A Tardy Speaker Stand Project
Moose68Bash
Posts: 3,843
In January of 2015 on a trip to visit my daughter in New Jersey and shortly before the worst winter I have ever seen began pummeling the northeast with snow, my wife and I stopped by motorstereo's home in Connecticut and picked up a pair of line control stands he had generously offered to give me.
The previous fall, @motorstereo had posted pictures of a stand he had fabricated for his Dreadnought from a line control stand, and I had written to him about where he had acquired the base for his stand. He told me when he had purchased the line control stand at a local flea market and had two additional ones that he did not intend to use.
I said I would like very much to use them to build a couple of speaker stands for my vintage Allison 6 bookshelf speakers. He said that he would give them to me, and we agreed we would figure out a way for me to get them. The trip to New Jersey presented the opportunity to pick them up.
My plan was to build the stands within a month or so, but my first two designs proved impossible for me to fabricate. Then life got in the way, and my plans were put on the back burner till a couple of months ago, when I came up with a new design and ordered the necessary parts.
However, when I began the relatively simple process of drilling appropriate holes, etc., in the top plates, I quickly discovered that my aged, small bench-top drill press would not cut a channel in the top plates to seat the tops of the line control stands.
I learned that a friend of mine has a much stouter drill press, which he offered to let me use, and only last week could we find a convenient time to do the work -- which he, a much more accomplished woodworker than I, ended up doing for me while I watched.
Following is a picture of the materials I used:
The line control stands have the tops removed, which exposes the ends of the 2" pipes. The tops were attached with a 16mm hex socket, button head machine screw, which was excellent for mounting the top plates.
The top plates are two 12" x 12" x 1.5" Boos hard maple chopping blocks, pictured below:
To attach the top plates to the stands, I first needed to use a 1 5/8" Forstner bit to drill a 3/4" deep hole in the top of each block. These provided countersinks for the the machine screws:
Then, I needed to use a 2" hole saw to cut a 1/4" channel in the bottom of each block to seat the tops of the stands:
Finally, I needed to drill a 5/8" hole through each block, dead center in the countersink and the channel, for the machine screw to complete the attachment of the blocks to the stands.
Voila! After placing a top plate on each stand, I had my speaker stands:
The Allison 6s fit nicely enthuse stands:
At some point, I may stain the top plates to match the finish on the speakers, but for now, I'm sticking with the maple, and I shall probably find a machine shop to drill and tap the bases of the stands for spikes. But, that is work for another day!
For many guys this would have been a very quick project, but I confess I am challenged in a many ways, including the basic woodworking skills and equipment required for a project like this.
Again, I want to thank @motorstereo for his generous contribution of the foundation for these stands!
The previous fall, @motorstereo had posted pictures of a stand he had fabricated for his Dreadnought from a line control stand, and I had written to him about where he had acquired the base for his stand. He told me when he had purchased the line control stand at a local flea market and had two additional ones that he did not intend to use.
I said I would like very much to use them to build a couple of speaker stands for my vintage Allison 6 bookshelf speakers. He said that he would give them to me, and we agreed we would figure out a way for me to get them. The trip to New Jersey presented the opportunity to pick them up.
My plan was to build the stands within a month or so, but my first two designs proved impossible for me to fabricate. Then life got in the way, and my plans were put on the back burner till a couple of months ago, when I came up with a new design and ordered the necessary parts.
However, when I began the relatively simple process of drilling appropriate holes, etc., in the top plates, I quickly discovered that my aged, small bench-top drill press would not cut a channel in the top plates to seat the tops of the line control stands.
I learned that a friend of mine has a much stouter drill press, which he offered to let me use, and only last week could we find a convenient time to do the work -- which he, a much more accomplished woodworker than I, ended up doing for me while I watched.
Following is a picture of the materials I used:
The line control stands have the tops removed, which exposes the ends of the 2" pipes. The tops were attached with a 16mm hex socket, button head machine screw, which was excellent for mounting the top plates.
The top plates are two 12" x 12" x 1.5" Boos hard maple chopping blocks, pictured below:
To attach the top plates to the stands, I first needed to use a 1 5/8" Forstner bit to drill a 3/4" deep hole in the top of each block. These provided countersinks for the the machine screws:
Then, I needed to use a 2" hole saw to cut a 1/4" channel in the bottom of each block to seat the tops of the stands:
Finally, I needed to drill a 5/8" hole through each block, dead center in the countersink and the channel, for the machine screw to complete the attachment of the blocks to the stands.
Voila! After placing a top plate on each stand, I had my speaker stands:
The Allison 6s fit nicely enthuse stands:
At some point, I may stain the top plates to match the finish on the speakers, but for now, I'm sticking with the maple, and I shall probably find a machine shop to drill and tap the bases of the stands for spikes. But, that is work for another day!
For many guys this would have been a very quick project, but I confess I am challenged in a many ways, including the basic woodworking skills and equipment required for a project like this.
Again, I want to thank @motorstereo for his generous contribution of the foundation for these stands!
Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One.
Comments
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Nice work! Way to repurpose those chopping blocks. Looks great, and will only look better once stained to match the speakers!
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Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One. -
Moose, don't get me wrong... it looks awesome as-is, but I think staining it will take them to the next level and they'll look SA-weeet!!
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Phil; You did an excellent job re purposing those stands. That's a great idea about using the chopping blocks and they look like they were made for those Allisons. I'm glad to see those stands went to a good home and you're more than welcome.
You forgot to mention that you dropped off the most tasty box of Moose chocolates ever. Being the chocoholic that I am I didn't want to take the chance of them spoiling so they only lasted a couple of days -
Brian [@motorstereo],
It's great to hear from you, and I'm happy you enjoyed the chocolates!
It took a lot more time than I expected, but I finally turned those stands into speaker stands!Post edited by Moose68Bash onFamily Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One. -
Moose, don't get me wrong... it looks awesome as-is, but I think staining it will take them to the next level and they'll look SA-weeet!!
@scubalab,
Understood -- AND I agree that the overall look will be much improved with the right stainFamily Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One. -
Moose68Bash wrote: »Brian [@motorstereo],
It's great to hear from you, and I'm happy you enjoyed the chocolates!
It took a lot more time than I expected, but I finally turned those stands into speaker stands!
Good to hear from you to Phil. It was soooo nice to have you visit and know exactly what you were looking at (1.2tl's and dreadnaught). Not many Polkies in our neck of the woods. And yes those chocolates were awesome! I saved my wife one and I ate the rest of them lol
I'm also thinking that you have a write up to do on your impressions of one particularly awesome amp that you came into possession of a while ago. Unless of course I missed your write up -
motorstereo wrote: »Good to hear from you to Phil. It was soooo nice to have you visit and know exactly what you were looking at (1.2tl's and dreadnaught). Not many Polkies in our neck of the woods. And yes those chocolates were awesome! I saved my wife one and I ate the rest of them lol
I'm also thinking that you have a write up to do on your impressions of one particularly awesome amp that you came into possession of a while ago. Unless of course I missed your write up
Brian,
You didn't miss my review of the CAT amp. I just haven't done one, yet.
I'm in a real quandary: Some performance characteristics of the CAT 600.2 exceed those of my Perreaux mono blocks, and some characteristics fall short. I'm not yet sure which I prefer for the permanent place in my main rig.
To get the superior clarity, detail, bass, and 'airiness" of the treble with the CAT, I have to crank up the volume to a level that is louder than my wife prefers for listening. It is wonderful for the orchestral music I love; there is no "muddle in the middle."
With the Perreaux amps, I get a huge soundstage, with excellent sound quality across the full frequency range at a lower volume than with the CAT.
If I could always run the CAT at the higher volume, I would likely stick with it. However, this condition cannot be met because of the WAF!
I finally was able to secure an Owner's Manual for the CAT. From it I learned that the CAT is 400 watts RMS into eight ohms (with linear increases into four and two ohms). When I purchased it, it was described as 600 watts RMS into eight ohms.
I'm not sure whether the lesser power of the CAT amp -- the Perreaux amps are 750 watts RMS into eight ohms, 1300 into four ohms -- explains the difference between the sound characteristics of the amps. Whatever the cause, I just need to decide which amp to live with.
The CAT definitely delivers greater clarity, detail, and bass performance at higher volumes, and I doubt that i will ever crank my system up to a level that will either damage the speakers or damage the amp.Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One. -
Now that is a real quandry Phil. And that's also a real kicker about the wattage being off by 200wpc. I remember that amp being listed as 600wpc not 400. I'm also betting that has something to do with the sound that you're not all that happy with to.
Thanks for the write up and I wish you the best of luck in figuring out this bump in the road. -
So you are basically saying that the amps were misrepresented like the Carver Amazings that Texas42 was also selling
http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/169016/fs-cat-600-2-dual-mono-amp/p1
2-channel: Modwright KWI-200 Integrated, Dynaudio C1-II Signatures
Desktop rig: LSi7, Polk 110sub, Dayens Ampino amp, W4S DAC/pre, Sonos, JRiver
Gear on standby: Melody 101 tube pre, Unison Research Simply Italy Integrated
Gone to new homes: (Matt Polk's)Threshold Stasis SA12e monoblocks, Pass XA30.5 amp, Usher MD2 speakers, Dynaudio C4 platinum speakers, Modwright LS100 (voltz), Simaudio 780D DAC
erat interfectorem cesar et **** dictatorem dicere a -
txcoastal1 wrote: »So you are basically saying that the amps were misrepresented like the Carver Amazings that Texas42 was also selling
http://forum.polkaudio.com/discussion/169016/fs-cat-600-2-dual-mono-amp/p1
@txcoastal1,
Yes, I guess that's what it amounts to.
When I was researching the amp before I purchased it, I was unable to find any specifications for it, and CAT was totally unresponsive to my inquiries about documentation.
I finally received a response to my several requests for an owner's manual or other literature about the amp about a month ago.Family Room, Innuos Statement streamer (Roon Core) with Morrow Audio USB cable to McIntosh MC 2700 pre with DC2 Digital Audio Module; AQ Sky XLRs to CAT 600.2 dualmono amp, Morrow Elite Speaker Cables to NOLA Baby Grand Reference Gold 3 speakers. Power source for all components: Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One with dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel.
Exercise Room, Innuos Streamer via Cat 6 cable connection to PS Audio PerfectWave MkII DAC w/Bridge II, AQ King Cobra RCAs to Perreaux PMF3150 amp (fully restored and upgraded by Jeffrey Jackson, Precision Audio Labs), Supra Rondo 4x2.5 Speaker Cables to SDA 1Cs (Vr3 Mods Xovers and other mods.), Dreadnaught with Supra Rondo 4x2.5 interconnect cables by Vr3 Mods. Power for each component from dedicated 20 amp circuit to main panel, except Innuos Statement powered from Silver Circle Audio Pure Power One. -
Ouch Phil; I'm thinking asking the seller where he got his misinformation might be in order? 200wpc less than what was advertised is a pretty significant screw up on his part I'd say.
