This is a continuation of a thread in the garage sale section regarding the Cigar Bum's Corn-Scala cabinets he traded to me for a box of cigars...

"Now to put drivers in those beautys", JL said.

So, first question...how low does the midrange horn/driver have to go to make this whole thing work? As I have looked into it, this seems to be a first  consideration.  The 1" throat ones do not seem to go too low, and the 2" seem generally to go lower, and of course, the 2" drivers and horns are more expensive.  The next question I have is what might be the ideal relation between the woofer's top spec. frequency output and the horn's lowest frequency. What might be the ideal overlap there? Given that set of parameters, (third question) what crossover point would one choose for bass-to-mid?

For some reason, I am not feeling as much trepidation making these decisions with regard to the mid to high transition.  In my gut, I feel like this low to mid transition is deserving of more thought and effort now.

I know that in various forum posts Mr. Crites has suggested a Pyle horn that they are not making any more...seems like it went down to about 800Hz but don't hold me to that. Does any one of you know what might go in there nicely save a wooden T-horn? I do not feel like I am in the position to go high-dollar on this project to start with. Of course, I would rather use 1" drivers if I could, and Selenium has a phenolic-diaphragm 1" driver that will extend down to about 400 cps which might be serviceable given the proper horn.  Seems like I also read something about plans for a long wooden T-horn with a 1" throat that would match the Selenium Phenolic driver I was talking about earlier.  

Now, to get completely off the wall hypothetically, how would this project work if the current midrange section of the cabinet was turned into a passive radiator space with porting from below, (might not work too well b/c the lower cabinet is ported as the Cornwall usually is) or even a place for a driven 12" woofer...have not measured yet, (would a 15 work in there?)...and then set something akin to one of these jubilee tops on it...making it a Corn-Jub...These cabinets are built like armored personnel carriers and that got me thinking about the handiness of having an airtight box up top??

Thanks for any help, and will re-post this in a more fitting section forthwith....

Regarding your Corn-Jube section...

I don't know what kind of cutouts you have in there but you have two different tops that 'might' work.  The huge K402 (which would easily be held by your bottoms) and the much smaller K510.

We're crossing both of them electronically just above 450hz (depending on which bass bin).  I'd guess the question is, how high do your bass bins go.

Aside from that, I always thought the CornScala was meant to be a LaScala top (easily obtained parts) and a Cornwall bottom?  If so, that would put you into the camp of the K400/K401 and T35 would it not?

Generally the mid ranges fall around the 500 Hz range for most Cornscalas designs.  Some are trying to push this down toward the 400 to 300 hz range.  I built a pair of split bin cornscalas with a wood t-horn and the Selenium D250X phenolic diaphram 1" driver.   I crossed this at a conservative 500 hz, with a 1st order crossover.   The driver is rated for 150Watts at 500 Hz, but with a second order crossover.  I use the Crites cast woofer, which has sufficient overlap at 500 Hz.

 For a cost/performance ratio it is hard to beat the seleniums, they go for around $35 ea.  If you are willing to make your own wood trac-horns, the cost of materials is very low, the cost of 1 sheet of plywood and one sheet of bendable sheet stock.  The most 'costly' part is the time and tools needed in making them.

When I was investigating drivers and horns I could not find a really cost effective large format metal or polymer horn going down to 500 Hz.  So a wood t-horn was selected.  Mr. Crites would have a much more informed opinion on avalaible horns than I.

Good luck with your (re)build!

I really think your $$$ are best spent on a good pair of Trachorns. Check with GotHover. Don't worry about how low the mid driver goes as you can bring the woofer up to 500-600 Hz to compensate.

Having just gone through this project where I got a cheap pair of cabinets and modified them for GotHover's horns I can tell you that with the Seleniums, the Eminence APT-50 tweeter and a pair of Crites cast woofers will give you a great sound. Where things might get a little crazy is when it comes to the crossovers because they range from $200 to $1000 per pair depending on how fancy you want to get.

I went with GotHovers horns and he provided a template to cut and mount them. I am not a big woodworking guy but it was a piece of cake!

Good luck to you. I have never had more fun and been more pleased with, as you say "bang for the buck"!

Herb

p.s. I used to live in B'ham, great town!

hklinker:

I really think your $$$ are best spent on a good pair of Trachorns. Check with GotHover. Don't worry about how low the mid driver goes as you can bring the woofer up to 500-600 Hz to compensate.

Having just gone through this project where I got a cheap pair of cabinets and modified them for GotHover's horns I can tell you that with the Seleniums, the Eminence APT-50 tweeter and a pair of Crites cast woofers will give you a great sound. Where things might get a little crazy is when it comes to the crossovers because they range from $200 to $1000 per pair depending on how fancy you want to get.

I went with GotHovers horns and he provided a template to cut and mount them. I am not a big woodworking guy but it was a piece of cake!

Good luck to you. I have never had more fun and been more pleased with, as you say "bang for the buck"!

Herb

p.s. I used to live in B'ham, great town!

Did you ever know Kerry Likis, the Klipsch dealer in B'hm for years and years? We used to have some fun times at Likis Audio at quitting time on Friday...bunch of guys had a standing appointment to see what was new and interesting in the audio world every week!

I have started with a pair of midrange horns from Bob Crites. The horn has a 1" throat with the screw-on driver mount and goes down to 500Hz and is a nice size, will be proportional looking. He more or less invented the concept of a Corn-Scala as I can understand, so I feel safe with his recommendation and that will be my starting place. I may have them singing by Thanksgiving if I catch a couple of breaks. My baby daughter gets back from Rwanda, Africa on the 23rd, been gone for a year, so it would be nice to add the joyful noise of the CornScalas to the homecoming celebration!!  

Wooden Tractrix horns maybe in the future....it's according to how these sound.

Thanks, Chuck...

Yes, I know Likus Audio well. In fact bought some speakers there. If you want to go full bore, get a pair of the Tractix horns such as the Fastrac horns from GotHover. I can attest that the midrange of a wooden Tractrix designed horn is unmatched. It comes ready for the one-inch screw-on driver. Before I got them I was using an outboard pair of K-400's with K-55 drivers. They were a big step up, but sounded tinny. The mellowness of the fastrac horn is it's most impressive characteristic. Say good-bye to ear fatigue!

You are right, Bob was one of the first to construct the Cornscala. You should also check out JWC, he has multiple threads on the Cornscala. He is a neighbor of yours as he lives near the AL line of I-20 in GA. I have made a number of friends while making my Cornscalas, great to meet you!

Herb