Volt Coaxial Speaker Kits

Hello Matt, awesome little speakers here. Just finished two of the six I plan to build. A quick question I'm hoping you could answer for me. I'll be using two of the atmos flat packs which limit the speaker to 115Hz I've read. My receiver seems to only have a global crossover which I plan to do to 80Hz. Could this be problematic at reference or any lower playback?

The seller I got it from said it could do individual xover but after a little research I found out it does not.

 

Running the sealed volt-6 with an 80hz crossover should not be a problem on AVR power, you just won't get as much output out of them at <120hz as the others. In reality for your surrounds or atmos speakers you may not even notice the slight response dip in that range.

 

Hello I own the volt 6 angled packs and plan to use them for surrounds. (Awesome customer service!!!!!!) I have been temporarily using them as mains for testing. I feel they sound wonderful as far as detail and sound stage go but they sound too "small" overall. I have them paired with a decent subwoofer also.

I'm looking to built a sound bar like lay out of the volt 8s or volt 10s and laying them sideways across the top shelf of a 84" long tv console. In a fairly large open floor plan living room.

My questions is when used for LCR in this type of setup do the 10s have any kind of advantage over the 8s? If so how much and how big of a jump is each of them compared to the volt 6 in the angled packs that I already own.

I'm mostly looking for a larger sounding speaker if that makes any sense. Mostly for lower volume levels (but will crank them when wife is not home lol) As a reference I also own a pair of Energy C-7 towers with matching CC-1 center and a set of energy classic 5.1s

Thanks and sorry for rambling I'm having a hard time choosing lol.

 

I'd suggest the Volt-10's for that, they will sound the biggest of the three. The Volt-10 should be a pretty big jump from the volt-6 in terms of sounding like a bigger speaker. It has deeper bass extension and more mid bass especially if they can be used in a ported enclosure so you will definitely hear an improvement in those areas over then volt-6.

 

Matt,

I am going to upgrade my theater to Atmos this spring and while I normally do all my own speaker design (been doing it for maybe 20 years); I am going to be pressed for time this summer as I have a three way AE speakers and Faital Pro coax tower I need to get the XOs done for as well as do a small two way design for my daughter too. So I am considering using something like the Volt coaxes as my Atmos ceiling speakers and possibly using the same ones for new side and rear surrounds.

I debated using the Faital Pro 8" coaxes I have in my new fronts and center but at $300 just for the driver, coupled with a pretty high part count XO, I don't really want to drop almost $3k just on surround/effects speakers. Hence the Volts.

You mentioned that the Volt 6LX don't have much BSC as they are intended to be mounted on wall/ceiling. Is this also the case for the 8 and 10. My rear surrounds will be on mounts that will drop them down from the ceiling a couple feet and so I will get some baffle step loss. though it won't be a full 6db like a free standing speaker. So long story short, how will the 8's and 10's sound mounted 2+ feet away from a boundary.

Thanks and regards, Dennis

 

OK, not a lot of feedback on my question so here is another one. I am going to build 4 atmos speakers, L/R sourrounds, and rear surrounds. Atmos speakers will be mounted on the ceiling, L/R will be surrounds mounted on the wall, and the rears will be hanging down from the ceiling on mounts. The on-wall L/R will be limited to about 7"/8" in depth for my walkways. I don't have real height constraints.

In trying to decide between the volt models, I simulated the Volt speakers and it looks like a ported Volt 8LX In 12 liters would meet my depth requirements and play lower than the sealed 10LX (at least with out the capacitive loading on the sealed 10cx). Overall output is very close on both and I will probably never hit the limits anyway. I could use the smaller ported volt 8s as the atmos speakers or drop down to the volt 6.

So is there something I am missing something about the sealed volt 10's that would make them more attractive as surrounds than the ported Volt 8 in a similar depth cabinet?

Thanks!

 

Sorry for the delay.

The Volt-6 has essentially no BSC While the Volt-8 and Volt-10 have about 2.5dB. Since placement near boundaries is likely for all the volts I figured a large amount of BSC was not needed even going as far as not adding any for the Volt-6 though that was also done in order to keep sensitivity fairly high on that smaller speaker. The downside of no BSC means the Volt-6 tends to sound the most thin or lacking fullness at the bottom end especially if placed out from the wall.

 

You are correct the ported Volt-8 does has more extension in a similar or smaller cabinet then the sealed Volt-10. If you are not going to be pushing the limits of either design and would like that extra extension then by all means go for the Volt-8. The advantage the sealed volt-10 has is up a little higher (100-200hz) where it's greater displacement ability means it can achieve higher max output and when at similar output as the volt-8 do so with lower cone excursion.

 

Matt,

Thanks for your help on both questions. I appreciate it.

 

Hi, I just received 2X flat pack Volt 10LX kits (ported) yesterday. The package is well packed. This is my first DIY speakers, I have some noob questions. How is the flat pack assemble? Is the recommend Tidebond II glue be sufficient or a stronger wood glue would be better? And last question about the interior sound damping material, would you recommend to line the interior with 1 to 1.5" foam and fill the rest of the interior with polyfil, but ensure that it's not putting pressure against the driver? Also, is it safe to cover the crossover with polyfil material? Thanks!

 

Titebond II is my favorite glue for this sort of thing. It is easily strong enough for your project. Other glues work well, but none better. I lined my Volt 6s with 1.25" foam, and filled lightly with polyfill - just like you plan to. I left the xo uncovered, although some say it doesn't make a difference. It will be a fun project; just make sure you get the parts to fit up just right plan your steps before you apply any glue. If more questions come up - just ask for help.
Scary

 

Hi guys. First post.

I am thinking about having my first attempt at building speakers and planning to use the Volt 10-LX with the angled cabinet for surround duties. Thanks to the great info in this thread I feel able to assemble the crossover and the cabinet without too many issues. But one thing that is not clear to me is the speaker binding posts. I will buy the appropriate parts along with my kit, but it seems to me that they will protrude from the back of the cabinet and make it impossible to mount them flush to the wall. What do you guys do to overcome this? I want the cabinets to lie flush with my wall - speakers I have used in the past have had the binding posts in a recess to enable this, but I am assuming that the Volt cabinets do not (for the sake of simplicity of design). I could mount the binding posts on the side of the cabinet, but then I would create another problem of visible wires. Any suggestions or advice gratefully received. Thanks in advance.

-Keith

 

No problem - just buy a recessed terminal cup like this: http://www.diysoundgroup.com/accessories/terminals/square-tc1.html

 

Fantastic. Problem solved Thanks very much.

 

ThanKS a lot. For the cabinet assembly, the cut out groove is a very tight fit, need to use a rubber mellet to get into the groove, after that it is straight foward. Could you link me where to buy the 1.25" foam? Also, will the insulator from home Depot (Pink R13) could be use as polyfill? Thanks.

 

https://www.walmart.com/ip/Mainstays-1.25-Convoluted-Foam-Topper-Multiple-Sizes/10055840
The pink R13 will work fine - but it's itchy stuff..

 

Thank for the link Scary. Just finish with the board. But I'm not sure which wires are going within the speaker. Is HI +/- is going to the binding posts, while INP +/- is going to the woofer and LO +/- is going to the driver? Also, do you need to clean the flux after soldered? Thanks.

 

"INP" stands for input, so that connects to the binding posts. "HI" is connected to the tweeter assembly, and "LO" is for the main driver (woofer) You don't need to clean off the flux, but some people give it a quick wipe with a damp rag because it MIGHT prevent corrosion.

 

I see, thanks for the clearification. The included 8 small black plastic tubes are riser to use with the PCB board? I assume you can mount the board anywhere on the inside of the cabinet.

 

Yes, those plastic tubes are called 'stand offs' - just spacers to keep the PCB off the cabinet. You need to be sure that your crossover location is clear of drivers and ports. You should mount it, get the wires arranged, and line the cabinet before you glue on the baffle. - just makes things easier. How are you going to finish the boxes?

 

Oh, I already glue in the baffle. I will mount the crossover on the side of the woofer. I will leave the bottom half clear for the port. Based on the note that came with the kit, I need to cut the black ported tube down 5"? For the finish, I will cover the cabinet with WalnUT veneer.

 

Have been wondering about your statement.
"Volt-6 This driver works well in a ported enclosure between 0.15-0.35cuft tuned between 65-75hz, more towards 75hz with the smaller volumes and towards 65hz with the larger volumes. It can also be built as a dual passive radiator design using two of the new Dayton 6.5" PR's (SD175-PR). To get the correct tuning the cabinet needs to be roughly 20” high x 8” wide x 6” deep (external dimensions, 3/4" material). If the rear panel is made from 1/2" material or at least behind the CD the rear panel is milled down to 1/2" thick you can make it 5.75" deep."
Could you please clarify your thoughts on this PR design, tuning, sag, etc..
I have been thinking about a soundbar with the PR's and wondering if it would work?
Thanks
Curt

 

I was thinking of getting a ported Volt 6 for my surround and surround back, but today I was looking at the Volt 10LX and there are sealed and ported versions. Do people use the sealed version for surrounds? They don't go as low as the ported version but they are smaller so that they will fit well on my wall. So, are there straight flat packs that are sealed. I see sealed angled flatpack and ported straight flat pack and sealed atmos flatpack. What about ported angled and sealed straight?

 

Matt,

If you wouldn't mind, what is the port ID and lenght for the Volt 10lX? I bought the volts a while back, but never built them, but plan to and have decided it would be fun to go ported, which wasn't an option back them. Also, with the box dimensions, is that 3/4 MDF?

 

This would be a good design for a soundbar, IIRC tuning would end up in the 65-70hz range. The PR design does not give you quite as much bass extension as an ported design in the same box volume due to the slight mechanical losses in the passive radiators but it's only a few Hz.

There should not be any sag as the PR's do not need any added mass for this design. But everything is forward facing so unless they were mounted with the drivers pointing up or down there wouldn't be any sag anyway.