Tombstones are getting a new name and completely reloaded with Scan Speak

The name part I'm not sure about yet, but one thing is certain. The Tombstones will get some new drivers.

In order for a speaker system to be considered a "reference" it must be the best. I felt that the Scan Speak tweeter used in the Duet10ss surpassed the sound quality of the Seas DXT1212 hybrid tweeter. Even though this is an excellent tweeter, the Air Circ is my current favorite. The Air Circ also will allow shallower slopes- which was another consideration for this facelift. Even though the Seas Excel W15CY mids do well with 4th order acoustic, and they may sound great with a 3rd order acoustic slope, I feel the Scan Speak 15W are more at home with that requirement- given the LR2 slopes that were so natural for them in the Duet10ss.

So what drivers will the new speaker use? The SS6600 will take on duties from 2k on up. The Scan Speak 15W non coated midrange will play from 350hz to 2kish using 2 or 3rd order acoustic slopes versus the original 4th order acoustic design. The amazing Scan Speak 26W 10" aluminum cone woofer will play from 25hz to 350hz coupled with a Seas 10.5" passive radiator. This should be good for about 107-110DB levels above 30hz, which is much greater SPL capability than the original sealed design. I could theoretically add another passive radiator for even greater output potential, but then the active driver quickly runs out of xmax at 25hz, only a few hz lower than the system with a single passive radiator. So I feel this is a good tradeoff. So why not just port the box? This is also an option, but I think the passive radiator models so well in this undersized box. A ported box would require a very long port to get the desired low port tuning. If I used a narrow diameter port to shorten the length, the result is more port noise. Anyone wanting to try a port might consider going with a slightly larger box by changing the depth.

I'm also going to place the active woofer at the top. I just think that even though there may be less floor bounce cancellations by placing the woofer close to the floor boundary and crossing rather steep, the compromise is a midrange that takes greater distances to integrate properly. I also want to experiment with a LR2 slope between the woofer and mids. This should be possible and allow a simpler crossover approach.

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Doug wrote:Looking great Jed! Hopefully when you come up these will be able to come as well..... sounds like they will be something else!

Yeah, I'd love to be able to show these off at a DIY meet! Ever since you said your friend was wanting to hear the Tombstones, I was thinking I have to do something with the cabinets. Another big factor that I didn't mention above is my wife thinks the Tombstones look better than all the other speakers I've made. hehe. All the parts will be here before Xmas hopefully. I plan on putting the drivers under the tree and pretend someone from the family bought the drivers for me. That'll be the day!

Jed

I finally have time to work on this project. The drivers are going to be the Scan Speak 15W4531G midranges and the Illuminator 6620 tweeter. The woofer is going to be the Seas L26Roy subwoofer.