New Open Baffle Speaker Concept

Thinking about OB and Full Range speakers. The most apparent critical aspect is the omission of the cross over in the critical frequency range that humans are most sensitive to. This kind of conclusion is widely postulated on the web by a range of different people. Whether this is true or not can only be determined by iterative testing by the listener and the speaker setup. If we take the assumption that around the 200 Hz to 10 kHz range is the most imperative for removing cross overs, then a three way design can be explored.

This new concept is centered around 3 drivers driving the 20-200 Hz, 200-10,000 Hz and 10-40 kHz range, fully covering music from 20 Hz to 40 kHz.

Lower Frequency 20 Hz to 200 Hz (approx.)

Eminence Alpha 15A in a U baffle with approximate internal dimensions of 40cm x 40cm with a 13.5cm depth side wall. This most likely will be actively crossover with a 2nd order Linkwitz-Riley at somewhere between 100 to 200 Hz.

Mid Range Frequency 200 Hz to 10 kHz (approx)

Visaton B200 in an open baffle size of around 40cm by 120cm high. Using either 1 or 2 drivers. By having the baffle this size, and the speakers offset, it appears from EDGE simulations that the baffle boost around 200 Hz to 1000 Hz would compensate for the lowered response of the B200. This could lead to a relatively flat response from 200 Hz to 10 Khz, of which the rising mids can be balanced on the lower frequency by the baffle step response. The natural falloff of the baffle would be boosted with either 1st order or 2nd order filter to match closely with the Alpha 15A.

High Frequency 10 kHz to 40 kHz (approx.)

Fostex FT17H or other super tweeter that is relatively flat up to 40 kHz. This should be filtered with an inline capacitor.

More to follow!