VDS

Hi, I’m starting to use REW to try to understand what my speakers are putting out and how to improve the sound. Question is, what exactly should I look for? I’ve done FR graph showing peaks and valleys in dB, but wondering about other parameters to look at. Also, how can I listen to room, echo, I guess, to determine worthwhile room treatments? obviously a REW novice, just looking for basic checklist of what to look for and how to use that info to make changes to room and , maybe, passive crossover modification. Thinking of going active in the future, but feel like understanding the above questions is a prerequisite before diving in. hope this makes sense. I guess it’s “I got a mic and REW, now what?” thanks for any perspective, advice, experience, Ted

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Hi, sent you a message through messenger. I’m interested. Thanks, Ted

Oh yeah, I wish I could make fewer mistakes as I age... but I do learn.. I am taking your critiques and mulling them over. 1 question is the behavior of low frequencies, which I only know a very little about, and how they are not as “directly reflective” as HF, less like Bullard balls? Wonder if my 2x4 really “blocks” my center port 8” in front of it? anyway, I added a pice of 3/4” plywood, with a 1/8” sheet of rubber in the middle to the outside, back. Very little vibration on the surface of a formerly VERY vibrating back panel. overall I certainly have increased the impact of the base, less boomy, and seems more articulate to my ears. of course this is my Cornwalls, in my room, with my amp, through my ears to my brain. YMMV Ted

Huh, yeah I thought about the vertical 2x4, I could switch to a 2x2. It is 6” from the back, so 2/3 from the front. The cut out in the shelf is 4” x 12”, looks narrower in pic and the “shelf” is only 10” deep, so 5” from back. the cabinet is far stiffer and audible resonance is noticeably decreased. I hear you though. Your posts on the importance of bracing brought to my attention. I will certainly consider having another go at it. Thanks

Yes, the 3015lf 4 is better in every way than my old k33 square magnet.

Thanks Moray, James for the insight

I added internal bracing to my Cornwall 1’s and I can say it made a big difference! I always had a lot of “resonance” at the upper end of woofer range, very annoying. Now the sound in very tightened up, much less boomy. Now on to damping. I got some 1” compressed fiberglass to play around with. Should say in order to fit new squawker and Horn I had to move the back out 1”, so I think my interior volume is close to original.

Chris, yes. I’d like to do the 900$ if I’m paying shipping, I’ll pay the PayPal fees for $900 also. I’ve seen a few of the amps for sale for a couple hundred more, so I think $900 total to you door is a fair price. Ted

Does anybody have experience with AVA. Frank Van Alstine, amps? Thinking about his SET 140 and if it would be similar to a First Watt? Seems similar topology to my uneducated understanding. I’m sold on First Watt, but availability and price makes it tricky for me. Thanks for opinions, Ted

For sale: PS Audio Stellar 300 power amp. 135 wpc, black, perfect condition. This amp sounds solid, clear, lots of power and strong tight bass, damping factor of >1100. Original packing. $900 I’m looking to try tubes, but this amp has such great, tight bass and clear power, I may miss it. Photo is stock image, for clarity, but this amp is in perfect condition. Located in MN, local pick up or ship.

Dean, did this and sound is much improved, certainly better balance with woofer, and smoother overall. Since we last spoke I installed elliptical horns on squawker from Greg Harris fastrac. So with horns and driver both capable of 400hz would any benefit be gained by having those frequencies go through mid horn rather than woofer?

Jeff, thanks, that’s great advice to get the most out of gear. I will keep it in mind as a possibility for improving whatever I get. I’m not very educated in electronics, but I’ve been spending time researching crossovers for my Cornwalls, so I’m learning

So I got mic and REW . Took measurements this morning. These are no smoothing and VAR smoothing. Took measurements from 1 and 1.5 meters, Center and 30degrees off center, these are averages. Average is 50db. Certainly not positive I did everything correct, I followed Julian Krause on uTube for some settings. My thoughts, 1. Not sure measurements are correct. Do I need additional measurements? 2. How do I use this data to improve crossovers thanks for any help, I feel in over my head at this point, Ted

Well...I guess that looks..ok. lol

Have not really considered 2 way, I’m sure he crossover would be easier. At this point I’m open to all ideas. I want to lean more about active crossovers, it theoretically seems like a better, more flexible driver control system. My main concern is to now measure what I have, possibly change horns if it’s warranted, and increase the cohesiveness with a passive crossover. Then I’d like to build a set from scratch and possibly explore active. I feel like I want to “finish” this Cornwall project by getting it to a high level, but possibly not as high as possible, and the start fresh and possibly try a 2 way active as a first from scratch project. If I can get them to sound at least noticeable better by measuring and modifying the Crites b2, based on those measurements, that may be all I can hope to achieve this round. I can always come back and retweek later when I have more experience and knowledge.

Preston Tom, or anybody, regarding horn selection, I’m very baffled, basically, how does one choose a horn? Is it to emphasize certain driver characteristics, add certain coloring? I seem to understand, say, if you want to use a mid driver down to 4-500hz you need to pick a horn that will handle that frequency without getting all “wonky”. i mean, I hear a lot of praise fro elliptical horns, Dave Harris Fastract(?), Greg’s Volti horn, are there situations where this elliptical configuration is better suited and situations where it’s not? Is there any general agreement on all around 2” horns for home 2 channel, given that the drivers spec is 400-10,000hz? is this way to general of a question? Horn performance seems immensely complex, how much of that translates to audible differences? thanks, the knowledge of this group is indispensable! Ted

That’s a point I’m learning, I’m trying to be more critical and develop goals, like most of us I just started with wanting them to “sound great” now I’m trying to understand What that means to me, and how my speakers are falling short of that goal

Tom, thanks, that’s exactly how I feel, I started with the attitude of throwing drivers in and calling it an upgrade. But I know I have 3 good drivers, I’m open to changing mid horn, now I’m gearing up to slowly learning about crossovers to maximize the potential of my 3 drivers . And even though I know they can get much better with careful electronics, they already sound good and enjoyable, but I want them to be startling good. I’ll just keep moving forward smarter, with measurements instead of ,as you say, going in circles, without a method. im always open to hear constructive criticism and experienced perspective!

Dean, any horn suggestion, don’t say k600! Lol... is horn performance something I will be able to see when my mic arrives? Probably a dumb question I know. I tried to ask for horns that have improved Cornwalls, I thought after 50 years there would be some consensus, didn’t seem to be.

Umik ordered today, well see what’s going on. It will be interesting to see quantifiable info about the sound in order to make improvements. Stay tuned

Great analogy! I agree, I wish I had measurements, it would be easier to get advice. Umik at Parts Express? Ted

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Hi, in order to lower crossover point from 600 to 4-500 would I change inductor from 2.5 mh to 3ish mh? Would I need to adjust capacitor also (currently 20uf)?

Emil. Yes, Dean gave me some upgrade ideas to think about, and recommend Al’s crossovers. The dcm 50 is a little cool sounding as you implied with your comparison. And reveling, really makes me think about tube amplification, but XO revamp first.