Home brew 2-way bookshelf speaker.

Speaker Asylum

General speaker questions for audio and home theater.

Hello people!!
It's been 17 years since my last DIY speaker, a floor standing 2-way, with Peerless drivers. I gave it to my son as a birthday present.
He STILL has those speakers, no problems at all!!
This one started out as a lark.
A pair of nice looking pair of Wharfdale WD-40 cabinets only (with the original fiberglass insulation, grills, & large screw on connectors), at a local yard sale: $10.
Built in the 60's, they are beautiful, built like tanks, and heavy!!
I went to the Madisound web-site (sale section, of course), and bought a pair of VIFA 7" woofers, and a pair of 1" MB QUART metal-dome tweeters, total cost, including shipping: $87.
I bought the Xovers, new on e-bay for $35.
They are resettable fused, 8 ohm, 2-way, with a tweeter attenuator switch (2 ohm, 15watt).
They are 4th order (24db), with the Xover at 2500 hertz.
Solen caps, 25watt resistor across the woofer, huge inductors, on a thick PCB....this Xover is massive and solidly built. I cannot remember who I bought it from, but he knew exactly what he was doing!!
I've had a 1st class Radio/TV FCC lic. since 1974, so I know what good equipment looks like. The VIFA woofers were recommended for a sealed, 14 cubit foot enclosure, at 87db. I ended up porting them, plus I decoupled them from the cabinet with black RTV, NO mounting screws at all! Porting the VIFA's, plus using the tweeter attenuator switch in the active position, made the speakers match up well with the hotter MB QUART tweeters. Bottom line: HUGE sound scape from a small, 2-way ported bookshelf speaker. Very articulate, with almost 3-D sound stage, eerily live sounding mid-range, with fairly deep, tight bass (a rarity for a small, ported speaker). I played LED ZEPPELIN II for my wife and 16 year-old daughter. My daughter summed up the speakers best qualities, when she said: "God! It's like being at a live concert"!
Yes it is.
Steve

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Topic - Home brew 2-way bookshelf speaker. - gearhunter 13:11:59 12/10/06 (0)

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