Merrill Driver: Which terminal is which?

[Wha' DIYa know?]

Maybe a stupid question, but does polarity matter, so long as both drivers are wired the same?

One lug is thicker than the other, which gave me pause to wonder if one of them is supposed to be + and the other -.

Thanks in advance for an answer on this one.

Brenton

PS, Zigmahornets almost done!

[chrisb]

that's a couple of questions, and guess what - at least one of them will have an arguable answer - i.e. "does absolute polarity matter?"

no politics from me on that one

re the other - FWIW, with car audio drivers the larger terminal is generally the positive

but an easy way to test is to use a AA battery and test leads - when the cone moves out, whichever terminal is connected to the + of the battery is the positive

[Wha' DIYa know?]

Thanks Chris,

I'll give this a try, being careful to avoid any political implications in so doing. ;-)

[loninappleton]

This is a tried and true test. It works fine. But like it says, the biggie is usually positive. The battery test is fun to do.

[gychang]

Originally posted by Wha' DIYa know?

PS, Zigmahornets almost done!

I am on my 2nd Zig with Merrill's drivers, love the 1st set. Would appreciate pictures and your impression...

gychang

[badman]

Originally posted by gychang



I am on my 2nd Zig with Merrill's drivers, love the 1st set. Would appreciate pictures and your impression...

gychang

I have a pair as well. Now that I made stable bases they're much better. Originally I'd undersized the bases and they were very tippy.

I'm in Tustin (and work in Irvine), if you ever feel like playing speakers, just PM me

[gychang]

Originally posted by badman


I have a pair as well. Now that I made stable bases they're much better. Originally I'd undersized the bases and they were very tippy.

I'm in Tustin (and work in Irvine), if you ever feel like playing speakers, just PM me

nice to see S. Ca. folks like these Ziggies. They sound good in addition.

gychang

[Wha' DIYa know?]

Gy'

I'm so close to being done, but I sprained my finger pretty badly on Sunday, and so getting everything done now has slowed to a snail pace.

But, my update is that advice received here worked brilliantly!

I got th e cabs stripped of goopy emusion, sanded, and began building up coats of glossy varathane. I'm up to, I think only 2 coats. Maybe it's 3, and it's starting to look really nice. Another 3 or 4 to go, I figure.

Then, I'll screw on the bases, install the drivers, move 'em into the living room and start to break them in.


One other problem I encountered along the way is that my mitre/chop saw doesn't retain, as it should, a 90 degree angle on the horizontal axis, when the vertical cutting angle is varied. So when I did my 45 degree and 22.5 degree cuts, my pieces didn't line up right. There were gaps.

Anyway, that was resolved with the use of planing, sanding, and a mixture of wood glue and sawdust to fill the remaining crevices. Irritating.

Then again, might be the carpenter's fault. What was it dad always said? "Measure once, cut twice"? ;-)

[chrisb]

Originally posted by Wha' DIYa know?
Gy'



Then again, might be the carpenter's fault. What was it dad always said? "Measure once, cut twice"? ;-)

or as my old man once noted "carpentry is a series of corrections for previous mistakes (yours and other's)"

and as Terry Olsen would add - it ain't DIY 'til the bondo highlights

[Wha' DIYa know?]

Muwha-hah-hah-hah-harrrrrrr!

Pardon me, but, at long last, they're .... ahhh, .... done.

Promise pix for you tomorrow.

Made pretty exactly acc. to plans, with the mod that I added carpet felt around the magnets, and on the back of the magnet.

No break in. Straight to listening.

First impression, speakers against the wall, like my bookshelf speakers, and thought Joni Mitchell sounded a bit congested as she sang about California.

Moved them out 18 inches or so -- better. Sound fuller. Not sure how they sound relative to my Linn Index II's. They do sound good. Joni gave me goose bumps on A Case of You. As did Ricky Lee Jones on Last Chance Texaco.

A good start, I think.

Not sure what to expect a break in period to do for 'em. Thoughts?



Gotta say, as a first build, I'm pretty pleased!

More to come.

Night all,

Brenton