The Magical Number Seven, Plus Two

This DIY loudspeaker system explores the use of multiple small wide-range drivers in a multiway configuration. The goal is to combine controlled directivity with coherence and power handling. A further objective is to improve timing accuracy through phase control using FIR filters. This version is an evolution of my 2018 system, featuring updated filtering and the addition of lateral "cheeks" to the speaker columns.

   

Wide range

The main speakers are based on seven E.J.Jordan JXR6 HD reused from a previous linear array system.
Arranged as closely as possible, they form three groups sharing a common acoustic center:

The system can be viewed as a virtual coaxial driver.

   

The 20-liter sealed enclosures are made from 30 cm PVC pipes filled with polyurethane foam and polyester fleece. A tapered internal partition helps reduce standing waves, starting around 600 Hz. Construction is deliberately simple: a PVC KGU sleeve (with rubber seals) and two KGM end plugs, assembled without glue. The baffle is covered with a 5 mm felt layer to reduce diffraction and ensure flush driver mounting.

Measurements were performed using a logarithmic sweep from 16 Hz to 24 kHz (duration: 21.8 s).
The magnitude response remains within ±3 dB from 200 Hz to 20 kHz.
The increase in group delay below 250 Hz reflects the low-frequency roll-off of the system.


Average measure of the six groups of small drivers at 50 cm.


Group delay (blue), minimum group delay (gray), and excess group delay (black).

Subwoofers

Low-frequency extension is provided by two 20 cm SB Acoustics SW26DAC76-4 per channel. Thanks to their dual aluminum cone structure and moderate moving mass, these lightweight neodymium drivers can be used in relatively compact sealed enclosures.
The 21-liter enclosures follow the same construction principle as the main speakers. They are positioned above and below the main array to align acoustic centers.
Design parameters: Qtc = 0.86, F3 = 35 Hz. Internal standing waves start around 600 Hz, well away from the intended operating range.
The response is smooth from 40 to 500 Hz.

 
Average measure of the four subwoofers at 5 cm.

 
Group delay (blue), minimum group delay (gray), and excess group delay (black).

Operating

Digital to analog conversion tasks an 8-channel miniDSP U-DAC8 at its best with iFi Audio iPower and iGalvanic3.0.
A Behringer Ultralink Pro MX882 V2 splits the stereo signal into the dual subwoofers.
Power is supplied by two Rotel RMB-1565 5-channel Class D amplifiers, one for each stereo channel.

Instead of using dedicated DSP hardware, all signal processing is performed on a computer. This approach allows the use of long FIR filters for precise phase control, which would be difficult to achieve with conventional DSP units.
This tutorial may help configuring the PC: Windows PC as a FIR Audio Processor.

The system is implemented using Equalizer APO with FIR filters generated by rePhase. The E-APO configuration file looks like this:

Device: USBStreamer - USBStreamer Multi-channels
# Channels (7.1)
#   1   2   3   4   5   6   7   8
#   L   R   C  LFE  RL  RR  SL  SR
# 3.1 source
# Copy: 1=L+0.5*LFE 2=R+0.5*LFE 3=L+0.5*C 4=R+0.5*C 5=L+0.5*C 6=R+0.5*C 7=L+0.5*C 8=R+0.5*C
# Stereo source
Copy: 1=L 2=R 3=L 4=R 5=L 6=R 7=L 8=R
# Equal-loudness
LoudnessCorrection: State 0 ReferenceLevel -20 ReferenceOffset 0 Attenuation 0.25
# Convolution
Channel: 1 2
Convolution: IR_SW26DAC76-4.wav
Convolution: IR_sub.wav
Channel: 3 4
Convolution: IR_JXR6hd_low.wav Convolution: IR_low.wav
Channel: 5 6
Convolution: IR_JXR6hd_mid.wav Convolution: IR_mid.wav
Channel: 7 8
Convolution: IR_JXR6hd_high.wav Convolution: IR_high.wav
# Levels
Eval: mainLevel=0
Channel: 1 2
Preamp: `mainLevel-2` dB
Delay: 0.15 ms
Channel: 3 4
Preamp: `mainLevel-6` dB
Channel: 5 6 7 8
Preamp: `mainLevel` dB

During development, it became apparent that combining equalization and crossover filtering in a single impulse response could introduce phase inconsistencies.
For this reason, processing is split into two successive convolutions per way:

With the chosen settings, frequency resolution is 1.46 Hz (48 kHz sampling rate), and total system latency is approximately 361 ms.

Crossover

Horbach–Keele filters are used following their 2007 paper:
Application of Digital Crossover Filters to Pair-Wise Symmetric Multi-Way Loudspeakers.
A key characteristic of this approach is that, at any given frequency, only one or two ways contribute to the output.
Given here their separation of 70 cm, the subwoofers become directional from 165 Hz. With critical frequencies set to the musical notes la A1-A3-A5, spacing ratios are 4 and crossover frequencies are 158, 632 and 2654 Hz. The wavelength of the critical frequency of the midrange (1760 Hz) provides a vertical beamwidth of about 50°.
Although the physical layout does not fully comply with the theoretical assumptions of the method, Horbach–Keele filters consistently provided the most stable and coherent results in listening tests.

Windowing is critical:

Spatial distribution and inter-way summation are handled by the Horbach–Keele filters in a second convolution, using a short (2-term) Albrecht window.


rePhase settings for crossovers.


Average measures at 50 cm, 1/12 octave smoothing.

Equalization

Low-frequency amplitude and phase responses are linearized using second-order inverse filters (rePhase Compensate mode). Additional shelving filters are used to gently attenuate high frequencies at the Horbach–Keele critical frequencies 440 and 1760 Hz.
The following figures show the equalizations filters. You may copy the settings to clipboard and load them in rePhase.


rePhase settings for main frequencies.


rePhase settings for subwoofers.

Results

For the measures, I used John Mulcahy's REW analysis software.
After equalization, phase responses are well aligned across all ways, and the usable bandwidth extends from approximately 25 Hz to 16 kHz.


Average measures of the left and right loudspeakers at 50 cm.

Conclusion

The lightweight aluminum drivers provide a clear and detailed presentation. Their use in this closely integrated configuration results in a highly coherent full-range response. Balanced directivity ensures consistent tonal character over a wide listening area, contributing to a natural and engaging listening experience. After several years of use, this latest evolution of the system confirms the benefits of the 7+2 driver design.
As a possible limitation, the cylindrical enclosures may not be acoustically optimal; more refined baffle geometries could further improve performance. Nevertheless, the advantages of the concept remain clear, and the approach may be of interest to experimental loudspeaker designers.

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