I am thinking of the JBL equipped midhorn and Peavey CH-3 with BMS 4540 (It looks like a good match to CH-3 and it even has screw mount, HA!) For the mid/high cabinet. There are so many sexy HF horn choices, but I have used a lot of horns at this point and I can't really beat the CH-3.

Since I will have no need to push the woofer past the hundreds what do you think of the 2242H? I want shocking impact, solid bottom end and clarity that will compel people to ask "what the heck is that?". I am not set on any one thing. I want flux stabilized, Low fs, Large radiating area, high sensitivity and "I can't believe that bass!" sound quality. That pretty much leaves the JBL and the Magnum. Comments?

Thanks,
Thomas

Wayne's published FR plots of the new midhorn is with an Alpha 10 driver. Apparantly the 2012 will work just as well with it, but you cant use it in the 8Pi, ported rear chamber output doesn't go deep enough.

The published direct-radiator response curves isn't an indication of how flat it will be in a horn though... but Wayne has said a 2012 will work too, but I don't think that has flux stabalizing rings either(?). I'd suggest the Alpha 10 will sound good though, I know my Alpha 6 horn sounds great and its obviously a non-faraday ring driver.

The low-end is really up to you, there's so many available that will work! I havn't used it, but the 2235's characteristics has always had my eye, goes real deep and in a smaller box than the 18's.

Adrian

The JBL 2012 is an excellent driver. You're right that the response graphs shown were done with an Eminence Delta 10. But the JBL 2012 can be used too, provides nice smooth response and good summing, and has a shorting ring which reduces distortion.

The Peavey CH-3 is a good horn, and you can expect it to perform well. I also like your choices for woofers. The systems you have described are very similar to the directions I've taken for π cornerhorns. Specific models and what goes in them is shown in the post called "Implementation." So I'm with you 100% on your choice to use a JBL or Eminence Magnum woofer.

I bolted one of the midhorn prototypes up to a pair of two π's and a pair of two π towers and was impressed. Then I connected up the crossover and hacked up a speaker that was equivalent to what was to become the eight π speaker. Its rear chamber volume and vent was formed by an existing two π tower speaker and the tweeter was a PSD2002. I found that the speaker sounded excellent, so the eight π speaker was born. It was an attractive afterthought. I think it looks cool and sounds great, so I gave it a name and placed it in the line. It really takes the place of a five π cornerhorn in design style and quality/price point.

What's the max excursion-limited output of the 8Pi?

From 200Hz up, maximum SPL is about 10dB louder. Output over most of the audio range can safely reach 120dB, which is pretty loud for a 100 watt loudspeaker system. From 200Hz up, the horns increase maximum safe output and decrease distortion, but bottom octave excursion and IMD are the weakest points of a design like this.

I think most people that are attracted to the eight π speaker will be using it with tube amps so excursion isn't an issue. It will be very nice with a little 30 watt Class A transistor amp too, or with a simple chip amp or a receiver up to 100 watts per channel. Those are some of the systems I would recommend for use with the eight π loudspeaker.