DIY Compact line array
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Category: Plans
Forum Name: New Projects Forum
Forum Description: Forum for new speakerplans projects, in memory of Tony Wilkes, 1953 - 2014
URL: https://forum.speakerplans.com/forum_posts.asp?TID=15820
Printed Date: 26 March 2026 at 10:04pm
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Topic: DIY Compact line array
Posted By: MarjanM
Subject: DIY Compact line array
Date Posted: 31 March 2008 at 5:59pm
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Ok here is the idea that we can work it out. After making some line array boxes that didnt turned out bad at all i am planing to build a more compact one just for easier handling. Here is a draft plan  Mylesound asked me in another topic about the HF guide. I didnt have the money to buy the P-Audio PH 14525 so i have build a wooden wave guides. I know that they are not ideal but that is the compromise we always make when money are tight. This was my starting idea of what the horn has to look like  Except mine are 28cm long and horn opening is 13cm high and 2,6cm wide. Two of those are fitted vertically in one box.   And a few pictures of the building process    And one in action  ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Replies:
Posted By: mylesound
Date Posted: 31 March 2008 at 6:24pm
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wow so thats yours Lol ive seen a pic of it before
nice finish! that wave guide looks complicated to build tho. if the Paudio is that expencive how about the new B&C ME 102? its only about 90 USD. would it be able to work 140deg. horozontal and a 1K cutoff. |
Posted By: staiper
Date Posted: 31 March 2008 at 8:06pm
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MarjanM
I have tried P-Audio PH 14525 slot modules with few (from medium class to top class) HF drivers... attached on 100deg. plywood flare. ..And I was not happy with sound coming from those.
Simple plywood slot (very close to those you make) ,attached to same plywood flare sounded much better in all aspects of HF sound. Something is definitely wrong with those PH 14525 modules (... my opinion ..And one detail more,. if you disassemble one of those you will see that this device even increase path length differences to slot front plane instead to equal it.. Best wishes, Stipe |
)Posted By: lesvanr
Date Posted: 31 March 2008 at 8:39pm
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Looks great. We are paying so much for just a name when one can make great sounding speakers yourself! Had a look inside PAudio line arrays. Impressive I have to say, but you would need heavy duty hoisting gear to lift them. Your seem easy to stack! Well done!! |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 31 March 2008 at 9:53pm
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Mylesound, it is not that expensive around 50EUR but for 12 boxes it needs 24 of them. So that will be like 1200EUR. All i need for those boxes are better HF drivers. BMS 4550 would be ideal. It can be crossed at 800Hz. Stipe, thanks for the advice man :-) I have never seen a P-Audio line array. Any link? ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: mylesound
Date Posted: 31 March 2008 at 10:09pm
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he probly just meant the HF guide. Ive searched and havent found anything. unless its something behind the scene.
and i guess building the HF module is the cheaper way and apparently the better sounding way too. question. how will the 12" and 5" work? will it be like a normal reflex or a transmission? |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 31 March 2008 at 10:38pm
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If they are placed apart within 1/4 wave of the highest frequency they are playing they will couple well. When you achieve a long enough array (around 2m) they significantly gain in vertical directivity. That is the whole idea of the line array's reduced lose in gain over distance. ME102 can be used in this kind of box. You will just have to use appropriate 1inch driver that can go down to 800-1000Hz and that will be BMS drivers. If we use a Nexo trick (as used on GeoS) it can be two way box with just the 12 and 2-3 HF drivers crossed at 800Hz. ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: mylesound
Date Posted: 31 March 2008 at 11:05pm
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yeah i kinda like that idea. i wanted the JBL VRX 932 one 12" and 3 1.5"
2 way seems to be in my intrest for top end. smaller, and possibly less power needed * hows it coming along MarjanM? |
Posted By: heinrich
Date Posted: 03 April 2008 at 3:08am
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so the end................ just like other line array threads  I don't know why still alot of us here don't fancy line arrays................ is it because of SAFETY in flying..............or.........BUDGET........... what about ground stacking these craps vertically................with some use of scafoldings (correct my spelling pls. if I mispelled the word) ... ------------- .....power is nothing without control.... |
Posted By: darkmatter
Date Posted: 03 April 2008 at 2:24pm
odd  |
staiper wrote:Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 03 April 2008 at 3:50pm
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Well if you look at the drivers in my boxes it is not that the budget is a problem. I have 2 Delta12A and 2 PSD2002 in them. So that cost me around 220 Eur for drivers per box. That ain't too expensive. I just need to upgrade the HF part with BMS4550 and that will be 320 EUR per box including the deltas. For the box like in the drawing above i was planing to use: One Delta 12A - 55 EUR Two Alfa 6 - 60 EUR Two BMS 4550 - 210 EUR Total 325 EUR If budget is allowing a better 12 and 6 inch drivers can be used. They can be ground stacked or flown. I dont think that rigging equipment will cost me more than 50 EUR per box. ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: tommysb
Date Posted: 03 April 2008 at 4:24pm
| What do the inside of your HF horns look like Marjan? |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 03 April 2008 at 9:04pm
It is just a strait triangle with one inch hole where HF driver is mounted 
------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: tommysb
Date Posted: 03 April 2008 at 9:07pm
| Sometimes simplest is the best :) |
Posted By: mylesound
Date Posted: 03 April 2008 at 9:41pm
| Have you decided the X over points for each section yet? |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 03 April 2008 at 10:56pm
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300 and 1KHz if BMS 4550 is used. But since 6 inch drivers can go up to 2KHz some cheaper 1 inch diver scan be used and crossed at 2KHz. ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: mylesound
Date Posted: 03 April 2008 at 11:03pm
| how low do you plan on sending the 12" to? |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 04 April 2008 at 1:29am
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around 80Hz
------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: heinrich
Date Posted: 04 April 2008 at 2:44am
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@ marjan, can you post your plans pls.......I'm so intersted with the HF section and the distance between the two LF drivers...... ------------- .....power is nothing without control.... |
Posted By: mylesound
Date Posted: 04 April 2008 at 2:48am
we all are 
|
Posted By: Gaetano
Date Posted: 04 April 2008 at 8:54am
| Hi Marjan I like your System and I was trying to built one like that but I was afraid that may be delay in the sound from the top speakers to the bottom sound because someone told me that I need a delay effect for the line array. Do you used any software to calculate the volume of the cabinets? |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 04 April 2008 at 11:15am
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There are no plans yet. Just a raw drawings like the one i have posted already. For the 12 and 6 inches you can use WinISD to calculate the box. HF horn is a bit tricky one and trial and error is in order. I have made 6 different ones before decided on the one i have now. Distance between which drivers? HF? That will depend on the box dimensions. Fewer the drivers longer the horn to achieve small vertical dispersion. I think that with 3 HF drivers dispersion will be much better and will sound better. ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 04 April 2008 at 11:54am
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Here is another idea for a more serious performance box. It is kind of a combination of KF760 (LF part) and Martin W8LC http://i8.photobucket.com/albums/a20/MarjanM/HighPerformancemediumsizeLA.jpg Some how i dont have a permission to add a picture in the post??????? Weird???? ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: mylesound
Date Posted: 08 April 2008 at 8:05pm
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Hey marjan, how about going simpler like NEXO geo
single 12" and a 1.4" would it be hard to make a wave guide for that? |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 08 April 2008 at 9:46pm
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Nexo uses a reflective lens wave gide which i dont think is DIYable. But 1,4" can go low enough to meet the 12 so it can be done. ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: mylesound
Date Posted: 08 April 2008 at 9:57pm
| how's your compact coming along tho? |
Posted By: ceharden
Date Posted: 08 April 2008 at 10:43pm
| I reckon if you used a pair of the B&C or Beyma 1.4" waveguides you could match them straight onto 10" or 12" drivers. |
Posted By: justamadman
Date Posted: 08 April 2008 at 11:54pm
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i want i want
------------- in front of the bass bins baby |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 09 April 2008 at 9:18am
I would rather use BMS drivers with wave giude. http://www.bmspro.info/index.php?show=item&usbid=10346&id=54401 And yes two can meet the 10 or 12 without the sweat. ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 09 April 2008 at 9:20am
No work done yet. My friend father died few days ago :-( and i have let him all my savings to cover the expenses for the funeral. So have to wait a while now. ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: mylesound
Date Posted: 09 April 2008 at 5:06pm
| Sorry to hear. take it easy |
Posted By: nineleaves
Date Posted: 25 March 2009 at 12:58pm
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nice project :) its good to see folks experiementing with making tweeter horns too :) |
Posted By: LjudLahger
Date Posted: 29 March 2009 at 12:43pm
someone here wanted to see how the hf guide look inside, so maby it looks like one of my experiments...? Hope you don't mind putting this one here Mirjam  |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 29 March 2009 at 12:51pm
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No problem mate.
------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: IanD
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 2:57pm
It is DIY-able, I built one last year and it worked very well. But making it out of wood is a complete PITA, I hate to think how many hours it took to make one -- so making the 8 I needed was just not on. Ian |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 30 March 2009 at 3:17pm
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That was my thinking of not DIYable. Anything can be done but does it worth the time and effort? ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: drziketon
Date Posted: 03 April 2009 at 5:00pm
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hay! i'm interesting about crossovers in this boxes.do you use all active crossover or you did put some kind of passive crossovers in it?and if there is passive on what frekvencies are they cut off? |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 03 April 2009 at 6:13pm
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No passive crossovers. ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: drziketon
Date Posted: 04 April 2009 at 9:17am
| so you all run in active mode.sorry to ask but how you drive these arrays in bi amp? and if so which output power for the HF? |
Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 04 April 2009 at 11:34am
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Due to lack of funds my boxes are full of compromises and if i have enough money i would have done them differently. At this moment they are quasi 3 way. That meant that i am running them active two way now. They are wired to be 16 ohm so i drive 4 boxes with 2 amps and have a spare channel at the moment. I have bridged Peavey GPS3400 (at full power - 3400W) on the low/mid (that is 8x12" drivers) and one channel of the Crest CPX2600 (at 450W) that drives 8xPSD2002. I have installed a inductance coil in front of the one of the 12's and that way limiting it to produce anything above 300Hz. So that way both of the 12's do the low part 90-300, but just one goes 300-1800Hz. This box is not ideal in any way to act as a real line array. But it is close to it and sound very good with a bit of eq here and there. I will repeat this one more time. This box is not ideal and is full with compromises. So if you like to make a real line array it should be done a bit differently and it will cost a lot more. Componets that i use are mediocre and the results are not stunning. But for the money they can give you a good results. As a matter of fact i was at the big event last night with 12 Vertec 4888 per side and i can swear my boxes can sound better than that. Very often it is the man behind the system not just the system it self. Hope i have given enough info. Regards Marjan ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: coyote
Date Posted: 23 October 2009 at 5:28pm
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Posted By: MarjanM
Date Posted: 23 October 2009 at 7:40pm
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LR 24db it is 3 amp now. ------------- Marjan Milosevic MM-Acoustics www.mm-acoustics.com https://www.facebook.com/pages/MM-Acoustics/608901282527713 |
Posted By: sowndman
Date Posted: 01 July 2013 at 2:30pm
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I have 4 Cerwin Vega D-32b. I would like to build 4 line arrays using the existing components.
Each cab has 2 16 ohm er124
1'4 inch screw on mid driver
1 inch 4x4 tweeter.
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Posted By: tamuks
Date Posted: 01 July 2013 at 3:15pm
sorry to intrude guys but may l ask if it posible to use the vertical lens on a horn loarded cab .lets say one like Mt 122 and what are the advantages and disadvantages of a horn loaded line array ove a reflex one?
------------- K.A.S.S the art of digital sound entertainment |