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What to do with 8 B3S drivers??
I have 8 HiVi B3S drivers laying around that I want to find a use for. I have a couple of ideas, but am open to try some other ideas. I am looking at both conventional ideas and maybe something a little crazier. Below are 2 ideas I had been playing around with.
The first is a Tekton style array. I would have to buy 4 more, but they are on clearance at Madisound currently. This array would have a small format SB Accoustics tweeter in the middle with an 8” below.
The second is a more conventional approach. Again, I was thinking a small format SB Accoustics tweeter in the middle with an 8” below, but in a mmtmmw. I have it drawn as a wmmtmmwww and had thought about using some MAC06 drivers.
Comments
I vote for option two. Would be a striking look with excellent performance.
I like the funky tekton style one. But experimenting with cheap stuff is kinda my jam.
Check out DanP's Connexentrics, not sure I spelled it right, in the PE Gallery for feedback on the pseudo-coaxial arrangement.
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I found it. It is the Coneccentric. Doesn't look like he saw any benefit to the coaxial style design.
I had thought about doing something similar with the 2.5" Tectonic drivers, but I just can't get over the aesthetics of that type of design. Knowing Dan didn't see/hear any notable advantages, I'll probably just stick with a vertical deployment.
+1 on the Tectonic drivers. But I would be using them in the other suggested MMTMM type baffle alignment. Since the driver cones are flat, there would be less "wonky" response from being too close to the tweeter. The HiVi B3S valley diffraction problem would be somewhat avoided.
Would the below link be the Tectonic you are thinking about? I think this is the one that @DrewsBrews was experiementing with a while back. It is has a nice flat on-axis, and a very smooth & wide polar pattern. It has been on back-order for quite a while now. If PE ever gets some in, I'm going to order up a big batch.
https://www.parts-express.com/Tectonic-TEBM35C10-4-BMR-2-Full-Range-Speaker-4-Ohm-297-216?quantity=1
Those are the ones! I have 10 of them waiting for me to get back in the shop and cut some holes. Not sure about which tweeter to use yet. Maybe the Mini-8 AMT.
I modeled up 4 of the M8N, and the box gets a bit to big, and even with 8 of the B3S, I don't think they could keep up. I also modeled up those MCM drivers that are on sale at Newark, and they just don't go low enough for my taste. I then modeled up 2 of the M8N in 3 cubic feet, tuned to 27hz, gives an f3 of 30hz with a fairly shallow roll off. I also have really wanted to try that SB ceramic tweeter. I may look at doing the speaker that Gowa modeled, but with only 2 of the M8N. I am going to 3d print the black portion around the mid and tweeters so that I can rear mount the B3S. I will start playing around with that first.
No idea how they would model, but maybe a quad of M6Ns?
I might try modeling those. The MAC-06s model well in a quad
I feel like the M8 take a larger volume box, 30-40ltrs each, but provide some of my favorite bass over the years. They just sound dynamic.
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So far I am leaning to 2 M8Ns. Now I just need to make sure which tweeter i want. Another option is the HiVi RT1.3WE if I wanted to keep it all Hivi.
That tweeter has been a favorite as well.
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I just used it in my last build and loved it. Not sure if there is anything in the sub $100 range that is worth trying. I have heard good things about the SB ceramic but not sure if it could best the Hivi.
If you haven't used the Seas Titan 27TAC/GB yet, I'd add that to your list of possibilities. SB CDC is really nice too. I just don't think these have enough sensitivity to keep up in this particular case. A planar or ribbon is likely your best bet for output.
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Possibly place two on the back, slightly offset to the outside and run without a LP filter (i.e. mid on up)?
I printed out a plate to rear mount the B3S drivers. I just need to save up for the 4 M8N and Hivi RT1.3we tweeters.
May want to read this journey....https://ampslab-spk.com/2025/05/21/arrayc3n/
I have. It's quite interesting.