Here's a photo of my latest build FH3 speakers:
These are finished in a light stained American Cherry veneer and have the new Mark Audio Alpair7 gen3 drivers installed.
I must say these gen3 drivers are a step up in performance from the gen2 drivers I have in my Ash veneered FH3 speakers. They can be alikened to the Dr Who 'Tardis' in that the sound and performance from this combination belies their size.
These are finished in a light stained American Cherry veneer and have the new Mark Audio Alpair7 gen3 drivers installed.
I must say these gen3 drivers are a step up in performance from the gen2 drivers I have in my Ash veneered FH3 speakers.
They can be alikened to the Dr Who 'Tardis' in that the sound and performance from this combination belies their size. Ah lads, I've had a bad night.
I done the rebates and had the drivers sitting flush (one little mistake on one side, but nothing that couldn't be sorted out)....... then one of the drivers which I had just put down over balanced and fell!!
Damage was a good dent and a tiny tear in the dustcap and a much smaller slight mark on the driver. GRRRRRRR
I'm absolutely raging!! Can't believe I did that. Now on the upside I can detect no change (by ear) of any sonic penalty, but looks terrible. Anyway, they've more than completed the first stage of burn in at very low volume. They're back on again at a little higher volume until tomorrow night.
GRRR, double GRRRRRR and treble GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Fran
I done the rebates and had the drivers sitting flush (one little mistake on one side, but nothing that couldn't be sorted out)....... then one of the drivers which I had just put down over balanced and fell!!
Damage was a good dent and a tiny tear in the dustcap and a much smaller slight mark on the driver. GRRRRRRR
I'm absolutely raging!! Can't believe I did that. Now on the upside I can detect no change (by ear) of any sonic penalty, but looks terrible. Anyway, they've more than completed the first stage of burn in at very low volume. They're back on again at a little higher volume until tomorrow night.
GRRR, double GRRRRRR and treble GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR
Fran
eMail me with detail of the file format the CNC guys need (DXF/DWG/native vectorworks and the version they can deal with).
Note that the only parts that benefit from a typical 3-axis CNC are the sides and the rebate on the baffle. All the other pieces have to go thru a table saw even if CNCed. By the time those panels were even programmed in, they could be stacked & finished by the guy with the table saw
Cut sheets in the plans would need adjustment to allow for the larger kerf required by a CNC.
dave
Note that the only parts that benefit from a typical 3-axis CNC are the sides and the rebate on the baffle. All the other pieces have to go thru a table saw even if CNCed. By the time those panels were even programmed in, they could be stacked & finished by the guy with the table saw
Cut sheets in the plans would need adjustment to allow for the larger kerf required by a CNC.
dave
Here's a photo of my latest build FH3 speakers:
BBbbeauutifullllll. Accomplishment! Proud, yes?
Poultrygeist,
By that I assume you mean the outrigger supports?
If so, you need 4-lengths of 1" x 1/8"(or 3/16") x 12" strips of steel or aluminium, some of these: SPS-35/GO, and 8 of these: DIN466 Knurled Nuts. And a set of M6 taps to threaded holes through the metal strip.
Or you can order a fully made up set for £40.00 UKP + shipping to USA direct from me
Forgot to mention you will need some M6 threaded inserts and M6 x 1/2" mushroom head bolts to fix to the underside of the speakers
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Poultrygeist,
By that I assume you mean the outrigger supports?
If so, you need 4-lengths of 1" x 1/8"(or 3/16") x 12" strips of steel or aluminium, some of these: SPS-35/GO, and 8 of these: DIN466 Knurled Nuts. And a set of M6 taps to threaded holes through the metal strip.
Or you can order a fully made up set for £40.00 UKP + shipping to USA direct from me
Forgot to mention you will need some M6 threaded inserts and M6 x 1/2" mushroom head bolts to fix to the underside of the speakers
Colin, after getting a price quote from our friendly neighborhood machine and powder-coat plating shop, that's an excellent bargain.
Mmmm, you guys are spot on with your advice. It sounds much better now than before - no doubt due to the rebate into the baffle, the bevelled inside edge and of course some burn in (~60 hrs now).
I'm really quite impressed with these!! They do a lot of things very right. Bass is very good and tight, and low enough to be satisfying without recourse to subs. Careful placement helps a lot with soundstage, in particular the toe-in seems important in my room at least (less toe-in than my sachikos).
The one thing they weren't so hot on early on was complicated music, but that is definitely better now than earlier. Still not as "capable" as the much bigger sachikos, but I wouldn't give any word on this yet - maybe after another 60-100 hours. Let me state again, they are improving at this, and seem likely to improve more. If that does happen, it removes one of the only niggles with this speaker.
Sensitivity seems lower than the sachiko, but to be honest that is not a bad thing maybe!!
Fran
I'm really quite impressed with these!! They do a lot of things very right. Bass is very good and tight, and low enough to be satisfying without recourse to subs. Careful placement helps a lot with soundstage, in particular the toe-in seems important in my room at least (less toe-in than my sachikos).
The one thing they weren't so hot on early on was complicated music, but that is definitely better now than earlier. Still not as "capable" as the much bigger sachikos, but I wouldn't give any word on this yet - maybe after another 60-100 hours. Let me state again, they are improving at this, and seem likely to improve more. If that does happen, it removes one of the only niggles with this speaker.
Sensitivity seems lower than the sachiko, but to be honest that is not a bad thing maybe!!
Fran
Today I made some extended baffles - just a U-shaped piece of mdf that sits flush with the baffle and extends it by 130mm all round. I left the amp running playing loud - but not very loud (just to let it all warm up). Anyhow, I get back after a few minutes and I notice a dent in one of the drivers Grr.
Looks like I over drove the drivers - it wasn't that loud - Is this normal/possible etc etc?
Must post this over in the mark audio section....
Fran
Grr.Looks like I over drove the drivers - it wasn't that loud - Is this normal/possible etc etc?
Must post this over in the mark audio section....
Fran
With FE126E's? While this driver is not normally considered a great candidate for a small vented enclosure due to the resultant very poor low frequency performance, an HT system with full bass management etc, could certainly be an exception.
Whenever possible, I think it's best to use the same driver model across the front row, and obviously some installations have more constraints on size & placement of center channel enclosure. For the FE126E, something between 4-6 liters, tuned for around 110-120Hz should suffice. The dimensions could be massaged to as short in height as under 5". Drop Dave an email at the P-10 link, and he could probably find a sketch in his archives, or throw some new pixels at it quickly enough.
The "sketch" is in my head. I just need to find a 1/2 hr to draw it up. I'm working on a 1v0 release of the FH3 document, with updates to everything done so far including removable vestigial supraBaffle. I'll add this little centre to the FH3 appendix.
dave