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It looks like I may be adding a new version of the Stage three π and the Professional Series three π to the model line. Both are to be similar to the two π, a small two-way system. I have been commissioned to design a new loudspeaker with these characteristics, so I may add it to the line. Since it is a paid project, it gets moved ahead of the already delayed 10π and 12π folded basshorns. I'm also working on a new wooden tweeter horn, using precision cutting tools to make a more uniform flare. But this new model of three π will probably come out before either the tweeter or basshorn projects are completed, sometime just after GPAF.
Wayne, Didn't you have a Stage Three a couple of year's back with the Omega 12? It looks to be a nice driver and should mate well into a compression horn. Love to see an Audiophile Three with the Magnum 12. Do you have a date on when you can release some details, esp. on the horns? Will it be simple enough that it can be DIY, like the midrange, or will you need to be a "Bill" to make one? Gar.
You're right, we did make Stage three π and Professional Series loudspeakers in the past. But they were small and when using a compression horn, they were a shoehorn fit. This one will have a soft dome tweeter instead. About the horn tweeter project, I like the characteristics of the model I designed a few years back that Bill based his 17" horn on. We're planning to stick with that format, but with some improvements in the fabrication process that should make it easier to form the horn more closely to the mathematical model. The Martinelli horn measures pretty well, but I would have prefered that the walls would have been formed differently. I have started working with a new cabinet shop that can cut the flares with multi-axis CNC machines, so I think we can probably do some things now that couldn't have been done before. I'm hoping to have a prototype out by early summer.
Wayne, What drivers are going to be used in these new systems? Ron
The main focus right now is on a JBL 2206 used in a physically small cabinet. Its size requirements preclude the use of a horn, so I imagine I'll pair it with a high quality soft dome tweeter.
I think those DX25's will turn out really nice. I have been busy lately so unable to put anything together. Lately, a good day is coming home and turning on stereo and listening to radio as free time has been scarce. Last question: with damping resistor across the 4 ohm DX25, what is the actual crossover frequency??? I looked and searched but only found mention of the smooth transition to the alpha 8 or 10 drivers. Ron
You know how it is with first-order crossovers; The overlap region is so wide it almost deosn't make sense to talk about a crossover frequency. The point where capacitive reactance equals resistance is 5kHz. The tweeter is really starting to come online about 3kHz.
Wayne, You said: "The point where capacitive reactance equals resistance is 5kHz. The tweeter is really starting to come online about 3kHz." Okay, from this I am gathering that a LF driver should be rolling off at around 3Khz then. Am I anywhere close in that assumption? Ron