• 09-26-2010, 11:41 AM
    Poultrygeist
    Nelson Pass BOFU ( Pioneer B20 ) TL
    "At $19 the BOFU ( Pioneer B20 ) driver is probably the best deal in full range speakers. Not the same mid and top you would get with others, but a smooth inoffensive character typical of less sensitive motors. It has a decent bottom end and will take a little abuse. A little bit like a big Jordan" - Nelson Pass

    The B20 is currently on sale for $19 at Parts Express and no I don't have stock there. It seems their sales always catch me at a weak moment. I just bought a pair and this is one great looking speaker for chump change. I hooked up a pair in the raw and was amazed at how good they sound. I believe the correct adj. might be mellifluous, as in smooth and rich flowing ( thank you Wofford College )

    Hope to build a pair of Nelson's TL design, the plans of which are in the linked article below. Here's a chance for any non-believer to experience full range nirvana for $38 and some Home Depot plywood. Yall know Mr Pass don't mess with no junk!


    http://www.enjoythemusic.com/diy/0710/bofu_pioneer.htm
  • 09-26-2010, 11:58 AM
    Feanor
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Poultrygeist
    "At $19 the BOFU ( Pioneer B20 ) driver is probably the best deal in full range speakers. Not the same mid and top you would get with others, but a smooth inoffensive character typical of less sensitive motors. It has a decent bottom end and will take a little abuse. A little bit like a big Jordan" - Nelson Pass

    The B20 is currently on sale for $19 at Parts Express and no I don't have stock there. It seems their sales always catch me at a weak moment. I just bought a pair and this is one great looking speaker for chump change. I hooked up a pair in the raw and was amazed at how good they sound. I believe the correct adj. might be mellifluous, as in smooth and rich flowing ( thank you Wofford College )

    Hope to build a pair of Nelson's TL design, the plans of which are in the linked article below. Here's a chance for any non-believer to experience full range nirvana for $38 and some Home Depot plywood. Yall know Mr Pass don't mess with no junk!

    http://www.enjoythemusic.com/diy/0710/bofu_pioneer.htm
    Full range, for sure, makes for lower price and ease of construction if nothing else.

    I guess you're referring to THESE, right? They have good basic specs for full-range.

    http://www.parts-express.com/images/.../290-045_s.jpg
  • 09-26-2010, 01:44 PM
    Poultrygeist
    Yep that's the BOFU but the picture doesn't do it justice.

    Feanor, with all your DIY audio skills I bet you could build a pair of those TL's in no time.
  • 09-28-2010, 02:57 AM
    Poultrygeist
    Surely someone is adventurous enough to try this project. You can buy some plywood or MDF at Home Depot ( they'll even make all the cuts with their wall saw free of charge ) and cobble these puppies together. You don't even need speaker terminals as you can straight wire the speaker cables to each BOFU.driver through the open port. A cheap jig saw is all you need to cut out the driver holes and some 1/4 inch window insulation foam stripping for the speaker gasket. Batting from an old pillow makes a good dampener.

    I'd have mine up and running but the BOFU's drivers are hiding in the garage as the time is not right to spring a new speaker project on wifey. Especially after I just placed an order for the Zu's.

    "PoppaC" was interested in FR speakers and this would be a piece of cake for him compared to the Frugal Horns he plans to build. "Amateur" has done harder builds but maybe the drivers would be difficult for him to get outside the US. Some folks even like the BOFU's in simple open baffle sheets of plywood.

    One could pull the Pass design off for less than a Benjamin and I'd be willing to bet they'll sound better than many high end commercial speakers. For under $200 you could have a killer system with the Sure Board Amp driving the BOFU's. Folks you don't need big bucks to get big buck sound.
  • 09-28-2010, 04:20 AM
    Feanor
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Poultrygeist
    Yep that's the BOFU but the picture doesn't do it justice.

    Feanor, with all your DIY audio skills I bet you could build a pair of those TL's in no time.
    My DIY skills are rudimentary in fact, but yep, it would certainly be relatively easy build some half-decent speakers based on this drive. I won't since the last thing I need at the moment is more speakers.

    Other than that I'm not entirely sold on full-range drivers. IMO, no single driver can deliver the full spectrum quite well enough.
  • 09-28-2010, 07:32 AM
    3LB
    Quote:
    Originally Posted by Feanor
    Other than that I'm not entirely sold on full-range drivers. IMO, no single driver can deliver the full spectrum quite well enough.
    FR drivers are a great way to dive into DIY speaker building, but I do agree with you Feanor. Design an FR driver that gets meaty bass (BOFU) and it'll suffer in the upper mids and certainly the highs - and conversly, design a driver that excells in the mids and highs and it'll be bass-poor. There are all kinds of drivers that boast amazing things. Those specs on the Pioneer suggest a 17khz top end - nope. Now, over at the world renowned Fullrange Driver Forum (I'd post links but I'm on my phone), there are several users of the BOFU who have augmented the uppr freqs with a super tweeter to good effect. Lots of articles on all kinds of FR projects - tell'em 3LockBox sencha.