Two finished projects: Loughborough Industrial design Degree Show

[lufbramatt]

hi guys,

Me and my friend Richard (RABW on these forums) have just had our industrial design degree show exhibition, where we displayed the final results of two projects that have been documented here Richards thread and here my thread .

We had a great time demoing them to the public and getting feedback from designers, students, lecturers and the public- played some excellent music over the course of the four days and got lots of positive feedback (and maybe a job ).

My speakers (the small black ones) were hooked up to my Quad 77 amp, and richards were played with an Audio Institute VR-70E valve amp (£250 ebay bargain) and a Marantz CD63 KI Sig used as a source. Although both systems sounded great, it was really interesting to hear the stark contrast between the sound- with mine offering a punchy, clean sound and Richard's horns offering a laid back and warm, yet very dynamic listen.

Im glad to finish them off (although the paint isnt perfect on mine so I think I'll spray them silver or pearlescent white after my summer hols ) and I'd like to say a big thank you to all the tips, opinions and advice you guys have offered to help us out with getting these speakers into existence

Heres some pictures of the show and some CAD renderings:

[ShinOBIWAN]

Great work Matt, glad it all worked out in the end - I know it was a close run thing to get them finished in time.

I think Richards maybe even more impressive though at least in terms of size!

[Javachip]

Congratulations! Both designs are absolutely beautiful, with just the right balance of bold style and restrained classiness.

Now, why can't we Americans seem to design loudspeakers like that? Or automobiles, for that matter? It can't be simple genetic inferiority, because we are your descendants.

[sdclc126]

Matt - beautiful work - I love the sculpted, organic look of your speakers - shows that art and science/form and function need not be mutually exclusive.

I'm sure you've said this elsewhere, but I couldn't find it - what drivers did you use? The tweets look like SEAS, but the others I'm not sure of.

Thanks.

[lufbramatt]

Hi there, thanks for your comments

The drive units are Seas 27TBFC/g tweeters, Seas MCA15/RCY midranges, and Scanspeak8555-01 woofers (ebay bargain- £102 for the pair of woofers ).

The drivers sound great together, i wasnt quite sure at first about using a paper mid with a metal dome tweeter, but believe the reviews, the 27TBFC/g really does not sound like a metal dome, just gives a really sweet, clean treble performance. At first the midranges sound a bit thin and tinny, but after about 50 hours of breaking in they sound very clear and integrate well with the warm bass from the scans. The midranges have a magnet virtually the same size as the cone, they almost look like full-range drivers in that respect.

Overall im really pleased with the sound, especially seeing as this is the first crossover ive designed completely from scratch- my previous speaker project was a development of a project documented on the internet.

[rabw]

Thanks everyone for your comments and input over the last few months making the front horns - they sound great, really detailed, open and incredibly dynamic like nothing else and I've learned alot

I've just moved these monsters back home into my room (i.e. my bedroom), and although they'd be ok in a larger livingroom, I think they may be just too large for my room so I'm open to offers if anyone is interested in owning this unique speaker. Please email me if you'd like to demo them anytime, I'm in Cambridgeshire here in the UK.....

Richard.

[RobWells]

Both sets of speakers look excellent, I hope you both get some great grades from them.


How much are you looking at for the horns ? I doubt I'd have enough cash free but am only down the road near Stansted. Have you kept the moulds for the future ?

Cheers,

Rob.

[llhitnt]

Great design