3 way active TAD speakers...which cable?

So i'm going 3 way active on the TAD 2402 speakers.

Currently they are 2 way with a Yamamoto A-02 on the high and a Berning ZH270 on the mid lows.

Pre - Leben RS-28CX
Crossover - Sony TA-D88

I currently use Kondo Spz for the mids/low and the original twisted L-ofc Pioneer cable for the highs.

Running 3 way active means more cable (and another amp/s). I intended to use the Kondo on the mids as that is the ultimate strong point. Is there a cable out there which is better for bass frequencies? sub 500/600hz?

Cheerio

Richard

 

Personally, I'd actively biamp-with the 270 driving the 1601 directly and the Yamamoto covering mid and treble. A passive network between 703 and 4001 will be fairly simple to implement - hell even I managed it!

 

Yeah thats what I tried today.

I couldnt remove the woofer to get inside to the crossover! Undid all the allen bolts but became worried about damaging the fascia by prising the woofer out. Will have another look tomorrow.

Was speaking with Phil Marchand about putting a crossover together with time delay on the bass. He said 1.5ms was possible, which was what I was considering given the experiences of other TAD users.

Fantastic fun though. The Yamamoto amp is the best amp i've heard with 45 tubes. Tone, realism and clarity are the strong points...all of which are one and the same really.

 

Lovely speakers ETM.

 

Thanks! If you're ever in Alsace come and have a listen.

Regards

R

 

Yesterday I rewired the Exclusives in preparation for 3 way active mode. However at the moment they are 2 way with the purest amplifier powering the mids and highs (instead of the Berning powering the low/mids and yamamoto powering the highs/harmonics) . Soon I will have another very pure tube amp so that the mids and highs are powered seperately.

Here are a few images. Firstly The woofer had to be removed...its quite a hefty beast. The internal crossovers were bypassed so the amplifiers fed directly the new frequencies to the drive units individually. This allows for a substantially cleaner and more dynamic performance.

The Berning amplifier is connected to the woofers. It operates via the crossover in the sub-800hz region. The previous crossover frequency was 650hz.

The Yamamoto A-02 now powers the TD-4001 and et-703. In order to protect the ET-703 from 800hz frequencies I used the ALM HP-105 10khz filter box. In essence therefore the ET-703 is merely adding to the TD4001 until i can go fully 3 way.

Some interesting thoughts:

The TAD TD-4001 driver requires almost zero power. I am using 45 tubes (2Watts) on the 4001's - require perhaps 0.5W to get them very loud indeed. The midrange is subsantially clearer and more articulate...very big difference.

However as the ET-703 drivers have slightly less efficiency (and are running off the same amp) the treble output is not what I would prefer. I tried to adjoin the Pioneer ribbon however this is less efficient and at the current attenuation level outputs little.

The bass is much more articulate. It is amazing how much better definition you get from going active...also how much distortion there is from using a single amplifier for all drivers.

Conclusion:

I'd say the potential is there now for a truly excellent 3 way system. A high quality tube amp will be sourced for the tweeters and maybe a set of digital monoblocks to try in place of the Berning.

Then perhaps I can set to work on replacing the Sony crossover with a more custom designed unit from the likes of Marchand. I've already spoken with them about this and the options are extensive. This might include a time delay in the bass region also.

Other changes will involve the addition of some very nice Emission labs 45 tubes...supposedly they have 30% less distortion that the older RCA tubes that I have here...difficult to imagine better clarity but its worth a try.

Lastly perhaps some new speaker cable to connect the tweeters. Considering silver litz.

*Images show rear crossover board (low freq.) and view up through the woofer hole!

 

Further images. High freq. crossover board, new connectors added for midrange and view from rear.

 

I want a pair of those

Awesome!!

Now you can really "enjoy the music"

 

You need four or five db of attenuation on the TD-4001 to level match with the ET-703 - I'll try and post a circuit for you later today. You also need to get a blocking cap on that 4001 as soon as possible. You don't want to be blowing up Be diaphrams!

 

I don't see a problem with blowing them. Compared to the 1601's they are severely attenuated and the frequency range even less than usual.

I know what you mean though. Would be good to see your circuit.

Arent they supposed to be able to take 30W max? i am only using 3.5W max.

R

 

In an active setup, the high pass filter comes before the amplifier. Therefore, any dc switch on thump or misbehavior from the amp will likely blow the unprotected compression driver. Better to be safe than sorry IME.

 

I'd go along with that although its probably unlikely he'd actually get anything harmful (LF or HF) to go through the Yamamoto OPT.