porcelain enclosure speakers

[mvangel]

Hello DIY fans,

I have a crazy idea I would like to run sanity check with the more experience members of the forum.

The starting point is my problem with any DIY spaeker enclosure to bring a "shiny" proffesional finish. The easiest way to achieve this woudl be of course to bring the drawings to a profesional furniture shop around my place of residence, and in Bulgaria a box like
http://www.visaton.de/en/bauvorschla...toi/index.html
would be around 50+ EUR

As a solution for the shiny looking box I've got the idea from the forums on ceramic speakers:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums.....-3639.html
http://fullrangedriver.com/for.....php?id=410
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums.....1139431611


but my idea is to use semi pedestal like this:
http://www.fayans.bg/viewP.php.....&pic=0
or more images from google:
http://images.google.com/images?hl=e...-8&sa=N&tab=wi

basically to flip the semi pedestal, glue a baffle in the front with good drivers (fullrange or 2way) and glue a bottom . The baffle and the bottom could be spray paited with spacrling white or even black for more contrast.

The reason behind this is to have the great finish, the toughness of the pedestal and the great looking shape. Problems could be ringing of the porcelain, lack of any flexibility and succaptability to breakage.

For drivers I have no idea what to use. My starting point could be like this:
Visaton:
DT 94 8 Ohm http://www.visaton.de/en/chassis_zub...en/dt94_8.html
W 170 S 4 Ohm http://www.visaton.de/en/chassis_zub...n/w170s_8.html

Any ideas or suggestions whether this idea makes any sence?

[mvangel]

I am becoming curious; how come nobody from all the users of the forum doesn't have an opinion on this question?

[mvangel]

In order to make my dilemma more clear, I am posting now a draft rendering of the look of such speakers:




The rendering is not realistic as the final glossiness of the ceramic is missing and the drivers would not actually be the same, but the sketch should give an estimation why I consider the project interesting, as my main interest is in the shape.

br

[SY]

Originally posted by mvangel
I am becoming curious; how come nobody from all the users of the forum doesn't have an opinion on this question?

Because it's the middle of the night here?

If memory serves, David Weems did some enclosures out of ceramic chimney pipe. Seemed like a pretty good idea other than the ringiness (easy to fix with well-adhered damping material) and potential for breakage (no easy fix I can think of). Assembly looked to be dead easy. The lack of flexibility is a virtue!

[mvangel]

as I can't find a way to conveniently upload picture directly, please take a look the 3D model we did with a colleague today. I hope this will give a better understanding on the design inspiration for the idea:

white baffle:


black baffle:



For me from technological point of view it would be easier to do it with the black baffle, as the color difference of white would not be to intrusive.

Any comments on the design?

I am thinking about using the following drivers couple:
http://www.tb-speaker.com/detail/1208_03/25-302sh.htm
http://www.tb-speaker.com/detail/1208_03/w5-610sf.htm
anybody with experience from TANGBAND ? Here couple of this combination would be around 120 EUR.

BR

[mvangel]

Final design 3D model:white baffle looks best




br

[SY]

I wouldn't use white. It looks disturbingly toilet-ish.

It still seems to me that you could get that shiny porcelain-like finish on top of a less breakable material. A UV-cure epoxy on MDF or some sort of composite would give you a very lovely finish and a much tougher cabinet that would not need as much damping to kill the ringing.

[JoshK]

Originally posted by SY
I wouldn't use white. It looks disturbingly toilet-ish.

Thanks for that! I had a good laugh.

[mvangel]

Yep, you've hit my concern. However, again, if the viewer is not aware of the origin of the shell, I bet no one would be able to just guess...

I'still experimenting with the 3D studio in order to get a better feeling on the final look of the speaker set. Here is the latest render:




I've decided do the baffle in layers:
#1. wooden or MDF plank to which the drivers would attach
#2 decoration layer, could be made of the wallpapers from the room where the speakers would reside
#3 transparent PVC layer, attached to the wooden baffle with decorative bolts.

Will try to make again some pictures.

[dantheman]

PVC is a great material for speaker building. These are the ones I just built. In order to get them smooth/shiny you have to wet sand down to about 1000 grit or higher even then buff with a soft cotton cloth. They will have a nice gloss look depending on PVC formulation. Harder formulation can hold the highest sheen in my experience. The ones in these pictures have not been sanded.
http://www.hawthorneaudio.com/photos...up&cat=0&pos=9
http://www.hawthorneaudio.com/photos...up&cat=0&pos=8

If you are creative you can make it look however you want and it can take any shape. The sound of PVC veneered wood is far more dead than just wood. Makes for a less colored speaker if that's what you're looking for.

Good luck, keep us posted.

Dan