Enceinte en Kit Visaton VOX 253
[K-VOX 253] Avis/Critiques

KIT DIY, prix affiché pour les accessoires de 2 enceintes acoustiques.

Paire d'enceintes acoustiques en kit, le kit comprend les haut-parleurs, les câbles, les matériaux d'amortissement, les vis de fixation, les borniers de connexions, filtres passifs...

Paire d'enceintes 2 voies équipées unitairement d'un woofer Visaton TIW250XS, de deux mediums Visaton AL130 et d'un tweeter Visaton KE25SC.

Characteristics and sound properties

The VOX 253 is an upright speaker with its subwoofer TIW 250 XS 8 Ohm let into the side-wall. This design enables the front panel to be kept very narrow making it that much easier to position. One of the most outstanding features of the TIW 250 XS 8 Ohm is its unbelievable ability to reproduce the lowest range bass in surprisingly small cabinets. In the listening area, the bass pressure becomes tangible rather than audible, the sort of effect you would normally only expect from much larger speakers. As a result of the side-opening position of the TIW 250 XS 8 Ohm, the separating frequency between the subwoofer and the mid-range drivers has to be very low. This has been achieved by means of an especially intelligent frequency cross-over design.

In order not to restrict the dynamics at higher bass levels, a bass reflex tube with an exceptionally large cross-section and corresponding length has been designed. In this way, flow-related losses are kept to a minimum. The vent is at the bottom in the rear wall so as not to interfere with the attractive appearance of the front face.

The only difference between VOX 253 and VOX 252 is the new woofer TIW 250 XS 8 Ohm. A change of the crossover was not necessary.

This version of the VOX contains the high-end ceramic dome tweeter KE 25 SC 8 Ohm. An 18 dB high-pass filter produces an optimum phase relationship between tweeter an midrange. This creates an improvement of the clear location of each individual voice or instrument.

Extract from Klang & Ton

"In comparison with the well-tempered VOX 251, itself a pleasure to listen to, the new version has added yet another rung to the top end of the ladder. Its bass reproduction is measurably more taught and its fundamental range more realistic and sonorous. The really interesting thing, however, is the effect of the new ceramic tweeter on the overall sound picture created by the unit."
"The test representation of an imaginary stage was passed with flying colours, with the musical details coming across beautifully and clearly separated. It is indeed the ability of the system to separate details and generate a finely balanced dynamism, that makes this unit such a strong contender. Add to this a tightly meshed bass department and carefully restrained overall balance."
"Hats off to Visaton, your 252 can easily be compared with ready-made units up around the DM 10,000 price tag, they look good and cost, including materials, around DM 3,000 a pair."

Extract from STEREO
"With their VOX 252, the designers at Visaton in Germany have managed to surpass even the excellent qualities of the predecessor. Midrange sound that is crystal clear, now with better emphasis on the higher frequencies, excellent spatial separation, real dynamism and 'bass for grown-ups'. What more could one want? This VOX can certainly dispense with the assistance of extraneous tweeters and, in addition, it has restored the hierarchical position of its younger sister, the VOX 200."
"The new KE 25 SC ceramic dome will make a stir - of that you may be sure. Thanks to it, this exceptional speaker, named the VOX 252, has been catapulted right up to the realms of high-end units."

Sound quality: 75 %
Value for money: very good

Technical Data:
Rated power 200 W
Maximum power 350 W
Nominal impedance Z 4 Ohm
Frequency response 28 - 25000 Hz
Mean sound pressure level 84 dB (1W/1m)
Cut-off frequency 200 / 3000 Hz
Principle of Housing Bassreflex
Net volume 70 l + 4 l
Outer dimension height 1150 mm
Outer dimension width 235 mm
Outer dimension depth 400 mm

CONSTRUCTION
In the lower part of the cabinet, you can see the tunnel, made up of the base and an upper board. In the middle, there are three cross-reinforcements. At the top of the cabinet, behind the cut-out in the baffle for the mid- to high-range unit, is the enclosure required for the mid-range cone, made up of two wooden boards. Three 8 mm holes has to be drilled into the rear board of the mid-range enclosure for the connection leads. These holes have to be sealed well.
Fitting the TIW 250 XS into the side is a special feature. The mounting board for the TIW 250 XS (346 x 297 with a 235 mm cut-out) itself is glued in place from inside behind the round cut-outs in the corresponding side panel. This means that the bass driver can be sunken by 19 mm (19 mm = thickness of the boards). For optical reasons the side panel cut-out must be made extremely accurately.
The crossover unit is mounted on the side panel behind the bass port.

Inner damping
The damping uses one mat placed in the medium range cabinet. The remainder is evenly distributed throughout the cabinet. The area above the tunnel opening (at the rear of the front panel) up to the lower edge of the reinforcement remains free. If, as a result of the acoustics in the room, the low-range bass is too powerful, damping this area will have a corresponding effect on the overall bass output level.

Component parts list for 1 box
The kit includes all the components listed here but not the cabinet.
 
Tweeter KE 25 SC 8 Ohm 1 piece
Midrange driver AL 130 8 Ohm 2 pieces
Woofer TIW 250 XS 8 Ohm 1 piece
Terminal BT 95/75 1 piece
Damping material polyester wool 4 bags
Crossover Crossover VOX 253 
Special wood screws 5 x 30 mm 6 pieces
Wood screws 3,5 x 19 mm 12 pieces
Countersunk screws 3,5 x 25 mm 4 pieces
Cable 2 x 2,5 mm² 2,5 m ; 2 x 1,5 mm² 2 m
 ................

Cabinet parts list for 1 box
 
Parts Size (mm) Quantity
Material: 19 mm chipboard or MDF
Rear panel 1051 x 197 1
Top panel 359 x 197 1
Bass-reflex channel 270 x 197 1
Brace 100 x 197 2
Brace 60 x 197 1
Midrange rear panel 500 x 197 1
Midrange bottom panel 43 x 197 1
Bottom panel 378 x 197 1
Side panel 378 x 1150 2
Mounting board woofer 346 x 297 1
 
Material: 22 mm chipboard or MDF
Front panel 235 x 1150 1

Plan de fabrication pour enceinte Visaton VOX 253 :

Schéma du filtre passif de l'enceinte Visaton VOX 253 :