or what you later discover is lacking a bit, could be buttressed both at the lower end and the upper registers. Let us first get to our destination, sojourn there for a while and then explore the other narrow alleyways that just might lead to audio Nirvana. So, a small full-ranger it is going to be, in a micro box!
Now what remains is the "nitty gritty" of the build. Let me spend some time gathering all that, and some pixie dust too before meeting you again!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
I am a votary of simple is great, greater and greatest, in that slow order! As one grows older and the knees creak carrying around the top half, the less luggage is the philosophy to follow, I guess. So the drivers are going to be full range ones. AND small ones. Why? Of course, the cost, dummy! Small is beautiful, and God in His infinite wisdom created the audio world in such a way that it is the smaller drivers/boxes ('point source') that ultimately score when it comes to good.. ahem! great 3-D stereo imaging.
Full range -- as full as full can be, so that the critical mid range does not get coloured by unnecessary crossovers or other (unwanted) stuff. Whatever is lacking, or what you later discover is lacking a bit, could be buttressed both at the lower end and the upper registers. Let us first get to our destination, sojourn there for a while and then explore the other narrow alleyways that just might lead to audio Nirvana. So, a small full-ranger it is going to be, in a micro box!
Now what remains is the "nitty gritty" of the build. Let me spend some time gathering all that, and some pixie dust too before meeting you again!
* * * * * * * * * * * *
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