new speakers

bottleneck

bottleneck

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Hi

Some people have expressed an interest, so here is some info on my new setup.

Here are my new speakers. They use a Tad 1601a, Tad 4002 on a JBL 2397 horn, JBL 2405.

3117374841_b8ce485e20.jpg


Some system changes.
I now use a Crown K1 on the bass, Glasshouse 300b on the midrange horn, and a chinese EL84 amp on the tweeter. I am using an Ashly active crossover.

A pic.

3117373525_727b5f893a.jpg



Cheers
Chris
 
Hi Markus

Sounds great. TAD 4002 appears to be pretty vice-less, as neutral in terms of colouration as the mid-range domes I had on the IPL's, but of course with horn dynamics.

JBL 2405 I just love, and always have - especially on acoustic guitar and percussion.


Hi Andy

Haven't put any test tones through them to sweep for that. They are certainly 'fat' in that key bass-presence area. A very clear bass, which goes well with the horn.

I think I've reached the limit of what I can get in my room. I'll look at future changes when/if I move home..

Thanks again,
Cheers..
 
How did you settle on your crossover settings? Did you do any measurement or just tweaked by ear?
 
Hi Tenson

The Lansing Heritage site is full of people who have built TAD and JBL 2 and 3 way's a lot like mine, mostly in the U.S. of course

I got a lot of help from a small number of really knowledgable TAD/JBL folk on there. I really owe one of them a debt in particular.

Anyway, the crossover points where something I knew before I really began. I thought I'd have to tweak by ear, but I put them where I'd been told to, and moving away from them didn't sound better. I then just adjusted level, and the Ashly lets you EQ a little around the crossover point without changing the overall slope - (more details here **) - so I played with this control by ear.

Basically, about an hour or two of mucking about had it licked.

Funnily, a variance in level between channels (which I blamed on the crossover) was actually some ageing valves in the pre-amp ! Changed these today and back to normal.

A harsh lesson about jumping to conclusions for me there..



response curve adjustment**
http://www.ashly.com/manuals/xr-manual-n.pdf
 
Hi Keith

Thanks :)

I got a friend on Lansing to work out the volume, Wilmslow helped with the cab design and parts ( I was struggling to get the dimensions to give the right volume with an angled front baffle). I then drew and modelled it somewhat, and then a local carpenter made the final design for me.

I DID however put the drive units in, AND attach the wires to the back :D
 
Last edited by a moderator:
my neighbours must love me... I keep playing music til 1:30 am or so at volume...
 
Nice work Bottleneck from another recent TAD DIY'er. My system is a 2 way using dual 1601a and 4001 on clone Maple 4001 horns. l grappled with active vs passive but went for passive for now, l am impressed to see you got that side of the design done so quickly and satisfactorily activley. Did you use any Eq on the horn or was it pretty smooth without any filtering? Do you have a link to any info on the Crossover you used? l was close to going with a Marchand XM44.

Cheers,
Mondie
 
Hi Mondie

The Marchand is a nice unit.

The new version of mine is the Ashly XR2001. They are about £330 plus VAT and shipping.

You'll have to put some pics up of your speakers?
 
Hi Mondie

The Marchand is a nice unit.

The new version of mine is the Ashly XR2001. They are about £330 plus VAT and shipping.

You'll have to put some pics up of your speakers?
 
Here's a couple of pics. Thanks for the crossover info, l will see what l can find out about it, ideally l need to be able to put a small time delay on the woofers and the ability to filter the 4001 a little, but haven't measured my TAD passive crossover clones to know yet exactly what l need

Cheers,
Mondie

IMG_1734Custom.jpg


IMG_1434Custom.jpg
 
Hi Mondie!

I remember when those were advertised on the Lansing Heritage site a couple of years back, and have seen your posts on there now I think about it.

I'm really glad someone here on ZG ended up with them, they appeared to be a really well made pair of cabs.

You're running the 4001's all the way up? If you get the chance to try them with a tweeter over the top, I really think it helps. I've heard the 4003 with/without a tweeter and also my own 4002 and definately like it better with a decent tweet. Worth a look if you ever get the chance in the future - you could always build a seperate box for them to avoid damaging that lovely woodwork. A future project if you fancy!

Have a 'search' on Lansing heritage under the active crossover section for the Ashly. You'll see loads of TAD/JBL guys using the same unit. Setting it up is something I'd be glad to help with if you ended up getting one.

Anyway, hope you're enjoying your speakers :)

Cheers!
Chris
 
Hi Mondie

That looks like a very nice set up. I think I can see a PL Mephisto CDP/Transport on your left rack. What do you think of it ?

Regards D Louth 77 :)
 
bottleneck said:
Hi Mondie!

I remember when those were advertised on the Lansing Heritage site a couple of years back, and have seen your posts on there now I think about it.

I'm really glad someone here on ZG ended up with them, they appeared to be a really well made pair of cabs.

You're running the 4001's all the way up? If you get the chance to try them with a tweeter over the top, I really think it helps. I've heard the 4003 with/without a tweeter and also my own 4002 and definately like it better with a decent tweet. Worth a look if you ever get the chance in the future - you could always build a seperate box for them to avoid damaging that lovely woodwork. A future project if you fancy!

Have a 'search' on Lansing heritage under the active crossover section for the Ashly. You'll see loads of TAD/JBL guys using the same unit. Setting it up is something I'd be glad to help with if you ended up getting one.

Anyway, hope you're enjoying your speakers :)

Cheers!
Chris
Click to expand...

Hi Chris,

l definitely will integrate a super tweeter in the future. l would like a pair of ET703s, l can make up a simple bracket and hang the off the side of the baffle and if l like the improvement, then drill holes in the baffles and mount them properly. Time alignment would be non existant but most seem to think its not a real consideration. probably the reason l havent done this is because l love the way they sound now, and of coarse the crossover. To do it properly l need to cross to the 703 but also roll off the 4001. This would probably be difficult passivley using the passive crossovers l have now so l will probably hold off until l have switched to active and got that side sorted first.

Since l took these pics l have sold of the Melody KT88 valve amp and are driving them with some ballsy 200wpc Xindak Monoblocks, beautiful amps that really deliver the drive and grip the big cones need. The bass is just unbelievable, only big cones can do really bass IMO and these TAD's demonstrate this beautifully.

Thanks for the offer of help, l will do some reading on the Altec forum on these crossovers, they could be a cheap but effective way to play with active.

Sorry for the thread hijack :eek:

D Louth 77 said:
That looks like a very nice set up. I think I can see a PL Mephisto CDP/Transport on your left rack. What do you think of it ?

Regards D Louth 77 :)
Click to expand...

Hi

Thats correct, a Mephisto ll Transport feeding into a heavily modified AudioNote DAC that was away for some tweaking when the pics were taken. Makes CD enjoyable but the TT still rules the roost.

Cheers,
Mondie
 
Hi Mondie

Not a thread hijack at all - happy to talk about compression drivers and horns in general all day long :)

The 703 is a fine tweeter, one of the best IMO. It's a lot of money to pay for such a small part of the frequency range though.. rare to see second hand too.. pro audio guys usually dont put a tweeter over the top, so it's rarer second hand from that avenue.
 

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