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Eliptrac 400 for 2-piece Cornscala build?


AudioSlave

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Good afternoon, everyone,

I've been lurking here for the past couple of weeks gathering info on my next build, and figured I join and maybe later start a thread as a build chronicle...

Anywho, this is my first post on the site, so please be gentle :)

I'm thinking that my next build will be something of a modified Cornscala. I'm thinking separate bass and mid/high cabinets, possibly going with a 2-way design for easy integration into my smallish living room.

My question is concerning the Fastlane Eliptrac 400. Would this be a suitable horn for mid/high duties from 500 Hz on up to 20,00?

I'm looking at possibly the Faital Pro 15PR400 for the bass cabinet, and possibly the HF206 or maybe a Radian driver for the mid/high driver, but I'm open to any and all suggestions.

Also thinking about making them fully active with either a MiniDSP or Hypex DSP 2 channel plate amps.

The 2-piece cabinet style grabs me aesthetically, and I'd be going for something resembling the Volti Alura. ported bottom, horn top.

I absolutely love the look of the curved cabinet sides.

As for the Eliptrac, I've emailed Dave from Fastlane a few times this past week, but haven't got a response. Is he even still making these things? 

Should I be looking at a different horn for what I'm trying to do?

 

Bryan

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If you can build cabinets, you can build the same horns in the Volti Alura.

 

Here are the plans:  Tractrix calculator.  http://wp.volvotreter.de/dl-section/tools/

 

However, the Alura does not look right.  The horn is sideways.The JBL Array 1400 does this, but that is the only other speaker that I have seen.  Won't this beam and have a very narrow sweet spot? 

 

You can still build the horn and put it sideways as used elsewhere. 

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14 hours ago, AudioSlave said:

I agree, Tiger. The vertically oriented horn looks funky to me.

Thanks for the link!

I'll be sitting about 10-12 feet in front of the pair of speakers, and they will be about 12 feet apart. You don't think that would be too close for a 3-way design?

Not at all.

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You might look into using the Klipsch K510 (2" horn) and their K69 or B&C (no idea of model) driver.  That would allow you to go 2-way although you might need to use an active verses passive crossover.

 

The 510 is the Little Horn that Could.

 

:)

 

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I did not care for the Eliptrac 400 with the BMS 4592 coax driver, I guess what you would call beaming is what I did not like about it. Perhaps it was the drivers fault? IDK but whatever I went back to three way with the Contrac tweeter lens.

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I think I might do some experiments...

I just ordered some Eliptrac 400 and Eliptrac HF from Fastlane. :)

Mid and High drivers are still up in the air at this point.

Has anybody looked at the Celestion Neo 2" CDX20-3000?

On paper, it looks like it might be a contender.

I definitely want split cabinets. For the Top, I'll make a removable front panel (motorboard) so I could also try 2-way and do some testing in both modes.

Woofers will probably be the Faital Pro 15PR400, Or Bob Crites Cast 15" woofers, but I'm open to suggestions.

I've looked around for the TS parameters for the Crites cast woofers, but haven't found any data.

Anybody know where I can get my eyeballs on it?

 

Bryan

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3 hours ago, babadono said:

I did not care for the Eliptrac 400 with the BMS 4592 coax driver, I guess what you would call beaming is what I did not like about it. Perhaps it was the drivers fault? IDK but whatever I went back to three way with the Contrac tweeter lens.

I wondered about that coax....

 

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  • 11 months later...
On 8/18/2016 at 4:11 AM, justinsweber said:

A proven combo had been the Eliptrac 400 and B&C DE85... Will fit into a stock Cornwall, go to 500hz with ease and on up to 18K if I remember.

Ive built this combo more than a few time with great results using an AP12-500

Could you elaborate on this a bit?  I'd like to upgrade the midhorn in my Cornies, but I want to go to 2 inch so this would fit my needs nicely.  Is it possible to keep the tweeter too if I want to stay 3 way?

 

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  • 4 months later...

I can't beleive there's been so much time that has gone by since I started this project, but I've actually got the cabinets built, drivers installed and in my living room playing now.

It's been over a YEAR to get these to this point. Still need to veneer and finish the cabinets, but just couldn't wait any longer to test them out :)

Oh, my! they sound absolutely FANTASTIC and well worth the wait!

Ive built the semi-elipse (bent plywood laminated sides) bottom cabinets that stand 30" tall and are 23" wide and 23" deep with Crites cast frame 15" woofers and (2) 4" flared round port tubes. The top sections are 21"W X 14 1/2" tall and 17" deep. Each are loaded with Eliptrac 400 and Eliptrac HF horns. For the mids I ended up using some Community M200s that I've been holding on to for a long time (thought I'd try them first, 'cause I had them on hand), and the Highs are B&C DE-120s. They are set up as active from my Denon AVR-4200W, through a DBX Driverack PA2, and (3) Carver 175W 2-channel amps.

Crossover points are (for now) 450 and 4500. At first I thought they were a tad harsh in the mids, a little honky, even. I ran the auto EQ from the driverack and they are now very flat for my weird room with cathedral ceilings. I added a little sub-harmonic synth for the low end, and HOLY COW!

I know some of the purists out there might scoff at my setup, but damn. I've never hear anything sound so sweet. I listened briefly to some Pink Floyd (The Wall, Dark Side Of The Moon, Wish You Were Here), some Diana Krall (From This Moment On), and various other stuff. I am thoroughly impressed. I immediately removed both of my subs. No longer needed at all. The mids are crystal clear and effortless, the bass deep, low and heart-thumping, and the highs are shimmery and sweet.

I'm a definite fan of active crossovers/DSP, and the Community drivers are very hard to beat, IMHO.

I just can't believe the bass extension. I really wasn't prepared for that!

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11 hours ago, No.4 said:

Pictures.......

 

I'm a bit embarassed of how they look at the moment in their raw, temporary state, though...

I'll be adding plywood/MDF sides to the tops, and 1 layer of mdf to the lower cabinets after leveling and truing the surface.

The veneer will be 2 ply cherry, nothing overly fancy. My goal is to match the color/grain of the entertainment console, which is the trade-off with the boss.

I'll be painting the horns flat black, and both the tops and bottoms will have flat grills made with acoustically transparent cloth from Parts Express, and attached with rare earth magnets. The cloth a turquoise/white/silver pattern. Sort of like the Fender amps of old.

Water jugs made for good clamping pressure when gluing the internal braces together

Top cabinet viewed from the top

IMG_1660.JPG

IMG_3020.JPG

Edited by AudioSlave
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