WakeWorld - Audio Folks!!! Please Give me a Hand. DYI HLCD

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- Archive through June 08, 2008 (http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/forumdisplay.php?f=589922)

- - Audio Folks!!! Please Give me a Hand. DYI HLCD (http://www.wakeworld.com/forum/showthread.php?t=587060)

I am going to resurface the good ole DIY threads for HLCD systems. I have decided on this route and have a couple of things I need clarity on. Here is an old drawing of one of these systems that I am using as my design. Below is the pictue and List of compnents Horns 2 Emenince PDS-2002S w/6x8 Horn Flares MidBase 4 Eminence 8" Beta's (8 0hm) 225 wrms Sub 1 Kicker 12" L7 4ohm DVC 750 wrms <img src="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/587061.jpg" alt="Upload"> This old diagram shows half of my tower arrangement. I plan to double this. Below are my questions as I am not an audiopile... 1. Can I wire both horns from the same crossover/Lpad or do I need a seperate one for each can? 2. The author of this diagram called this a 4 ohm system. Why is this not a 2.66 ohm system. Including the horn, there are 3 speakers in the diagram with 8 ohms impedence each. Is this really 4 ohms and why? 3. Assuming this is a 4 ohm system and that I will be installing 2 of them, what would be the best way to wire the two system to 1 Kicker KX800.2. I really want the amp to see 2 ohms so it can send 400 wrms to each system. I can only figure to get 2 ohms on the amp by running it mono and that is 800.1 @ 2 ohm which is a no no. I am thinking that I am going to have to get another KX800.2 amp. At 4 ohms they run 200x2 or 400x1 wrms. Any other suggestions??? I just ordered the equipment and can't wait to start on it. Ryan

Also, I am new to the lpad concept. does the LPAD physically cut down the watts seen at the horn. Pertaining to the diagram, does the LPAD send say 50 watts to the horn and then the two midbasses split the rest of the available power? Can anyone suggest a specific LPAD and Crossover model number that will work nice in my system. Thanks, Ryan

IS this the wrong forum for this??? Does it go in the Audio Video forum? I expected at least a comment by now. Ryan

its been like 6 hours. give it till tonight. ppl will respond then

i would really avoid the Emenince stuff.. it is really bright and grainy. here is the best combo i have found so far (sounds better than anything that is currently produced)and you wont need a L-Pad. Selenium D210Ti HLCD Selenium 2V2K/600 crossover Beyma 8g40's the beyma 8g40's are pricey @ $160 but if you can use a alternate bolt pattern the b&c B&C 8PS21 will work fine @ $100 each... each cabinet will be a 4 ohm load since the 2 - 8 ohm drivers would be wired to a 4 ohm load. in regards to a amp- you might want to step it up to a big zapco or arc (at least ref 1000 or the 1100.1 - the 1100.1 mono would sound great)

Oh No!!! I already purchased the eminence items. I will put it all together and if me no likey, I can sell for nearly same price on ebay. I paid 5o bucks per speaker for the mids and horns. I will probably go with the crossover you mentioned. Can you please explain (dumb down) the use of an LPAD. DO you use one? If I send straight 400 watts to the cabinet, what stops 1/3 of it from going to the HLCD and blowing it. That is the only part that I do not understand. As far as your dislike of Eminence, would you say they are bad, or really good just not as good as selenium, or somewhere in between. I can afford wet sounds but I wanted to try to build something like it and add my own personality to it. Will this be anything close? I would rather return everything now if it will not sound any better than 4 Boss 6.5's (Crappy). Thanks a lot for the help!!! Thanks, Ryan (Message edited by rmdanie on June 04, 2008)

i dont mean to sound like a audio snob (but i am <IMG SRC="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/clipart/happy.gif" ALT=":-)" BORDER=0>but the general rule of thumb is you get what you pay for. i could afford the wetsounds or the nvs and still went with that combination above. what is listed there works... plain and simple. no guesswork, no estimation - plug and play(btw, i get a lot of compliments on that setup). imo, it blow's away what is currently produced in sound quality and if powered properly, offer "clean" high output from a small package. that eminence horn is really, really bright (excessive highs and distortion which makes for a unpleasant listening experience for the rider and the passengers in the boat). the lpad is used to adjust for a crappy corssover and horn to reduce the output of the highs. you could sell the eminence crossovers and the hlcds on ebay and order the other stuff on parts express.

Clubmyke you have any pics of your set-up? I'm thinking of ditching my fusion garbage and building a custom glassed enclosure with a set-up like you've mentioned. I started doing some research on the set-up you mentioned and now the wheels are turning. Forgive my ignorance but how do you get from the horn driver to the horn, do they just bolt up and what is a common diameter of the horn where it mounts to the enclosure? I hope you you understand what I'm talking about. I would love to see other hand made set-ups as well, post pics if you have them.

ryan, all i did was modify a existing pair of skylon defcons iv's (they have a really elegant mounting system). if you run across a used pair of the skylon reference 1v's or v's they are worth picking up used and modifying them. i have a idea if you want to talk about it - shoot me your number if you want to discuss it. i'll post some pics tomorrow.

Here is a thread about my DIY pro audio that I completed 3 years ago. It's time for an upgrade again so I will keep a close eye on this thread. My system sounds good, but an 8-10" midbass driver would make it a whole lot better. <a href="http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/219619.html" target="_blank">http://www.wakeworld.com/MB/Discus/messages/65921/219619.html</a>

Thanks for the info Myke. Do I need one crossover for each enclosure or can 1 crossover run both enclosures. Also, I did go with the selenium crossover you mentioned. I have decided to try the eminence cds and see how it sounds since it is ordered. If me no likey, selenium it is... Also, Can you please explain to me how the 3 8 ohm speakers (2 mids and 1 horn) make a 4 ohm system. Also can you help me understand how the power is properly distributed to the 3 speakers. Obviously if 500 watts is going to the enclosure, I don't want 166 going to each speaker. Thanks, Ryan

You don't really count the tweeter (horn) in a speaker system, the mid bass drivers in parallel make 4 ohms.