Haoleb's Kappa Perfect 12vq MidQ Build Thread

[jamie2112]

personally, i'd keep the Behringer EP2500 ... it's still THE bang for the buck amp for ANY subwoofer or any speaker you desire.

I would keep the Behringer as well, its got tons of power for later uses as well

 

[WmAx]

Why sell the EP2500 and get two RMX1450s? Just get a 2nd EP2500 and that substantially exceed two RMX1450s.

Or, you can use the two RMS1450s on the subwoofers and use the existing EP2500 on the main speakers. I know you may not like the idea of using a 'pro' amp in place of your fancy mono blocks, but the chances are, the EP2500 is a better actual amplifier, measurably, and it has far more power for dynamics, no question.

And in practical terms; you already get approx. 125dB at 20-30hz with one EP2500 on those subwoofers. Why do you need 1 more watt of additional power, even?

-Chris

 

[Haoleb]

Why sell the EP2500 and get two RMX1450s? Just get a 2nd EP2500 and that substantially exceed two RMX1450s.

And in practical terms; you already get approx. 125dB at 20-30hz with one EP2500 on those subwoofers. Why do you need 1 more watt of additional power, even?

-Chris

Not that I need the extra power, even though I have had the clip lights come on a time or two. But I like the extra headroom. Im getting two of these amps and the zpre and some other speaker thing for $400 locally, So I can sell my amp, and the zpre and come out with money left over or at least come out even. But instead of having one amp and one power supply and 700 watts or so Now its like im running monoblocks with 1400 watts per sub.

The EP definetly wont be taking the place of my mono's it may have more power, but just... no.

 

[WmAx]

The EP definetly wont be taking the place of my mono's it may have more power, but just... no.

I just think the EP2500 would probably be a better amp. That's all.

Hey, remember now, I used to be into high end audio hardware - I ran all McIntosh amplification, etc.. But I did realize it was all cosmetics; pro gear has more actual performance to offer most of the time.

Do those mono blocks you use have a load driving ability even close to that of the EP2500? Do they even have a noise floor as low as the EP2500(110dB SNR unweighted)?

-Chris

 

[Haoleb]

I dont know what their SNR but I find it hard that the EP2500 could be better sound quality wise. Just plain component quality wise it isint. Looks wise it most definetly isint.

Sure I could take a few hours and do some listening tests but lets be frank. Everyone would just tell me its the placebo if i heard a difference anyway. Be it my Odyssey monoblocks that sound better or the behringer.

 

[WmAx]

I dont know what their SNR but I find it hard that the EP2500 could be better sound quality wise. Just plain component quality wise it isint. Looks wise it most definetly isint.

Sure I could take a few hours and do some listening tests but lets be frank. Everyone would just tell me its the placebo if i heard a difference anyway. Be it my Odyssey monoblocks that sound better or the behringer.

The Ep2500 has all high quality components internally; certainly at least as good as my McIntosh MC754 amps used, and in many cases, better(the Ep2500 is chock full of 1 percent tolerance metal film resistors, boat loads of Toshiba output transistors, massive power supply system and it uses a mil-spec redundant layered circuit board). And the EP2500 is built superior, physically, from what I can tell.

As for sound; the EP2500 does not have a sound of which I'm aware. It's acts like a transparent gain. If you are looking for coloration - then it is definitely the wrong amp.

As for looks... you have a point... it is ugly.

-Chris

 

[Haoleb]

Got my new driver today and thankfully it works perfectly.

And now I'm running 1.4KW to each sub

The Behringer and QSC are pretty much identical, although the QSC does seem to be made to a higher standard and engineered a little bit better. For example there is no filter thing on the front that would only clog. I can only imagine they put that there so you cannot see directly into the amp as you can with the QSC. And the vents on the QSC are right in front of where the heatsink is.

Definetly have to buy a couple more of those quiet fans though cuz two of these things stock is like listening to a small leaf blower

 

[WmAx]

So, when you are going to tell us what SPL you achieve with 1400 x 2? Do YOU have the balls(to risk frying your subs)?

-Chris

 

[Gimpy Ric]

So, when you are going to tell us what SPL you achieve with 1400 x 2? Do YOU have the balls(to risk frying your subs)?

-Chris

Do you have ear plugs?

 

[jamie2112]

So, when you are going to tell us what SPL you achieve with 1400 x 2? Do YOU have the balls(to risk frying your subs)?

-Chris

What do you live in a barn???? Thats loud even for a barn!

 

[Haoleb]

So, when you are going to tell us what SPL you achieve with 1400 x 2? Do YOU have the balls(to risk frying your subs)?

-Chris

What again? Im tired of buying Kappa perfect drivers! I already caused rogue waves in my sink wasnt that impressive enough?

 

[Djizasse]

How did you make the round edges? Is there any tool that helps to do this?

Edit: You did it with a Rounding Router Bit?

 

[GTHill]

It looks like he did that with a sander, but yes a routing bit is also another way to go.

Gene

 

[Haoleb]

No, I used a router bit for that. If you decide to do yours like that put the peices together before you router it so that the corners are rounded properly. The only hard part with doing it that way is that you wont have really anything to rest the router base on vs if you do it like how I did you'll still have something to rest it on.

 

[avaserfi]

The easiest way to round corners is using a 'round over bit' with a router. I recommend Bosch bits as they are very well made, last a long time and are relatively well priced.

Only parts of the port that can impede airflow need be rounded over. Remember the air moves in and out of the port on one axis (not side to side) so the sides have no need for rounding over, but the port exit should be rounded over since the air is sucked in as well. For an example of these points please look at the pictures below from my original build:

Note how where the port meets the side wall there is no rounding as it is not needed. Also, in the last picture the bottom of the subwoofer port is not rounded. This was later fixed as it should be rounded, ideally.

 

[Djizasse]

Thanks Haoleb I'll need to do some planning to find the best construction phases to round the required edges. And if needed I'll make some jigs to help with the rounding.
I don't know if I'm going to round the outside edges, I haven't decided on a finish yet.

Avaserfi, just looking at those pics makes me dizzy. I'm glad I'll do a simple build
According to what you said the places to round are (red zones):

It's this correct?

 

[avaserfi]

Those look correct, but note you only need to round over the larger piece not the side pieces. Due to this you could simply use a router mounted in a table then construct all the pieces. The corners where the port top/bottom meet the port side walls does not need to be rounded over.

Also note, if you don't round all the edges there is no real point in rounding any it might help some, but not enough to matter if there are any edges that impede airflow.

 

[jamie2112]

2 4ohm sets of inputs

Ok I am confused I am building this right now and I just got the Perfect speakers and their are 2 sets of inputs. They don't measure across so they are not parallel. This would mean that I need a stereo amp bridged to 2 ohms to run this being there are 2 voice coils. Chris, Andrew, help what should I be doing. Did I buy the wrong speakers? Infinity perfect 12 vq is what I got. I am confused as how to hook this up. Should I just use 1 set and keep it a 4ohm load or should I connect the 2 and have a 2 ohm load which is very hard to drive?

 

[Haoleb]

You must have gotten the 12dvq which is the dual voice coil version. You want to use both coils. Your building a pair of them? What are you going to power them with and are you going to use them as a stereo pair, or as just two being fed LFE channel?

 

[jamie2112]

Yes I got the wrong version and I don't think I can send them back....Oh well