Open Baffle: anywhere to listen in Ireland? And, is Dynavox

MichaelR

Hello,

So I am a beginner and want to experiment with building an inexpensive Open Baffle speaker for midbass (and whatever limited bass I can have). It would be a "subwoofer" from the point of view of my AV receiver, but I'm told 45 to 200 Hz is not really a subwoofer.

There are several reasons for that, from practical to nostalgic, but right now I've seen a lot of theory and no (recent) practice. So my first question is whether it might be possible to have a listen to Open Baffle in Ireland, ideally around the Limerick area, just so I know what I'm getting into.

And my second question is whether the Dynavox DY-200 9A 8 inch woofer is any good. It's inexpensive and looks good on paper so it seems a good candidate for a first-try experiment where the results are not certain. But I'd rather know first if it is a decent driver for sound quality (in the 45-200 Hz range).

That was the concise version, now the long read of some of my motives and current ideas for whoever is interested in reading those. I am originally from Russia and am a newcomer to DIY audio (except a brief period in what would be called late primary school here); I did get quite a lot of information from a Russian DIY audi forum recently.

I want to listen to melodic music where I want clarity, not oomph. And also there's my son's room above me.

I have a Pioneer SX-315 home theatre that came with 5.1 speakers; in reality 2.1 is used. And as soon as that "subwoofer" emits workable sound, it gets terribly noisy in my son's room. I made things better by weighing the subwoofer down with concrete blocks (literally), but I want something that will just *not* get the floor/walls/ceiling rocking and will give quiet but very clear low frequencies. (I used to call that bass but am now told bass is just the part under 60 Hz and I'm really looking at midbass).

There are other reasons for trying Open Baffle too.

The SX-315 divides satellites/subwoofer at 200 Hz, this is not configurable. So I want to experiment with making an open-baffle midbass speaker for this 45-200 Hz range. The (small) room is narrow and long, and my plan is to put it in the middle of the longer axis of the room with front-back aligned with that longer axis.

The reference design I really like is Visaton's PETIT ORGUE https://www.visaton.de/en/products/fullrange-systems/petit-orgue and I have talked to some people in Russia who heard the full PETIT ORGUE and it was good. I also found a report on the German Visaton forum when someone tried making it as a subwoofer, no tweeters, like I want to do; they were not really happy but I liked what I read, apparently the sound is only heard if one brings the speaker up to ear level and is quiet but pleasant, remarkably free of "boominess".

However, some people are telling me that I'm never going to succeed with open baffle in a small room and with my limited amplifier. So I am unsure about spending the 80 Euro on the two WS 25 E speakers. Moreover what if it is good but just not enough - I'd need two more...

Googling around, I found the Dynavox DY200-9A https://lautsprecher-technik.com/Speaker-Components/Woofers--Subwoofers--Midranges---Tweeters/Woofer/Dynavox-DY200-9A-8-inch-8-Ohm-Woofer-Speakers.html?language=en , a 8 inch rather than 10 inch woofer, and it seems to go from 40Hz and not 30 Hz - but with my AV receiver I'm not guaranteed anything below 45 anyway. I am really tempted by its price. I can get a couple, build a ripoff of the PETIT ORGUE and/or some other experimental open baffle, and if nothing works at all, "write it off to experience". If it works but I want more sound, I can get two more speakers. And if it works and I want the rest of the sound like that, perhaps I could get the full-range Dynavox LY302F https://www.parts-express.com/dynavox-ly302f-3-1-2-full-range-driver--295-612 to build simple open-baffle satellites to replace my Pioneer ones?

My big worry however is whether the quality of the Dynavox speakers is up to scratch. It's one thing to fail because I overestimated open baffle. It's another to just have a crappy woofer. So I would appreciate advice from someone in the know.

And yes, of course I understand I am not getting hi-end sound from €20 Dynavox speakers (or probably €40 Visaton ones for that matter). I am also not getting hi-end sound from a Pioneer SX-315, nor from an audio library of 44/48 KHz 16 bit music on my computer, half of it MP3 and some of it also streamed, all pumped into the Pioneer using a cheap USB box with S/PDIF optical output. When it's time to upgrade the entire system including the audio library, any Dynavox-based speaker is probably going away, but this time is not now and probably not in a good few years.

The Ritz

Hi,

I have no experience of open baffle speakers, but insofar as bass is concerned I’d expect that you’d need separate dedicated amplification for an open baffle mid-or sub-bass setup. I hope someone on Boards with first-hand experience can help you - it might be worth your while to have a look on Adverts.ie for anyone selling a diy open baffle speaker - they might be willing to talk to you and give advice.

The best known forum of self-made hifi and speakers is diyaudio.com, https://www.diyaudio.com/forums/index.php , it would be useful for you to do some reading here and maybe get some advice.

Ritz.