OK, another question: For a novice at woodworking with minimal tools, what's the best way to cut the driver opening? A 3.5" hole saw is over $17. Seems a bit much just to cut two holes. I have a RotoZip ZR1. Apparently RotoZip makes a couple of circle cutting attachments, but the reviews on Amazon for those are not exactly encouraging (and they are not any cheaper than the hole saw).
Should I just try using the RotoZip and make the cut with as steady a hand as I can?
Should I just try using the RotoZip and make the cut with as steady a hand as I can?
fishline said:
I finished my merrill zigmahornets this morning. I used a jugsaw to cut the holes. It was actually quite easy - but a dremel with drum sander attachment made the finishing off of the hole much easier.
Overall I am very satisfied with my first diy speakers
They sound very bright and clear. For light classical music with a bit of eq tweaking on my amp i get a really nice sound. Even to the point where with all the different genres of music I tested I could get satisfying bass from them - I truly am impressed.My next step is to play around with an old 8" 100-150w rms ported sub+amp that my brother built a few years back. Want to use it together with my ziggies, but I don't know if I should use a xo and at which frequency, or just use a low pass filter on the sub etc. I am just scratching my head because I am lacking a bit in the low (very low?) mids when listening to music with more meat.
Without measurement, it will take some fair amount of experimentation to find what works, so just hook up and start playing.
FWIW, I'm just using the low-pass on my sub, set at about 100 hz. Finding that spot was just trial and error, as I had no gear (and not much inclination anyway) to find out where the Zig starts to roll off. Once you find the sweet spot, you've got to play with the gain on the sub amp. This has been an exercise in frustration, due, in part at least, to extremely inconsistent recording techniques. What sounds "right" with one recording is all wrong with another. I suspect that part of the problem is that this is a larger mono sub woofer, crossed over too high for the task's it's been handed. It's an improvement, in general, but far from ideal. If I stick with smaller drivers, I will be playing with separate subs in the future.
FWIW, I'm just using the low-pass on my sub, set at about 100 hz. Finding that spot was just trial and error, as I had no gear (and not much inclination anyway) to find out where the Zig starts to roll off. Once you find the sweet spot, you've got to play with the gain on the sub amp. This has been an exercise in frustration, due, in part at least, to extremely inconsistent recording techniques. What sounds "right" with one recording is all wrong with another. I suspect that part of the problem is that this is a larger mono sub woofer, crossed over too high for the task's it's been handed. It's an improvement, in general, but far from ideal. If I stick with smaller drivers, I will be playing with separate subs in the future.
I am now temporarily using my ziggies as satellites on my logitech z-640 system (replacing the original sats and discarding the rear speakers). This works quite good seeing that the built in amp starts crossing over from the sub to the sats at like 80hz up to like 220hz. I am a student and apart from this only have a seperate hi-fi amp and no money so I'm just making the best use of what I have. Using the ziggies in this way relieves the drivers from LF so they actually sound better in the mids. Unfortunately the 8" sub doesn't have much definition and can only reach ~45hz - but at least this is overall the clearest and nicest sounding soundsystem I've ever had.
Next I'd like to toy with dual subs (for better sound definition) and my own xo/low pass circuits to get the levels how I like it. Just a question, since being a noob please bear with me, but does adding a sub(s) defeat the whole FR purpose, or is this a gray area?
pierre
Next I'd like to toy with dual subs (for better sound definition) and my own xo/low pass circuits to get the levels how I like it. Just a question, since being a noob please bear with me, but does adding a sub(s) defeat the whole FR purpose, or is this a gray area?
pierre
I'm nearly done building the cabinets. Question first, though this might be a bit too late: How thick the sound-damping material should I use? I use the polyester batting that I guess is used in quilts, folded them four layers thick, and stapled that to the inside (back and two sides). However, that seems a bit thick. The driver magnet would probably touch the material on the sides when installed. Could this be a problem? I already glued the front baffles on, so removing some material might be challenging, but possible.
The angle cuts are really the most challenging part of the project. It turns out that I have a jig saw in the set of Ryobi tools that I bought a few years ago, and never used the jig saw. Using that to cut the driver opening is fairly easy. It's not a perfect circle, but close enough. Can't see the imperfection with the driver installed.
Can't wait to finish up and try. Will post pics when all done.
The angle cuts are really the most challenging part of the project. It turns out that I have a jig saw in the set of Ryobi tools that I bought a few years ago, and never used the jig saw. Using that to cut the driver opening is fairly easy. It's not a perfect circle, but close enough. Can't see the imperfection with the driver installed.
Can't wait to finish up and try. Will post pics when all done.
jrn77478 said:
Hardly the least, I'd say. That's what it's all about. Well done.
Gray, for sure, and that's not a bad thing for a DIY'er. It's an area that, for me at least (being a bass-head), is one full of potential improvements. And that's what it's all about, right?
Your post brought a smile to my face. This was my very first project, and I have to say I am very satisfied. These babies are amazing in sound clarity. In the equivalence of USD it cost me less than 45 bucks in total to build. I am so hooked on this now, and it's great, since I'm studying electrical/electronic engineering and I need a hobby in this field
. And I guess having played a musical instrument for over 10 years also makes it more rewarding for me. I mainly listen to hardcore/metal, but although my more classical taste sound superb through these, with the help of the sub, these handle Becoming The Archetype really well! So being a basshead and me being a noob, what kind of sub (sealed, ported, diameter etc etc) do you suggest, or, what is your bass specs and are you satisfied with them? What genre(s) do you listen to (through these)?There're "done"! I just need to stain/varnish them, and attach a base. (They sit on wood floor currently, so I can do w/o bases for now, I guess.) They are playing now. Volume-wise they are the same as my Infinity Primus P162 (rated 90db), so I guess the sensitivity is about the same.
Perhaps last question (and my previous one is still unanswered): How large a base do you folks make to make them stable? The pictures in the 6moons review show a rather small base, and I wonder if that's sufficient to keep them stable.
Will post pics when all done.
Perhaps last question (and my previous one is still unanswered): How large a base do you folks make to make them stable? The pictures in the 6moons review show a rather small base, and I wonder if that's sufficient to keep them stable.
Will post pics when all done.
snorbaard said:
The current sub is a cheap-o 10" ported job. It helps a lot, but frankly, I feel that there is much more room for improvement in this area. I'm wanting "tighter" and "faster" at the bottom end, to be a better match with the FR driver's low end. I'm considering a pair of sealed enclosures with 8" drivers, but I just don't know. More research is probably in order.
My musical taste is all over the place, but I find myself spending the most time listening to acoustic blues (Rory Block, Lucinda Williams) and folk/bluegrass (David Bromberg, Allison Krauss), with a healthy side of a capella vocal sub-genere's thrown in (The Nylons, Ladysmith Black Mambazzo, Manhattan Transfer). Then again, I try to listen to at least some sacred music (BB King, Eric Clapton, Stevie Ray Vaughn) every day too.
As promised, here's a picture of the finished ziggies. They are hooked up to the tiny Nuforce Icon, fed from my desktop PC running Foobar2000/asio4all. There's also an Infinity PS8 sub under the desk.
Here's a summary of how I put them together:
I had the lumbaryard where I bought the 5'x5' Baltic birch ply cut the eight strips, four of them at 4-3/4" wide (for front and back) and the others at just a bit shy of 3" (for the sides). I then cut a pair of the 4-3/4" wide strips to the length of the front baffle, the top edge at 22.5 degree angle. That leaves just enough to make the slanting top pieces, and basically at the correct 22.5 degree angle as well, on one edge. The top pieces will have the 22.5 degree joint with the front, and butt joint with the back (with sides of the top exposed on the back). I then cut the sides and backs to sizes.
I first glue the sides to the back. While the glue was drying, I use the foam gaskets that came with the fostex drivers to mark the driver openings on the front baffles and cut them out with a jigsaw. I also cut and glue the two small pieces of wood (on each speaker) for the "mouth" at the bottom.
Next I stapled the damping felt to the sides and back right behind where the drivers would be (about 12" wide and nearly 1/2" thick). I then drilled the holes for the speaker terminals, just below the felt material. Next, the terminals had the wires soldered on and installed.
Next I glued on the front baffles, then the top. Then the cabinets are sanded, patched with wood filler and sanded again. Three coats of cherry stain and two coats of satin polyurethane were then put on. Finally I soldered the wires to the drivers and installed the drivers (pre-drilling pilot holes for the screws). The bases are 10"x10" and painted satin black. They are attached last.
I've been burning them in 24/7 for about 2 weeks now. They really sound quite good to me. They certainly exceeded my expectation by far, given my very limited woodworking skill.
Thanks to all for the help with my questions!
Cheers,
Andy
I
Here's a summary of how I put them together:
I had the lumbaryard where I bought the 5'x5' Baltic birch ply cut the eight strips, four of them at 4-3/4" wide (for front and back) and the others at just a bit shy of 3" (for the sides). I then cut a pair of the 4-3/4" wide strips to the length of the front baffle, the top edge at 22.5 degree angle. That leaves just enough to make the slanting top pieces, and basically at the correct 22.5 degree angle as well, on one edge. The top pieces will have the 22.5 degree joint with the front, and butt joint with the back (with sides of the top exposed on the back). I then cut the sides and backs to sizes.
I first glue the sides to the back. While the glue was drying, I use the foam gaskets that came with the fostex drivers to mark the driver openings on the front baffles and cut them out with a jigsaw. I also cut and glue the two small pieces of wood (on each speaker) for the "mouth" at the bottom.
Next I stapled the damping felt to the sides and back right behind where the drivers would be (about 12" wide and nearly 1/2" thick). I then drilled the holes for the speaker terminals, just below the felt material. Next, the terminals had the wires soldered on and installed.
Next I glued on the front baffles, then the top. Then the cabinets are sanded, patched with wood filler and sanded again. Three coats of cherry stain and two coats of satin polyurethane were then put on. Finally I soldered the wires to the drivers and installed the drivers (pre-drilling pilot holes for the screws). The bases are 10"x10" and painted satin black. They are attached last.
I've been burning them in 24/7 for about 2 weeks now. They really sound quite good to me. They certainly exceeded my expectation by far, given my very limited woodworking skill.
Thanks to all for the help with my questions!
Cheers,
Andy
I
Attachments
They look superb, Andy. Glad to read that they sound great too - I had been considering building these too but after reading round I have decided to have a go at constructing a pair of Suzy Changs instead so I bought the 107Es - anybody know how the 107s would fair in the 'ziggies should I decide to change my mind back?
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