Hatt mkiii build

[hasaudio.co.nz]

During the last few months, Ive been building my 2nd pair of hatt mkIII's from HUMBLEHOMEMADEHIFI.COM. After looking at the photos on display in the H6 speaker build thread on audioenz.co.nz, I thought it would be nice to show you all what ive been up to on the diy scene.

I first built the hatts 2 years ago, and I was very impressed with the overall performance of these little compacts. The highs were exceptionally detailed and well lets just say the SEAS L12RCYP does a mighty fine job of the lower/midrange section of the frequency range. As Ive mentioned earlier, Bass is good, but to me its not that important, which is why I built the HATTS in the first place. I wasnt expecting alot of bass from the hatts(only being a compact) but I was pleasantly surprised at the bass I did get which was very detailed, and for the size strong and pronounced.

When I built my first pair of hatts, i made a complete stuffup of the finish. I decided to paint the whole cabinet in a deep gloss black using SPRAY PAINT...IN A CAN....FROM PLACEMAKERS. Lol you get the picture? Im not suggesting that you cant get a good finish with enamel in a can, im sure some can, but for a novice painter like myself, it just wasnt going to happen. Yes they sounded great, but I didnt want them on show when I had friends over for dinner etc....they didnt make me feel proud(unlike OS's latest project again on audioenz.co.nz ...mygod they look great!)

So I gave them away to a family friend who didnt really care what they looked like... one mans rubbish is another mans treasure!

So here I am again, building the hatts one more time, determined to get them looking great!

This time, ive decided to leave the corners square, so I can veneer the cabinet. The baffle will be painted in a gloss black( local panel beater is doing this for $20!!!) The original hatt mkIII has 10degree radiused edges to compensate those annoying peaks you get from defraction, but because im just going to be adding these to my HT setup for rear effects, defraction issues are not a concern for me. This is more a revenge project for the last hatts I made.

Pictures are as follows....

[hasaudio.co.nz]

Pictures... 1st..baffle with drivers in place....2nd veneer applied with no stain/poly......3rd....coat of stain and one coat of poly...

[wintermute]

Hi Hasaudio, looking good I glued the veneer onto the top of my second box today... only four panels to go... I'll get there eventually That is quite dark veneer, what type is it?

Tony.

[hasaudio.co.nz]

Hi Tony, thanks for the comments. The veneer is a realwood mahoghany. The first pic of the veneer is just the wood naked....no stain....no polyurethane. The 2nd one is one coat of redwood stain....one coat of poly.

Cameron

[Dane]

Veneer looks complicated also. But those look great.

This is automotive metal-flake spray paint - in a can!
It took many more cans of paint and clear that I planned for.

HATT.jpg

In a smallish room with corner loading and sitting near the opposite wall, the bass is just fine.
With audiophile speaker positioning, a sub woofer would help.

The trick was lots and lots, and lots of thin layers of paint, and then just any many layers of clear.
I think I would go with a pre-fab/finished cabinet next time.

[hasaudio.co.nz]

Dane....those look very good! The veneer im using is quite old and stiff, which makes splintering of the wood more difficult to stay clear of. But so far they are coming up ok.

[hasaudio.co.nz]

more pics!

[wintermute]

Hi Hasaudio, it is a bit late now (since you've already applied it) but I have been treating my veneer with a simple spray of water mixed with glycerine. Basically a 10% Glycerine 90% water mix. My veneer had been rolled up for four years and was a) brittle and b) curved. spraying a bit on each side, and then clamping between bits of brown paper and MDF flattened it out nicely and certainly made it a lot more plyable and less likely to split.

Tony.

[hasaudio.co.nz]

Hi tony, thanks for the tip! Ill give that ago and see how it comes out. It wasnt to bad to be fair. But it made cutting holes quite difficult! Thanks cameron

[wintermute]

No problem Cameron I forgot to mention to leave it to dry for about a week. Changing the paper at least once during that time.

Tony.