Got drivers installed in one cabinet, I really love bits like this for easy quick work drilling perfectly centered driver mounting screws
All drivers in, always a good sight!
Found the perfect screws to use with these horns
Temporary wiring in the bottom until I finalize crossovers, the dual binding posts will be nice for external tuning as well, I'll have to isolate the lower woofer for the .5 circuit though.
And all buttoned up
And they weigh in about 70lbs right where I was estimating fully loaded
Need to carry them in the house and start doing measurements tonight!
Thanks,
Javad
All drivers in, always a good sight!
Found the perfect screws to use with these horns
Temporary wiring in the bottom until I finalize crossovers, the dual binding posts will be nice for external tuning as well, I'll have to isolate the lower woofer for the .5 circuit though.
And all buttoned up
And they weigh in about 70lbs right where I was estimating fully loaded
Need to carry them in the house and start doing measurements tonight!
Thanks,
Javad
Been working on the XO the last few days, going well, have had several late nights where all of a sudden I realize it's 2am =)
Horns and CD are always fun to work with as they are incredibly efficient and rarely have flat frequency response (usually a big hump) around Fc. I've only listened to one tower in mono so far but they sound really good, very detailed, fast bass, efficient, cabinets are very non-resonant.
Air velocity through the ports is very low but the ports are currently at 37hz (I made them extra long) and I want to end up more in the 45-50 range so I'll be adjusting those, nice thing is I can make more smaller port inserts and always go back and forth the way I designed them.
More coming, thanks!
Javad
Horns and CD are always fun to work with as they are incredibly efficient and rarely have flat frequency response (usually a big hump) around Fc. I've only listened to one tower in mono so far but they sound really good, very detailed, fast bass, efficient, cabinets are very non-resonant.
Air velocity through the ports is very low but the ports are currently at 37hz (I made them extra long) and I want to end up more in the 45-50 range so I'll be adjusting those, nice thing is I can make more smaller port inserts and always go back and forth the way I designed them.
More coming, thanks!
Javad
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The single speaker cabinet is looking splendid with the driver installed.
Your crossover breadboard is quite a beast too.
Thanks!
Little update, I've been working on the XO for the last week and I think I'm quite close to where I want to be, I've been using a combination of REW, Omnimic and PCD, as well as changing component values and measuring/listening. Slopes are 18db around 1500hz, with the .5 rolling off at around 250hz 6db with a 4.7mh inductor.
I wired up both speakers (which measure almost identically) and got to listen to them in stereo today, fun!
First impressions very dynamic and sharp, lively, smooth top end with no sibilance, and still has air and sparkle. Bass rolls off starting at 60hz but above that very fast and sharp bass from these pro 8" drivers. Probably never going to have that refined Scan Speak sound though.
I've been listening to my reference tracks as well as the MWAF tracks (man that Lorde song is a doozy!) and am quite pleased. Also got to hear them playing Money for Nothing at 112db/1 meter, wow, these things really crank with about 96db efficiency.
Also experimenting with finishes, I'm leaning towards spray Spar varnish, goes on really smooth and the stuff is tough as nails, here is a test piece with no grain filler, just clear gloss spar urethane over the 220grit finished wood. 3 coats no sanding
I'll break the cabinets down to raw wood this week and spend a few weeks on the clear coat process, stay tuned.
Thanks!
Javad
I wired up both speakers (which measure almost identically) and got to listen to them in stereo today, fun!
First impressions very dynamic and sharp, lively, smooth top end with no sibilance, and still has air and sparkle. Bass rolls off starting at 60hz but above that very fast and sharp bass from these pro 8" drivers. Probably never going to have that refined Scan Speak sound though.
I've been listening to my reference tracks as well as the MWAF tracks (man that Lorde song is a doozy!) and am quite pleased. Also got to hear them playing Money for Nothing at 112db/1 meter, wow, these things really crank with about 96db efficiency.
Also experimenting with finishes, I'm leaning towards spray Spar varnish, goes on really smooth and the stuff is tough as nails, here is a test piece with no grain filler, just clear gloss spar urethane over the 220grit finished wood. 3 coats no sanding
I'll break the cabinets down to raw wood this week and spend a few weeks on the clear coat process, stay tuned.
Thanks!
Javad
Outstanding work!
I'm intrigued by this comment, though. Not as refined as Scan Speak in the midrange? Or bass?
Over the past several months you have built for bass a vented box, a midbass horn, and these sealed. How would you characterize the bass you get from each?
You know describing how speakers sound is one of the most challenging things in DIY, it's more of an impression from some of the better SS speakers I've heard, even ones with less than optimal crossovers, and definitely in the midrange and mostly in the high freq, a lot of it is in the tweeter, a good compression driver and dome each have their strengths and weaknesses.
The bass out of the 8PR200 down to 60hz can't be beat, fast, sharp and startling occasionally, with the ability to get shockingly loud, at 112db the cones were barely moving and no where near 8mm xmax.
Someday when I'm on my death bed and I recall the most incredible moments of my life, they'll be
1 - seeing my stunning wife walk down the aisle towards the pulpit at our wedding
2 - seeing each of my 4 children as they were born
3 - when I opened the letter from the IRS notifying me that the first top to bottom audit on my last 3 years taxes was over and I owed $0.
4 - the first time I accelerated from 0-60mph in under 2 seconds
5 - when I applied Minwax Natural stain to the Strafi speakers
Haha, boy was that satisfying!
That grain was there all along, so good to finally see it.
Ready to start finishing
2 coats of Minwax Natural
And first coat of clear, will put a second cost on and then sand with 400 between coats, thinking of doing 5 coats. I decided to skip the Crystalac, it was lightening the wood and I'm happy with how it looks so far.
Javad
1 - seeing my stunning wife walk down the aisle towards the pulpit at our wedding
2 - seeing each of my 4 children as they were born
3 - when I opened the letter from the IRS notifying me that the first top to bottom audit on my last 3 years taxes was over and I owed $0.
4 - the first time I accelerated from 0-60mph in under 2 seconds
5 - when I applied Minwax Natural stain to the Strafi speakers
Haha, boy was that satisfying!
That grain was there all along, so good to finally see it.
Ready to start finishing
2 coats of Minwax Natural
And first coat of clear, will put a second cost on and then sand with 400 between coats, thinking of doing 5 coats. I decided to skip the Crystalac, it was lightening the wood and I'm happy with how it looks so far.
Javad
I suggest equalizing the speakers as much as possible throughout their entire working range. Especially low Q bumps and dips. A fraction of a decibel over a wide range can dramatically change the character of a speaker. I notice it more with high sensitivity/directivity speakers. I also try to cross horns high enough to avoid pattern flip if possible.
Those laminations really pop! Wish I had the patience.
Did a quick sand with 400 and another coat this morning, I think I'll do 5 coats total and see how it looks, possibly more on the top and buff that out. I may still use the grain filler if things aren't smoothing out, it can be used between layers as well but it seems to lighten the wood which I don't like
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Well I've been putting a number of coats on over the past week, I've lost count of exactly how many but I'd say I've done 5 or 6 cycles of spray, dry for 12-24hrs, sand with 320 then 400, spray again.
I did 2 treatments of clear Crystalac grain filler before the 2nd to the last coat and that smoothed the porous mahogany grain substantially but it's still not glass smooth which I'm ok with.
I could keep going with it but it looks so good I'm afraid I should stop while I'm ahead.
I set up a makeshift clean room and I have to say it worked really well, zero issues with dust or debris in the finish
I tested 7 different rattle can products that included lacquers, polyurethanes, enamel and water based, this spar varnish was the best product hands down, it goes down perfectly smooth, no orange peel or running, super easy to work with and it's a very tough finish suitable for outdoor use as well.
They've been drying since Friday morning at 8am (over 30 hours) and are nice and dry to the touch, so I'll be starting to reassemble the cabinets today and tomorrow.
Thanks!
Javad
I did 2 treatments of clear Crystalac grain filler before the 2nd to the last coat and that smoothed the porous mahogany grain substantially but it's still not glass smooth which I'm ok with.
I could keep going with it but it looks so good I'm afraid I should stop while I'm ahead.
I set up a makeshift clean room and I have to say it worked really well, zero issues with dust or debris in the finish
I tested 7 different rattle can products that included lacquers, polyurethanes, enamel and water based, this spar varnish was the best product hands down, it goes down perfectly smooth, no orange peel or running, super easy to work with and it's a very tough finish suitable for outdoor use as well.
They've been drying since Friday morning at 8am (over 30 hours) and are nice and dry to the touch, so I'll be starting to reassemble the cabinets today and tomorrow.
Thanks!
Javad
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