Hello Everyone,
I've been researching on the Zigmahornets for some time now and have a few questions. Before everything else, I have to say that I am a complete novice and have no access to any wood-working tools. The Ziggies I settled on since it would fit perfectly to the requirements of my room. Being in London and poor, that means I have very limited floor space, so a slim floorstander was the only solution and plus the Ziggies would have no qualms being placed near a wall/corner. I'm planning to partner it with the Trends Audio TA 10.1, but over at the TNT-Audio website, it is recommended to get speakers with 92-93 db of sensitivity. Now that pushes the Fostex FE-103e out of the picture (am I right?), the driver the Ziggies were originally paired with. If I wanted to go with the higher sensitivity FE-126e/-127e, that would require increasing the width of the original design by, for me a safe number, 20mm, to accomodate the drivers. Now, is that a no-no when it comes to enclosure design? Between the 126e and the 127e, which would you recommend? I listen mostly to electronic/a, blues/jazz, and folk/acoustic.
Currently, I am looking for timber merchants who do angled cuts since I am not able to achieve those at home. It's looking like there isn't. My other route might be to ask a local carpenter to build them for me. I hope my budget manages to stretch it.
For any UK peeps about with experience with the Ziggies, how much money am I looking at? Suggestions?
Thanks in advance.
I've been researching on the Zigmahornets for some time now and have a few questions. Before everything else, I have to say that I am a complete novice and have no access to any wood-working tools. The Ziggies I settled on since it would fit perfectly to the requirements of my room. Being in London and poor, that means I have very limited floor space, so a slim floorstander was the only solution and plus the Ziggies would have no qualms being placed near a wall/corner. I'm planning to partner it with the Trends Audio TA 10.1, but over at the TNT-Audio website, it is recommended to get speakers with 92-93 db of sensitivity. Now that pushes the Fostex FE-103e out of the picture (am I right?), the driver the Ziggies were originally paired with. If I wanted to go with the higher sensitivity FE-126e/-127e, that would require increasing the width of the original design by, for me a safe number, 20mm, to accomodate the drivers. Now, is that a no-no when it comes to enclosure design? Between the 126e and the 127e, which would you recommend? I listen mostly to electronic/a, blues/jazz, and folk/acoustic.
Currently, I am looking for timber merchants who do angled cuts since I am not able to achieve those at home. It's looking like there isn't. My other route might be to ask a local carpenter to build them for me. I hope my budget manages to stretch it.
For any UK peeps about with experience with the Ziggies, how much money am I looking at? Suggestions?Thanks in advance.
I would stick with the original driver for the enclosure. My reading (some time ago) about these made me think the driver and enclosure were a happy combination and fiddling might result in poor results.
I wouldn't get too caught up with sensitivity vs amp power - if you are using them in a small room, you won't need huge amounts of power. I've been using a Naim Nait for years with speakers of lower sensitivity than the 89dB minimum they recommend.
Re timber merchants and cutting. Most will only do the straight cuts for you (eg travis perkins) but a kitchen builder or carpenter should quote you for cutting, allowing you to do the assembly. I think it's only the cut at the top that's angled, so get everything else done and have a go at the last yourself (or find a tooled up mate, if you see what I mean.) What you need is a woodworking hi-fi enthusiast who can be tempted into helping in order to find out how they sound ...
Hope this helps.
I wouldn't get too caught up with sensitivity vs amp power - if you are using them in a small room, you won't need huge amounts of power. I've been using a Naim Nait for years with speakers of lower sensitivity than the 89dB minimum they recommend.
Re timber merchants and cutting. Most will only do the straight cuts for you (eg travis perkins) but a kitchen builder or carpenter should quote you for cutting, allowing you to do the assembly. I think it's only the cut at the top that's angled, so get everything else done and have a go at the last yourself (or find a tooled up mate, if you see what I mean.) What you need is a woodworking hi-fi enthusiast who can be tempted into helping in order to find out how they sound ...
Hope this helps.
The 103 should work great with the trends amp. You may consider a BIB using the 126 or 127 if you can spare a bit more floor space. Any of these speakers will work nicely with a digital amp.
http://www.zillaspeak.com/bib.asp
Godzilla
http://www.zillaspeak.com/bib.asp
Godzilla
There is an article in Affordable Audio about FE126 in the ZigmaHornet.
Keep in mind that the ZH is a seat of the pants design and not really optimal for any driver (a WAG would be that if it had 2x as much cross-section and half as much height it would be closer to optimum.
Still quite a few people are very happy with them (and at least a few not),
If you need something that takes up little floorspace, look at the Fonken Floorstander. Designed for a fellow half-way round the world from you with the same space issues.
dave
Keep in mind that the ZH is a seat of the pants design and not really optimal for any driver (a WAG would be that if it had 2x as much cross-section and half as much height it would be closer to optimum.
Still quite a few people are very happy with them (and at least a few not),
If you need something that takes up little floorspace, look at the Fonken Floorstander. Designed for a fellow half-way round the world from you with the same space issues.
dave
Thanks for the offer mate. But I saw a mitre saw in B&Q (Home Depot to you yanks) selling for £17.99 and I think I must just get it and have a go myself. It does angled cuts so it should do the job. I just pray my speaker cabinets don't end up with "organic extra parts". I've got another question though: The base of the cabinets will be small and therefore would need to be fairly heavy/thick, so I was wondering what type wood I should be using and also, how best to mount the actual 'body' to the base.
Thanks again for the tips/responses.
Thanks again for the tips/responses.
I'm really eager to find out how to secure the body to the base. Am I right in thinking that it is best to have a 'no-nails' application (bar the base part)? I now have the finances in order and just waiting for a free time off work to find any local cabinet makers as I've read around here that some of them are willing to have you use their machinery for a song.
Been phoning up timber merchants and the only one I've found so far who grades or know the grades of their stock only have 18mm BB grade birch ply (the same seller has 12mm of bb/wg grade). The ones that have 12mm have no idea what the grade is (should I assume these to be non-BB?). 
Anyone know of any merchants in London or near Croydon, Wimbledon?
Anyone know of any merchants in London or near Croydon, Wimbledon?
Thanks for the help again Al. I've already checked their website before and it doesn't seem to show any grading scheme. But since you vouch for them and that they are catered too to hobbyists, I should be safe. Any grade of wood will be reduced to grade papier-mache anyway once they're in my hands. I don't wanna waste the wood and the part I'm dreading is securing the walls of the cabinet to the base/platform using screws parallel to the wood width. Any tips on how to do a near 90 degree drill? I couldn't find a cheap portable drill guide at my local B&Q so I'm looking for other solutions.
Received my Trends Audio amp today so there's no turning back for me. Good or bad, I'll find out eventually.
I don't wanna waste the wood and the part I'm dreading is securing the walls of the cabinet to the base/platform using screws parallel to the wood width. Any tips on how to do a near 90 degree drill? I couldn't find a cheap portable drill guide at my local B&Q so I'm looking for other solutions. Received my Trends Audio amp today so there's no turning back for me. Good or bad, I'll find out eventually.
I built the Zigmas with Dave Merrill's drivers. I like them.
I secured the base to the body with 'liquid nails'. I don't know if you have it in the UK, but it is just a really strong wood glue, polyurethane based, I think. It is thick and grey, and comes in a caulk type bottle.
Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about the type of wood/mdf. IMHO, these speakers are not so hi-fi they need really specific parts. And about cutting: if I were starting out, I would buy a circular saw and a router, also getting a fine toothed blade, use MDF, and a 45degree router bit. You'd probably need some clamps and straight-edges for cutting. Glue everything. I would expect the cost to be near the same as paying someone to do it, and you'll never have to pay someone to do it again. (Warning: this hobby is addictive.) Anyway, a circular saw and router allow you to do just about everything you need.
I do have some reservations about the speakers - they have no bass, and I mean nothing below about 100Hz. And since I have other speakers, I just don't end up using the Ziggies. I would consider trying to integrate a sub somehow. Also, these speakers really need baffle step compensation. I think I posted the parts I'm using in another thread. But these are nice speakers. They image very very well. Have fun.
I secured the base to the body with 'liquid nails'. I don't know if you have it in the UK, but it is just a really strong wood glue, polyurethane based, I think. It is thick and grey, and comes in a caulk type bottle.
Personally, I wouldn't worry too much about the type of wood/mdf. IMHO, these speakers are not so hi-fi they need really specific parts. And about cutting: if I were starting out, I would buy a circular saw and a router, also getting a fine toothed blade, use MDF, and a 45degree router bit. You'd probably need some clamps and straight-edges for cutting. Glue everything. I would expect the cost to be near the same as paying someone to do it, and you'll never have to pay someone to do it again. (Warning: this hobby is addictive.) Anyway, a circular saw and router allow you to do just about everything you need.
I do have some reservations about the speakers - they have no bass, and I mean nothing below about 100Hz. And since I have other speakers, I just don't end up using the Ziggies. I would consider trying to integrate a sub somehow. Also, these speakers really need baffle step compensation. I think I posted the parts I'm using in another thread. But these are nice speakers. They image very very well. Have fun.
- Status
- This old topic is closed. If you want to reopen this topic, contact a moderator using the "Report Post" button.