# Designing a 2.1 system with existing equipment (Adire/CSS/Dynaudio)



## Orbit_be (May 11, 2014)

Hi folks, I'm in desperate need of some expert advice for my to be 2.1 Music/HT setup. 

Maybe first some background:

I'm a 32 yr old bloke from Belgium (you know, that tiny country known for it's waffles, beer and "french" fries) with quite some (outdated?) experience in car audio. For some years I even had my own business selling and installing SQ oriented car audio. Back then I imported Adire Audio stuff and even some CSS drivers. 

So Dan, if you are reading this and you remember that tall Belgian that drove you around Brussels one day and followed you around CES 2003. It's me! :wave:
Bob, we also met that same CES, I'm very glad to see that you keep the XBL² technology alive.

Anyway, back on topic, as stated before, I want to design and build a 2.1 system. Before I had a very simple 5.1 setup that only was meant for movies and a dedicated room with a stereo DIY setup with FR125S drivers. This covered all my needs. But that room is no longer available (having a kid does force you to make sacrifices :R) and the stereo setup moved to the living room were it replaced the 5.1.
The FR125s do an amazing job, but I must admit that I do start missing the .1 aspect of my old surround system. I do not miss the surround concept, that's where the idea for an 2.1 setup came from.

I still have quite some NIB drivers from 'those days' lying around and I'm hoping all ingredients for a more than decent 2.1 system are there.

The list:
- CSS FR125 x 10+
- CSS WR125 x 4
- Adire Extremis 8 Ohm x 2
- Adire Koda 8 x 2
- Adire Koda 10 x 3
- Dynaudio MD130 x 2

- A stereo amp that will push virtually anything between 4 and 16 Ohms with plenty of power. (+/- 2 x 150rms @ 8 Ohm)

For the .1 part obviously the Koda 10 is the main contender but I'm having a hard time to design a sufficiently small enclosure. I settled on a 55l box, tuned to around 29 hz but after adding the port displacement, bracing, plate amp and extra height for a down firing setup I end up with a not so compact solution. Swapping the BR for a smilar PR design is more compact but a lot more expensive. 

For the 2. part I see several solutions:
- Simply continue with the current FR125 setup. This might be a bit 'light' when combined with the .1 part ...
- A MTM design with FR125/WR125 drivers. The MLTL TMM design of Tim Forman ( http://www.frugal-phile.com/box-plans/rosa-wr125-TMM-map.gif) includes a filter design which I would like to reuse.
- A MM design with FR125's but i'm unsure how this will influence my sound stage with 2 sources for the highs. Maybe Bi-pole will be a solution for this issue? Big plus is the fact I will need no filter!!! 
- Combining the Dynaudio tweeters with the Extremis 6 but designing a filter will be a mayor obstacle.

In the old days I would just start building and using mainly trial and error to get to my goal. However, I do no longer have the time, money and room for that approach. I really need to figure this out as much possible to maximize the chances that attempt one will be successful.

Thanks for reading and all and every comment or suggestion is more than appreciated!


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## Orbit_be (May 11, 2014)

No input or suggestions yet? 

Anyway, I've been playing around with WinISD a lot and it just feels more and more that I need to make some measurements of the current situation in order to better know what I want the result to be. 

When modeling a closed enclosure for the Koda 10" + my current (reverse engineered) vented FR125 setup it looks like i'm hardly going to gain low end extention. I know it sounds absolutely ridicule but that what WinISD shows me. (Koda is modeled with a 100hz lowpass)

 

Can someone explain to me what I'm missing?

I also had a talk with the girlfriend and we agreed that we'll order our projector screen ASAP to have a better view on the available space once it is installed. I'm also considering the purchase of a USB measuring mic. I still have a LinearX RTAjr in the basement but the thing is so incredibly user UNfriendly and overkill (measures reliable up to 170 dBa) that I'm probably better of selling it. Any takers?


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