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1/2 PI Needed, a question for Wayne [message #72518]

Thu, 03 May 2012 18:14

steve f
Messages: 236
Registered: May 2009

Master

My son and his lovely wife have my pair of One Pi's on permanent loan for their home theater. I recently gave them another as a center channel, but it doesn't fit their cabinet due to both height and weight requirements. So I said to myself, self we need a smaller speaker of similar efficiency and signature that can play nice with the One's. ( All of their friends love them and I'll never get them back) I was thinking of using the Eminence Alpha 6 and the Vifa tweeter in about a half foot box. Suggestions before I start messing with the table saw.

Steve

PS: Should have added that they have a pair of matching subs; not quite up to PI quality but still pretty good, and as long as the PI ones aren't cranked up, do keep up fairly well.

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Re: 1/2 PI Needed, a question for Wayne [message #72520 is a reply to message #72518]

Thu, 03 May 2012 20:20

JCDC
Messages: 43
Registered: August 2010

Baron

Best to have all three front channels matching.

Will the alpha8 and tweet physically fit in the space they have?

You can always redesign the cabinet--the alpha8 will even work ok in a very small sealed cabinet.

Cheers,
Jeff

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Re: 1/2 PI Needed, a question for Wayne [message #72530 is a reply to message #72520]

Fri, 04 May 2012 17:51

steve f
Messages: 236
Registered: May 2009

Master

Jeff,
I really can't fit a matching speaker for a couple of reasons. Weight and height are major issues. If I shrink the box down the f3 goes up too high. The original pair of ones have the Motorola piezo tweeters. My early guesstimate is the f3 with the Alpha 6 will be just about 90 HZ. Efficiency will be just about 1DB less. Right now it doesn't look like a bad alternative. Of course Wayne knows best and may shoot it down.
Steve

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Re: 1/2 PI Needed, a question for Wayne [message #72531 is a reply to message #72530]

Fri, 04 May 2012 17:58

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18678
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

I think I'd try and use the same midwoofer in the center speaker as I had in the L/R mains. Maybe a go with Jeff's suggestion and make a scaled-down one π speaker?

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Re: 1/2 PI Needed, a question for Wayne [message #72541 is a reply to message #72531]

Sat, 05 May 2012 13:02

steve f
Messages: 236
Registered: May 2009

Master

Okay guys you win. I'll build a smaller box, keep the same crossover, and adjust the port. LOL keeps me away from messing with a new driver. When I ran specs, they actually had a similar f3.

Steve

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Re: 1/2 PI Needed, a question for Wayne [message #72545 is a reply to message #72518]

Sat, 05 May 2012 20:23

JCDC
Messages: 43
Registered: August 2010

Baron

Or go sealed, you can put an alpha 8 in a 0.5 cuft sealed box and it isn't peaky (according to boxplot). Less bass but no big bump ...
And if the amp allows for it you can set the speaker to "small" so bass is diverted to the L and R channels. Modern amps may allow even more precise bass management.

Also keep in mind that you can alter the dimension of the cabinet to whatever will fit in the space available. The box is so small the resonances will be very high and don't matter too much (maybe Wayne can verify).

You might have trouble finding matching KSN1038s. Depending on how old the others are ... I recall Wayne saying that they switched factories or companies and the quality wasn't the same.

Cheers,
Jeff

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Re: 1/2 PI Needed, a question for Wayne [message #72547 is a reply to message #72545]

Sat, 05 May 2012 22:52

Wayne Parham
Messages: 18678
Registered: January 2001

Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Yep, yep. I agree.

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Re: 1/2 PI Needed, a question for Wayne [message #72581 is a reply to message #72547]

Sun, 06 May 2012 21:00

steve f
Messages: 236
Registered: May 2009

Master

The alpha 8a turns out to be more flexible than I imagined. I was able to shrink the box quite a bit and still have a nice flat response curve. I went with the Vifa tweeter. If the upper frequencies are too mismatched, I'll convert the other two boxes. I'm not going to try to chase down a Motorola piezo. The Vifa is a nice driver. The best part is that the speakers are high enough off the ground to keep them out of my 4 year old grandson's curious reach. (He poked in the dust cap on one of my 3 PI speakers last month.)

Steve

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