What should i do with 4x 15 inch +2x 12inch drivers!!!

[klampykixx]

hi there, my name is brendan and have just registered in the forums!! my wife has just started a music promotions business and wants to use my PA. iv just pulled it all apart to build new cabs for it as its just a quad of 15" reflex - 2 full range and 2 sub. its going to be used primarily for Psytrance+ house+ some RNB/DNB when i use it, and when she wants it itll be used for rock and punk metal.. iv just ordered a pair of yamaha 3103(quite old but in REALLY good nick) 12" drivers to use as full range midbass type drivers, iv settled on a pair of 6" and a horn tweeter for my high end >400hz, and i have a 10" on either side for 80hz>200hz. im thinking to use all four of my 15" woofers each in a tuba30 and thinking of an onmitop12 for the yamaha's.
is this a good idea??
if the omni tops can be used with the yamahas and eliminate the need for the tens, id much rather do that as the tens sound pretty crappy above 200hz. my reason for wanting to build the tuba 30 (x4) is because at some point i will be able to afford some decent drivers to put in the cabs, and so starting with a decent box and then updating later on makes sense in my eyes. and also the fact that it will primarily be used for psytrance is the underlying factor, oh and outside(bush/paddock) to a crowd of 10>400 at this point.

thanks in advance for your help and ideas =)

[WB]

im thinking to use all four of my 15" woofers each in a tuba30

If I remember correctly, I don't think 15" speakers will fit in a tuba30. 10's and 12's only.

and thinking of an onmitop12 for the yamaha's.
is this a good idea??

Someone else would be able to answer a lot better than myself, but they'll probably ask for the T/S specs first.

[klampykixx]

ok, so knowing that being portable is a priority, does that mean that i may have to go for the titan range then if im going to be fitting it out with 15s?

and also, i completely understand that someone would want the T/S for any of the speakers iv asked about. but at the end of the day id be replacing all of the drivers with the reccomended drivers once i could afford them, this at the moment is an interim because the way my system was just wasnt good enough for anything more than a small backyard/ house party...

[WB]

Your speakers intact would have some value to someone, so I would try to sell them and put the funds toward proper speakers after you decide which are the best boxes for your intended use. I understand the temptation to do what you're describing, just don't think it's wise.

[klampykixx]

ok, i do understand what you are saying by selling them off, but i need something that works before october which is after next month and i dont think im going to have the budget to buy new drivers+ new amps to drive them+ wood before then.. my budget is only about $350 and once its heard i think it will get more use, therefore more dollars and then on to bigger better drivers+amps+decks etc.. so in my mind this is the cost effective way forward. then maybe after i upgrade the drivers i could perhaps sell my complete tubas/titans for more dollars than i could sell my reflex units....

[klampykixx]

hmmm, after your mention of the tuba 30 not taking a 15 inch driver i went back and had a look on the BFM site, and its looking like i may have to go for the titans instead unless i can squeeze in my 15s into the tubas and still have it sound ok, which im doubting... so knowing that my music is primarily pre recorded EDM is a quad of titans gonna haul big time or hurl big time? compared to say a pair of dual 15inch loaded tuba60s?

however i construct these, ill be running (at the moment)(2x) two 8ohm woofers in parallel on a 200W amp with an adjustable crossover point.(40>150hz)

[Gregory East]

Your plan is really lousy. Without T/S specs there's no way of knowing how your mystery drivers might work or not work. Trouble with putting them in T48 is you would pop them without finding the limit as the horns don't distort audibly before blowing up.

Bill designs boxes around the relatively cheap Eminence lines. The top drivers have what is called "rising response" with higher frequency which I gather isn't all that common.

Better plan, put it all back together, figure out all the costs to build a pair of Txx and OT, save if necessary, collect your parts, put old speakers on the market. Starting with 350 bucks is a bit low. If you build like hell with handtools, no corners, jack plates, paint, you might get a couple of OT12 with MCM drivers and a couple of primo subs if you get some cash out of the old speakers. No more pizza or beer for you for a while!

Don't worry about amps. These things get really loud with hardly any power, 200w is oodles. You need a limiter, EQ, and an active crossover. Even a 200w amp can blow things up if you do something silly so get the limiter.

[klampykixx]

so u think that designing a box for an eminence speaker and filling it with something "just for now" and then ugrading later on is a bad idea?

[Gregory East]

Fundementally bad idea. It might work, it might cost you your existing drivers.

Lots of guys have built OT12 with the cheapo MCM and been very happy but it's a driver that is in spec all the same. You just can't put so much power in them and you don't have that problem.

You could rent subs to go with them until you can afford to build your T30.

[klampykixx]

hypothetically, lets say i have the appropriate woofers, (eminence) for my described situation, would 4 titan48s have the required low range extension compared to a quad of tuba30s? i worked out that psy trance is very prominent in the 45>60hz which is what it would primarily have played thru it.

iv looked and eminence drivers are around the 120 dollar mark each, and i just wont have that sort of money available to just use them straight up. i wish i did but i just dont. and wont, unless i can have an interim setup that works, and works better than just a quad of reflex boxes that sound strained and hollow. so please help me rather than just telling me im wasting my time. i KNOW i cant just expect them to work as well as the appropriate driver, but surely they will sound better than a plain reflex box???? i also know a little about the whole T/S specific designs and in that i know that a box designed for a really good quality driver USUALLY (not always) but usually makes a crappy driver sound pretty decent. and thats what im hoping for when i build either one of these monsters. im guessing though, that if the tuba is designed for a 12 that im most likely going to have to build the titans due to the fact that i already have 15s and would then replace them with good quality units.

[Gregory East]

Sorry I can't give you the answer you're looking for. I wouldn't count on T48 sounding at all well with your drivers, going off other folks experimental woes.

I read about a true to spec 4pac of t48 reaching pretty low but not quite getting to the very bottom "notes" of the EDM stuff.

Look into T30 made with bp102. You could upgrade them to 3012Lf and then add another pair of same. If you carry that many.

[SeisTres]

If you're going to build a cab based on some drivers you already have at hand and not by looking at are your transportation limits, and the extension, and the weight/portability you desire, then good luck, man.

These cabs are are no walk in the park and I assure you will regret it later if you build the cabs you did not want even if you upgrade them later. Sure you could do it, and sure, it would work, but building four folded horn cabs based on what you currently have is going to be a complete BIATCH.

So if you already have the boxes, personally, I would leave them in there and just try to put them to their best use. As for the tops, I guess the otops are simple enough for experimental drivers to have some merit.

But speaking from experience, even tubas, titans, or dr's without the kappalite series drivers are a waste wood, time and effort. (slim models are, of course, the exception to the rule). So, if you don't mind spending about 80+ hours and then deciding you are not happy with the build, by all means, do.

PS. anything DIY is not known for it's resale value, so keep in mind that ANYTHING(not just these designs) that you build, will basically have to be sold for it's price in materials.

[klampykixx]

Sorry I can't give you the answer you're looking for. I wouldn't count on T48 sounding at all well with your drivers, going off other folks experimental woes.

I read about a true to spec 4pac of t48 reaching pretty low but not quite getting to the very bottom "notes" of the EDM stuff.

Look into T30 made with bp102. You could upgrade them to 3012Lf and then add another pair of same. If you carry that many.

@gregoryeast. it looks like you are the first to actually answer my question for which i thank. what ur saying is that u think the tuba30s(with eminence drivers) would sound better for what i want than the equivalent number of titan48's (also with eminence drivers) ??? just by comparing the two repsonse sheets i would agree with you, but i think i just needed to hear it form someone who has actually heard them.

@seistres, i think you misunderstood what i was asking, i want to build boxes to a certain speakers specification (eminence) and then at a later date, buy a set (of eminence)and fit them into the enclosure that i have built when i can afford to actually purchase the drivers. im not building cabs specifically for my current drivers coz i know they are cheap, low wattage crap that i cant find ANY info or T/S on anywhere.... but if i can make them sound even just a little better than what i had (reflex) then ill be happy, until i put the eminence into the cabs that is.. so no double building.. which is why i ask the question,

i want to build 4 bass cabs, but which one do i get that would comply with my music/scenario and that i would be happy with?

[SeisTres]

@seistres, i think you misunderstood what i was asking

Not at all, since all the other stuff you wrote to further explain is exactly to what I was responding.

So again, determine your transportation restrictions, and the extension you need and then how big you want the cabs to be, and THEN if it so happens that you can use what you have on hand, then do, and yes, upgrade later.

But what I was trying to REALLY get through before you start cutting wood, is that if you're going to let your build of 4 boxes be influenced by the current drivers you have, then the overall result (portability, extension, weight) might not be optimal situation. And that is what I said you will regret.

But also, keep in mind the bolt pattern; since it just might be the 3015 does not fit the bolt patter of your current 15's.

[klampykixx]

@seistres, i think you misunderstood what i was asking

Not at all, since all the other stuff you wrote to further explain is exactly to what I was responding.

So again, determine your transportation restrictions, and the extension you need and then how big you want the cabs to be, and THEN if it so happens that you can use what you have on hand, then do, and yes, upgrade later.

But what I was trying to REALLY get through before you start cutting wood, is that if you're going to let your build of 4 boxes be influenced by the current drivers you have, then the overall result (portability, extension, weight) might not be optimal situation. And that is what I said you will regret.

But also, keep in mind the bolt pattern; since it just might be the 3015 does not fit the bolt patter of your current 15's.

ok i understand that, but still not quite what i was asking. the speakers i have are a pair of "djtech" 200W subs, and a pair of "weconic" 250w full range , both pairs are 15 inch. if anyone can find info so that i can build boxes specifically to suit these speakers, id much rather do that. but instead, im wanting to build cabs for something i dont have yet. so id be choosing a cab based on the speaker it was intended for and the response that it has been proven to have in a set environment.

your comment: " is that if you're going to let your build of 4 boxes be influenced by the current drivers you have," and im not building the cabs for my current speakers at all. id be building them to suit the eminence drivers and then just sticking mine in there until i can afford to get the proper drivers.

"But also, keep in mind the bolt pattern;" that one i handnt thought of, and i thank you for bringing it up, is it possible i could just use a little sealant and/or a new gasket and/or a dual drilled pattern??