N O O B N E E D S H E L P

[lagerfeuer]

Hello,

I'm a total noob regarding electronics and audio stuff but recently got in touch with a bottlehead rig and I really liked what I heard. So I decided to build my own stereomour 2A3 kit. At this time I'm looking for speakers to go with the rig and would prefer to build them myself like the bottlehead amp itself.

I discovered a promising DIY speaker kit but can't really figure out if they will be working well with a stereomour amp.

The kit I'm talking about is the following: http://diyaudioprojects.com/Speakers/Tang-Band-D4-1-DIY-Horn-Speaker-Kit/
This review made me want to build it: http://www.affordableaudio.org/aa2010-08.pdf (review starts at page 7)
I found a data sheet for the driver: http://diyaudioprojects.com/Speakers/Tang-Band-D4-1-DIY-Horn-Speaker-Kit/W4-1617-Driver-Datasheet.pdf

But I still don't know if they would work well together...
Has somebody heard of this speaker kit before?

Any help is highly appreciated as I really don't know what I'm looking at...

Best,
lagerfeuer.

[Natural Sound]

Welcome lagerfeuer,

That looks like a nice little speaker project. The only potential problem I see is that the sensitivity is a little low @ (1m/1w) 88+/- 2db. It really depends on how loud you listen and what kind of music you listen to. For example, if you listen to loud rock music you might run out of power with this combo. On the other hand if you listen at more moderate levels this speaker kit could sound very nice. Remember you need to break-in new speakers in for a period of time before they reveal their true potential.

Keep us updated on your decision and progress. You are going to love the Stereomour 2A3 kit.

Tom
(Natural Sound) 

[lagerfeuer]

Thank you Tom!

I thought the main problem with the drivers from this kit would be the wattage, as the rated power input is stated to be 25 W, whereas the stereomour amp provides only 3,5 WPC. Or am I missing something? I must admit again, I really don't know much about what I say...

After I read your reply I was thinking, why shouldn't I construct my own cabinet in the design of this kit and based around a driver that perfectly matches the stereomour amp sonically? I think I can do so because I have access to all kinds of woodworking machines including a CNC machine in my university.

I started looking at drivers and found the Fostex FE83En Fullrange driver which is specifically designed for the use in horn cabinets. What do you think about this driver? Will it be a better match? Can you give any recommendations? In case it is important, the room in which i plan to use this rig is about 4 x 5 meters...

http://www.fostexinternational.com/docs/speaker_components/pdf/FE83En.pdf

Thank you very much!
Best,
sven.

[Grainger49]

Larger, er, Adolph?  I have to have that wrong!

First, the Tang-Band speakers are well made drivers. 

The power rating on the Tang-Band speaker is the maximum before distortion or the voice coil melting.  In actuality, a low powered SS amp distorting would smoke them with the DC content of it clipping.  Low powered tube amps clip much differently and would be safe.  This is a horrible and misleading specification.

The product page for the Stereomour says you should have 96dBW sensitive speakers.  This is a judgement, the "Official" Bottleheads don't want you to be disappointed.  I have a 23'X13'X8' room with the same power and 94dBW speakers would make my head hurt/ears bleed.

As an official "Noob" you don't realize that the difference between 89dBW (first link) and 94-96dBW is 3X or 4X the power of 3.5WPC. 

Look here at FAQ #8.

Depending on your answer to the 6 questions you may or may not be pleased with the Tang-Band and Stereomour combination. 

There are a number of Bottleheads here using this kit:

http://www.madisoundspeakerstore.com/full-range-speaker-kits/fostex-bk-16-folded-horn-kit-pair/

It might be a better match with the Stereomour. 

[Paul Birkeland]

It looks like the Tang W4-1617 is out of production.  It's too bad, that looked like a neat little project!

[mpeg2]

Not sure if its the same one - but I looked into one of the Tang Band horn kits - and the thing that killed it for me was that the shipping charge from Asia was about the same as the cost of the kit.

I've matched up a Stereomour with a horn kit from Madisound (BK-16? I think) - Fostek 6.5" full range speaker at about 94-96 db/W (or whatever the units are - I'm jet lagged & the brain isn't working too well) - CNC cut flatpack for the horn and a fairly reasonable assembly. The combination sounds really nice...

   Rich

[2wo]

I have heard the BK-16, I think it would be a good choice...John

[earwaxxer]

I keep reading this and it looks like "nosebleed" .. anyway.

[lagerfeuer]

Thank you for your replies!

I think I will go for a combination of the FE126en with a cabinet similar to the Tang Band Kit that I construct myself to avoid shipping costs and for better aesthetic appearance. The Tang Band driver might not be what I am looking for, because of it's sensitivity.

One reason against the BK-16 or BK-12 Kit is it's size. I don't know where to put two 70 cm speakers in my room... The cabinet I plan to design would be about half the size of the Fostex Kits.

I will keep you updated with plans and renderings, if there is someone willing to reproduce this design.

s.

[Grainger49]

   .  .  .    I don't know where to put two 70 cm speakers in my room...

The cabinet I plan to design would be about half the size of the Fostex Kits.

Well, the answer for soundstage is out from the back wall and in from the side walls.  This is not often taken to by the significant other.

As for the smaller cabinet, it will assuredly roll off the bass. 

[4krow]

Stickin' my nose in here. First off, how COOL is it that you have access to such great equipment! Do as much as possible while the opportunity is there. Next, those are great looking speakers, yet, no doubt they may not be the best choice in this arrangement. Last, seems to me that the smaller the cabinet, the less the bass AND efficiency.

[Daikini]

I built some bk12s with the fostex fe126ens. Not hard to build, if you have enough bar clamps.  They do fine with my stereomour and can get louder than I need. However, the low end rolls off below 70 Hz. For most music, a subwoofer is needed. I would expect this to be true of most enclosures for this driver, especially smaller ones. Also, the break in period is long (100+ hours), during which there is even less bass.  The strengths of the driver (at least in the blh enclosure) are natural sounding vocals, great imaging, and the feeling that the instruments are in the room with you.

[lagerfeuer]

Hmm... I'm sold. Gonna stick with the BK-16 design and see if I can get things arranged in my room so they fit in. Would have been fun to build the Tang Band like cabinets though.

Thank you all