“The Next to Last DIY Speaker Project”

I used to play in a band.  Life has changed and I can’t commit the time anymore.  So, I do it vicariously by listening to music.  However, being in a band, you will find most stereo systems do not recreate that “live” experience.  Recently, I managed to obtain the critical parts of a patented horn design, the unity horn by Tom Danley, after the purchase of a pair of Yorkville Unity speakers that I found in a killer deal on Ebay. 

The unity horn creates the “Holy Grail of audiophile” sound.  It features three midrange speakers and a prosound compression tweeter that fire into point source and then our of a horn.  It covers 300hz to 20 khz with a 60 degree dispersion.  It takes only 1watt, yes 1 watt, to give 113db of sound.   What does this mean?  It means life-like dynamics and ultra low distortion that will work in any room.   I heard this technology about 10 years ago from a friend that had licensed the patent to make a low-cost version for the DIY community, Lambda Acoustics.  The company had since gone out of business, but the memory remained as the best sound I ever heard from a speaker.   You just couldn’t get any better than that.

The Yorkville U15 speaker I purchased is far from perfect, especially for the level I am shooting for (its ugly).  It needs improvement with digital signal processing.   Below is a rough diagram of what I am to do with them.  It will feature and active digital crossover with and integrated analog volume control.  All digital processing will be at 24bit/96khz.   It will use a patented subwoofer processor designed to give extraordinary amounts of bass from a vented cabinet.    It will also probably piss my neighbors off.  😉