Helios CM DIY speakers complete

stangman67

Finally they are done (until I decide to pull them apart and rettack polishing them as I have lots of spider scratches I would rather not be there but that’s a problem for another day)

They are decidedly DIY in the outcome but I am incredibly happy with the turnout for my first build, learnt a ton of lessons along the way for whenever I decide to try again.

These are in my living room powered by a NAD m10 V2 and it’s a perfect living room setup in my opinion!

VR3

I have seen manufactures with far worse finishes, I mean that as a compliment. You did a great job and they look great, you have every reason to be proud!

xschop

Great endeavor and a great job. I like that finish too.

Emlyn

Look great! Would they sound any different in the room with the bass drivers firing outwards rather than inwards?

stangman67

VR3 wrote: »

I have seen manufactures with far worse finishes, I mean that as a compliment. You did a great job and they look great, you have every reason to be proud!

Thank you Trey! I really appreciate the compliment

xschop wrote: »

Great endeavor and a great job. I like that finish too.

Thank you! It was certainly an endeavor and I think it will be a lifelong hobby.

Emlyn wrote: »

Look great! Would they sound any different in the room with the bass drivers firing outwards rather than inwards?

I’m sure it would sound different, the speakers are designed for the passives to fire inwards so I haven’t tried the other way

VR3

I've found side firing woofers and passive radiators work best firing inwards as it couples them together in a way. Makes for a smoother in room response, ymmv

bcwsrt

We are always our own worst critics. They look great. I wasn’t sure about the grey color, but now I get it. Perfect in your room.

rooftop59

those look really, really good. Congrats!

So, how do they sound? Do you feel like the M10 has enough grunt to drive them well?

stangman67

rooftop59 wrote: »

those look really, really good. Congrats!

So, how do they sound? Do you feel like the M10 has enough grunt to drive them well?

They sound awesome! Super easy listening and tons of low end for a “bookshelf” (I use that term very loosely here lol). I am actually floored on how good they sound. I could live with these easily in my big system upstairs.

I think the M10 has enough balls for these, it’s no powerhouse but it works. The speakers aren’t the most efficient design out there, I think a high current solid state class non class D would be the bees knees but I’m not disappointed in how the M10 drives these. I usually only listen at 80-85sb and the M10 can easily handle dynamics at that volume.

ken brydson

Nice work, definitely above my pay grade (skill set)....

txcoastal1

Those speakers came out great and there is a reason I ask for you to try these 2 songs
Even through a BT Youtube connection

Demo Sampler For Usher Audio - High End Audio Music

https://youtu.be/ub2zHRGA2dI

12. 45:13 Georgia on my Mind-Marie Nakamoto
13. 50:27 O Holy Night

You should here exquisite bass tones through those speakers that will make them sound like a full range tower

Report back


Ultimate rendition
https://youtu.be/7oGF42nwJcs

bcwsrt

...

txcoastal1

Georgia on my Mind-Marie Nakamoto...shame on me not to mention her beautiful voice

https://youtu.be/VtbDTRZwx3c

stangman67

I’ll give those a listen tomorrow and then report back

msg

Wow! Those turned out great, Zach! I like the finish and rounded edges. Very clean. Great job, and, jeez dude, your patience lol

skrol

VR3 wrote: »

I've found side firing woofers and passive radiators work best firing inwards as it couples them together in a way. Makes for a smoother in room response, ymmv

I have wondered why Polk designed the LSi15 and LSi25 with outward firing woofers. I thought the low end sounded better when I swapped them but the imaging suffered with the tweeters on the outside edge.

Emlyn

skrol wrote: »

VR3 wrote: »

I've found side firing woofers and passive radiators work best firing inwards as it couples them together in a way. Makes for a smoother in room response, ymmv

I have wondered why Polk designed the LSi15 and LSi25 with outward firing woofers. I thought the low end sounded better when I swapped them but the imaging suffered with the tweeters on the outside edge.

That’s what I was wondering about. My guess is when the LSi series was developed as home theater speakers the common home theater display was either a large TV sitting on a big stand or a rear projection set. The LSi speakers would have the woofers firing straight into those if they were swapped.

heiney9

Very nice. Congrats on a project well done!

H9

Clipdat

They look great, and I bet they sound even better. Great placement, too. Enjoy the fruits of your labor!

WagnerRC

well done Zach. Beautiful work!

stangman67

msg wrote: »

Wow! Those turned out great, Zach! I like the finish and rounded edges. Very clean. Great job, and, jeez dude, your patience lol

Thanks Scott! Lots of patience required and I recently had run out by the end. I’ll find some more later on and finish polishing lol

heiney9 wrote: »

Very nice. Congrats on a project well done!

H9

Thanks!

Clipdat wrote: »

They look great, and I bet they sound even better. Great placement, too. Enjoy the fruits of your labor!

Thanks Drew, I’m super lucky my wife allowed these in the living room. The M10 certainly helped with the WAF as there aren’t components everywhere

WagnerRC wrote: »

well done Zach. Beautiful work!

Thanks Bob!

Clipdat

Yeah the M10 looks like it fits right in there on the edge of the mantle! Perfect one box solution for that space.

stangman67

Doing a little modification on these cheap mono price stands. Did up some walnut boards to set the speakers on. Finished in poly today. Next are the bases. Think I’ll go an inch wider and longer and go 1.5 inch thickness

txcoastal1

How is the sound?

Where's my playlist review ?!?!?

stangman67

txcoastal1 wrote: »

How is the sound?

Where's my playlist review ?!?!?

Fine fine fine, here’s your review.

First of all, the two tracks you asked me to listen to are definitely not my cup of tea so I had a hard time getting into them.

I won’t mention anything on O holy night because it was overshadowed by that rendition of Georgia on my mind. I had to listen via Youtube so probably not getting the best results but it sounded great anyhow.

Couple observations on a Georgia on my mind. The center image is beautiful and very precise which is something I always look for. You are correct about the bass authority, the natural bass of the instruments came through beautifully although a sub would certainly help in the lower registers. I’m also partial to a beautiful female voice and Marie’s voice did not disappoint.

I have some placement work to do in regards to imaging, I haven’t messed with it much but imaging is pretty good, mostly constrained within the speakers footprint at this point. The room is a bit lively and will be receiving no treatment as it is our main living space but I think all things considered these speakers are absolutely incredible sounding.

rooftop59

stangman67 wrote: »

txcoastal1 wrote: »

How is the sound?

Where's my playlist review ?!?!?

I have some placement work to do in regards to imaging, I haven’t messed with it much but imaging is pretty good, mostly constrained within the speakers footprint at this point. The room is a bit lively and will be receiving no treatment as it is our main living space but I think all things considered these speakers are absolutely incredible sounding.

You might not care, but have you run Dirac Live? I am in a similar situation (main living area, can't really move the speakers, and treatments would only happen in my chitty apartment after my spouse kicked my arse out), and Dirac Live makes a HUGE difference in my room fwiw...and the upgraded mic is also helpful.

msg

I thought this was a new post, liked it, and actually unliked by accident. Don't worry, I reliked it.

Hey Zach - you do know that perfectionism is not a good thing, right? lol
I used to think it was, but it's actually indicative of a personality disorder, I think.

Prediction: this Fall, Zach decides to take up woodworking and first project practice is scuffing up this nice "gray piano" finish to take glue for veneer.

Prediction2: Zach puts these up for sale in three weeks when there's an elite piece of gear/speaker he wanted to buy in the first place, and he's found a way to fake out his wife when they arrive.

Not really on #2. These are solid man, and I hope that you are truly enjoying them, and feeling fulfilled to the nth degree, because that was a hell of a lot of work, and I simultaneously inspiredly-envy and admire your patience and dedication. Plus, side passives? Those gotta sound awesome. Like, sleeper awesome for the size of the cabs. I really like the design of these, and was feeling impatient all along for you to hurry up and finish them.

Unrelated side note - did you see that they've got the horrible moon-surface parking lot between piers 7 & 8 painted for repairs? Drive the second vehicle.

stangman67

Lol I don’t think any of that is going to happen! Most likely coa is a buy a table saw and completely rebuild the cabinets if I get bored. Until then they stay as is.

I am definitely a perfectionist but I allowed myself to look the other way so I could get these done and listen to them.

Haven’t seen the work on NOB, it’s about time they do something about the roads and parking lots though. I’m stationed on NSA Hampton Roads now so I don’t have to deal with NOB often anymore

msg

lol - that's a great idea! you could tell your wife you're getting a table saw to rebuild "cabinets" and she'll think you mean kitchen cabinets! genius!

Btw - to clarify on the perfectionism thing, that was a takes one to know one sort of thing! lol

Ohh yeah, okay. I had to look that up to see where NSA HR was. I almost ended up in a role over near there. Cool, yeah, anything off the base is a little more like civilization.

Some friends and I almost got arrested by some Marines one Halloween night when someone reported us jumping on that train that runs along Terminal near that area. Like dummies one of our friends parked in some little mini-Exchange gas station parking lot or something? which I think is still technically government property? lol Yeah, that was fun.

And one of our buddies is a total redneck, and so his halloween costume that night was some weak cowboy getup - you know the kind I mean - the ones where the hat's too small? But not only did he look like a "happy" cowboy, but he was also carrying a mini Bowie knife, the length of which was still illegal.

Sooo many things coulda gone wrong with that situation. I forget what happened in the end. I think the Marines may have been called to a more serious incident, but they ended up letting us go after giving our friend a sobriety test.

But get this - this was back in my Air Force days, and i was home visiting and hanging out with my friends who were going to ODU at the time. The happy redneck buddy says to us all afterward - "Scott, I think you shoulda told them you're in the Air Force, and they probably would just've let us all go right away!" Maaaan, so clueless - those Marines woulda jacked! me up, made me responsible for the whole lot of us, prob locked me up, called my command and First Sergeant down in NC, and I've likely been spending the next two months as the First Sergeant's whipping boy, and that's if they didn't just kick me out! This was back in the 90s when they were downsizing.

The train wasn't even going that fast.

In case this is still an open case and an investigator has search locks out, I just made this whole story up, and I've never been out of my home area of Nova Scotia, up in Canada.

stangman67

rooftop59 wrote: »

stangman67 wrote: »

txcoastal1 wrote: »

How is the sound?

Where's my playlist review ?!?!?

I have some placement work to do in regards to imaging, I haven’t messed with it much but imaging is pretty good, mostly constrained within the speakers footprint at this point. The room is a bit lively and will be receiving no treatment as it is our main living space but I think all things considered these speakers are absolutely incredible sounding.

You might not care, but have you run Dirac Live? I am in a similar situation (main living area, can't really move the speakers, and treatments would only happen in my chitty apartment after my spouse kicked my arse out), and Dirac Live makes a HUGE difference in my room fwiw...and the upgraded mic is also helpful.

I haven’t yet but it is something I’d like to try at some point. The Dirac option is really nice on this NAD gear, haven’t researched mics but I imagine a UMIK type mic is appropriate?

stangman67

msg wrote: »

lol - that's a great idea! you could tell your wife you're getting a table saw to rebuild "cabinets" and she'll think you mean kitchen cabinets! genius!

Btw - to clarify on the perfectionism thing, that was a takes one to know one sort of thing! lol

Ohh yeah, okay. I had to look that up to see where NSA HR was. I almost ended up in a role over near there. Cool, yeah, anything off the base is a little more like civilization.

Some friends and I almost got arrested by some Marines one Halloween night when someone reported us jumping on that train that runs along Terminal near that area. Like dummies one of our friends parked in some little mini-Exchange gas station parking lot or something? which I think is still technically government property? lol Yeah, that was fun.

And one of our buddies is a total redneck, and so his halloween costume that night was some weak cowboy getup - you know the kind I mean - the ones where the hat's too small? But not only did he look like a "happy" cowboy, but he was also carrying a mini Bowie knife, the length of which was still illegal.

Sooo many things coulda gone wrong with that situation. I forget what happened in the end. I think the Marines may have been called to a more serious incident, but they ended up letting us go after giving our friend a sobriety test.

But get this - this was back in my Air Force days, and i was home visiting and hanging out with my friends who were going to ODU at the time. The happy redneck buddy says to us all afterward - "Scott, I think you shoulda told them you're in the Air Force, and they probably would just've let us all go right away!" Maaaan, so clueless - those Marines woulda jacked! me up, made me responsible for the whole lot of us, prob locked me up, called my command and First Sergeant down in NC, and I've likely been spending the next two months as the First Sergeant's whipping boy, and that's if they didn't just kick me out! This was back in the 90s when they were downsizing.

The train wasn't even going that fast.

In case this is still an open case and an investigator has search locks out, I just made this whole story up, and I've never been out of my home area of Nova Scotia, up in Canada.

This is the most junior enlisted story I’ve ever heard Scott! Sounds like you would have been fun to hang out with!