Home » Sponsored » Pi Speakers » Horn loaded Corona Build
Re: Horn loaded Corona Build [message #92020 is a reply to message #92019] Fri, 05 June 2020 07:36 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Rusty is currently offline  Rusty
Messages: 1076
Registered: May 2018
Location: Kansas City Missouri
Illuminati (2nd Degree)
Have a ball building. Like I'd first mentioned, making your own hifi from great designers gives the best satisfaction possible. You'll of course show us what you did.
Re: Horn loaded Corona Build [message #92021 is a reply to message #92020] Fri, 05 June 2020 16:59 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Barryso is currently offline  Barryso
Messages: 190
Registered: May 2009
Master
Nelson Pass has, in several interviews, said that the DIY crowd is cheap and the happiest of all the audiophiles he knows.

It's the second part that's important.

Smile
Re: Horn loaded Corona Build [message #93737 is a reply to message #92021] Wed, 12 May 2021 08:48 Go to previous messageGo to next message
dawiipgh is currently offline  dawiipgh
Messages: 12
Registered: May 2020
Chancellor
Hey guys!

/forum/index.php?t=getfile&id=2766&private=0

/forum/index.php?t=getfile&id=2767&private=0

It has been a long time but life kind of comes at you from all sides. When lockdown began around March 2020, I knew that I wanted to build a set of large efficient speakers. Four Pi speakers were well reviewed and recommended in a lot of the forums. So, I started poking around and eventually got the plans, crossover, and wave guide from Wayne. Compression drivers from Parts-Express and a set of preowned lightly used JBL2226 woofers from Ebay.

I was unloading several sheets of 3/4" Baltic Birch in May and it started raining so I started unloading faster. Instead of holding the sheets in front of me and walking down the grass hill to the basement entrance, I started walking backwards while sliding the wood on the grass. This shouldn't matter because I was going to true up the factory edge. Anyways, I tripped over my retaining wall and fell backwards with my hand outstretched. I ended up with a compound fracture on my radius at the wrist and a broken ulna at the elbow. So my wife 7.5 months pregnant gets me to the local hospital....

/forum/index.php?t=getfile&id=2768&private=0

/forum/index.php?t=getfile&id=2769&private=0

We arrive and my forearm looks like a sine curve and the bone is sticking out the bottom. The triage doctor takes a look at me and says, this might be above our paygrade here so let's get you downtown to where the real carpenters are. They set the bone that night and, in the morning, I have surgery and get external fixators put in.

This recovery with the external fixators goes on for about 6 weeks, then they remove them and open up my wrist again and screw in some plates and put me in a cast. Summer is gone and we have our second kid!

/forum/index.php?t=getfile&id=2770&private=0

/forum/index.php?t=getfile&id=2771&private=0

Cast comes off and I start physical therapy. I can't lift more than 3-5 pounds with very little grip strength so running a circular saw or a plunge router are last on my list of priorities. I have a buddy come over to help me manage the uncut sheets of wood and we get some rough circular saw cuts done and I decide to invest into a clamping straight edge.

So, I'm feeling better around February March 2021 (about a year from when this all started) and I start making my cuts in the back yard with full snow gear on. I learned a ton about wood working and clamping glued joints and the unruliness of routers.
After the boxes were built, I settled in on the front baffle and went with the recessed woofer and horn. Then I start on the cutouts for the port. It is an uphill battle, but at every point I'm learning more from the forums here and woodworking You Tube videos.

After the baffle is glued in, I complete an electrical hook up and it is so fascinating how much the enclosure shapes the tone and response of the woofer. I opted for a recessed baffle in order to incorporate a fabric grill in the future. I saw a great inspiration from vintage KLH, Klipsch, etc. and from a forum user here: Jensen. I opted for General Finishes Java Gel Stain and I am experimenting with mixing my own shellac and doing a final top coat with Deft spray Lacquer.

I wanted to push to get this done for my Birthday in April. We now have functional and stained speakers. A few punch list items include installing the fiberglass insulation, installing the gaskets around the horn and woofer (shower pan liner), final shellac / sanding / lacquer finishing, and a stand or feet with a 5-10 degree incline. Future projects include two flanking subwoofers. I currently hooked up a 10" subwoofer with a passive radiator which really changes the depth and heft of the sound. I can only imagine what 2 ported 12's or 2 sealed 15's will sound like! The current subwoofer is an Aperion Audio Bravus 10D. It rolls off around 40 Hz but still provides quite the depth of sound.

I am currently driving the speakers with a PS Audio Sprout 100 and even at 50 watts @ 8 ohms (100 watts @ 4 ohm), this system provides concert level SPLs with enough chest slam to have your HOA contact you.

So now we are a family of four who really enjoy Living Room dance parties. I even got on Ebay to pick up a fog machine, DJ Chauvet Kinta FX and a Scorpion dual laser aerial lights. Quarantine really came at us, but I think we are doing just fine.

Thanks to all the forum members and Wayne for all of the guidance and brainpower in this forum.

-David


/forum/index.php?t=getfile&id=2772&private=0

/forum/index.php?t=getfile&id=2773&private=0

/forum/index.php?t=getfile&id=2774&private=0

/forum/index.php?t=getfile&id=2775&private=0
Re: Horn loaded Corona Build [message #93738 is a reply to message #93737] Wed, 12 May 2021 09:59 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Rusty is currently offline  Rusty
Messages: 1076
Registered: May 2018
Location: Kansas City Missouri
Illuminati (2nd Degree)
I think from that ordeal you'll be forever bonded with your 4 Pi's. Bet that smart a bit. Better check your ports after your parties for errant beer soldiers left there. Nice work. I like the proverbial monkey coffin shape of the Pi 4. Those skinny tower speakers are sissy in comparison
Re: Horn loaded Corona Build [message #93742 is a reply to message #93738] Wed, 12 May 2021 12:12 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18670
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Your speakers look great! But - man - what a journey to get them there!

Thanks for the write-up! https://audioroundtable.com/images/thumbs-up.gif
Re: Horn loaded Corona Build [message #93771 is a reply to message #91874] Sat, 15 May 2021 10:31 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Jetpump is currently offline  Jetpump
Messages: 6
Registered: July 2020
Esquire
Nice job with the speakers! It always feels good to build something you appreciate. Sorry to hear about the accident.
Re: Horn loaded Corona Build [message #95997 is a reply to message #91874] Fri, 16 September 2022 10:13 Go to previous messageGo to next message
dawiipgh is currently offline  dawiipgh
Messages: 12
Registered: May 2020
Chancellor
Hey guys! I just wanted to weigh in on how impressed and happy I am with the 4 Pi speakers. I started with them in a small room of an open plan house. Wow. Even with a 50 WPC PS Audio Sprout amplifier, these pressurize the room. At reasonable listening volumes, everything is balanced and really feels like a live performance. I enjoy concerts (small venues and bars as well as large pavilions and arenas). During quarantine, that was missing.

I have since moved them down to the basement and they really shine in a larger room. It was interesting, since the drivers were so large, you could actually hear separation of the highs mids and low (port) because the speakers were too near field in my upstairs room. In the basement, you can experience the constant directivity. It's like you can walk around and the sweet spot is very large compared to typical dome tweeters.

4 pi's are really well balanced and the mid range is extremely lifelike. What it doesn't have is a strong low end <40 Hz. You will hear rock music bass guitar and full range of drums, low strings, and piano, but where it lacks is explosions in movies and synth bass / drum machines in EDM, House, Rap, etc. I actually messed around playing test tones (you can find them on spotify) to see where the speakers rolled off. I'm sure a calibrated mic will be in my future soon.

I had an Aperion Audio 10" subwoofer with 2 passive radiators and a 500 watt amp. It held up pretty well. But from what I've read hear and other forums / books / articles that multiple subs are the way to go. Walking around the room, you can hear noticeable volume differences in the bass response.

So since I have a 15" midwoofer, I can't reasonably be OK with a single 10" sub. so I'm back to the shop to build two 15" ported subwoofers.

It's roughly based on the 4 pi design but uses the Dayton Audio 15" subwoofer RSS390HO-4 instead of the Lab12c. Dimensions are 20" x 20" x 20" but instead of a single 4" port, I am considering two 3" flared ports from precision port 17" long each. I played around with WinISD looking at several drivers, and tons of box volumes, port arrangements and even passive radiator designs. This hit the sweet spot compromise of low end extension, port velocity, excursion, SPL and box size.

The amplifier that I bought used is a Crown Amplifier XTI 2002 to power both subs.

Admittedly, I currently do have the 4Pis hooked up to the crown and holy bananas, it's powerful. You can't beat the efficiency of these drivers. When these hit down around 50Hz it can literally pull the air out of your lungs.

So long story short, I'm really happy with my build and thanks to all in the forum for the support.

David

Re: Horn loaded Corona Build [message #95998 is a reply to message #95997] Fri, 16 September 2022 11:47 Go to previous messageGo to next message
Wayne Parham is currently offline  Wayne Parham
Messages: 18670
Registered: January 2001
Illuminati (33rd Degree)

Truly excellent.

I hear you about subs that are smaller than the midwoofer in the mains. It just seems "wrong." And you can get higher efficiency from a larger sub, so there's definitely an advantage in using a larger subwoofer.

But there is one place that I think having a smaller subwoofer makes sense, and that's in the flanking subs. Using a smaller cabinet there is sometimes easier to place, giving more placement options. A flanking sub can offer extension but its main purpose is blending in the upper midbass and lower midrange.

The 20" square cabinets you've described sound like they'll be perfect for this purpose. They'll likely trade a little bit of extension for midbass efficiency. That's an excellent flanking sub.

If you're also running a distant multisub or two, that's where you can really take advantage of large, powerful subs. Might be able to use the same drivers you've chosen for your flanking subs in a larger box, perhaps tuned in an EBS alignment, giving deeper extension. Or maybe choose a different driver that'll get you down into the teens. Or stay with the same cabinet - which probably offers ample extension as it is - and just run one or two more for modal smoothing.
Re: Horn loaded Corona Build [message #96004 is a reply to message #95998] Sat, 17 September 2022 13:50 Go to previous message
dawiipgh is currently offline  dawiipgh
Messages: 12
Registered: May 2020
Chancellor
Thanks for the wisdom Wayne. I'll let you know how things progress.
Previous Topic: 7 Pi plans
Next Topic: Subwoofer amp and crossover
Goto Forum:
  


Current Time: Thu Mar 28 15:18:06 CDT 2024

Sponsoring Organizations

DIY Audio Projects
DIY Audio Projects
OddWatt Audio
OddWatt Audio
Pi Speakers
Pi Speakers
Prosound Shootout
Prosound Shootout
Smith & Larson Audio
Smith & Larson Audio
Tubes For Amps
TubesForAmps.com

Lone Star Audiofest