Diy 80hz mid-bass horn... drums never sounded so good!
Hi all. I recently completed this exercise with the objective of rounding out my personal sound system and enjoyed the experience and results so much that I thought I'd publish the details.
4/3/2011 My system, now, consists of:
1a. large tapped horn (20-80hz)
1b. large bass reflex unit 4 x 18" drivers (20-80hz)
2. 80hz mid-bass horn which you're now reading about (80-400hz) I previously used dual 12" drivers in a sealed enclosure per side.
3. 2" throat paper mache tractrix horn (400-20,000hz)
Edit: as of 1/22/2012, the 80 hz mid bass horn is no longer in my system. Although an excellent horn, I feel that it's too large, and not as articulate as the 100 hz mid bass horn utilizing the amazing 12 inch B&C 12PE32 driver. You can read about my adventure with this horn HERE. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for all the details.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming:
First off, this particular 80hz to 400hz horn is currently utilizing a JBL 2240 18" driver. I used Hornresp to design/configure and achieve a super strong impulse response. I've already had excellent results with my "folded bass horn" and wanted to explore whether or not Hornresp excelled in a higher frequency format.
It does!!
My personal sound system is capable of producing concert level performance with ease, but the 12" Eminence Kappa Pro drivers (2 per channel in a sealed enclosure) always seemed to be lacking punch in the lower/lower-mid drum register. With the addition of this horn, the mid-bass is so strong that it makes my tapped horn/and/4x18" BR sound weak!?! When a bass drum note is struck, I now hear/feel the percussion and not just the rolling thunder from the subwoofers. The combination is awesome! You don't just feel the bass roll through your stomach, it also rattles your eyeballs ;^)
Another lovely detail: my mid bass amplifier's volume control went from full on (100% gain) down to nearly off (approx. 15% gain), AND the horn driver's impedance is 8 ohms vs. the 4 ohm load of the dual Eminence Kappa Pros. This means far less hum and distortion from the amplifier, and because the JBL driver is hardly working up sweat, there's very little speaker distortion. We're talking smooth sounding mid bass.
There's more: notice in the two pictures, below, the time alignment issues with the high frequency horn. In the smaller (top) picture, the horn's diaphragm is not on the same plane as the two Kappa Pro 12 drivers. It's difficult to achieve alignment and create a fashionable appearance with a bass reflex, or sealed enclosure, but with the mid bass horn system (lower picture), both drivers can easily be placed into alignment. I noticed sharper imaging and vocal clarity in the dual horn combination, vs the horn and sealed enclosure system.
My brother (the drummer in a Christian rock band), gave my mid bass horn a listen and has ordered a pair to compliment the horn subwoofer I fabricated for him several months ago. His smile nearly cracked his lips and strained his facial muscles when I turned up a rather seductive drum passage on a sample CD we were enjoying.
Bottom line: If you have the room and can handle "live" sounding music, then you may want to consider fabricating this little giant. If you don't have the time, or shop/tools, I can build it for you. Email me for details.
4/3/2011 My system, now, consists of:
1a. large tapped horn (20-80hz)
1b. large bass reflex unit 4 x 18" drivers (20-80hz)
2. 80hz mid-bass horn which you're now reading about (80-400hz) I previously used dual 12" drivers in a sealed enclosure per side.
3. 2" throat paper mache tractrix horn (400-20,000hz)
Edit: as of 1/22/2012, the 80 hz mid bass horn is no longer in my system. Although an excellent horn, I feel that it's too large, and not as articulate as the 100 hz mid bass horn utilizing the amazing 12 inch B&C 12PE32 driver. You can read about my adventure with this horn HERE. Scroll down to the bottom of the page for all the details.
Now, back to our regularly scheduled programming:
First off, this particular 80hz to 400hz horn is currently utilizing a JBL 2240 18" driver. I used Hornresp to design/configure and achieve a super strong impulse response. I've already had excellent results with my "folded bass horn" and wanted to explore whether or not Hornresp excelled in a higher frequency format.
It does!!
My personal sound system is capable of producing concert level performance with ease, but the 12" Eminence Kappa Pro drivers (2 per channel in a sealed enclosure) always seemed to be lacking punch in the lower/lower-mid drum register. With the addition of this horn, the mid-bass is so strong that it makes my tapped horn/and/4x18" BR sound weak!?! When a bass drum note is struck, I now hear/feel the percussion and not just the rolling thunder from the subwoofers. The combination is awesome! You don't just feel the bass roll through your stomach, it also rattles your eyeballs ;^)
Another lovely detail: my mid bass amplifier's volume control went from full on (100% gain) down to nearly off (approx. 15% gain), AND the horn driver's impedance is 8 ohms vs. the 4 ohm load of the dual Eminence Kappa Pros. This means far less hum and distortion from the amplifier, and because the JBL driver is hardly working up sweat, there's very little speaker distortion. We're talking smooth sounding mid bass.
There's more: notice in the two pictures, below, the time alignment issues with the high frequency horn. In the smaller (top) picture, the horn's diaphragm is not on the same plane as the two Kappa Pro 12 drivers. It's difficult to achieve alignment and create a fashionable appearance with a bass reflex, or sealed enclosure, but with the mid bass horn system (lower picture), both drivers can easily be placed into alignment. I noticed sharper imaging and vocal clarity in the dual horn combination, vs the horn and sealed enclosure system.
My brother (the drummer in a Christian rock band), gave my mid bass horn a listen and has ordered a pair to compliment the horn subwoofer I fabricated for him several months ago. His smile nearly cracked his lips and strained his facial muscles when I turned up a rather seductive drum passage on a sample CD we were enjoying.
Bottom line: If you have the room and can handle "live" sounding music, then you may want to consider fabricating this little giant. If you don't have the time, or shop/tools, I can build it for you. Email me for details.
The original 2 x Eminence Kappa Pro sealed enclosure can't keep up with the horns. I opted for the mid bass horn, below.
