Need help with speaker crossover

[RothwellAudio]

I recommend you don't send the crossovers back just yet. If you have a simple multimeter and you think about what you are doing you can solve this.
First off: are the drivers working ok? Measure the coil resistance and if it looks ok you can test the bass drivers safely by just connecting them to an amp and listening. Test the tweeters by putting a capacitor in series for safety.

Next, look at the crossover with a multimeter set to resistance. Capacitors will read open circuit and those inductors will read just a fraction of an ohm. Look at the diagram and measure things and you'll work out what's gone wrong.

[walpurgis]

I recommend you don't send the crossovers back just yet. If you have a simple multimeter and you think about what you are doing you can solve this.
First off: are the drivers working ok? Measure the coil resistance and if it looks ok you can test the bass drivers safely by just connecting them to an amp and listening. Test the tweeters by putting a capacitor in series for safety.

Next, look at the crossover with a multimeter set to resistance. Capacitors will read open circuit and those inductors will read just a fraction of an ohm. Look at the diagram and measure things and you'll work out what's gone wrong.

Yup! There's nothing there that can't be sorted out easily enough with a little patience. Instead of getting frustrated, regard it as a challenge and decide not to be beaten. You can do it.

[Niko]

Ok guys!
I will try to find somewhere or buy that multimeter thing even I have never used it in my life.

I was just thinking something today.
In first testing of crossover when I was just twisting wires and nothing worked I had drives attached to cabinet.
But from then I was testing drivers just outside of box on the floor.

What is the difference when drivers are not in speaker cabinet?
Could that be the reason that bass driver is not "bassy" at all.
Maybe I am expecting the sound like from car drivers and this is not the case how it should be.
So I will try tomorrow to put drivers in cabinet to listen like that.
Didn't have time to try anything cause it happened to be my Bday today.
Cheers!

[struth]

no cabinet, no bass

[fatmarley]

Ok guys!
I will try to find somewhere or buy that multimeter thing even I have never used it in my life.

I was just thinking something today.
In first testing of crossover when I was just twisting wires and nothing worked I had drives attached to cabinet.
But from then I was testing drivers just outside of box on the floor.

What is the difference when drivers are not in speaker cabinet?
Could that be the reason that bass driver is not "bassy" at all.
Maybe I am expecting the sound like from car drivers and this is not the case how it should be.
So I will try tomorrow to put drivers in cabinet to listen like that.
Didn't have time to try anything cause it happened to be my Bday today.
Cheers!

Happy birthday Niko

Use any spare birthday money to buy a multimeter. It's worth having one In the house anyway...

As Grant said - Take a driver out of It's cabinet and the bass will disappear, so don't worry about that.

EDIT:

Oh and It's good practice to measure all the passive components before fitting them. I once had some 3.3uF Mundorf polyprops that actually measured 0.33uF. And only recently I had a ceramic resistor that didn't measure anywhere near what It was supposed to.

[walpurgis]

I had a diode that was open circuit in one direction on the meter.

[system7]

Happy Birthday, Nikola.

I do hope you're feeling encouraged at least. TBH, if Ivan will build it for you, that can't be a bad option. I'm surprised he doesn't offer it ready-built, TBH. Because not everyone has an engineering background and all the tools. And I've spent a fortune on tools over the years.

It's not hard to figure out where a bad connection might be if you have the circuit and a multimeter:



But you have to know that coils should measure nearly short-circuit to DC with the ohms scale, and capacitors open circuit. And test to and from various points.

What I wanted to tidy up was the odd polarity issue on Fountek and the nature of ribbons really, following a bit of digging around.

Ribbons are actually terribly fragile things. Just a bit of stretched corrugated aluminium foil in a magnetic gap. Don't blow on them! So testing polarity must not push them hard. First image, and maybe Ivan is the man to do this, after all, it's his Fountek baby!

Testing Polarity on Fountek Ribbons.JPG

Replacing them can be done at home. You can find the whole article with google "Troels Gravesen JP3 ribbon replacement". Here's a shot of his homebake replacement made of domestic aluminium cooking foil. End result: Second Image. It works well.

JP3 Ribbon Replacement.JPG

It's not rocket science, but skilled.

[fatmarley]

I had a diode that was open circuit in one direction on the meter.

Ah shut up you

[fatmarley]

Good old Youtube:

[WAD62]

Ok guys!
Didn't have time to try anything cause it happened to be my Bday today.
Cheers!

Hi Nico, good luck with the crossovers...hopefully the lack of bass is due to the absence of the TL cabinet, as others have mentioned

FWIW I have 2 pairs of IPLs (S5tl mk2s, and M4s), but wasn't brave enough to build either pair myself, when I saw the wiring diagrams 'I phoned a friend'...

I'm very happy with both pairs, FYI the M4s are in the kitchen

One bit of useful advice a can give you is follow Ivan's instructions when it finally comes to positioning your S2TLs...

The S2tlm Ribbon has been designed to work in slightly smaller rooms than the S2tlk, and will work well in rooms of at least 14ft by 12ft with speakers firing the length of the room, ideally at least 16" from the side wall and 10" from the rear wall.

...fire the length of the room, and no toeing in

This made a massive difference with my S5tls, really opened up the soundstage

They should sound lovely, and that'll be a proper b'day present