tangband 3" full range w/ wood phase plug?

[AnthonyPT]

Hi


Doing the Gallo thing is where I started.

I had a pair purchased in San Fran when on

a visit to the USA. This was in 2000.

While I have not been able to match the driver

decoupling in the origninal Gallo balls I feel

that a 150mm sphere with the 517S1 or SA can

do a decent job even in an acrylic sphere that

was designed for lighting not audio. Besides has

anyone ever really seen a full measurement of a Gallo

ball? An OZ review did take them apart and found

sort of straws as stuffing! Then had a hard

time getting the unit back together. My acrylics

I call Calipsos are fine as long as you do not

drop them. Gallos dent if you drop them. Papier mache

might be the go. Its tough and when lacquered looks great.

My dentist loves the Gallos I bartered

for some bridge work !

Pictures show papier Mache lacquered unit and Acrylic

cored sphere.

AnthonyPT

 

[planet10]

and found sort of straws as stuffing!

I've seen straws used for aperiodic loading but not as stuffing... i can see how it might work thou.

Papier mache

An easiy to DIY approach, and something that is quite versatile -- quite complex shapes could be made. An artist friend does a lot of papier mache with good results. One of my favorites is the attached lawyer. We actually discussed building speakers this way, but then he moved...

dave

 

[planet10]

Pictures show papier Mache lacquered unit and Acrylic cored sphere.

Have you larger pictures?

dave

 

[AnthonyPT]

Here is the Papier Mache

 

[AnthonyPT]

Here are the acrylics with the
threads for light fitting use removed
ready to fit any 3" round driver
.

 

[planet10]

Here is the Papier Mache

Some major care to get that morroe finish!!! impressive

dave

 

[AnthonyPT]

Here is the 205mm ceramic stoneware
unit with a Axon 4 inch. IMHO very nice !
I have slightly smaller spheres that
will take 3" drivers but have not had the
time to cut the six holes for each sphere.
Tiring and tedious but worth it if you can do it.
Line it wiith a weighted core and rock wool.

AnthonyPT

 

[AnthonyPT]

As to the Lacquerware papier mache
work, Cambodia, Vietnam and Laos
do this sort of thing so well and at
low cost. Could do the same sort of
magic on a Paulownia wood sphere with the
right local contacts.

AnthonyPT

 

[motherone]

Anthony, all I can say is those are damn cool! I haven't seen something this spiffy in a long time. Thank's for the inspiration! I'm going to have to look into building some of these guys for sure, now!

Could you provide any more insight into how you're mounting the drivers? Any tricks to it, or is it pretty straight forward?

 

[AnthonyPT]

Hi motherone,

Thanks for the encouragement!

To mount drivers I find I generally use a sort of

blue tack or equivalent. I use a Jaycar

speaker sealant cat.CF-2762 it is grey and

then on the ceramic spheres it makes a very nice

gasket to support and seal the drivers. As you can see

I have used nylon nuts and bolts to perhaps help

decouple the driver. The TBW3-517 drivers I have used

steel nuts but mounted them with the heads also

facing outwards. I can then add short offsets (spacers) to add

a grill to deter fingers if necessary. The black support as seen

in the red lacquer picture is a plumbing ring but with rubber

edging which can be added to keep the driver positioned.

Wall mounting could be done with Altronics bracket Cat.H8012.

I have been playing with the Ikea speakers stands for a while.

See pictures. Putting weighted cores in the sphere really makes

life easier and overcomes a lot of issues. The 517s drivers seem to be

ok in a 150mm sphere but I will be trying a 200mm also.

The 517 door nob phase plugs, which are really what this thread

is about, sometimes needs to be reglued but have not had

anymore trouble with them since. Maybe a Dammar coating might

enhance things??

Check out these sites:

http://www.jaycar.com.au

http://www.altronics.com.au

For other ideas (small subs) check

http://www.historystones.com/noname4.html

 

[jim_vt]

for what it's worth, there is at least one DIY veteran who claims lower x-max sounds better:

I read that link - thanks for providing me with a source of a good laugh

Apparently, he's not very familar with XBL^2 (even though he makes mention of them), LMT or any of the other low-distortion, high-excursion drivers that are out there today. Most of the problems he described have been significantly reduced/eliminated on modern driver designs, even under/overhung ones.

It was an enjoyable read

 

[AnthonyPT]

Hi

In my last post about spheres and the 517 drivers I

must have been having a bad hair day ! It should have

said "screws face outwards from within the sphere

then washers and nuts are used to hold the driver

on the sphere." I only use nuts and bolts on my subwoofers

after a screw and nut combo failed and the driver needed

refitting !

Regards

AnthonyPT