FR driver minitriangle cabs

[toobhed]

Hi Folks, (note: this was posted to the Planet10 forum here but is being re-posted now here in FR)

I have several pairs of 3"-4" drivers around that didn't make the cut for great cabs (Planet10's fonken and mMar flatpaks and Parts express .25 cf), so I've decided to design my own mini "triangle speaker" (kind of a microstage monitor):...a sealed triangle (basically half of an 8" x 8" cube) of 5/8" ply that will sit on my kitchens butcher-block desk-PC home up against the wall. The drivers will fire up and out at a 45 degree angle.

I have no idea how they'll turn out but I'm hoping that the speaker's tinyness will be in part offset by its placement snug on the desk back against a wall. They'll be augmented by a subwoofer placed under the desk. The drivers will be decided between fostex 103, Tang Band 4" paper, Aurasound 3.5" and Vifa 3.5". I'll post on my progress and provide plans and photos near completion......

Mario

[toobhed]

Well, so far I've learned that to get good wood cuts/panels for a speaker, you probably need a skill saw and skill, both of which I lack. So I tortured some plywood into horrible panels with a jigsaw only and used tons of woodfiller/putty making them airtight. This was quite depressing especially as it was after building a beautifully cut P10 mFonken flatpac (Thanks Dave!)....like going from a Bentley to a Yugo.

Thus this will become a "beta". If, this weekend, they end up sounding ok, I'll have either the lumber yard or a cabinet maker cut proper peices so that they may actually line up at the joints and I'll finish with stain and laquer. Below is what I have so far and will sand, primer and spraypaint before the acoustic evaluation....stay tuned and I'm sure you experienced carpenters of speaker builders will have a laugh at this photo.

Mario

[toobhed]

Here are the completed mockups (I know, lousy cellphone pic) in red. I tested them on my desktop against the backwall and they sounded to boomy...they sounded better moved closer to me away from the backwall. They sounded even better (i.e., pretty good) on my backroom table away from any wall boundaries but aided with a subwoofer. I auditioned two drivers: TB 4" paper and the almost twice as expensive TB 4" bamboo and preferred the former. While the bamboo highs were a bit more refined, the paper delivered better mids and IMO better overall sound.

I'll go forward with constructing a "real pair" (where speaker panels are properly cut, total wood used is greater than total putty used and finished with natural stain/laquer) when I start my community college woodworking summer school class that will give me instruction and access to skillsaws, routers, etc....I can't wait!)

Mario

[planet10]

I have always been partial to triangles... good to see these.

dave