Of interest maybe only to Kenneth S. - my new speakers

mhardy6647
mhardy6647 Posts: 33,805
edited October 2010 in 2 Channel Audio
They're now online. Due to a gap in my cabinetmaker's schedule, these got built before I really was ready for them... but since all of the parts were collected, they have been assembled and installed in the living room. They are wonderful; the kind of speakers that make you want to listen to every recording you own (in one sitting).

Here is the original cabinet design: http://www.wardsweb.org/Billfort/

My cabinets were built by my friend and general contractor/woodworker, Mike Berg, of Hudson MA. Mike also built my folded mass loaded TQWTs.

The Bottlehead Paramour cheapie SE 2A3 monoblocks were restored to living room service - not that the SCA-25 sounded bad, but the 2A3 amps just sound so right.

Sorry the photos are so crummy.
Post edited by mhardy6647 on
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  • FTGV
    FTGV Posts: 3,649
    edited October 2010
    They look good.How will they be finished?
    mhardy6647 wrote: »
    The Bottlehead Paramour cheapie SE 2A3 monoblocks
    Ah so you brought out the real muscle to drive them.:)
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  • [Deleted User]
    [Deleted User] Posts: 7,658
    edited October 2010
    Very cool, Mark! Beautiful craftsmanship. I'm glad you're digging them! I love that feeling when you want to hear every record you have because it sounds so good!
    Get some sleep!
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  • HB27
    HB27 Posts: 1,518
    edited October 2010
    Mike,
    I'm not up to the road trip but I have an excellent cabinet maker here in Indy.
    What's chances on a copy of the cabinet blueprints?
    I love my 604 B models but cabinets are the issue with them.
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,805
    edited October 2010
    Almost all the details are available at the link I posted. PM me an e-mail address and I can send you everything I've got, or you may want to contact Bill Fortier directly.

    by the way, it's "Mark" not "Mike" :-)
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited October 2010
    Going to use the same veneer as what's in the link?
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,805
    edited October 2010
    Not sure what, if any, final finish will be applied. My cabinetmaker, Mike Berg (Hudson, MA... in case you need some cabinets built!) had a window in his schedule to build the cabinets, I acquired the drivers and XOs (from a hifi buddy in VT), so things came together rather sooner than planned (about 2 years sooner than planned, truth be told). When I stuffed one box, installed and wired up a driver, and tested... well, I decided to do the other one and install 'em in the living room. They're nice, very nice, with a body and weight to vocals that the Valencias and Santiagos don't quite conjure up.

    I've been thinking about telling folks that they're Harbeth's new coax monitors ;-)

    Here's one of the drivers and an XO, under test.

    604Etest2.jpg
    604Etest.jpg
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  • madmax
    madmax Posts: 12,434
    edited October 2010
    You should pretty them up with some rare type of wood veneer or something. Nice!
    Vinyl, the final frontier...

    Avantgarde horns, 300b tubes, thats the kinda crap I want... :D
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  • mmadden28
    mmadden28 Posts: 4,283
    edited October 2010
    Nice!
    How is your driver mounted?
    It looks like it should be surface mounted (as it appears in the pdf and images from that site), now it could be an optical illusion but in your image I see wood between the mounting screws where I would expect to see the driver ring??
    ____________________
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    HT:Onkyo 805, Emotiva XPA-5, Mitsu 52" 1080p DLP / polkaudio RTi12, CSIa6, FXi3, uPro4K
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  • Face
    Face Posts: 14,340
    edited October 2010
    It's rear mounted. ;) Which is probably why he won't be veneering the front. Mark, if you surface mount them, filling the screw holes and veneering them shouldn't be too bad.

    If you decide to keep them as is, a small chamfer or roundover at the driver opening would be a nice touch.
    "He who fights with monsters should look to it that he himself does not become a monster. And when you gaze long into an abyss the abyss also gazes into you." Friedrich Nietzsche
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  • mhardy6647
    mhardy6647 Posts: 33,805
    edited October 2010
    it is as Mr. Face says. I have grille rings to add grilles a la Bill's originals. Need to get some grille cloth.

    I need to be emotionally prepared to seal off the screws, if you catch my drift :-)
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