I went to Home Depot today after work to get the wood, and boy, was I disappointed. No 1/2" birch ply, only 3/4". The only thing I was told that's closest is "sandeply", which is "kind of hardwood". Is that stuff any good? Also, they won't make any cuts smaller than 12", so I can't have them cut into strips. I may need to go to a real lumber yard...
I only have a circular saw, so having the four sides of each speaker cut to the right widths at the lumber yard would be great.
For wires, I just need 24 ga. solid core, not necessarily cat5, right? The cat5 I was planning on using _is_ the stranded patch cable. If solid core is better (for sound and for securing the wires), I can just get a few feet of it from Home Depot.
I only have a circular saw, so having the four sides of each speaker cut to the right widths at the lumber yard would be great.
For wires, I just need 24 ga. solid core, not necessarily cat5, right? The cat5 I was planning on using _is_ the stranded patch cable. If solid core is better (for sound and for securing the wires), I can just get a few feet of it from Home Depot.
fishline said:
What you get for construction grade plywood, and "sand ply" is construction grade, depends on where you live. Here in the South, you get lobloly pine. Useless for speakers -- full of voids and warps like mad. Obviously, the HD "associate" does not know his stock very well. HD has birch and oak veneer "furniture" grade plywood in 1/4" and 3/4", but this stuff usually has too many voids for speakers. A real lumber yard might have baltic birch. I have to go to a specialty shop to get BB. Finally, you do not want HD or Lowe's or most lumber yards to cut your panels. They are not going to be nearly accurate enough.
You can get very good cuts with a circular saw if you use a fence. Search a wood working forum.
Bob
fishline said:
You'd be better off with 1/2" MDF, or better yet, OSB than the plywood usually found at HD. I see that you're in a coastal state, so odds are that there is a marine lumber yard not too far from you. If you're set on ply, and can't locate the good stuff (Baltic birch) you might try the marine yards. One of them will stock Okume marine plywood. I've never used it in speakers, so I can't vouch for Okume's sonic qualities, but the stuff is marvelous to work with and finishes a lot like mahogany. It'll be a bit pricey, but then so is quality BB ply.
As others have said, the quality of the HD ply panels is all over the place. It's a real morale crusher to learn that a loose ply in a hidden void comes to life and buzzes every time the program material gets close to it's resonant frequency in your newly finished masterpiece.
That said, I have seen, at both Lowes and HD here in Houston, an occasional stack of very nice birch ply. It is definitely not the same product that usually fills that rack. I suppose that when you're buying and distributing such huge lots of stuff, a few quality pieces can sneak into the supply chain by mistake now and then.
The conductors won't matter in your application. Solid or stranded will sound the same. Just tin the stripped ends of your stranded 24 ga and get after it.
fishline,
I'm not sure about NJ, but here in upstate NY, you can get Baltic Birch ply from Curtis Lumber. They don't have it right in the store, but they are happy to order it from their warehouse.
And, oh yeah, I recall looking for plywood at Lowes & HD. When the sales associates asked if I needed help, I think my comment to them was something like: " look at this stuff--all warped & beat to cr*p. I can't build anything with that!"
Cheers, Jim
I'm not sure about NJ, but here in upstate NY, you can get Baltic Birch ply from Curtis Lumber. They don't have it right in the store, but they are happy to order it from their warehouse.
And, oh yeah, I recall looking for plywood at Lowes & HD. When the sales associates asked if I needed help, I think my comment to them was something like: " look at this stuff--all warped & beat to cr*p. I can't build anything with that!"
Cheers, Jim
I didn't realize how difficult it is to find Baltic birch ply, let alone 9-ply variety! I just called the only lumber yard I know of in central NJ, and they only have regular birch, 4-ply (already at $56 a 4x8 sheet).
Can anyone suggest suitable substitute that are perhaps easier to find? Would some sort of solid wood shelving (pine, or even oak) be acceptable? I don't know if they come in 1/2" thinkness, but at least I'd seen the 3/4" ones in HD/Lowes.
Can anyone suggest suitable substitute that are perhaps easier to find? Would some sort of solid wood shelving (pine, or even oak) be acceptable? I don't know if they come in 1/2" thinkness, but at least I'd seen the 3/4" ones in HD/Lowes.
fishline said:
I built a pair using 3/4 inch pine some years back, they looked great, didn't have any audible nasties and were easy to assemble. They imaged like crazy but the mids weren't as good as I wanted. I was using the drivers (Radio Shack 1197's) that ended up in my "High-Tweek Black Box Monitors," which, are much better overall.
I'd be very tempted to try the Vampyr (spelling?) using 3/4 pine as it's an interesting looking solution. I wonder if it's tuned a bit higher than the Zigmas, and that might be a help in the tonal balance.
Best Regards,
TerryO
TerryO said:
Vampyr = obsolete occasional variation of Vampire, probably a derivation from the French vampyre and Serbian vampir. It's the most unusual spelling though -the 1932 film used it, but other than that, it's not seen very often. I suppose we could add the 'e' for the French term Dave?
Vampyr
Hi all, I am new to these forums. I have a pair of dave merrill's zigmahornet drivers that I have had for over a year now but never had the time to build the cabinets. I'm set to build it tommorrow, using supawood, which is a kind of high quality MDF here in South Africa.
I've been browsing around and have read numerous interesting things on these forums, but I do have a few questions that I am going to bother you with.
1)How should I seal the driver unit against the front panel?
2)I do not have 1/2 inch cotton felt, but a kind of foam/sponge of similar thickness that I took out of old broken stereo speakers, will this suffice? Should I use less of this because of what dave said about the "sound absorbing" quality of mdf?
3)Is it important to give the wood a varnish coat or can I just paint it afterwards? Does it affect the sound quality in a bad way?
Since you have mentioned the vampyr, what are your main goals for the design? To get better bass response/definition? Bass is an important aspect for me, so should I rather wait for the vampyr design? I wish there was a simple mod to the zigmahornet design to slightly enhance the bass on these, since I gather it lacks there.
My brother bought these together with other speakers from dave and i remember he called me and asked me if i also wanted a pair, and only afterwards, after I said yes, I realized these might not be particularly suited for the music genres I will be mostly listening to on these (rock). So I guess at the end of the day I will hook up a (sub)woofer with my ziggies, but any comments will be appreciated.
pierre
Hi all, I am new to these forums. I have a pair of dave merrill's zigmahornet drivers that I have had for over a year now but never had the time to build the cabinets. I'm set to build it tommorrow, using supawood, which is a kind of high quality MDF here in South Africa.
I've been browsing around and have read numerous interesting things on these forums, but I do have a few questions that I am going to bother you with.
1)How should I seal the driver unit against the front panel?
2)I do not have 1/2 inch cotton felt, but a kind of foam/sponge of similar thickness that I took out of old broken stereo speakers, will this suffice? Should I use less of this because of what dave said about the "sound absorbing" quality of mdf?
3)Is it important to give the wood a varnish coat or can I just paint it afterwards? Does it affect the sound quality in a bad way?
Since you have mentioned the vampyr, what are your main goals for the design? To get better bass response/definition? Bass is an important aspect for me, so should I rather wait for the vampyr design? I wish there was a simple mod to the zigmahornet design to slightly enhance the bass on these, since I gather it lacks there.
My brother bought these together with other speakers from dave and i remember he called me and asked me if i also wanted a pair, and only afterwards, after I said yes, I realized these might not be particularly suited for the music genres I will be mostly listening to on these (rock). So I guess at the end of the day I will hook up a (sub)woofer with my ziggies, but any comments will be appreciated.
pierre
1) The drivers should have come with a gasket (I'd be surprised if they didn't) which should do. If not, sillicone sealent (last resort) or thin rubberised tape from down the local DIY store should do.
2) I'd probably go easy with it anyway -open cell foam can over-damp things unless used sparingly.
3) It's MDF, so I'd just be inclined to sand, prime & paint it.
Vampyr[e] is not designed to get more LF. A little less, actually, as IMO the Zigmahornet tries to squeeze rather too much out of it. It's a 4in FR driver with limited excursion. Bass is not on the agenda. Simple as that. What it's designed to do is improve soundstaging & clarity in what lower registers are available & through the lower midband.
2) I'd probably go easy with it anyway -open cell foam can over-damp things unless used sparingly.
3) It's MDF, so I'd just be inclined to sand, prime & paint it.
Vampyr[e] is not designed to get more LF. A little less, actually, as IMO the Zigmahornet tries to squeeze rather too much out of it. It's a 4in FR driver with limited excursion. Bass is not on the agenda. Simple as that. What it's designed to do is improve soundstaging & clarity in what lower registers are available & through the lower midband.
Re: Vampyr
First off, welcome!
I have found that the FE103E's take very well to the addition of a subwoofer. I am using a Dayton 15" kit subwoofer, nothing special at all. But to my surprise, it matches up quite well to the 103's. My 103's are still playing fullrange with usable output down to maybe 90Hz. The sub is crossed over somewhere around 60Hz or so I think, maybe a tad lower. The Dayton enclosure lends to a fair amount of resonance, hence the "lower than should be" crossover point and the gap between it and the 103's. However, it seems to blend it quite nicely and I don't even notice the sub being there. I just get a natural extension of bass where the little 103's fall off.
As a side note, I listen to all types of music, and I can personally tell you that the 103's have no issues getting loud in my 10' x 14' room with all kinds of music. Even though they are playing fullrange, I have yet to hear them strain or distort. Then again, I have yet to hear my original and still all stock little Sonic Impact T-amp clip either. It's actually a great little combo I have here that sounds rather incredible for what it is!
snorbaard said:
First off, welcome!
I have found that the FE103E's take very well to the addition of a subwoofer. I am using a Dayton 15" kit subwoofer, nothing special at all. But to my surprise, it matches up quite well to the 103's. My 103's are still playing fullrange with usable output down to maybe 90Hz. The sub is crossed over somewhere around 60Hz or so I think, maybe a tad lower. The Dayton enclosure lends to a fair amount of resonance, hence the "lower than should be" crossover point and the gap between it and the 103's. However, it seems to blend it quite nicely and I don't even notice the sub being there. I just get a natural extension of bass where the little 103's fall off.
As a side note, I listen to all types of music, and I can personally tell you that the 103's have no issues getting loud in my 10' x 14' room with all kinds of music. Even though they are playing fullrange, I have yet to hear them strain or distort. Then again, I have yet to hear my original and still all stock little Sonic Impact T-amp clip either. It's actually a great little combo I have here that sounds rather incredible for what it is!
Re: Re: Vampyr
@Scottmoose:
Thanks for the reply. I did not receive a gasket, but thanks for the idea, I got nice rubber tape from my brother which I will use. OK so basically I will use the foam I got but just a smaller piece than that indicated on the ziggies' plans. Maybe an inch or two shorter or so? (On my plan it is indicated as 7" long by the width of the back.)
Thanks! Yip I will definitely hook up my sub together with my ziggies and experiment a bit. I can hardly wait to finish them tommorrow.
@Scottmoose:
Thanks for the reply. I did not receive a gasket, but thanks for the idea, I got nice rubber tape from my brother which I will use. OK so basically I will use the foam I got but just a smaller piece than that indicated on the ziggies' plans. Maybe an inch or two shorter or so? (On my plan it is indicated as 7" long by the width of the back.)
chops said:
Thanks! Yip I will definitely hook up my sub together with my ziggies and experiment a bit. I can hardly wait to finish them tommorrow.
Got the wood--- the lumber yard was kind enough to cut 4 4-3/4" strips and 4 strips just shy of 3". I'll probably get to start this weekend.
One question: The "terminals" on the drivers don't seem to have marks to indicate polarity (they look identical to me). Is polarity not important for these drivers?
One question: The "terminals" on the drivers don't seem to have marks to indicate polarity (they look identical to me). Is polarity not important for these drivers?
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