The Super Awesome Sound System, aka SASS, was quickly designed as a proof of concept for my friends who host EDM events across Vancouver. They currently spend thousands to rent PA sound systems for a single night at each event. This led them to ask whether a custom system could pay for itself after a few events.
SASS would be a 3-way system with an 18″ Sub for kicks, a 15″ woofer for mids, and a 3″ compression driver for highs. Driver selection was critical for this concept, as power, SPL, efficiency, and beamwidth matter far more in live venues.
The budget was $5000 CAD for drivers, materials, and amps.
The photos show the completed Tops, while the Sub uses the same enclosure geometry and port style in another box below (not rendered).
A challenge in this project was finding a proper compression driver that could be crossed at 1500hz to give the mids more efficiency and clarity, supporting the lows rather than the highs. This low crossover naturally needed a large compression driver for beamwidth matching. The high SPL of the 75CD-T will require an L-Pad attenuator or DSP, but this is a small cost to pay for proper performance.
The most extensive design was the Oblique Spheroid horn. This is critical for matching the woofer and compression driver beamwidth. A 50×90 degree pattern was used because it thrives in live venues with 250 people. A classical OS horn would act as a point source, excellent for hi-fi in a seated position, but awful for a dance floor. 50×90 ensures that all listeners get an even experience.
The cross sections show the custom geometry, beginning with a 7-degree taper at the throat and expanding to respective tangents on each axis.
Although this is a proof of concept, it shows that a high SPL Pro Loudspeaker can be designed economically for artists. This is a massive departure from my conventional high-fidelity audio design experience and fundamentally at odds with my existing principles.
