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LittleMike's Anarchy Tapped Horn

57K views 32 replies 11 participants last post by  Naval Bali 
#1 · (Edited)
I'll admit that I did not get this one built by myself, but it is my design. I've got the wood cut, just been too busy with other things. Much thanks to Todd (radman12) for taking the plunge and building this on my simulations and speculations alone. I was able to visit with Todd on Friday and measure the results.

This is the design I posted in the Shiva TH thread, it is a single Anarchy driver in a folded tapped horn.

Remember the three fundamental parameters we get to choose two of at the expense of the other?

Loud
Low
Small

I chose low and small. Heresy - I know - I sacrificed SPL.

The idea was a "rest of the world" type of sub - reasonably sized with respectable performance. A pair placed along walls or in corners should be adequate for 99% of the potential users. That last 1% all post in the forums I frequent, and are all reading this, so this is not a high-powered monster home theater sub for you. It should be a decent little sub and it really is designed to be used in multiples. A pair of these in corners or along walls should get to 100 dB at a typical LP from 25 Hz on up with under 100 watts per driver. Four should do reference levels plus.

He's got a build thread over at AVS, I am working on plotting the measurements now.
 
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#3 ·
There are full plans and drawings posted over at AVS for anyone interested.

This is a relatively simple build (lots of parts, sure, but no bracing!!!) that you could do with a skilsaw, straightedge guide, router or jigsaw, and a screwgun.

It takes a 5X5 or a partial 4X8 of 1/2 inch material.
 
#5 ·
Glad to see you posted over on this forum also. :T

I keep going between the two forums all the time and at times I forget where I saw what and who.
 
#7 ·
Nice Mike! I think this is a good project for someone who wants multiple subs in a small room to smooth out response, but doesn't need huge output. One could easily drive 4 of these off an inexpensive amp like the Tapco Juice J800. I don't know what plate amp options there are out there.

I started looking at smaller drivers like this for exactly that reason. My livingroom is all of 1,700 cf. I don't need the output of a THT and two of these would offer a much better solution.

I wonder how much of an improvement you would see in the low corner with the sub pointing into the corner?

What does the damping material at the ends of each fold do to/for the frequency response curve?
 
#9 ·
We put the damping material in to attenuate the upper frequencies, namely the 106 Hz spike. I tried using less than I have used in the past, and we got good results, taming the spike by ~10 dB relative to the model, with little to no impact to SPLs anywhere else.

Tucked in a corner, room gain might make the apparent low corner drop down a little bit, but to be honest, horns cease behaving like horns below fc, and tapped horns are even worse, as there is no back chamber to provide a load on the driver. Look at the distortion plots I posted - the lines cross when THD = SPL, and that happens within 1/2 octave below fc. Boundary loading is not room gain.

More importantly, SPL will definitely increase with boundary loading, expecting real world increases of 4 dB along a wall, 8 dB in a corner is fair for most cases. If you live in a concrete bunker, you might see the full 6 and 12 dB that theory predicts. I don't, I have measured +6 to +8 dB as a result of corner loading. So - with 86 dB at 1W 1m 2pi, fair values would be ~90 dB 1W 1m for wall placement, max 1 m SPL ~108 dB, and 94 dB and 112 dB, respectively when placed in a real corner.

No - this is not reference levels, but that was never my goal with this. I targeted max SPLs of 95 dB at a typical listening position (-10 dB from 1m).

The measured fc of Todd's build corresponds to the model very well, I measured -3 dB at ~23 Hz. Remember, this is a 6.5" midbass driver being asked to do subwoofer duty (and shaming a lot of drivers in the process :D).

Seriously. -3 dB @ 23 Hz. Flat from 25 to 100.

Max SPLs of over 110 dB at 1m when placed in a corner (~100 dB at a typical LP).

All from a single 6.5" midbass driver and less than 3 cubic feet.
 
#10 ·
Thanks for the reply Mike. I used the wrong term. I was thinking of what the corner loading would do to the length of the horn (thus dropping its tuning slightly) pointed in to the corner vs out into the room).

If you live in a concrete bunker,
Funny you should mention that. Though my landlord insists on calling it an apartment, it really is a concrete bunker... :dumbcrazy:
 
#11 ·
Thanks for the reply Mike. I used the wrong term. I was thinking of what the corner loading would do to the length of the horn (thus dropping its tuning slightly) pointed in to the corner vs out into the room).


Funny you should mention that. Though my landlord insists on calling it an apartment, it really is a concrete bunker... :dumbcrazy:
Nice. Put a pair of these in the corners, you'll be set. If not - build some more.... :D

The corner may drop a bit, but to be honest - I would not hold my breath and hope for that extension and low distortion too.

The problems with room gain and boundary loading is that they depend entirely on the room and the boundary - neither of which I can measure for you.
 
#13 ·
you'd be silly not to do this build:) it was a very simple build with very satisfactory results. i got all the wood cut today to add three more to my bedroom, 1 for each corner, distributed bass.

I am just a beginner with the wood working skills, this is only my 4th build ever (definately not my last, I have a huge addiction now), but can easily be built in a half days time if you dont dick off.
 
#17 ·
So should the horn mouth be aimed inward not at the wall behind?

And what are you using to power your subs?
 
#20 ·
yeah the mouths should be fired at the walls in which they are but for the sake of the pictures, they are how they appear. I am powering them with the dayton 240 plate amp

Thanks kevin, nope no kids yet, I'm only 26, still young and want to have my own toys:) they are probably not too far out though. howd you know.......
 
#22 ·
Hey Radman.... would you be willing to test out a signal processing/amplifier tool with your Anarchy? I've designed a quick PCB that has a steep 4th order filter under Fc, another selectable 2nd/4th order LP filter and a couple LM3886s to power the driver. I've also thrown in a couple optional notch filters so someone could play with room issues if they wanted to stuff the board.

I'll need to prototype the boards and build and test them for stability which will take a month.

Kevin Haskins
Exodus Audio
 
#27 ·
Mmm, porter.

Cabinets look nice- did you use screws, or a nailgun with small brads?
Hey Radman, you've got the four wired for a load of 4 ohms driven by 240w total, correct? Would you say they're a bit underpowered, or capable of handling, say a 115w amp each?
 
#28 ·
This is very tempting to build :dumbcrazy:
I could fit four in each corner of my room easily. But, one of them would have to be about a yard away from the wall because I have a door there. Oh well. I need to get some REW measuring equipment first, so everything else is way down on my list right now.

Will you guys be posting REW graphs, or something similar so we can see the real-world response?
 
#29 ·
This is as close to real-world as I can get right now. 2pi (groundplane), driven with 2.83 V.

This was measured with REW, just presented differently so I could compare the HornResp model with the actual results.

In room responses are too room-dependent for them to provide any sort of meaningful comparison. Radman12 has stated that when driving all four of his with a Dayton 240W plate amp (~150 W into 8 ohms) he has measured 124 dB in his room.
 
#32 ·
I built 4 of these purchased as flat packs from Erich at DIY Sound Group. I couldn't be happier. Two in the front corners of my small basement HT provide sufficient bass for music and movies, so, naturally I built two more. Adding the second pair provides greater SPL, not lower extension.
 
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