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MenloBob

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Everything posted by MenloBob

  1. This is why I built the IcePower 125asx2 dual monoblocks. I get 4ohms in parallel on the Kappas, and the monoblocks are 400w each into 4ohms. The sound is overwhelmingly pristine. I had Forte2s for 15 years before moving to California. These crush Fortes. I went to Pilgrimage this year to get some comparisons. These are as good as everything I heard in Hope except for Jubes. As a disclaimer, I preferred the direct radiator bass of the CWs to the LaScalas and Khorns. I think the bass on these is even better without the ports. This is the advantage of fully active design, you don’t have to match the relative acoustic output of the drivers to avoid overpadding the crossovers and throwing away amp power and driver detail in the process. I’d like to hear these side to side with 396s.
  2. I think AWS-650s are plenty for the garage...
  3. I’m going to paint them to match the fireplace and build some tan grills. Maybe use the Fender tweed fabric for a nice retro look. I have a bunch of photos of the build need to compress down to post.
  4. Yeah I know where your 510s ended up, and they went to a good home. Your planning thread helped me greatly so thanks for that.
  5. I had inadvertently left a 15kz low pass filter on the horns from initial testing. Honestly at 50 it’s hard for me to hear a difference. See the post above for the flattened response. I’m adjusting the gain stage so that max volume leaves some headroom on the bass without over excursion on the woofer.
  6. I bought the miniDSP for another project I never ended up doing with direct radiators. It does have a higher noise floor but I came up with a pretty novel solution to the quiescent noise problem: gain optimization. Since the horns are significantly more efficient, the need lower gain then the woofers. Instead of adjusting the relative gains in the dsp, I added a high quality stereo pot on the horn outputs of the dsp and attenuated the analog signal out of the dsp down until the quiescent noise is inaudible, except with my ear right next to the horn. This moves the noise floor down the volume scale, and uses more bits in the dsp channels since the dsp runs a hotter signal. Then I gain balanced the woofer levels to match for flat response. My homebrew IcePower 125asx2 based amps don’t have adjustable gains, those with gain adjustment on their amp channels could do the same without the attenuator pot. I need to measure the pot and see how much attenuation I’m using on the analog signal. I’m getting about 95db on the REW calibrated SPL meter at 50% volume adjustment. 60% drives me out of the room so I think I have ample headroom. 90w for each horn and 400w for each bass bin should be absolute overkill. I think this approach opens up the MiniDsp 2x4HD as a viable solution for those interested in experimenting in active without making the investment in a Xilica to start. Thanks to @adamh’s help I flattened out the response last night: -3db at 27hz and -7db at 20. Won’t need a sub and the bass is extremely tight. Next up is optimizing phase, but I have a bunch of reading of your posts to figure out where to start there. I did do a timing measurement that showed the drivers are physically aligned to 0.4ms, which is below the miniDSp threshold to adjust. This is a complete accident, but I’ll take a lucky break when I get it. Here’s the attenuator I’m using: $50ish on Amazon.
  7. Never been to a high end audio show, but I'm hoping to catch one of the Shoreline D&C shows this weekend.
  8. Heres the in room photo I screwed up in my previous post.
  9. Hey Lyle,. I really got inspired after hearing the Jubes with you guys at Pilgrimage. What a blast! Yeah, they fit great. I basically picked the dimensions to get close to the Eminence suggested volume with a bit extra for cushion on internal parts, and then to fit exactly next to the fireplace columns. It's either here or in the garage, so I'll take it. Even wife approved.. IMG_0638.HEIC
  10. Klipsch should really make a 2 way with the K510 for the home market. These things sing.
  11. Thanks. It was your idea in a different thread. And the drivers barely move at 100db, which about as loud as I can tolerate in the room.
  12. Introducing the "KLF-510" DIY build. A mumps K510/K691 horn on top of a custom 2x12 sealed bass bin with Eminence KappaLite Neo 3012LF drivers. Active crossover with miniDSP OpenDRC 2x8. Four channels of home built IcePower amplification, one stereo at 90w/channel for the K510s and one dual mono at 400w/channel for the bass bins. I've been wanting a K510 "miniJube" horn setup since first reading about them way back in this thread from 2006. Finally bit the bullet and bought the 904-HF bundle which includes the horns, drivers and stands. My dad is in town so we spent the weekend building the cabinets. First air moving last night, and DSP tuning today. Below is a REW plot with bass extension filters active vs flat (other than Roy's 904 horn CD PEQs). Thanks to all the forum members for the inspiration, but especially @ClaudeJ1 and @Chris A from whom I've learned a ton just reading the forums over the years.
  13. I’ll in progress on a build with K510s on top of 2x12 Kappalite LF drivers in a sealed bass bin. Two way active crossover. Should have them moving air tomorrow..
  14. Looking forward to see what you come up with. I'm building my 2x12 bass bins this weekend so hopefully I'll have something to show as well. Cheers.
  15. Great for a 2 way stereo active setup with sub. Much like you're considering for 402s on top of khorn bins.
  16. Zxpc is the one I was thinking of.
  17. MenloBob

    What I Got Today!

    Four KappaLite Neo 12 LF for bass bins underneath my K510s.
  18. I think you mean kerf cut. There’s some ebay horns with a thread on diyaudio that might be better than trying to copy k510s.
  19. Since you already have the 396 I'd just sand and then veneer the existing boxes. A lot of the sound of the 396s come from the carefully crafted voicing between the drivers in the crossover. The box plays a big part in this and I doubt you would get something that sounds better using the existing passover. If you really want to change the box, I recommend going completely active with a DSP and then voicing the speakers yourself with REW and a calibrated measurement mic. This is the approach I'm currently working on. I have an active setup with K510s on top a pair of old bookshelf speakers, soon to be replaced with a custom cabinet with 2x12 Eminence KappaLites. One of Roy's long held principles here is a Klipsch speaker is a complete system consisting of drivers, cabinets and crossovers. Change any of these and you don't really have a Klipsch anymore. He's justifiably proud of the sound of the 396, and maybe a simple cosmetic change is the right approach here.
  20. What are you building Lkj? I have a k510 project in progress as well. K510s on top of 2x12 Eminence KappaLite LF drivers.
  21. Also there's a DWG file you can download off of the Klipsch site that you can take measurements off of with a CAD viewer. One of the downloads for the 904 HF I think.
  22. Personally this is an ideal setup if you're into the tube sound. A few will say that having identical amps for the low/high on each side make the gain alignment easier. But no one running anything active should be doing so without REW and a calibrated measurement mic. It only takes a few passes with REW to get your gains perfectly aligned between top and bottom no matter what the amp combo. The horizontal config will give you the tube tone you're looking for without dropping a mint on an amp for the bottom end. There's a number of members here who would be happy to help you get this dialed in.
  23. If you're ever in the mood to upgrade the newer Hypex Fusion 122 uses the ncore amp modules, which are the state of the art in Class D and rival all but the most expensive Class A amps. Alternatively you could go all in on active with a pair of FA123s and tri amp each Khorn. That being said your current setup is completely enviable and overkill.
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