Finished first speaker project!

[Bikeman]

Greetings everybody.

I've finally finished my first attempt at some speakers.

I decided to put together the front pair of the Audax home theatre kit. Partly because I plan to build the rest for a complete set, but mainly because they were a well documented kit, so there was less chance of stuffing it up.

I couldn't resist making a couple of slight mods though. So there is some extra bracing inside the cabinets, and some felt type material on the front baffle. ('cause I think it looks cool!)

Here they are:

[Bikeman]

Here is a pic of the panels before main assembly:

[Bikeman]

Here is the internal structure.
I added cross braces behind the woofers, and also braced them against the back wall.

The whole project was certainly a learning experience!
(thou shalt not try to be too smart with measuring panels, just line them up and trim off later! )

Any comments appreciated.

Mark

[tg3]

Originally posted by Bikeman

The whole project was certainly a learning experience!
(thou shalt not try to be too smart with measuring panels, just line them up and trim off later! )

Absolutely!!

[michael]

good work bikeman, they look really good, the finish looks really good and damn you did alot of nice bracing, looks very top notch.
If they sound as good as they look you must be a very happy camper.

good stuff bikeman

btw how do they sound?

[Jye]

and some felt type material on the front baffle. ('cause I think it looks cool!)

nice finish

Whats the felt on the front and how was it applied?

Cheers

[Bikeman]

Thanks!
They sound pretty good to me. Maybe not as deep bass as my old Castle Stirlings, but very detailed. Vocals sound like they're right there. They can play louder than I'm ever going to use.

The "felt" is actually Jaycar "speaker carpet" (cat# CF-2755) and stuck on with spray-on contact glue.
The finish is beech veneer, which comes as an iron on sheet. The joins were a bit of a pain to get right.

Overall, I'm very happy. They came out better than I thought. And my G/F is so happy with how they look, I'm now permitted to do a sub and the rest of the surround kit.

Mark

[michael]

hey just noticed that you live in australia, do you think you might be able to give us a cost breakdown of all the parts and where you got them. primarily the drivers, and the veneer, because i am planning a new project and want to get ideas and costs of things.
thanks heaps.

oh and great to hear your happy with them.
would love to hear them for myself

oh btw where did u get the kit plans and what do you plan to use as a sub?

[Bikeman]

Well, I don't have exact costs, but roughly:

Drivers and all Xover parts from ME sound. (now defunct. ) $550
18mm MDF from Bunnings ~$85
Veneer from Bunnings ~$120 (yes, the veneer cost more than than the board to actually build the things. )
Speaker carpet, acoustic tiles, terminal cups, wire from Jaycar ~$70
Plus various other bits at about $20 I'd say.

So all up around $850 or so.
This doesn't include things like the router or clamps I bought.

You can get all the info on the Audax kits from Madisound. www.madisound.com
Goto kits, then Audax designer series home theatre. The parts are actually cheaper to bring in from Madisound in the US than they were from M.E., but I wanted to support local business.
Fat lot of good that did. Sniff.

For the subwoofer, I was thinking along the lines of 2x Peerless XLS in a sealed, push-push, Linkwitz transform config. If one of them is not enough, I am prepared to go stereo.


Mark