Veneering the Vandersteens

ByronInLawrence · 24th February 2011, 10:36 PM

I thought people might be interested in what a pair of Vandersteen 3A's look like with the cloth and wood "cage" removed. I did this several years ago because I thought the black cloth boxes looked ugly and didn't match my decor. The veneer is cherry, stained with Minwax and a few coats of high gloss polyurethane. You may not be able to tell from the photos, but they did not turn out very well. The MDF was painted black , and I removed the paint, and scuffed the MDF up in the belief that this would make the veneer stick better. It has some cracks and bubbles anyway, and peels a bit at the edges. As one person commented "A blind man riding by on a horse wouldn't notice".

sdclc126 · 24th February 2011, 11:23 PM

Well, they do look nice in the pics.

Have you thought of perhaps making some regular grilles to cover the drivers? That might give them a nice finished look, as well as a more conventional one.

Jim Leach · 25th February 2011, 12:07 AM

Looks cool! I may have gone as far as using different species for the front and back/sides- maybe cherry (as you did) or Walnut for the back and sides and fiddleback maple for the front baffle face...

Anyway, they 'look good from my house!'

If anyone is interested, I have a nice pair of (unmolested) Model 1's for sale that could be redone as these have been. (shameless plug)

in the swap meet section...

Just out of curiosity, which adhesive did you use? With real wood veneer onto MDF I'd suggest wood glue. If you used contact cement (a common choice and good with non-wood [i.e. Formical] veneers) this may be why it has lifted.

Vandersteens are way-cheap and GREAT sounding speakers. I think they'd get more respect if Richard just charged more for them... I was very happy with mine for about ten years until I (recently) acquired a pair of Thiel 2.2's. All that's left is to finish my house so I can set them up and listen to them! Note Thiel and Vandersteen are part of a rather elite group using rather difficult first-order crossover design to preserve phase properly... I respect this very much in both of their designs. I also think this is why the Vandersteens sounded so good for so long in so many different (none ideal) rooms.

Oops- sorry for the de-rail.

BHD · 25th February 2011, 12:11 PM

Did you notice any sonic improvements with the top "cage" and cloth removed?

dave_gerecke · 25th February 2011, 07:13 PM

Hello Byron, interesting external mod to the 3A's. I have owned a pair of 2C's for almost 20 years. Price to performance is amazing, isn't it?!
Would you mind measuring the cabinet dimensions, in particular the portion with the 8" and 10" drivers. I happen to have the components to build the bass section of a 2C and think they would work in the 3A design also. I'm tempted to build an enclosure of that shape and volume, then experiment with various drivers for the upper end.

Peace,

Dave

ByronInLawrence · 26th February 2011, 03:59 AM

Thanks for all the compliments.

sdclc126: I've thought of making grills, and of just re-building the box on the top part and wrapping it in cloth but just got interested in other projects.

Jim: Yes, I used contact cement as suggested by the store owner from whom I bought the veneer. Maybe I can get some of the loose edges down with glue.

BHD: No, but several weeks passed between listening with and without cage.

Dave: the bottom part is 25.5" X 16" X 10" (H X W X D) external dimensions. Trapezoid with the 8" woofer is 9.25" front, 14.25" back, 8.5 deep, with 9" sides at 75 degree and 105 degree angles, 10" high. I don't know what the woofer is, but "made in Denmark" is stamped on the frame.

dave_gerecke · 05:21 AM

Hello Byron, Thank you for the measurements, they will make some of my plans much easier.

In regards to the 8" bass driver, by looking at it, it appears to be a Vifa P21 series driver. Don't hold me to this, as your's is a 3A and mines a 2C. But I know that this is the upper bass driver used in the 2C, and it looks the same. If I remember correctly, the 3A uses a different 10" active coupler. The 2C uses a driver with a pressed steel frame, while the 3 series uses a
10" driver with a cast frame. One of the upgrades with the 3 series(among others).

Peace,

Dave

25th February 2011, 12:07 AM	#3
Jim Leach diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Back in CT!	Looks cool! I may have gone as far as using different species for the front and back/sides- maybe cherry (as you did) or Walnut for the back and sides and fiddleback maple for the front baffle face... Anyway, they 'look good from my house!' If anyone is interested, I have a nice pair of (unmolested) Model 1's for sale that could be redone as these have been. (shameless plug) in the swap meet section... Just out of curiosity, which adhesive did you use? With real wood veneer onto MDF I'd suggest wood glue. If you used contact cement (a common choice and good with non-wood [i.e. Formical] veneers) this may be why it has lifted. Vandersteens are way-cheap and GREAT sounding speakers. I think they'd get more respect if Richard just charged more for them... I was very happy with mine for about ten years until I (recently) acquired a pair of Thiel 2.2's. All that's left is to finish my house so I can set them up and listen to them! Note Thiel and Vandersteen are part of a rather elite group using rather difficult first-order crossover design to preserve phase properly... I respect this very much in both of their designs. I also think this is why the Vandersteens sounded so good for so long in so many different (none ideal) rooms. Oops- sorry for the de-rail. __________________ "When the world is running down, you make the best of what's still around."

25th February 2011, 12:11 PM	#4
BHD diyAudio Member Join Date: Jun 2004 Location: Brooklyn Park, MN	Did you notice any sonic improvements with the top "cage" and cloth removed? __________________ My religion is the golden rule. The only time it's forsaken me is when I've forsaken it first.

26th February 2011, 05:19 AM	#7
dave_gerecke diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Vermont	Hello Byron, Thank you for the measurements, they will make some of my plans much easier. In regards to the 8" bass driver, by looking at it, it appears to be a Vifa P21 series driver. Don't hold me to this, as your's is a 3A and mines a 2C. But I know that this is the upper bass driver used in the 2C, and it looks the same. If I remember correctly, the 3A uses a different 10" active coupler. The 2C uses a driver with a pressed steel frame, while the 3 series uses a 10" driver with a cast frame. One of the upgrades with the 3 series(among others). Peace, Dave Last edited by dave_gerecke; 26th February 2011 at 05:21 AM.

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24th February 2011, 11:23 PM	#2
sdclc126 diyAudio Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Location: San Diego, CA	Well, they do look nice in the pics. Have you thought of perhaps making some regular grilles to cover the drivers? That might give them a nice finished look, as well as a more conventional one.

25th February 2011, 07:13 PM	#5
dave_gerecke diyAudio Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Vermont	Hello Byron, interesting external mod to the 3A's. I have owned a pair of 2C's for almost 20 years. Price to performance is amazing, isn't it?! Would you mind measuring the cabinet dimensions, in particular the portion with the 8" and 10" drivers. I happen to have the components to build the bass section of a 2C and think they would work in the 3A design also. I'm tempted to build an enclosure of that shape and volume, then experiment with various drivers for the upper end. Peace, Dave

26th February 2011, 03:59 AM	#6
ByronInLawrence diyAudio Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Lawrence, a nice little college town in Kansas	Thanks for all the compliments. sdclc126: I've thought of making grills, and of just re-building the box on the top part and wrapping it in cloth but just got interested in other projects. Jim: Yes, I used contact cement as suggested by the store owner from whom I bought the veneer. Maybe I can get some of the loose edges down with glue. BHD: No, but several weeks passed between listening with and without cage. Dave: the bottom part is 25.5" X 16" X 10" (H X W X D) external dimensions. Trapezoid with the 8" woofer is 9.25" front, 14.25" back, 8.5 deep, with 9" sides at 75 degree and 105 degree angles, 10" high. I don't know what the woofer is, but "made in Denmark" is stamped on the frame.

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