Minimus 7 Baffle Mod

DC Dave · 20th October 2004, 09:01 PM

I found this pair of Radio Shack Minimus 7 speakers for next to nothing at a pawn shop so I had to buy them. I hooked them up and woofers in both were blown.

I gutted the cabinets, took some measurements, and made some 1/2" MDF baffles for the fronts. I had a pair of TB W3-871s lying around so they ended up on the new baffles. I kept the enclosures sealed and have no network on the drivers...yet. I might try a notch filter in the future.

The speakers don't go as low as some of the W3 ported designs, but sound very good and play surprisingly loud. I need to build a mini sub to go with them to fill in the low end.

The baffles were real easy to make and no other cuts or holes were made to the aluminum enclosures. I'm sure the same idea can be used with the other Aluminum mini speakers to utilize other drivers.

DC Dave · 20th October 2004, 09:04 PM

Here is a picture of just the back of the baffle

thomas997 · 21st October 2004, 04:29 AM

Looks great.

Did you coat the MDF with anything?

and the black part is aluminum right?

DC Dave · 21st October 2004, 06:24 PM

The MDF is not coated yet. It will most likely end up being painted black, but I can live with it as-is for now.

Yes the black part is the original aluminum enclosure. The MDF baffle screws on using the original speaker mounting screw holes.

sprucemoose · 22nd October 2004, 06:27 AM

very nice! its a shame the m-7s were blown though. i am using 6 of them as side (2 pair) and rear (1 pair) surround speakers. they sound very similar to my 3 sets of double advents (L/C/R). minus the bass, of course.

sm.

Salas · 22nd October 2004, 08:30 AM

What about its 10-20kHz range? Do you feel it has adequate air?

DC Dave · 22nd October 2004, 06:31 PM

"What about its 10-20kHz range? Do you feel it has adequate air?"

I've been listening to the W3-871s in different projects for about a year now and have always liked how they handled the higher octaves. I have never felt like I was missing anything in the music. If you do feel that something is missing all you have to do is look over at the tiny speaker cones producing all that sound and they put a smile on your face. It is amazing what they can do. I've never had unrealistic expectations for these drivers, so I've never been disappointed.

I do have to take care of cabinet resonances with these aluminum enclosures. I've noticed a large peak in the frequency response at 5kHz. I will try some different damping materials to see what happens.

(Moderators, feel free to move this thread to the fullrange forum. I hadn't noticed it until after I started posting.)

22nd October 2004, 06:27 AM	#5
sprucemoose diyAudio Member Join Date: Mar 2004 Location: Williamsburg, VA	very nice! its a shame the m-7s were blown though. i am using 6 of them as side (2 pair) and rear (1 pair) surround speakers. they sound very similar to my 3 sets of double advents (L/C/R). minus the bass, of course. sm. __________________ Kenwood VR6070, Panasonic 53wx53, 3 sets of double advents across the front, dual 1245, MA282e.

22nd October 2004, 08:30 AM	#6
Salas diyAudio Chief Moderator Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: Athens-Greece	Last octave What about its 10-20kHz range? Do you feel it has adequate air?

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21st October 2004, 04:29 AM	#3
thomas997 diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Vancouver	Looks great. Did you coat the MDF with anything? and the black part is aluminum right?

21st October 2004, 06:24 PM	#4
DC Dave diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Washington DC	The MDF is not coated yet. It will most likely end up being painted black, but I can live with it as-is for now. Yes the black part is the original aluminum enclosure. The MDF baffle screws on using the original speaker mounting screw holes.

22nd October 2004, 06:31 PM	#7
DC Dave diyAudio Member Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: Washington DC	"What about its 10-20kHz range? Do you feel it has adequate air?" I've been listening to the W3-871s in different projects for about a year now and have always liked how they handled the higher octaves. I have never felt like I was missing anything in the music. If you do feel that something is missing all you have to do is look over at the tiny speaker cones producing all that sound and they put a smile on your face. It is amazing what they can do. I've never had unrealistic expectations for these drivers, so I've never been disappointed. I do have to take care of cabinet resonances with these aluminum enclosures. I've noticed a large peak in the frequency response at 5kHz. I will try some different damping materials to see what happens. (Moderators, feel free to move this thread to the fullrange forum. I hadn't noticed it until after I started posting.)

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