Is this possible?

[JJkizak]

What if someone installed 3 tweeters, and 3 Corwall type midrange speakers, one aiming right, one center, one aiming left on K-horns with the crossovers delivering 1/3rd the power to each driver without affecting the bass horn? This would (not the bass horn) cut the distortion by 200%, the diaphram movement by 200%, increase the power handling by 200%, increase the directionality by a bunch, and increase the radiated area by 200%, all of this per given SPL for each individual person. Some talented person would have to come up with a special crossover network.

JJK

[ZAKO]

Why ......You still cant exceed 90 degrees in the corner......Not to mention the comb filtering interference. Your distortion calculations do not add up.

[Born2RockU]

...oh, yes......comb filtering interference.

If you have never heard this demonstrated, you will definitely notice it immediately

...after placing those tweeters and/or horns that close to each other !!

[JJkizak]

OK. Maybe somebody can explain in great detail what comb filtering interference is.

JJK

[Jay481985]

lets all chant and call upon the great *drWho* lol

umm he gave me websites but I am not on the computer in which I saved it at. Just expect alot of peaks and nulls that start to look like a comb with the teeth. some frequencies enhanced and others drop

[Ray Garrison]

Try http://www.livesoundint.com/archives/2003/july/phase/phase.php

[efzauner]

OK. Maybe somebody can explain in great detail what comb filtering interference is.

JJK

This is why High School physics is important. Comp filtering is a result of constructive and destructive wave interferance. If you drop 2 stones in a pond, at some point the crest of one wave will cancel you the trough of the other. This is an example with just one frequency. If you have a span of frequencies, certain frequencies will cancel out. The cancellation effect is comb filtering. The highs and lows look like the teeth of a comb.

[Klewless]

You can do what you suggested but as you can see several problems pop up in the process.

1. The Cornwall midrange horns cannot go low enough in frequency to blend with the Khorn bass unit. You'd end up with a big gap between them.

2. The existing crossover would not work, so you're in for a big crossover design project.

3. As mentioned by others all these high/mid frequency horns would interfere with each other out in the listening space. When two or more speakers make the same frequencies, they help/hinder each other at various frequencies and at various places throughout the room.

So the short answer to your question becomes one of those "Not Recommended" procedures.

Good try though. Reminded me of the "Sweet Sixteen" system 40 years back.

[DrWho]

First of all, the numbers you are quoting are for doubling the number of drivers - not tripling. And you do not get an increase in SPL or reduction in distortion if the drivers aren't radiating into the same space. Which brings up an important issue...the dispersion pattern is different at different frequencies (generally wider in the low end and narrower in the top end of the driver's passband). So when you put two drivers near each other and firing in different directions, you end up getting a boosted SPL in the lower frequencies because the dispersion is wider (ie, overlapping). This will throw off the tonal balance of the speaker.

So if you want the reduction in distortion and the increase in SPL then the drivers need to fire into the same space. But instead of thinking about it as a reduction in distortion, think of it as the speaker can now play 6dB louder at the same distortion levels. The reason I mention this is because the distortion increase exponentially, not linearly, with SPL. In other words, the distortion in the system is already very low at normal listening levels - such that cutting the distortion in half is going to be an inaudible improvement (like on the order of 1dB). And it's also important to point out that we're not coming anywhere close to the maxSPL capabilites of the system.

And as mentioned, the downside to running multiple drivers is the effect of comb-filtering:
http://www.prosoundweb.com/install/cpm/lobes/lobes.php
http://www.prosoundweb.com/live/articles/jbrusi/pa.php
To prevent comb-filtering the general rule of thumb is to ensure that the drivers are no more than 1/4 wavelength (of the highest frequency being reproduced) apart. Let's say you have two subwoofers playing as high as 90Hz. The wavelength at that frequency is 12 feet, so to avoid comb-filtering the subs need to be closer than 3 feet from each other. At 1kHz, the wavelength is about 1 foot - thus requiring a distance no greater than 3 inches. 2kHz is 6 inches requiring a distance no greater than 1.5". As you can see, if you plug through the numbers there really is no way to get around comb-filtering because you'll never get the drivers that close...especially with these huge horns. Distance would be measured from center point to center point of the drivers.

There's a bit more that could be discussed too, but the end conclusion is that the benefits of multiple drivers does not outweigh the negative aspects of the comb-filtering. You would be better off taking the money for the price of two drivers and getting yourself one awesome driver.

[JJkizak]

Another idea down the drain. I suppose there is no other way to electronically "trick" the multiple drivers into working. I was remembering that PWK said the less the diaphram vibrates the less distortion it produces.

JJK

[ZAKO]

Yes & when the diaphram stops vibrating the distortion stops......All diaphrams have distortion you cant get away from it.