Meet Hethara, Distant cousin of Bob and Orion

[badgerboy]

Well, after all this time reading and thinking, thinking and reading, I've finally got around to doing something.
Meet Hethara.
Hethara is a dipole loudspeaker, and is a work in progress. She will be my first major project, and can be found here, at my new website.
www.m387.net/diyprojects.htm
Have a look, and enjoy the rest of the site too. It's a little primitive, but people who know me say I am as well....

[Vikash]

Hi Steve,

Looking excellent so far Enjoyed the rest of the site too

[badgerboy]

Added a few more pictures to the build diary. She's almost finished (mechanically) and it shouldn't be long before the start of the electronics.



I just need to tidy the house a little first... Amazing how much mess a project can generate - no wonder I always plan, but rarely start - I forget the tidying up part is so tedious.

[Nuuk]

Good work Steve! If you asked a lot of people what speaker thay would really like, it would be a cheaper version of the Orion or Phoenix! So we'll be watching your project closely from now on in.

Now you won't like me for saying so but why-oh-why do people put drivers in from the front? There's a half-excuse for it with boxed speakers but with open baffles!

If you want to change it, it's not too late and you can with not too much work. If you are interested in how, contact me via the form on Decibel Dungeon.

[JWFokker]

Looks good so far. I intend to build myself a pair of dipoles eventually, but they are pricey to do right.

As for rear mounting the drivers, I think Nuuk might be thinking of something like this:

[badgerboy]

I mounted the speakers from the front because it enables the baffle to be flush with the drivers, if you see what I mean. I've read in oh so many places that flush mounting drivers is a cheap way to improve the sound, so I thought "Cheap? That's me! Mount 'em from the front, my boy!".
I will probably build a set of grilles for the D212, for the lady of the house. I like 'em raw, but I'm getting "looks".
If at a later date I want to change to rear mounting, the baffle is removable (with a little work) and I could always give it a go.
At the moment, my priority is getting them running and seeing what they sound like, so I think in the short term they'll stay as they are.
If I do decide to rear mount, rest assured I will be asking advice. Will I listen to that advice? We'll see!!
Progress reports will follow, but I'm back at work this week, so they may not be as frequent as they have been (on my web-site).

[Vikash]

The tweeter is the crucial driver to flush mount, and the mid perhaps to a lesser degree depending on how high it's used AFAIK.

Now you won't like me for saying so but why-oh-why do people put drivers in from the front? There's a half-excuse for it with boxed speakers but with open baffles!

grrrr, I don't like you for it a) It enables a flush mount - (a recessed driver as a result of rear mounting probably has the same issues as not flush mounting from the front), b) a stronger fixing (potentially), and c) it looks better (yes I did say that). Don't let the aestehtics have more impact on the form than the function.

[ShinOBIWAN]

Looks great Steve

Be sure to post back with thoughts once you've nailed the crossover.

Once again, nice job.