Horn Speakers [Archive] - The Art of Sound Forum

Spur07

24-10-2010, 17:03

Hi all

I've been toying with the idea of building some horn speakers for a few weeks now since seeing some round a mates house and since i'm unable to buy Martin's lovely Jerichos as he lives too far away from me ooop North :steam: so just wanted to test the waters.

At this point in time i'm not necessarily thinking about making this a major hobby as such and was wondering what would be the best approach - a complete kit build such as 'Pi' or the Valutronic VH-1, or should I get some full range Fostex drivers and build my own BIB cabinet, or such like?

I want to produce a decent (preferably floor stander) speaker for a smallish to mid room - sound quality definitely trumps appearance. I've got access to a pretty decent workshop with proper tools and help if i need it, but i don't want anything too complex. It'll be probably be run with a hefty SS amp at first but thinking of going over to valves or hybrid croft at some point in the new year.

Any advice much appreciated. :)

John

24-10-2010, 17:17

There should be a few people here that can help Paul (Ali and Steve spring to mind) The horns should give a nice sense of speed which I know is really important to you, it maybe good to come round and here my speakers with the new cabinets they improved quite alot with the new baffles and tweeter is horn loaded too
Here are some good links of some DIY horn designs
http://www.frugal-horn.com/
http://www.commonsenseaudio.com/

Spur07

24-10-2010, 17:59

Thanks John

I guess I should hear your baffles again, but we were waiting for your new TT to get going first. Just fancied a bit of project. Got bored and went to demo some fleabay speakers the other day not too different from what I've already got - just seemed a bit of a mildly better sideways step. Fancy something different and VFM DIY.

Ali Tait

24-10-2010, 18:00

Yes,I'd say have a look at Frugalhorn,lots of good stuff there that can be built cheaply. I'd recommend the Saburo or Sachiko. Great sounding cabinets,but not the most simple to build.

John

24-10-2010, 18:05

Not sure when I get the TT but good to have you come round and talk music and gear
I think you like what I am getting even more and not complex to build
By the way I once heard one of the Frugualhorn designs and sounded fab but bloody massive

Spur07

24-10-2010, 18:29

John

24-10-2010, 18:40

The Commonsense audio has a mixiture of designs If you wish to meet Sat let me know
Yes some of these wil not require a crossover and because full range lots of coherence

Ali Tait

24-10-2010, 20:05

Thanks Ali, not sure how complex I should go - I'll have to blag some carpenter time for those :) I guess the more complex designs are the only cabinets that can reveal the subtle complexities of the FR drivers? But am I correct in thinking crossovers aren't required?

John, let me know when your free mate. Forgive my stupidity but are the speakers on commonsense audio actually horns? they only seem to offer designs for the Lowther drivers. seem to be good prices though.

Yes,no crossover,unless you decide to add a supertweeter,and even then,dead simple.I have a pair of MLTL's with Fostex FE167e and I added an FT17H supertweeter,driven from an L-pad,which are adjustable to suit room/taste.This has a 1.5uF cap and err,that's it!

The Saburos will amaze you with the bass you can get from a 4" driver,and the imaging is fantastic,some of the best I've heard from cone speakers.

The Sachiko is like a Saburo on steroids unsurprisingly,a huge sound and very sensitive.I'd say you need a pretty big room to suit these though.

Spur07

24-10-2010, 20:21

Yes,no crossover,unless you decide to add a supertweeter,and even then,dead simple.I have a pair of MLTL's with Fostex FE167e and I added an FT17H supertweeter,driven from an L-pad,which are adjustable to suit room/taste.This has a 1.5uF cap and err,that's it!

The Saburos will amaze you with the bass you can get from a 4" driver,and the imaging is fantastic,some of the best I've heard from cone speakers.

The Sachiko is like a Saburo on steroids unsurprisingly,a huge sound and very sensitive.I'd say you need a pretty big room to suit these though.

Yeah, I've just downloaded the plans for both to get an idea of what's involved. Standing at 72" the Sachiko is too big for my room :stalks:, but the Saburos look nice. I think I could easily get the various parts pre-cut - then just sanding, glueing and clamping :rolleyes: Trouble is, I was planning on maybe buying the FE 206e drivers as used for the Sachiko.

How good is the Saburos compared to other speakers you've heard Ali?

Ali Tait

24-10-2010, 21:17

Well like any other speaker it's not perfect,but you'd have to spend a hefty amount to equal it with a commercial design IMHO.
As I said, the imaging is fantastic,and the bass is amazing for a 4" driver. It won't go to head-banging levels though,there's only so much you can get out of that driver,though they will surprise you how far you can push them! The top end may lack a little sparkle to you if that's your thang,though it wouldn't be too difficult to add a supertweeter if you wanted.

They are tall,but very slim,so a reasonable WAF if you make a nice job of them.

These slight caveats aside,they are great speakers. I'd be happy with a pair if I wasn't into my stats.

It would be a good idea to join Audio-Talk if you're going to build them,there's a lot of info and help there. A good chap to talk to would be DTB (Dave The Bass) He's built himself a pair,which I've heard on several occasions.

Ali Tait

24-10-2010, 21:29

Actually,thinking about it, Dave lives in Dartford,so I'm sure he'd be.happy to let you have a listen if you ask. He's a great bloke and will go out of his way to help.

John

25-10-2010, 04:02

Yes well worth hearing Dave speakers bloody good

electric beach

25-10-2010, 09:22

Yeah, I've just downloaded the plans for both to get an idea of what's involved. Standing at 72" the Sachiko is too big for my room :stalks:, but the Saburos look nice. I think I could easily get the various parts pre-cut - then just sanding, glueing and clamping :rolleyes: Trouble is, I was planning on maybe buying the FE 206e drivers as used for the Sachiko.

Hi Paul

Although I'm just about to breathe life into a pair of Sachikos, I can only get away with them due to the open layout of my rooms (it minimises first reflection points and gives the effect that the speakers are further from the side walls than they physically are. I didn't build them, only finished them but I would like to make the Saburos from scratch - well maybe not from scratch. Please post if you find a good place in the south to get the Baltic Birch and to cut the panels. I think the accuracy of some decent cutting equipment will make the project considerably more pain-free and the remainder of the work is quite enough with cabinets this size.

Spur07

25-10-2010, 17:17

Actually,thinking about it, Dave lives in Dartford,so I'm sure he'd be.happy to let you have a listen if you ask. He's a great bloke and will go out of his way to help.

Thanks Ali, will do.

Spur07

25-10-2010, 17:21

Hi Paul

Although I'm just about to breathe life into a pair of Sachikos, I can only get away with them due to the open layout of my rooms (it minimises first reflection points and gives the effect that the speakers are further from the side walls than they physically are. I didn't build them, only finished them but I would like to make the Saburos from scratch - well maybe not from scratch. Please post if you find a good place in the south to get the Baltic Birch and to cut the panels. I think the accuracy of some decent cutting equipment will make the project considerably more pain-free and the remainder of the work is quite enough with cabinets this size.

Hi Steve, I'll PM you if I take the project on. I know what you mean, glueing and clamping whilst making sure its all sealed correctly is more than enough work, and that's before you've added a lick of varnish and some glitter.

Ali Tait

25-10-2010, 17:58

Can't help thinking,unless you want the fun of building your own,you'd be as well hiring a van and buying Martin's horns for what it will cost you when you're done.

Spur07

25-10-2010, 19:00

Can't help thinking,unless you want the fun of building your own,you'd be as well hiring a van and buying Martin's horns for what it will cost you when you're done.

Yeah maybe, just can't face the journey, and there is the satisfaction of choosing and building your own.

Ali Tait

25-10-2010, 19:29

Yes it'll be fun,and a great sense of achievement when you're done.

Magna Audio

26-10-2010, 08:37

I heard a pair of conical mid / tweeter horns at my place having listened to them a couple of times.
The speed and impact is great. Of course Tannoys are horn mid / tweeter and back loaded horn for bass and use a compression driver in the middle but large commercial drivers do give more kick.

Here's a thread on the Wam with lots of pics about what I am up to...
Nothing very original - copying what seems to work and doing it on the cheap'ish...

http://www.hifiwigwam.com/showthread.php?46846-Getting-the-horn-well-2-to-be-precise...

I do like bass - ideally I should be able to hear the bass guitars clearly and like a bass amp gives you. GRF cabs give some of that - perhaps there are other bass horn constructions that also deliver and even better - have yet to find / build them...
Once the mid horns are built and work the bass ones will be in mind I suppose...

RochaCullen

04-11-2010, 22:15

Hi Guys,

I was having a look at the stuff on commonsense audio and some if it looks great. I'd love to have a crack at putting together a pair of speakers using their 12 inch drivers.

Has anyone ever heard these audio nirvana drivers? The commonsense website makes some big boasts, but it would be nice to hear from someone who was not biased what they were like.

I really like the idea of not having to use a crossover. And given the output out of my MC cartridge is not huge, a sensitive speaker would be a great way to go.

When it comes to WAF, I showed the Misses the cabinets featured on the commonsense home page with the chinese motif, and she said I should have a try doing something tasteful. :scratch:

Nathan

John

05-11-2010, 04:59

Maybe some of the DIY guys on Audio Talk have tried them I agree with the claims but see no reason why they would lie

Ali Tait

05-11-2010, 08:06

Al Newall has OB's with I think the 8 inch AN's. Sound very good to me.

StanleyB

05-11-2010, 08:19

I've been toying with the idea of building some horn speakers for a few weeks now since seeing some round a mates house and since i'm unable to buy Martin's lovely Jerichos as he lives too far away from me ooop North :steam: so just wanted to test the waters.Adrian from AUDIOFLAIR (http://www.audioflair.co.uk/) in North London designs and build horn loudspeakers to order and spec. I am tempted by his acrylic cabinet design.

kendun

06-12-2010, 20:04

Hi Guys,

.

Has anyone ever heard these audio nirvana drivers? The commonsense website makes some big boasts, but it would be nice to hear from someone who was not biased what they were like.

Nathan

Hi Nathan,
I have heard the 12" drivers and they were amazing. If Ihad the room/need for another pair of speakers it definitely would be the Audio nirvana drivers. I had emailed common sense audio last year and they were quite prompt with their responses.