MARTELLO enclosure for FR88EX

[Bigun]

I was a bit worried about that. The felt was free though. I did notice a subjective change in the sound of my voice when I 'talk' into the opening - it sounds 'dead' compared to what it was before. Perhaps I can stuff some felt pieces inside the cavity ?

[Uncle Meat]

Add some "Poly-fluff"...

Mine are now in kinda TML style box, but" i.m still learnin how to crawl...

Joe

[Minus23]

Hello All,
I won these speakers in a raffle and they've been in the box for about 7 months. VERY, VERY interested in your opinions on this enclosure.

John

[Bigun]

Originally Posted by Minus23

Hello All,
I won these speakers in a raffle and they've been in the box for about 7 months. VERY, VERY interested in your opinions on this enclosure.

John

Hold on them speaker drivers John - if my first impressions hold true you'll be very pleased with these little marvels.

I've completed installing the felt lining on all surfaces. I've also finished the gluing up so I now have a complete box. I've hand-planed the edges flush and given the boxes an initial sanding also by hand - a fair bit of grunt work but it's quite satisfying.

p.s. you may have noticed in post9 the first image allows you to see that I've taken the wooden 'triangles' that were cut off the corners of the holey brace and glued them in the corners about half way between the brace and the bottom of the enclosure - the idea being to add a bit more stiffness (did I 'splain that OK?)

[Minus23]

Bigun,
Sounds good, I'll hold on to them since you posted a drawing for the enclosure. Before that, I didn't have any idea how to get started. Seems like a fairly easy build. Thanks.

John

P.S. - you have " 'splained " it well

[Bigun]

Glad to have provided some encouragement minus23 (with a name like that I assume you live somewhere north?)

I quite like these little boxes, fun to make when they're so easy to handle. Of course, simple doesn't mean it ain't gonna take some work.

I've sanded them further, filled cracks and dings, sanded a bit more, filled again, sanded again. I thought they were looking good so I splashed out on a can of primer. Since my last speaker project was a veneer & varnish finish I decided this time to try my hand at a painted finish just for the learning.

I've applied 3 coats of primer. It's brutal though, shows up every imperfection. Still I reckon this will allow me to better see them and fix 'em up. I'm aiming for at least 10 coats of primer for a solid foundation and to ensure a good coverage. First coat just tints the grain but as the coats go on the coverage improves. I'll need to get a bit more into the slot port.

I haven't decided on a final colour, maybe you fella's would like to profer a suggestion. I'm thinking red; Black is so 'local box store'

[chrisb]

Originally Posted by Bigun

Glad to have provided some encouragement minus23 (with a name like that I assume you live somewhere north?)

I quite like these little boxes, fun to make when they're so easy to handle. Of course, simple doesn't mean it ain't gonna take some work.

I've sanded them further, filled cracks and dings, sanded a bit more, filled again, sanded again. I thought they were looking good so I splashed out on a can of primer. Since my last speaker project was a veneer & varnish finish I decided this time to try my hand at a painted finish just for the learning.

I've applied 3 coats of primer. It's brutal though, shows up every imperfection. Still I reckon this will allow me to better see them and fix 'em up. I'm aiming for at least 10 coats of primer for a solid foundation and to ensure a good coverage. First coat just tints the grain but as the coats go on the coverage improves. I'll need to get a bit more into the slot port.

I haven't decided on a final colour, maybe you fella's would like to profer a suggestion. I'm thinking red; Black is so 'local box store'

maybe by the time you're finished with the painting, you'll appreciate the economy of materials and labor in a veneer job with clear coat finish?

FWIW, I've found the Tremclad texture products to do a decent job of hiding fabrication faux pas (or on back sides) but with the required several coats of color and clear top coats, you can easily spend more on product alone than the square foot cost of the veneer (and the total labor is probably less as well).

Mid brownish/reds are nice on boxes this size.

[Bigun]

I found before, that using Veneer also required a fair bit of time and care to get good results but anyhow, for this project the goal was to try something new so veneer was not an option.

I went for some Colonial Red. The boxes have had one coat so I could see what this colour looked like on them; trouble is that reds are difficult for digital cameras to capture accurately. Even with some editing the colours in the photo aren't quite right and they look much better in the flesh.

The boxes now need some gentle sanding and then several more coats. It won't be perfect, but I am liking the painted finish for small speakers.

[Bigun]

I've now got the speaker drivers installed in the enclosures and I'm listening to them through my Cellini tube amp.

The felt lining has addressed any issues with h.f. reflections inside the box and the fully glued up box now allows the tapered slot port to work properly - bass is excellent for such a small box and driver - I'm pleasantly surprised. Imaging and sound stage are good. So far I can't find fault - will continue listening.

I can quite easily get picky about my craftmanship - but the next pair I make will be perfect

I have it on record from the missus that WAF is very high

[gvimhoof]

Greetings!

By the time I zoomed your plans in enough to read, the numbers were too skewed to be recognizable. How low and how hi does that Fountek go? I've been looking at those for a while and you've definitely piqued my curiousity.

later,
G