Sonus Faber Guarneri DIY pics

Moreants
Moreants Posts: 70
edited March 2006 in DIY, Mods & Tweaks
JUst finished these. Just finished. Used Usher drivers.


more pics.

http://gallery.audioreview.com/showgallery.php?cat=500&ppuser=246853
I remember when 'broadband' meant The Go-Go's.
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  • wingnut4772
    wingnut4772 Posts: 7,519
    edited February 2006
    Purdy. :p
    Sharp Elite 70
    Anthem D2V 3D
    Parasound 5250
    Parasound HCA 1000 A
    Parasound HCA 1000
    Oppo BDP 95
    Von Schweikert VR4 Jr R/L Fronts
    Von Schweikert LCR 4 Center
    Totem Mask Surrounds X4
    Hsu ULS-15 Quad Drive Subwoofers
    Sony PS3
    Squeezebox Touch

    Polk Atrium 7s on the patio just to keep my foot in the door.
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  • ohskigod
    ohskigod Posts: 6,502
    edited February 2006
    you build these from scratch? I'm just wondering why they are "sonus faber DIY" a kit?, did you build the cabs on your own? can I ask any more stupid questions? :D
    Living Room 2 Channel -
    Schiit SYS Passive Pre. Jolida CD player. Songbird streamer. California Audio Labs Sigma II DAC, DIY 300as1/a1 Ice modules Class D amp. LSi15 with MM842 woofer upgrade, Nordost Blue Heaven and Unity interconnects.

    Upstairs 2 Channel Rig -
    Prometheus Ref. TVC passive pre, SAE A-205 Amp, Wiim pro streamer and Topping E50 DAC, California Audio Labs DX1 CD player, Von Schweikert VR3.5 speakers.

    Studio Rig - Scarlett 18i20(Gen3) DAW, Mac Mini, Aiyma A07 Max (BridgedX2), Totem Mites
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,518
    edited February 2006
    Yes, inquiring minds want to know.
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • karpiel666
    karpiel666 Posts: 173
    edited February 2006
    :eek:
    dvd player: samsung DVD-HD850
    receiver: Denon avr5700
    center: polk cs400
    fronts: polk rt800i
    surrounds: Unknown Polk monitor? series.
    sub: svs pb12 isd/v
    tv: 46 inch samsung
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  • Moreants
    Moreants Posts: 70
    edited February 2006
    ohskigod wrote:
    you build these from scratch? I'm just wondering why they are "sonus faber DIY" a kit?, did you build the cabs on your own? can I ask any more stupid questions? :D


    :p Yes they are built from scratch. Stands too.
    I remember when 'broadband' meant The Go-Go's.
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,518
    edited February 2006
    In that case, fine looking job. How do they sound? What finish did you use on the cabinets?
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • hoosier21
    hoosier21 Posts: 4,411
    edited February 2006
    ya man, you can't drop a bomb like those and not give details, nice
    Dodd - Battery Preamp
    Monarchy Audio SE100 Delux - mono power amps
    Sony DVP-NS999ES - SACD player
    ADS 1230 - Polk SDA 2B
    DIY Stereo Subwoofer towers w/(4) 12 drivers each
    Crown K1 - Subwoofer amp
    Outlaw ICBM - crossover
    Beringher BFD - sub eq

    Where is the remote? Where is the $%#$% remote!

    "I've always been mad, I know I've been mad, like the most of us have...very hard to explain why you're mad, even if you're not mad..."
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  • Moreants
    Moreants Posts: 70
    edited February 2006
    hoosier21 wrote:
    ya man, you can't drop a bomb like those and not give details, nice


    Speakers

    Made the top, bottom, front and rear baffles out of 1 1/8" mdf.

    Filled 1/2" pvc pipes with sand and plugged them with dowel plugs.

    PVC pipes were then lined up vertically and glued with pvc adhesive around the curved sides.

    Aluminum screen stapled to front baffle and stretched to rear where it is stapled there.

    Bondoed sides and sanded, and bondoed and sanded and sanded and....

    Skim coated top with bondo.

    Rear was made by same technique covering a rudderlike frame. Painted w/Rustoleum Professional Black spray paint.

    Faux finish is with hobby paints with several coats to imitate SF red color. 3 coats of Minwax gloss poly 1/2 diluted with mineral spirits rubbed on and sanded between coats.

    Finished speaker is 15" high and weighs 35 lbs.

    Grill covers

    1mm black stretch bracelet cord wound around 3/8" threaded rods to form even spaced design. Pvc adhesive to secure in place.

    Rods then placed in 1/2" aluminum panelling channel. Channel ends folded up and drilled to accept threaded rod ends. More pvc glue. Channels painted black and covered w/black vinyl.

    Stands

    1/2" pvc pipes lined vertically for sides.

    Center support is 4" x 4" composite fence post (only front of it showing). 3/8" threaded rod through post and top/bottom.

    Base is 2 1 1/8" mdf panels stacked and painted with Rustoleum Bleached Stone simulated paint.


    That's mostly it. Simple.
    D002.JPG 298.3K
    I remember when 'broadband' meant The Go-Go's.
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  • thehaens@cox.net
    thehaens@cox.net Posts: 1,012
    edited February 2006
    Moreants wrote:

    That's mostly it. Simple.

    Uh, Yeah simple, I'll tell you what I got a 50 spot for you, plus the cost of materials....... :D

    Scott
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  • F1nut
    F1nut Posts: 50,518
    edited February 2006
    Very cool!
    Political Correctness'.........defined

    "A doctrine fostered by a delusional, illogical minority and rabidly promoted by an unscrupulous mainstream media, which holds forth the proposition that it is entirely possible to pick up a t-u-r-d by the clean end."

    President of Club Polk

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  • Moreants
    Moreants Posts: 70
    edited February 2006
    F1nut wrote:
    In that case, fine looking job. How do they sound? What finish did you use on the cabinets?

    They sound great. Usher 7" kevlar painted black (arghh!) and Usher 9950-20 tweeter with PE designed x-over. Highly recommend Ushers esp. the tweet.
    I remember when 'broadband' meant The Go-Go's.
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  • Pablo
    Pablo Posts: 723
    edited February 2006
    Very nice. That faux looks great.
    Denon AVR-3803
    RTi-70 Fronts
    FXi-30 Surrounds
    RTi-38 Back Surrounds
    Csi-40 Center
    PSW350 Sub
    Panasonic PT-56WXF95 HDTVSamsung un60JS8000 SUHD
    Denon DVD-2910
    Xbox, Gamecube, PS2, PS3, PS4, xbox360, Wii, WiiU, n64
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  • VR3
    VR3 Posts: 28,617
    edited February 2006
    Awesome job..beyond awesome...
    - Not Tom ::::::: Any system can play Diana Krall. Only the best can play Limp Bizkit.
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  • michael_w
    michael_w Posts: 2,813
    edited February 2006
    Spiffy... so now that we know they're freakin beautiful, what do they sound like? If you're unhappy with them I'd gladly take them off your hands ;)

    How much time did you chuck into these?
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  • pjdami
    pjdami Posts: 1,894
    edited February 2006
    Awesome. I always wondered how they made those curved speaker sides. The finish looks like real wood (at least in the pictures); great job with those. I bet those took a few days to build.
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  • dorokusai
    dorokusai Posts: 25,577
    edited February 2006
    Now that's a speaker project!
    CTC BBQ Amplifier, Sonic Frontiers Line3 Pre-Amplifier and Wadia 581 SACD player. Speakers? Always changing but for now, Mission Argonauts I picked up for $50 bucks, mint.
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  • janmike
    janmike Posts: 6,146
    edited February 2006
    Very nice job.
    Michael ;)
    In the beginning, all knowledge was new!
    NORTH of 60°
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  • amulford
    amulford Posts: 5,020
    edited February 2006
    Outstanding. Very nice job on the faux finish. Nice work on the poly finish, also.

    Lotta time in those...
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  • Shizelbs
    Shizelbs Posts: 7,433
    edited February 2006
    In my Homer Simpson voice;
    'They look good... but not that good.'

    Just kidding. They look very, very nice. You must be very happy with the results.
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  • Moreants
    Moreants Posts: 70
    edited February 2006
    Thanks everyone. Yes it was a lot of work and MESSY but was well worth it in the end. They sound fantastic though I wouldn't go so far to say as good as the originals, which btw I've never seen nor heard.

    Attached are some more mid-construct pics and previous finishes I experimented with. In the end, the Italians were right concerning the style of the stand and speaker finish.

    Any more construction details I'd be glad to answer.
    I remember when 'broadband' meant The Go-Go's.
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  • polkatese
    polkatese Posts: 6,767
    edited February 2006
    Very nice, indeed!
    I am sorry, I have no opinion on the matter. I am sure you do. So, don't mind me, I just want to talk audio and pie.
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  • Moreants
    Moreants Posts: 70
    edited February 2006
    michael_w wrote:
    Spiffy... so now that we know they're freakin beautiful, what do they sound like? If you're unhappy with them I'd gladly take them off your hands ;)

    How much time did you chuck into these?


    I've got about 2 months in these. The last couple of weeks just for finishing/refinishing. Bondo is amazing stuff but really messes up your garage, clothes, house, pets, neighborhood .... :o
    I remember when 'broadband' meant The Go-Go's.
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  • Mazeroth
    Mazeroth Posts: 1,585
    edited March 2006
    EXCELLENT job! I'm glad you posted the Bondo pic so people can see what it takes to get a speaker to look like yours! Bondo literally saved my last speaker project. I was ready to throw it in the dumpster.

    As for your crossover, you say it's a Parts Express designed crossover? Do you mean one of the pre-made ones? If so, you should really look into getting a custom made crossover for those. You can build one yourself or send a speaker to Madisound and they'll do it for a fee. It will sound leaps and bounds better with a crossover suited for it.
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  • Moreants
    Moreants Posts: 70
    edited March 2006
    Mazeroth wrote:
    EXCELLENT job! I'm glad you posted the Bondo pic so people can see what it takes to get a speaker to look like yours! Bondo literally saved my last speaker project. I was ready to throw it in the dumpster.

    As for your crossover, you say it's a Parts Express designed crossover? Do you mean one of the pre-made ones? If so, you should really look into getting a custom made crossover for those. You can build one yourself or send a speaker to Madisound and they'll do it for a fee. It will sound leaps and bounds better with a crossover suited for it.


    X-over is custom designed by PE. I wouldn't use an off -the- shelf one with the amount of work I put in these. And yes they do sound great. I put my Lsi9's back in their box after hearing these. They are bass shy compared to the Polk's and they really benefit being toed-in but this is what I read about the originals too.
    I remember when 'broadband' meant The Go-Go's.
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  • george daniel
    george daniel Posts: 12,096
    edited March 2006
    Sweet,, :):)
    JC approves....he told me so. (F-1 nut)
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,335
    edited March 2006
    Absolutely beautiful! What did you inscribe on the base of the stands on the little gold plate?
    Carl

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  • Moreants
    Moreants Posts: 70
    edited March 2006
    schwarcw wrote:
    Absolutely beautiful! What did you inscribe on the base of the stands on the little gold plate?

    Thanks! The brass plates are blank. Only did it to mimic original stands and besides it looked bare without them. I tried using a larger brass plate (see attached) but in the end I couldn't improve on the factory look.
    I remember when 'broadband' meant The Go-Go's.
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  • schwarcw
    schwarcw Posts: 7,335
    edited March 2006
    I would sugesst that you put your name and date on them. These works of art are someting to be proud of. Enjoy the sound and congtratulations on the nice job!

    Carl
    Carl

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