Post by Arke on Aug 22, 2022 6:46:54 GMT
From ARKE they came 2 by 2... Well, maybe not a sub... let's stay with pairs for now!
The first pair is the Arke Duo (thanks for the idea Oli) - a small standmount speaker to show people what a beautiful little bespoke speaker can do. No, it's not the flagship ultimate speaker, but these standmounts are here to show people that a small speaker can be BIG in build and sound quality. The Ultimate will come, but it'll take time and wouldn't be an ideal demo speaker - not easily transportable.
The brief/main design criteria are:
- Compact standmounts with an approximately A4 sized front baffle.
- Around 10-12 litre volume
- ported enclosure 2 way
- Bass driver will be the Scanspeak 15W Revelator sliced paper cone. This is a very popular driver and rightly so - it's very good. Only 148mm (outer basket diameter) so a compact, but potent driver. It has wonderful midrange and pretty potent bass for it's size. I've heard it in a few speakers and have been impressed by it's performance.
- Tweeter is a scanspeak ring radiator unit. It's not extremely expensive, but don't be put off by this. Performance is fantastic and it provides a wonderfully detailed top end without any edginess.
- high quality crossover components. People can specify crossover parts as they wish too (within reason and with cost adjusted accordingly).
- very rigid and well damped cabinets.
- Crossovers easily accessible in a rear compartment. This will facilitate easy upgrades.
- Main central cabinet and side cheeks will be customisable. This will give people lots of choice to have a style that suits.
After many hours at the computer, the design has converged on a central cabinet from (mainly) 18mm Birch ply. There is one central brace, this braces the front baffle, rear baffle and sides. There is a rear crossover compartment with a removable access cover. This allows for easy access to the crossover and isolates the crossover components from the main acoustic chamber. The crossover board is mounted to to rear baffle and constrains a layer of damping material (for further vibration isolation and suppression). The crossover compartment is oversized to facilitate the uses of larger/upgraded components.
All panel joints are rebated and designed to give an extremely rigid and strong cabinet. The sides cheeks (about 20-25mm thick depending on customer selection) will clamp a layer of damping material between themselves and the central cabinet. The side walls are the largest panel area and the most important to be strong and well damped. Total thickness will be 30-35mm and comprise constrained layer damping. Additionally, the sides are extremely well braced.
The Arke Duos are rear ported, but there is sufficient space at the base of the front baffle for a front porting option also. I opted for a slot port - this minimises the vertical space required and allow more crossover space at the rear. The slot is a sufficient aspect ratio (not to narrow) to allow a smooth airflow.
The crossovers are currently Jantzen, Clarity cap and Mundorf capacitors. Further testing a development will enhance the component choices over time. A client can specify components (costed accordingly) and upgrades will be simple to undertake.
Further posts will cover the construction of Arke Duo.
The first pair is the Arke Duo (thanks for the idea Oli) - a small standmount speaker to show people what a beautiful little bespoke speaker can do. No, it's not the flagship ultimate speaker, but these standmounts are here to show people that a small speaker can be BIG in build and sound quality. The Ultimate will come, but it'll take time and wouldn't be an ideal demo speaker - not easily transportable.
The brief/main design criteria are:
- Compact standmounts with an approximately A4 sized front baffle.
- Around 10-12 litre volume
- ported enclosure 2 way
- Bass driver will be the Scanspeak 15W Revelator sliced paper cone. This is a very popular driver and rightly so - it's very good. Only 148mm (outer basket diameter) so a compact, but potent driver. It has wonderful midrange and pretty potent bass for it's size. I've heard it in a few speakers and have been impressed by it's performance.
- Tweeter is a scanspeak ring radiator unit. It's not extremely expensive, but don't be put off by this. Performance is fantastic and it provides a wonderfully detailed top end without any edginess.
- high quality crossover components. People can specify crossover parts as they wish too (within reason and with cost adjusted accordingly).
- very rigid and well damped cabinets.
- Crossovers easily accessible in a rear compartment. This will facilitate easy upgrades.
- Main central cabinet and side cheeks will be customisable. This will give people lots of choice to have a style that suits.
After many hours at the computer, the design has converged on a central cabinet from (mainly) 18mm Birch ply. There is one central brace, this braces the front baffle, rear baffle and sides. There is a rear crossover compartment with a removable access cover. This allows for easy access to the crossover and isolates the crossover components from the main acoustic chamber. The crossover board is mounted to to rear baffle and constrains a layer of damping material (for further vibration isolation and suppression). The crossover compartment is oversized to facilitate the uses of larger/upgraded components.
All panel joints are rebated and designed to give an extremely rigid and strong cabinet. The sides cheeks (about 20-25mm thick depending on customer selection) will clamp a layer of damping material between themselves and the central cabinet. The side walls are the largest panel area and the most important to be strong and well damped. Total thickness will be 30-35mm and comprise constrained layer damping. Additionally, the sides are extremely well braced.
The Arke Duos are rear ported, but there is sufficient space at the base of the front baffle for a front porting option also. I opted for a slot port - this minimises the vertical space required and allow more crossover space at the rear. The slot is a sufficient aspect ratio (not to narrow) to allow a smooth airflow.
The crossovers are currently Jantzen, Clarity cap and Mundorf capacitors. Further testing a development will enhance the component choices over time. A client can specify components (costed accordingly) and upgrades will be simple to undertake.
Further posts will cover the construction of Arke Duo.
