Anyone in east Tennessee?

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Hello there folks,
I am a newb here but I was hoping to maybe interface with some folks in my area that are into building their own audio equipment. I see there is a club in Atlanta but that is about a three hour drive one way for me. Is there anyone in the Knoxville or chattanooga area that is into this kinda thing? I would love to chat about some ideas and maybe enjoy seeing some other peoples systems performing in person. Thanks and peace

Pete
 
Hello...

Hi Pete. Welcome! I'm in Chattanooga. Been a member for about 5 years. I grew up in New Market, went to UTK, and have lived in Chatt for about 30 years. So far, I've met no other audio builders around these parts. Where are you?

Regards,

freeman

Thanks for the warm welcome. Actually I am in Maryville. I am just a newb here but I am definitely hooked on the idea of building some sweet system. I am not entirely sure which route I will go so far but I am very interested in the BLH styles and some single ended tube amps. I am not sure exactly what is the best bang for the buck but I am open to any and all suggestions. I have been a professional Cabinet builder for many years now and hope to be able to use my skills to come up with something both functional and beautiful. I also have some Commercial CNC equipment I may be able to utilize for this. I posted here hoping that there might be some locals that are into building their own systems.

Right now I am and have been using my years old Denon receiver and some KEF mains. My Denon CD player is getting old and giving me fits currently. I have an M and K sub but the amp has gone south in it. This is one of the things I want to do is figure out how to build a new amp for this thing or perhaps a way to repair the original one. It is nothing earth shattering but I had grown accustomed to having it filling out the bottom end. If I do decide to build a full range system with tube amps I understand that sometimes the low end can be lacking a tad bit so it will probably come in handy for that. At least until I can get around to building a better one. It sure is nice to see all the beautiful custom stuff people are doing here. I am used to building a lot of high end stuff mostly precision airguns and things I normally could not afford. Knowing that it is possible to build an audiophile level system for a reasonable price in my shop with my own hands and using quality components sourced around the world sounds just up my alley.

I sometimes make it down to Atlanta to shoot Field Target and I am working on another FT rifle so once it is completed I should be able to travel and shoot down there at one of a couple different venues. Perhaps we could get together and talk speakers and amps. What kind of system have you built? I am hoping to speak to folks that have some direct knowledge of this kind of thing. Nice to meet you. peace

Pete
 
Pete,
I consider myself a newbie as well. I've had some industrial electronic training and mainly know the rudiments of power supplies. I built a dynakit in college at UT which was a tube kit and am just now getting back into music and electronics. I bought an acurus amp, marantz cdp, and signet speakers some years ago. I've built several solid state amps in the last 5 years and all better the acurus IMO by a long shot. My favorite amp is the p3a, a well-regarded kit by rod elliot of esp audio. In fact I've built several of his projects. I've decided to stick with solid state but there are millions of kits, designs, and support to be found on this site.

Let's keep in touch. Feel free to e-mail or pm thru this site anytime. Let me know next time you are down this way. Would be great to have you listen to my gear and get your advice.
 
Freeman

That sounds great man. I am glad to hear you are knowledgeable about power supplies and amps. I was an Aviation Electronics Technician when I was in the US Coast Guard. I used to be able to troubleshoot electronics to the component level but that was so long ago it feels like it was in another life LOL. I did build a couple CNC machines from scratch and my Current machine is a full blown machining center. I have been looking around and trying to decide which way I want to go. I think I definitely want a tube style amp perhaps an EL34 or A23 setup or even some monoblocks. Not sure how difficult it would be to build one never done it before. I figure I could probably machine the mounting plate on the CNC and get all the holes and pockets drilled etc. etc. Then I would just need to mount all the components and carefully solder it all up. I am used to doing some relatively technical soldering with the CNC components and connectors I have done. Some were very small and required me to use magnification to get it done and a careful hand. I think if I can find a suitable proven design with component list I can probably trudge my way thru. What I do not have as yet is a nice O-scope to test signals etc. I used to have one a long time ago and it finally died.

I have been watching youtube videos online about custom built speakers and from what I have seen the full range horns are very cool. They seem to have a lot of power and presence despite the diminutive size of the drivers used. Kinda reminds me of when we were in Disney World. There is a place near the Swiss Family Robinson tree house that has four or five large hollowed out trees (I am sure they were probably plastic or man made) but they had a long slot down the center and were painted up like african or polynesian design. They made some speakers inside them and the sounds coming from the slots was quite strong and powerful. Kind of a native chanting music. It is pretty cool and just goes to show how much the shape and size of the air passages can affect the overall sound even with low powered drivers. Anyways most of the ones I seemed to be drawn to were Fostex horns in large front ported enclosures. They both look cool and seem to sound amazing. I also like the Cheng style units with dual and single ports. These are speakers I think I could build well and also be able to stylize to look beautiful. Here is a link to one but there are quite a few like it.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f9VQeeUhnZ4

I really like both the looks and the sound of these from what I have seen on the videos which is the best I can do without actually seeing and hearing them in person. I am leaning toward trying to build something similar. The cost is negligible especially when compared to the sound coming out of them. I can see these in my living room at some point or even in my bedroom. Still not entirely sure how I will go with this but I like what I see there. Peace

Pete
 
There is a number of folks around E TN that enjoy building and the audio scene in general. One of the guys is an active shooter too since I see comment of that.

Pete you should drop me your number and we should visit. I'm in your area. And a get together would always be fun. Lots of fun!!

EV3
 
There is a number of folks around E TN that enjoy building and the audio scene in general. One of the guys is an active shooter too since I see comment of that.

Pete you should drop me your number and we should visit. I'm in your area. And a get together would always be fun. Lots of fun!!

EV3

Yeah man I am up for meeting like minded individuals always. I think I may be asking too many questions of my friend with the system down in North Georgia. I may be wearing him out with a lot of my interest. I am not experienced with this and I am just getting started here. I would LOVE to meet some of you folks who have built something like this and have made it work. I also would love to get to see what a full range custom built speaker sounds like. I am currently rebuilding the kitchen in our home so it is kind of a mess right now. Once I get this finished I am going to try to start a speaker build. I really like the looks of the back loaded horns with the Fostex and Markaudio drivers. I think some iteration of this style will be what I eventually wind up building. Honestly I have ALWAYS wanted to own a custom system with a beautiful veneered set of speakers. This may be the only way I will ever realize that dream and since I am a very experienced woodworker it just makes sense.

I am over in Maryville, Tennessee out near the Foothills parkway. Where are you hopefully close by. Peace

Pete
 
Jim...

Thanks for the kind offer my friend. I may just take you up on that. At this point I am just really trying to decide what is best for my needs. I really like the looks of the full range driver based Back loaded horns. There are some cool designs for them and they seem to really put out a ton of sound. I would be interested in hearing about your systems as well.

Right now I am in the middle of tearing apart my kitchen to refinish and rejuvenate the cabinets. I am hoping to have it done by the end of this coming week or perhaps a little later. Once I get that done I should be in a position to work on a custom speaker design. I really like the Markaudio drivers and fostex drivers too. Not sure which to go with but I hear great things about the Markaudio ones. Just gotta decide on an enclosure design and try to build something that works great and looks beautiful. These will be going in my living room. I would like to also take this denon receiver I have here and get a nice new CD player for it and a means to get my cellphone adapted to it and stick it all in my master bedroom and build some beautiful quality smaller footprint cabinets for that room to enjoy sound with as well. All in good time my friend. Nice to meet you are honestly Crossville is not all that far away. Very pleased to hear that there are locals nearby with direct knowledge I maybe can perhaps rely on for ideas and information. Peace

Pete
 
Pete,

You can see several of my projects if you search my posts on diyaudio.com. I've used several Mark Audio drivers in MLTL projects. Other links if you search Google for

'Jim Griffin' MLTL

for some projects. I'm better known for my line array work. You can search Google for

'Jim Griffin' line array

and find several hits.

Jim
 
Thanks Jim...

Pete,

You can see several of my projects if you search my posts on diyaudio.com. I've used several Mark Audio drivers in MLTL projects. Other links if you search Google for

'Jim Griffin' MLTL

for some projects. I'm better known for my line array work. You can search Google for

'Jim Griffin' line array

and find several hits.

Jim


Thanks man. I have been looking over those builds here. apparently the Markaudio drivers are well regarded. I have been speaking with some folks locally who have contacted me. I am understanding that the speakers are great sounding in everything with the possible exception of the low end. How do you find these tall ported boxes in that regard. I know there are quite a few different enclosures out there to consider and they all affect the sound range differently. Are you local to Knoxville area? I would love to be able to experience some of these designs in person. No worries if you are not interested in that. Thanks again. peace

Pete
 
Pete,

First of all a MLTL isn't just a tall ported box but a specific design that optimizes the location of the driver and port so that it produces impressive bass for its size. The low end of several of my MLTL designs do model via simulations (and in listening tests) that they will produce down into the 30s Hz region. Pretty good for 4 to 5 inches diameter drivers. It depends on which design you wish to build, what kind of music that you enjoy, what level of bass you expect, the size of your listening room, etc. MLTLs with these drivers will not produce like subwoofers but they are ideal for musical reproduction. Music reproduction is more than 20 Hz bass and the balance across bass, midrange and treble bands is important to most listeners. You really need to hear some of these designs to decide if they float your boat. Their size is very reasonable for normal rooms and you can finish to your desire in most cases.

I'm in Cookeville which is 90 miles west of downtown Knoxville via I-40.

Jim
 
For ***** and giggles nothing beats what happens to a small driver in a Cornu style horn. They are an easy build so keep it in mind if the others don't work out for you. Here is a RS-1354A in a 36" Cornu. I have a 20" and 27" as well and they are all a hoot.
 

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WOW seriously!!

I have never seen anything like that before. Looks like a scene from Vertigo LOL.. I am sure it probably sounds nice but man that is different. Is that PVC or something?

I am sure that the ones jim is building sounds great but as he said the proof is in the listening. Maybe I can get a chance to ride over to his place and listen to those bad boys. I sure like the looks of these simple tall designs they are elegant and clean. Almost too clean. If they produce the low end like I am wanting to have in my system they might be worth a closer look. Understand that I do not expect throbbing house vibrating bass here but I definitely want to feel it some when I crank it up a bit. I enjoy a lot of music that has some punchy bass like maybe Boston Third Stage or perhaps Smashing Pumpkins Gish or even some Alice in Chains all of which have a lot of that low guitar bass and drums that hit kinda hard when you crank it up. I also listen to some other music that has even lower bass that is more electronic style music. Hell Even the Occasional Bob Marley and the Wailers or UB40 has a lot of punchy fun bass lines in it that require that my system be able to reproduce with good response and clean solid power. If it comes down to it and I find that NONE of these speakers allow this kind of response I can always lean on my M and K sub once I figure out how to either replace the amp in it or build a new one for it. The one in it has died awhile back but the speaker is in great shape as is the enclosure. I was actually thinking I may just take that thing and sand it down removing all that black crinkle coating they spray on it and fix up the cabinet with some pretty veneers and make it match the mains whatever I do to them as I build them. That way everything matches and I can have that upscale look as well as kickass sound. Perhaps I am just dreamin LOL... Peace

Pete
 
Well....

Managed to sell my van yesterday and going to get a 4x4 truck to play with now. I was talking about stereos and amps and speakers with my wife for the truck and she was like... OH I thought you were going to be building custom speakers and stereo amps for the house first LOL>.. So she has got me there. Been looking around here a lot lately at the various different styles of speakers and amps etc. I need to narrow it down so I can start ordering some drivers and cabinet plywood. It is never gonna get built until I get started on it LOL... Thanks for all the ideas and information guys.

I see Jim is in Cookeville, I need to find my next truck in Nashville or Cookville so I can have a good excuse for cruising on by his place to see and hear all those cool speaker designs he built HINT HINT... LOL Thanks Jim. Peace

Pete
 
Woohoo...

Just got off the phone with Scott from this forum and was invited to my first ever DIYaudio gathering here in Knoxville. Apparently they have meetings semi frequently and this is the first one I will be attending. I am looking forward to meeting everyone and seeing and hearing some cool stuff. The venue is Scott's House and it is a short drive from me which is also very nice. Hoping to learn a bit of good stuff and see some of this DIY wizardry in person. Thanks for the Invite guys!! Peace

Pete
 
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