Early B -

audiobliss · February 2005

whoa.....I just checked out the pic of the folded horn....wow......glad I don't hafta do that.....

Great looking speaker cabinets, Sid. Think up an emblem!

VR3 · February 2005

EMBLEM!

audiobliss · February 2005

Awesome. Now figure out how to cut it out of metal, polish it, and attach it to the speakers!

VR3 · February 2005

...........................

*multiple blinks*

ERRR... sounds expensive

Early B. · February 2005

Hey, Sid -- those enclosures are f**king awesome!! Can't wait to pop in the drivers and hook them up in my reference system. I know they're gonna sound sweet.

If you need a money partner to go into the custom speaker building business, just shoot me a PM and we'll work out the details.

VR3 · February 2005

Glad you like them...

Once you stain them, they should look killer...

I went over them several times with a damp rag to try to get all the saw dust off, I would go over them once more before applying a stain...

As for the custom speaker building thing...

Hehe, we'll see... I'm still deciding if I want to go public or just build stuff for members of message boards...

Shall see, I will definetely have to figure out ways to speed up the process - however, I learned alot from building those Fostex enclosures...

Hopefully you will find it all good, I like them alot, and am interested in how they will look like when they are done...

You will notice some cosmetic imperfections, these are things that happened outside of my control...

Not sure how or when, but these were sitting in a shop for a month... so that should explain a lot...

But as you saw, the camera dosnt pic them up, and once you stain them - they wont even be noticeable...

Like I said... I'm a student...I'm-a-learnin'

Early B. · February 2005

Sid -- I don't expect them to be perfect, that's why I commissioned you to make them for me. "Real wood" has imperfections and that's the look I wanted. Most commerically made speakers with wood veneer look too damn fake. Your enclosures, although not yet stained, already look better than most of those speakers, IMO.

VR3 · February 2005

Yeah...

I see, thats cool...

Problem with real wood, as I told you - its hard to find it... in a good size, and then find a piece that isnt bowed, or slightly bowed...

Because even the slightest bow would show up with this enclosure...

I got them packed up...

On the top and bottom of the enclosure (their laying horizontal in the box) - there is one layer of that medium size bubble wrap, 6 layers of thick cardboard...

Bottom... there is 3 layers of cardboard, 3 inches of clearance, one of those foam pads you sent me, and a bunch of packing peanuts...

The top of the box has 2 layers of medium size bubble wrap, and like 4 or so layers of cardboard...

About 4-5 inches of clearance on the sides...

The box is really deformed...

- doubt they'll have problems finding the top from the bottom...

Definetely over kill...

Gotta find a box to cut up to put over the top and sides though... just cuz...

dun dun...dun dun dun dun

Shall arrive in one piece...dun dun dun dun

VR3 · February 2005

BOX!! Mega box...

Deformed mega box...

Rolly polly olly??

gatemplin · February 2005

Excellent work Sid. Your woodworking skills are improving quickly. That box is hard to make.
Sometime in the future, you might want to consider investing in a plunge router. It will allow you to do more, and make some things easier.

VR3 · February 2005

Plunge router?

Will have to look that up...

Thanks man!

gatemplin · February 2005

This is what they look like:

They allow you to easily cut driver or port holes, flush mount drivers, do baffle round overs or chamfers, cut panels or bracing, trim veneer etc. They aren't cheap but it's something to consider investing in.

VR3 · February 2005

We have one at school I believe...

Will have to ask about it...

When I tried the routers though... we really didnt get along to well..ouch, but will try again at it lol...

Err...

Need more tape... need to find a box to cut up...

Early B. · February 2005

Sid -- that box ought to be fine as is. It looks like it will withstand a tsunami.

VR3 · February 2005

Ah yeah...

I just want to add another layer of cardboard to the top... maybe 2 layers that bend over the edges for extra support...

Would suck big ones if that box were to get damaged...

Here is an internal shot of the box... before I really started putting in packing material -

The sides of the box has 3 layer thick cardboard 'supports' - and the bottom of the box has three 2" tall, 3 layer thick supports...

You shoulda seen the box I sent Russ... LOL

madmax · February 2005

Originally posted by Early B.
Sid -- I don't expect them to be perfect, that's why I commissioned you to make them for me.

Waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa....

VR3 · February 2005

Thats what I thought too...

Kind of like... :eek:

The words.... OWNED...came to mind..lol

madmax · February 2005

Na, I know what he is saying. Those perfect plastic coated boxes don't have any character. He wants something real. Something that took craftsmanship to make, not a cad program and some stereolethography produced model. I'm getting to that point as well. How can you look at something that is perfect which has hundred of thousands of copies that all look exactly the same and feel like you have something?
madmax

VR3 · February 2005

OH...

OK... LOL, makes sense...

I feel the same way as well...

DIY is fun, but it is hard to make something that can beat a used OEM product... from what I've found...

I would like to rebuild my speakers I have now...but I don't know how to replicate the enclosure and the way it slightly 'bows' back so the tweeter is angled slightly up...

I am guessing you would have to special order, or put it on a press of some kind...

I dunno, but Rosewood enclosures...would rule...

madmax · February 2005

I don't know a lot about it but I did look into making a rounded wall out of wood once. I read that you take a piece of wood, lay something under it and put weight in the middle. (Or wherever to get the shape you want). Then you keep it moist for awhile and it will warp to that shape. Then of course you cut everything so it mates well with that shape.

madmax

VR3 · February 2005

Err..definetely isnt worth it...

These things have a ever so slight 'tilt' - would be hard to duplicate more than once...

I wonder what kind of effects would come from building one straight up?

madmax · February 2005

Here is the way to tell what having the tweeter set back further does. Remove one of the tweeters. Move it back and forth and you'll notice there is one spot where everything lines up. (soundwise). What you are doing is making certain frequencies arrive at your ears at the right time compared to the lower woofer frequencies. You can tell when it is right. That is what some people gain by tilting their speakers.
madmax

VR3 · February 2005

Hmm, I remember when I first got these things I was playing around with tilt...

As with the same with the BP6B...

The tweeters on both are really low...

I finally got to the point of realizing that the speakers were engineered to have the tweeter that low and sounded best that way...

The BP10B (the one with the tilt) - its tweeter is lower than the BP6B (straight up) - but it also has the tilt...

Its a weird idea - another thing that I dont understand is, the front tweeter is firing slightly upwards - which would make the rear tweeter firing slighty downwards...

One day when I have time, and am bored...I will probally mess around with tilting again, and try to get them at a 90 degree angle...

Would be cool to remake the enclosure...the way I would....

However, it would be hard to improve on the front and back panels - 1" medite...

VR3 · February 2005

OH!...

Heres an idea...

How about making a 90 degree angled enclosure... and just tilting the enclosure back ever so slightly??

TheReaper · February 2005

I am probably going to do a bad job of explaining this. But I have made tapered boxed columns this way on a table saw.

For the top and bottom cuts on the board. You would just set the board guide to the corresponding angle when you cut them (with probably a 45 degree angle on the blade in your case).

For the length wise rips:

Set up your table saw blade for the angle you want your rip cut at, in your case probably 90 degrees (in my case for the box columns I was doing a 45 degree rip).

Then screw a second board on to the back of the board you want to rip at a slight taper angle. The second board should over hang on the fence side of the board that you are going to rip. And this second board should be offset at the slight taper angle you want on your rip cut.

Then set your fence on the table saw, with the second board against the fence, and the board you are going to rip aligned at the cut starting point on the saw blade.

Then you just rip away, running the second board flush along the fence, and your main board gets ripped at the taper angle.

When you are done, you will end up with your romboid (or whatever that shape is) boards.

VR3 · February 2005

That is actually a pretty good description...

I dunno, I will have to fiddle around with things...

I'd like to thank all of you guys for the comments, etc...

Much appreciated!

Early B. · March 2005

OK, heres an update on the DIY Fostex full range driver project.

I received the enclosures from Trey on Monday. BTW, Trey did a great job putting them together. Once I unpacked them I added the drivers and connected the internal wires. I used some extra AR 16 ga. speaker wire I had laying around. Hooked the speakers up to a Jolida int. tube amp and a tube CD player. The speakers sounded great. Very different from my Norh 5.1s. First of all, they sound crystal clear. With no crossover to contend with, thats what youd expect, I guess.

But what I didnt expect was the detail. These speakers are extremely detailed. The vocals are quite forward, which is what I liked about the Polk Lsi7s. The speakers are also very powerful. What I mean is that even at moderate listening levels, the speakers seemed like the room wasnt large enough to contain the sound. Kinda neat for a single 6 driver. I would expect them to sound even better in a larger room.

The only downside with these speakers thus far is that they are definitely on the bright side. They made my tube system sound like solid state. Nevertheless, the vocals were fantastic. Now at this point Ill have to say that the speakers are brand new, so they should calm down a little after break-in. Also, keep in mind that I modified the driver by adding phase plugs (what the hell was I thinkin??), so I dont know what impact this is having on the sound. Anyway, I like what Im hearing so far.

I will post pics later once I paint the enclosures.

VR3 · March 2005

So I'm guessing you liked the build quality - sweetness...

Glad the sound cleaned up for you...really cool!

Early B. · March 2005

OK, here's a pic of the painted product...

steveinaz · March 2005

Very cool Sid/Early. I've always been intrigued by full-range driver setups.

Early B -

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