Thumbnail Filmstrip of VOX 253 Speaker Kit Images
Visaton Speaker Kit - VOX 253
Art. No. 5985
Visaton VOX 253 - shown assembled with suggested cabinets, not supplied.
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 STEREO 11/2004: The new VOX 253 development made it necessary to move further up the test scale because it was easily able to overtake the very good VOX 252, which is in normal working use in the editor's office, in a direct comparison, it is clearer, more voluminous and while achieving better separation and, in the bass department, even slightly more efficiently controlled. It is even possible to up the maximum volume level a little. What comes out in the end is an enhanced but equally sophisticated, high-quality audiophile column speaker which is just as applicable to everyday use and is guaranteed to raise the fun stakes. In short, the Vox 253 is now a whole class better, still costs only € 4000 a pair and, as a result, achieves 80 points on the scale. That, in turn, means it gets a fourth star for being excellent value-for-money.
Technical Specifications
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 litres + 4 litres |
Outer dimension height | 1150 mm |
Outer dimension width | 235 mm |
Outer dimension depth | 400 mm |
Frequency and Impedance Response
Frequency Response and Impedance Graph
Exploded Cabinet Drawing
Exploded Speaker Box Drawing
Assembly
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.
Internal 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 Each Box - Supplied with Kit
The kit comes with all necessary components (see list below for one box), one set if the speaker is an each, or two sets for a pair, see price above for details.
Tweeter | KE 25 SC - 8 Ohm | 1 pc. |
Midrange driver | AL 130 - 8 Ohm | 2 pcs. |
Woofer | TIW 250 XS - 8 Ohm | 1 pc. |
Crossover | VOX 253 | 1 pc. |
Terminal | BT 95/75 | 1 pc. |
Damping material | Polyester wool | 4 bags |
Wood screws | 3.5 x 19 mm | 12 pcs. |
Countersunk screws | 3.5 x 25 mm | 4 pcs. |
Special wood screws | 5 x 30 mm | 6 pcs. |
Cable | 2 x 2.5 mm² | 2.5 m |
Cable | 2 x 1.5 mm² | 2 m |
Speaker Cabinet Material List to Make 1 Box - Not Supplied with Kit
Parts for One Box (not supplied) | Size (mm) | Quantity |
Material: 19 mm chipboard or MDF recommended | ||
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 |
Speaker Cabinet Dimensions
Loudspeaker Box Construction Diagram - all dimensions in mm.
Crossover - Supplied with Kit Already Assembled
Speaker Kit Crossover Circuit