Rudy81 Posted April 6, 2013 Share Posted April 6, 2013 Apparently, very far! In my long journey pursuing the best sound I have tried every Heritage speaker, looked at the Jubilee and built JC's DBB as well as trying many top end combinations. Now that I have my Oris horns, I'm very happy with the sound from 200Hz on up. Since I only use the DBBs from 80Hz to 200Hz, I started thinking about other options. I kept coming back to JC's Tractrix bass bin, but didn't want to get too involved in a whole new build. I then ran into Bert Doppenberg's new Orelo, open baffle/wave guide setup for the low end when used with a 'full range' driver on an Oris horn. Needless to say, I had to try it and had to learn about the whole open baffle thing...blasphemy, I know. Here is Bert's Orelo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 6, 2013 Author Share Posted April 6, 2013 I'm half way done with my DIY version of a half sized Orelo, using two Kappalite 3015LF drivers per side. The build has taken longer than I anticipated due to the curved surfaces etc. Today I got a chance to test a very basic prototype and overall am pleased with the frequency response of the project. This is my version of half an Orelo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 Since I am only interested in the response from about 80Hz to 200Hz, this might be suitable. My RSW-15s pick up below 80Hz for my front three main channels. This sweep was taken outside, unmodified and unsmoothed. I tested various throat sizes and have settled on 240mm throat opening. Being new to this open baffle stuff, I'm amazed at how well a plain old speaker can perform with no enclosure. I'm looking forward to testing the response with room boundary gain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest David H Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 If you are running open baffle, you may want to try different woofers. Open baffle drivers typically have a high qts. .6 and up. I use the eminence alpha or beta 15 drivers with good success. Dave 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daddy Dee Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 very cool looking horns. thanks for posting. looking forward to seeing more of your project as it moves along. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Dude Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 Rudy all ways digging deeper and deeper, I like it. Can't wait to see the final out come. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 If you are running open baffle, you may want to try different woofers. Open baffle drivers typically have a high qts. .6 and up. I use the eminence alpha or beta 15 drivers with good success. Dave Dave, Thank you. I am aware that I might move to different woofers with higher Qts in order to get better bass response. Thus far the outdoor measurements seem decent for what I want. I am going to wait and see how they measure in my room before deciding on other drivers. I can always run my RSW-15s above 80Hz if I need. I will see what the Kappalites can do in my room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 very cool looking horns. thanks for posting. looking forward to seeing more of your project as it moves along. They are technically not horns, just wave guides. They have a constant curve and there will not be a top to them, other than the Oris horns. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 Rudy all ways digging deeper and deeper, I like it. Can't wait to see the final out come. I have had my share of misgiviings about this project. However, they do look cool and I was amazed at how flat they perform in the frequencies I'm interested in. I just need a little better performance between 80-120Hz and I'll be in business. I'm in too deep now to quit. I'm down three sheets of 18mm Baltic Birch and a whole lot of time. Worst case, It will have been a fun experiment into the open baffle area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Marvel Posted April 7, 2013 Share Posted April 7, 2013 I'm in too deep now to quit. I'm down three sheets of 18mm Baltic Birch and a whole lot of time. Worst case, It will have been a fun experiment into the open baffle area. If you decide to quit with the project, maybe the museum holding the Spruce Goose of Howard Hughes will buy the construction. Tell them they are prototype flaps that you discovered in an old shed...Very, very cool looking, Rudy. These will take up a lot more room, won't they? Bruce Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 7, 2013 Author Share Posted April 7, 2013 Bruce, Now that's a great idea! As a minimum I might get back the lumber investment. In actuality, they should take up the same amount of room my DBBs are taking now. I currently have the DBBs laying on their side since adding the Oris horns on top made them too tall to keep the DBBs upright. The mouth of the wave guide is about 48" and the whole thing is about 26" deep minus drivers. I have built them in a modular manner so it will be easy to lug them upstairs into the media room. Each wing bolts to the baffle. The only thing I haven't figured out is how to attach the drivers without having screws pop through to the front of the baffle. I tried some conduit clamps and they seemed to work ok. I want to keep the screws in a section that has double Baltic Birch thickness. I took this picture while running REW outside for the plots. Maybe David has good ideas since he builds speakers faster than anyone on the forum. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 9, 2013 Author Share Posted April 9, 2013 Very interesting day today measuring these waveguides in my listening room. Finally got finished with the build. Decided to take one to the media room and see what it could or could not do vs. my DBBs. I really didn't know what to expect and have been fully ready to dump the whole project if it did not work out. I waited to paint until I could get some measurements. So, here goes. First, I wanted to take an impedance measurement of both woofers, wired in parallel, on the baffle. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 9, 2013 Author Share Posted April 9, 2013 Having experienced the hassle of getting large object up to my media room, I decided to build these such that they could be assembled in the room vs. making it a solid build. This also gives me the option of narrowing the throat if I ever needed. These are the parts ready for assembly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 9, 2013 Author Share Posted April 9, 2013 Once painted, I plan on setting the Oris 150s on top of the waveguide. It should look something like this. The height is just a few inches higher than my current setup with the DBBs on their side so I can keep the Oris horns near ear height. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 9, 2013 Author Share Posted April 9, 2013 Now for the interesting part. I am very new to this whole open baffle, waveguide thing and did not expect much. I mean, common, how could a speaker work properly if it is not enclosed in something!!! I truly had no clue on the subject. The in room response is very reasonable and actually measured better than my DBBs. I placed the waveguide in the same location as my DBB. Same drivers, same settings on the crossover for measurement. Here is the first plot. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 9, 2013 Author Share Posted April 9, 2013 Here is a comparison of the plots I took outside vs. inside. I'm not sure why the readings drop off inside past 200Hz. I suppose room interaction at play here, but am not sure. Same drivers as used outdoors. I'm really surprised at how relatively flat the response is in my room. I have never taken a measurement in room that was relatively as flat as this one. I later took some readings of the DBBs just to ensure my gear wasn't acting up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 9, 2013 Author Share Posted April 9, 2013 I compared the DIY Orelo against the DBB. Same location, same drivers, same xover settings etc. I decided to do this because in A/Bing some music and just listening to the bass section, I noticed that the waveguide was louder than the opposite DBB regardless of music type. I suspected the waveguide somehow is more efficient and this plays louder. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 9, 2013 Author Share Posted April 9, 2013 In reading about open baffle speakers I noted the issue of sound playing behind the baffle. This design, open baffle as it is, does not play sound as loud as I would have expected behind the baffle. I took some measurement behind and in front of the baffle, again to verify what I was hearing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 9, 2013 Author Share Posted April 9, 2013 Finally took some readings at the listening position. Overall, really interesting results and not what I expected. With room boundary issues, the DIY Orelo keeps up very well against the DBB and in some cases does better. When I get a chance I will paint and set up the three waveguides in the room. That will be the true test, listening to how it sounds in stereo and how the center channel will sound crossed at 800Hz with my 2" compression driver. I did not set up two waveguides since I'm too darn tired to set them both up. At least I know the response should work in the room and should work well with the Oris horns. I still can't get over the fact that this thing actually works with no enclosure! Just crazy. [:|] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rudy81 Posted April 9, 2013 Author Share Posted April 9, 2013 Rudy all ways digging deeper and deeper, I like it. Can't wait to see the final out come. The fun is in the journey! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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