My new version of the build for the SEAS Exotic F8 as detailed in the thread https://www.diyaudio.com/community/threads/seas-exotic-f8-speaker-build.382000/page-3.
alpair 11ms drivers - soon to be replaced with maop 11's
double ply walls all round - insulation sandwiched in top, bottom & front panels
lined with metisse & tuned by adding/removing 'loose' herdwick wool
sealed unit sits 'in' bespoke floorstand
front panels incorporate Smile Plastics charcoal 5mm planks (recycled yoghurt pots, etc) to provide recess to flush mount driver
amazing soundstage, surprisingly good bass
cabinet based on scott's water buffalo design but... I'm no techical nor skilled at stuff, so it aint true to the design; but it works for me!
Attachments
Arghh... with some difficulty. Its not pretty, having limited tools/skills, but yes, we got there... the external dia of the cutout is a snug 145mm tapering to 200mm dia on the inside face. I got a local joinery firm with a cnc machine to cut the fascia before laminating it to the play front.
On some speakers I made a few years ago, I wanted some 45deg chamfer on the driver cut outs, so I glued the discs left over from hole sawing together, and turned the outside to 45 deg, then glued (with contact adhesive) some 60 grit clothed backed aluminium oxide to it. I used it for the cut outs, and it worked really well - but recently I wanted to do the same with much larger cut outs, so I tried the same tool, orbiting the front baffle around on the pillar drill table as the tool spun in the Chuck, and it worked really well again. Perhaps I should make another one with 400 grit.
Thanks for the support. It was my self-imposed 'apprentice piece' using hand tools & a power drill with some borrowed router bits so, rough & ready as it may be, it was a very satisfying project. AND the outcome is: I have a pair of 1.2M floorstanders (incl plinth & tapered industrial rubber feet [which outperform spikes by a country mile]) that occasionally get exposed to a dance/dj set, are rarely touched by thrash metal, mostly delivering choral/vocal/jazzsound/orchestral sounds... & they do a pretty damn good job to a set of ears that are nowhere near as good as they used to be. Context is everything: The listening room in the attic is approx 10' x 12' with sloping ceilings, a velux window & cheaply carpeted hardboard floor on roofing joists; nothing has to be cranked up. Sources are a Thorens TD403, Lejonklou Gaio, Audionote CDT-Zero, a MusicalFidelity clic preamp/dac & Naim nap100
I'm looking forward to seeing if the moap11's (which I'm told should simply slot right in) raise the game. They're on the way...
So, a result! By accident - certainly not by design on my part - I seem to have a helpful ceiling arrangement. ... I've read thru a fair few threads on this forum &, whilst fascinated & intrigued, have to admit I'm well out of my depth with much/most of the levels of knowledge. Without wanting to be crass or petulant, I'm happy with what I've achieved so far - a fortuitous diamond in the rough, perhaps? After all that I've read it seems that maybe the moap drivers - lauded as the 'best of' the MA range - will shine a little brighter... ? Or maybe my cloth ears will struggle to know any different? We'll soon find out as, according to the tracker, they're "in transit"... I'm just hoping they are dimensionally the same as the A11MS (as is claimed), or I'll be wielding that big rasp again!
... I've read thru a fair few threads on this forum &, whilst fascinated & intrigued, have to admit I'm well out of my depth with much/most of the levels of knowledge. Without wanting to be crass or petulant, I'm happy with what I've achieved so far - a fortuitous diamond in the rough, perhaps? After all that I've read it seems that maybe the moap drivers - lauded as the 'best of' the MA range - will shine a little brighter... ? Or maybe my cloth ears will struggle to know any different? We'll soon find out as, according to the tracker, they're "in transit"... I'm just hoping they are dimensionally the same as the A11MS (as is claimed), or I'll be wielding that big rasp again!
I have a sloping wall but it is on one side of the room. Maybe not affect that much but is the best room to listen in the house.
Most of the rooms are square and they are not good for listening to music.
I have heard of rooms that have sloping walls on 2 sides. It seems that these rooms are optimal.
Most of the rooms are square and they are not good for listening to music.
I have heard of rooms that have sloping walls on 2 sides. It seems that these rooms are optimal.
I have tried 10Maop in a miniOnken cab ~12 liters and in a large 58 liter cab.
It didn't get better for me to turn up the volume. A slightly lower bass but not at all that accurate sound image. I think 10maop needs less volume to do its best.
11MS seems to like a bigger cab. It is a bit faster than Maop.
I don't know how long time you have been playing with 11MS.
100 hours to 150 hours minimum to get the optimal sound.
It didn't get better for me to turn up the volume. A slightly lower bass but not at all that accurate sound image. I think 10maop needs less volume to do its best.
11MS seems to like a bigger cab. It is a bit faster than Maop.
I don't know how long time you have been playing with 11MS.
100 hours to 150 hours minimum to get the optimal sound.
I've run the 11MS for the past year or so, probably averaging 3 hours/day over that time, so I guess they're well 'run-in'; but I'm truly not sure how far I should go in terms of trying to "improve" things. My bank manager would no doubt say the 11maops ought to be the last wad of cash thrown at the speaker experiment. And my ears are probably struggling to tell the difference any more! But I have really enjoyed the journey. We'll see what the 11maops bring
.As for the cabinet volume? I'd guess it ended up about 38 litres.
Yep. Dave, as far as I'm aware, that was the intention of the designer of the inspiration for my cabinet, i.e. the Water Buffalo cabinet, Dr.Scott Lindgren
As a crass chancer I know I've desicrated the integrity of that design but in the process it appears I've come up with something that works for me & my environment (at least, as far as I can tell). I presume it works on the Mass Loading Transmission Line principle but, for me, it works.
The 11maops landed today, so (after a running-in period) I'll be able to offer a view as to whether (1) they are physically identical to the 11MS, (2) if I can tell any difference, (3) if there's improvement (in my opinion) and (4) how happy I might be about the additional £340 [$550 Canadian] I just threw at this project.
While I'm here I will also admit to having misled my partner by telling her the package that arrived is "just an upgrade"
As a crass chancer I know I've desicrated the integrity of that design but in the process it appears I've come up with something that works for me & my environment (at least, as far as I can tell). I presume it works on the Mass Loading Transmission Line principle but, for me, it works.
The 11maops landed today, so (after a running-in period) I'll be able to offer a view as to whether (1) they are physically identical to the 11MS, (2) if I can tell any difference, (3) if there's improvement (in my opinion) and (4) how happy I might be about the additional £340 [$550 Canadian] I just threw at this project.
While I'm here I will also admit to having misled my partner by telling her the package that arrived is "just an upgrade"