By seeing the specs, how to find the right combination of Tweeter + Woofer + 2way Crossover

[Naveenbnc]

Dear all....

Lets say I want to build a 2 way tower speaker with an 8" woofer and a tweeter.
Just by looking at the specs of woofer and tweeter , I want to select a suitable 2 way crossover as well.

So what matching parameters should I look at first ?? How do we decide the a particular woofer and tweeter work well with a particular crossover?
Lets say for a newbee, are there any thumb rules etc to ensure minimum guarantee?

Should we consider enclosure design also in the beginning itself?

Just for example, im listing below some random specs.
Any guidance please .... (im also studying whatever i can)


TWEETER
Nominal Impedance 6 Ohms
DC Resistance - 3.5 Ω
Resonance Frequency - 1500 Hz
Operating Range - 2,000 Hz to 20,000 Hz
Power Handling {IEC-268-5C} * - 10 Watt
Long Term Power {IEC-268-5L} * - 30 Watt
Short Term Power {IEC-268-5S} * - 50 Watt
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m) - 91 dB

WOOFER
Nominal Impedance 8 Ohms
Resonance Frequency 40 Hz
Power Handling {IEC-268-5C} 40 Watt
Long Term Power {IEC-268-5L} 120 Watt
Short Term Power {IEC-268-5S} 200 Watt
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m) 88 dB
Resistance (DC) 5.5 Ω
Qms 4.38
Qes 1.1
Qts 0.63
BL 4.78 T-M
VAS 21.51 Liters

CROSSOVER
Output Impedance 8Ω
Crossover Frequency 2.5kHz
Slope/Octave 6dB
Maximum Input Power 60WRMS

Thanks in advance...
naveen

 

[Attenuator]

Request Forum Members to search for topics already been discussed before starting a thread... saves time and bandwidth.

https://www.hifivision.com/threads/how-to-choose-correct-drivers-for-diy-speakers-need-advice.24980/

 

[Naveenbnc]

thanks a lot for the link I searched as much as i can, by looking at each page... but i couldn't find it easily

 

[Kannan]

just the specs will not help in building crossover. You can look at the f/r curves to get a rough idea on the xo points, but unless you are willing to compromise on the sound quality, no ready built xo will fit two randomly selected speaker drivers.
You need measuring equipment, in depth knowledge of simulation software like REW and such, lots of patience to build a proper xo.
Even when you look at very expensive speaker brands, you will often see many use drivers that cost 1/500th of the price, but the actual pricing is in the build, crossover components, enclosure design etc,

 

[nn_in]

Dear all....

Lets say I want to build a 2 way tower speaker with an 8" woofer and a tweeter.
Just by looking at the specs of woofer and tweeter , I want to select a suitable 2 way crossover as well.

So what matching parameters should I look at first ?? How do we decide the a particular woofer and tweeter work well with a particular crossover?
Lets say for a newbee, are there any thumb rules etc to ensure minimum guarantee?

Should we consider enclosure design also in the beginning itself?

Just for example, im listing below some random specs.
Any guidance please .... (im also studying whatever i can)


TWEETER
Nominal Impedance 6 Ohms
DC Resistance - 3.5 Ω
Resonance Frequency - 1500 Hz
Operating Range - 2,000 Hz to 20,000 Hz
Power Handling {IEC-268-5C} * - 10 Watt
Long Term Power {IEC-268-5L} * - 30 Watt
Short Term Power {IEC-268-5S} * - 50 Watt
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m) - 91 dB

WOOFER
Nominal Impedance 8 Ohms
Resonance Frequency 40 Hz
Power Handling {IEC-268-5C} 40 Watt
Long Term Power {IEC-268-5L} 120 Watt
Short Term Power {IEC-268-5S} 200 Watt
Sensitivity (2.83V/1m) 88 dB
Resistance (DC) 5.5 Ω
Qms 4.38
Qes 1.1
Qts 0.63
BL 4.78 T-M
VAS 21.51 Liters

CROSSOVER
Output Impedance 8Ω
Crossover Frequency 2.5kHz
Slope/Octave 6dB
Maximum Input Power 60WRMS

Thanks in advance...
naveen

Also see Allen.B's post in diy audio Introduction to designing crossovers without measurement

 

[Naveenbnc]

thank you very much Kannan, at this point I am not looking for perfection.
Since I am a beginner, I can not design crossover anytime soon.
But im interested to build speakers, and Im in initial stage of learning.
I agree random selection is too foolish

Lets say I visit a website like parts express...
im trying to understand the basic points on which i can select a combination of woofer+tweeter+Xover.
something like thumb rules "to begin with...."

basically we see impidence, wattage etc to match an apm with speakers.

Like wise, what specs we have to look for selecting a suitable woofer+tweeter+Xover combination

 

[Kannan]

thank you very much Kannan, at this point I am not looking for perfection.
Since I am a beginner, I can not design crossover anytime soon.
But im interested to build speakers, and Im in initial stage of learning.
I agree random selection is too foolish

Lets say I visit a website like parts express...
im trying to understand the basic points on which i can select a combination of woofer+tweeter+Xover.
something like thumb rules "to begin with...."

Preferably keep to drivers within the same series of a brand as the company would have matched the specs. For example, Dayton has something called the reference series, I chose a midrange and midbass from the same series for my car audio setup due to impedance, power, cone material, sensitivity and other related parameters. It helped a lot in blending the drivers at the crossover point to make it sound like a point source.

This is just a starting point thought there is no hard and fast rule...just keeping things simple and easy.
In 2-way designs it is critical to choose the right tweeter to match the characteristics of the woofer.
For example you should avoid using a paper cone woofer with a metal dome tweeter.
Cone material which plays a big role in speaker characteristics is often not looked upon which matching.

 

[drkrack]

You need measuring equipment, in depth knowledge of simulation software like REW and such, lots of patience to build a proper xo.

Very good info, thanks!
Any ideas or experience about using these in your setup?

https://m.aliexpress.com/item/32829...0_0131&spm=a2g0n.search-amp.list.32829617908&

Is it possible to have external crossover box with adjustable knobs for HF or LF amplitudes?

 

[Kannan]

Is it possible to have external crossover box with adjustable knobs for HF or LF amplitudes?

If you looked at many vintage speakers, especially the old JBL monitor studio series, AR speakers etc always had adjustable midrange and treble depending on if it was a 2-way or 3-way design.
Some very complex designs even had adjustable xo points.

Even today car audio crossovers have fixed attenuation control for tweeters and the expensive one from Focal and Morel with more complex adjustments, bi amping, bi wiring features in the crossover

 

[jmascreen]

Check the following pages it will give you an idea
Enclosure
https://www.diyaudioandvideo.com/Tutorial/DesignBuildSpeakerBox/
Crossover
https://www.diyaudioandvideo.com/Tutorial/DesignBuildCrossover/
Testing
https://www.diyaudioandvideo.com/Tutorial/SpeakerResponseTesting/

 

[Kannan_madhu]

Better to go with tested designs like those by paul carmody , now you can get the components in india from online vendors .

 

[Naveenbnc]

jmascreen thanks a lot for sharing the links ... they can help a lot !!!

Better to go with tested designs like those by paul carmody , now you can get the components in india from online vendors .

thank you Madhu ... i will go through ...

 

[jmascreen]

jmascreen thanks a lot for sharing the links ... they can help a lot !!!

Be ready to spend a lot of time and money, its better to get a kit like GR research, karmainsigna below 100$ kit etc

 

[avesbilal]

I'm going to start a MTM or a bookshelf speakers built, if would like you can join me when I design the crossover during weekends, you will get some idea how to start.

 

[jls001]

Better to go with tested designs like those by paul carmody , now you can get the components in india from online vendors .

For a beginner speaker builder (or even experienced builders), I feel the best option is to buy a kit designed by a pro. If we build the cabinet as per the recommendation of the designer, we can be assured that we will get a good speaker. Luckily there are many such fine kits to choose from, from affordable ones to very high end.

Of course choosing the path of learning to design it from scratch is a valid path, and probably more fulfilling though it will take time and lots of money to arrive at a sound rivalling or bettering something designed by pros.

 

[Kannan_madhu]

For a beginner speaker builder (or even experienced builders), I feel the best option is to buy a kit designed by a pro. If we build the cabinet as per the recommendation of the designer, we can be assured that we will get a good speaker. Luckily there are many such fine kits to choose from, from affordable ones to very high end.

Of course choosing the path of learning to design it from scratch is a valid path, and probably more fulfilling though it will take time and lots of money to arrive at a sound rivalling or bettering something designed by pros.

Hope our experts make a open source design with components available in india like peerless / iwai drivers . Earlier there was a thread on designing a 2 way book shelf with peerless drivers but I think it dint progress much . There are excellent designers in this forum itself hope some one shares their design for the indian diy community .

 

[Kannan_madhu]

jmascreen thanks a lot for sharing the links ... they can help a lot !!!


thank you Madhu ... i will go through ...

You will get full kit of overnight sensations , and Amiga of paul carmody from diyaudioparts. But you can save good amount if you buy components separately. Build plans are available free from his site .

Also check out Curt's speaker design works site he have shared many diy designs
http://speakerdesignworks.com/index_page_2.html
Only problem is that importing components from part express costs lot in shipping and indian online vendors charge almost the double of part express .

 

[sunilj]

Hi Naveen. Do you have drivers in mind ? Might be easier to kick off your project if that data is available. Otherwise, it is wise to go with a published design.

If you'd like to try drivers available here, check out tcpip's site - The Asawari and Bhoopali were designed by Shuvam ground up and is very well documented.

http://tcpip.dhandanought.org/asawari

 

[Naveenbnc]

hey Sunil.... thanks a lot for sharing. Its a very interesting link in deed !!!!

 

[Hari Iyer]

First you need to begin with measuring the drivers for its TS parameters. There are two approaches to crossover design -1. Network analysis (design and analyze what you will get ) 2. Network Synthesis (what you should have in the network to get the required result). Off late i found the network synthesis to be less time consuming and good sounding designs. Also there are parallel and series crossovers. I find series crossovers are better sounding than parallel though they eventually they work the same way.