High-end 3-way active Avalon look-alike

[fgroen]

Hi All,

I promised some time ago to post a topic on the construction of my new loudspeakers.

Firstly started off as a 4-way system, using an Eton 12" woofer, Accuton C2-220 low-mid, C2-79 mid and C2-12 tweeter. Design was made, components bought and due to active set-up the required amplifier channels purchased (i.e. 2x Classé CAV-150)

The 4-way concept daunted me a bit, but what the heck..

.. And then came the C2-90 midrange unit. What a beauty!! Functionally merging the C2-220 and the C2-79 into one unit. So bought a pair of these too. I'm now the proud owner of a collection of Accuton units that will allow me to open a shop.

So it's going to be a 3-way after all with the Eton woofer, C2-90 mid and C2-12 tweeter.

Filter is the SAW-30.3 of Thel which is an amazing piece of circuitry. Combined with a dual-mono no-compromise power supply this unit operates flawless.

At the moment I'm busy building the cabinets. I keep a minute log of the process on a Dutch forum: Topic on Dutch forum

Sorry for the language but there are loads of pictures that make up for that.

Some pics: (click on them for better viewing)

Design, front view


Design, side view


Internal bracing, current status


The baffles:


Hardware!! (maybe I'm goint to use both nevertheless as mono blocks... )


Will keep you posted. Most recent updates will be on the Dutch forum, so if interested, keep checking that one... The thread there is very visual, so Dutch is not required.

[fgroen]

Sorry for a long silence guys!

Most of the reporting about this project goes on on the Dutch HT-forum, so that topic is most up to date. (see link in previous post.)

I haven't been slacking around though, despite a hot summer here in Holland.

Short overview:

Glueing one of the cabinets


The top- and bottom sides of the baffle were not yet angled like the rest of the cabinet


After some creative routing and sanding they were


It turned out that because of using G-clamps during glueing there was quit some tension in the cabinets and the top and bottom panels took the pounding. In other words: they were bent. So I set up a reference plane above these sides and routed the cabinets square and flat:

Reference plane by two parallel Aluminium L-shaped profiles:


Routing


Result


After the trimming of the edges a 6mm MDF layer was glued on.

Both cabinets built:


Next step is cutting off the corners. I was a bit apprehensive about that. Screwing things up at this stage would be very frustrating....

So for the first cut I put aluminium strips on the cabinet to guide the hand-saw, but that was a nightmare. The saw was biting in the aluminium all the time. So in the end I just did it without strips. With a bit of concentration and making sure that the guiding lines are drawn up correctly it was actually a piece of cake:



The cut edges are covered with 3mm MDF to get a smooth surface:



And that is what one cabinet looks like when all corners are cut off:



Starts to look like something decent.

At the moment I'm completing the step of cutting the corners off the second cabinet. After that I need to vineer them. Still looking for a nice vineer. I think it will be bird's eye Ahorn.

So that's it for the moment. Keep checking the Dutch HT-forum for the latest pictures. Also the pictures shown here are just a subset of the pictures posted on the Dutch HT-forum. So for more pictures you can also consult my topic on the Dutch HT-forum.


Cheers, Fokke.

[badman]

I always am impressed by the people who work slowly, I tend to be more of the "get it done already!!!" mindset, I make strong cabs, but not typically as obsessively (that's a compliment) as one like yours.

Very nice work!

[thylantyr]

[Scottmoose]

That thing looks bomb-proof. You've given me a few ideas here actually for a pair of dirty great horns I'm contemplating. Love the angles you've cut. Being a fan of plywood aesthetically, do you reckon it'd be possible to cut that like the MDF -could give a very interesting effect with the different layers of ply revealed.

[tungsten]

to cut plywood like that I´d think you´d need a high speed circular saw like the one my carpenter uses - with a 24" blade! Otherwise, the exposed surface might be uneven. And you wanted it to be seen, remember.
(I´ve grown too picky to watch my own enclosures, so I´ll have to pay..)

[sqlkev]

Looks 100x better than what I'm building right now!

Did you use the handsaw and saw off the angle baffle cuts by yourself? or was there some sort of a guide ?

I'm also curious about the midrange enclosure, looks like a lot of work, I hope the speakers sound as good as the project looks.

[Scottmoose]

I take back what I said about these things looking bomb-proof. I suspect they would withsand nuclear attack.

Perhaps if I tried it with ply, I should use my little plane... I must be mad. Wibble.

[69stingray]

Incredible, great work.

[ggta]

Looks great. I've a project that looks close

Tell us more about the size of the cabinet and the number of litres for each driver? Will the Eton be in a vented or closed cabinet?