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New Lowther Drivers.

I have ordered a pair of the new, improved Lowther DX3. The improvements consist of changing the suspension from a rolled-out type to a rolled-in type, putting a rolled edge on the whizzer cone to stiffen the edge and eliminate the midrange peak called "Lowther shout". They also offer a new phase plug that looks like a "light bulb with holes" that is controversial. Bullet style phase plug is still standard. They are sending me both types for evaluation.
I am currently building a set of Voigt Pipes enclosures, which I hope to get done before the drivers arrive. I am following the plans from the Lowther Club of Norway website.
I'm very excited about this, because I could use some extra efficiency in my speakers. If anyone has built these Lowther Voigt Pipes before and can offer some advice, it would be appreciated. It is not really hard, but sometimes a simple tip can make the difference. BTW, Doug(Grandpad), you really helped me to make up my mind on buying these drivers in the last thread I put up on this topic. As always, I will give reports on results, just in case anyone is interested. Comments?
twl
twl OP
3,251 posts
 
Pipetman, I'd be glad to keep you updated on the project. I generally run a thread on my results. Regarding the Voigt Pipes performance, they do have issues with some "comb filtering" in the bass and midbass due to wave additions and cancellations from the port/direct radiator interface. This can be dealt with to some degree with appropriate tuning. Regarding the "mid-fi" comments, I can only laugh. Even the earlier Lowthers were considered to be world-class drivers by nearly everyone. Not everyone wanted single-driver systems, but there was little that could do more or better than a Lowther driver. The Voigt Pipe may not be the ultimate cabinet, but it is a good one. There is not a speaker system made that does not have "issues" of one sort or another. This is my way in to the High-End single driver arena. While I am breaking the drivers in, I can evaluate the Voigt Pipes. If I am satisfied, I can stay with them. If I feel the need to move up to some more exotic back-horn, I can then build a pair of them. The Lowthers need alot of break-in time, so it is imperative to get them going in some cabinet right away.
bishopwill
369 posts
 
Sounds like a great project. Please do keep us informed.

will
ultrakaz
187 posts
 
There is another cabinet that looks to have a lot of potential and is a variation of the Voigt Pipe. I saw it on the Single Drive website under the DIY menu, titled: Bigger is Better. Basically, it looks like the Voigt Pipe but has the "other half" of the Pipe attached, and the port/mouth opens up toward the ceiling. The fellow that built these speakers has some tips in building them that may be useful to you when you build your Voigts.

Please keep us udated on your Lowther DX-3 Voigt speakers.
twl OP
3,251 posts
 
Yes, I've seen that one and it does look interesting. I am trying the regular Voigt Pipes first, because my ceiling is vaulted, and the Terry Cain upfiring pipes may not get much bass boundary reinforcement from my ceiling. The Cain pipes would gave to give at least 3db more bass in order to compensate for the loss of boundary reinforcement. Also, when I experimented with transmission line lengths in my last set of single driver speakers, I found that at some point, longer line and lower tuning can result in loss of output level. Since the Voigt pipes act as a T-Line and a kind of horn, this may be mitigated somewhat, but the mouth size is way to small for a real horn and would reflect alot back up the throat if pressed into being a real horn, drastically raising the cutoff frequency. Also, they act as a bass-reflex somewhat, and the box volume would be doubled, requiring much tuning of the port mouth. Cain designed his pipes for a smaller Fostex driver that has a significantly higher resonant frequency, and likely lacks the bass output of the Lowther. The Lowther, having a resonant frequency of 36Hz should be good down to 40Hz-50Hz in the traditional Voigt pipe cabinet. This is fine with me. I'd like to go lower, but I can live with 40Hz. If I decide I really need the extra bass, I will build the "Big Fun" horn with a cutoff of 32Hz on the low end. Efficiency of the DX3 in all these back horn cabinets is about 100db with 1 watt input. The only way to go higher is to go with a front horn, which I don't like to do because of colorations imparted to the mids.
clueless
763 posts
 
Twl:

You wrote:

"I can live with 40Hz"

I agree Twl. If the speaker handles 40Hz really well it's much betteer than having something that stumbles over something lower. I've been building two ways for a couple years that max out at 39Hz, but handle that well, and for lots of music I never miss a thing.

I am moving in your (FR) direction though.
Continue to let us know what your doing and how it's going.

Thanks,
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