DIY High pass filters for Vandersteen Model 5A Carbon's?

Thought: Search for one just in case, but yes, just go ahead and start a new one. 

Hey OP!

I'll talk to you over in DIYAudio then. It will hopefully be a firehose of information and many there with more experience than me in speaker building and electronics.

Best,

E

Thanks @roxy54 !

I mean, this isn't of zero value. If the OP approaches this not as a way to save money, but as a learning opportunity, he could get far and feel it was well worth it.

For instance, if he built his own sub cabinet, learns to measure and integrate the two sections, that is a lot of work, and maybe not financially worthwhile, but as a learning opportunity, priceless! :)

On the other hand, unguided, and unwilling to learn a little about crossover and speaker analysis, he will tinker and spend money on this until the day he dies without being happy. :)

Again, I encourage the OP to come join us at DIYAudio.com in the Multi-way speaker forum. Tons of peeps willing to help on every aspect of this.

Best,


E

@wspohn :

You are right, if the OP was going to replace the bass cabinets with Vandersteens then the approach you recommend is ideal. But Vandersteen builds his bass electronics to complement this de-emphasis, something no one else I know of does.

However, if the OP was not going to go that way, this makes it more complicated to replicate, and IMHO not worthwhile. Use a fully active crossover before the amp, and handle it and bass EQ there. With a HT receiver/processor or a preamp like the Parasound P5/P7, this is all built in, though you give up that 1st order matching, but come on, we’re already dealing with a bit of a mash-up. :)

Also, and this is not a popular opinion, Vandersteen's capacitors are crap. You'll do better with alternatives.

Best,

E

So I just read up on this. The Vandersteen design is a 100 hZ, single order (6dB/octave) high pass filter for the top section.

You could replace both missing cabs with 1 or 2 powered subwoofers. The question now is, how do you manage the crossover? You could do this with the normal features of a receiver or a preamp with integrated bass management (Parasound P5/P7), you could also do this with an external active crossover like a miniDSP or a DEQX.  Some powered subs also offer built in high pass filters.

What you have to watch out for is having at least a 6 dB high pass filter for the speaker cabs. More is fine (12, 24, etc.). 

Best,

E

The "high pass filter" is in this case just a capacitor. You could even build it into the amplifier housing. You need to know the amplifier's impedance and the target -3 dB point for the filter, then you can find an online calculator.

I'm a little confused. Are you missing the entire lower portion? If this is the case we need to talk about your whole plan. :) If you plan on making your own bass cabinet, you could add  speaker level high pass filter, or use an external crossover or DSP unit like a miniDSP to handle everything for you.

Best,

E