internal cabinet damping gloop

[jives11]

Hi, I am making some spherical speakers using wooden vases of approx 1.5Litre . The cabinets are pretty dense but still have some "ring" to them. Because of the curved walls I cannot use conventional damping panels as sold in car audo and diy speaker shops. Is there a paint or spray on way of treating the inside ?

I looked at some bitumen paint for treating flat roofs against the weather called "blackjack". This looked ideal BUT has a noxious chemical warning for Naptha, and I'm concerned about using this in a sealed enclosure (i.e what effect it might have on the driver or bleed through the wood)

so does anyone have a suggestion for a safe material for treating the inside of an irregular speaker enclosure. I'm also using standard speaker wadding.


many thanks

[Pano]

Hey Jives.
That's looking good! How does it sound?

I saw a pair of almost the same wooden balls for sale at a pizza joint on Molokai last month. Almost bought them for my Tang Bands. But the spheres were $25 each and of slightly different sizes, so I passed. I think you paid less for yours?

We used to use tar on the back of horns with no problem, it works well. Even used it on the back of the horn flair of an Altec A7 with good results. But in that small, closed space of the wooden sphere, you are right to be cautious.

There was a log thread last month about panel damping materials, see if you can dig it up.

[Pano]

Here is The Thread.

There are certainly other threads on the subject.

Parts Express here in the U.S. sells a product called Quiet Kote

You might be able to find the same or similar in the U.K.

[jives11]

Originally posted by panomaniac
Here is The Thread.

There are certainly other threads on the subject.

Parts Express here in the U.S. sells a product called Quiet Kote

You might be able to find the same or similar in the U.K.

Hi Panomaniac,
good to hear from you. Well at the moment I have only one working ball

I'm waiting for a second terminal plate to cover the original hole in the second ball vase.

However the speaker I have sounds good. I hooked it up to a standard T-amp on one channel, yet despite this it sounded really good.

There was some bass, not much but you could tell it was there. I noticed that treble beams down the axis of the center of the speaker.

If you are off axis , the treble slopes off quite a bit. I think I will get both speakers working the same, then see what tweaking I can do.

If I can avoid any notch filters I will as I like the simplicity of a single driver.

I have to figure out how to mount the balls (This is turning into a "Carry On ..." movie ) on stands or some kind of rings that stop them from rolling around.

I think you are right to avoid spheres of different sizes. maybe the Pizza restaurant can tell you who the supplier is ? $25 dollars is approximately what I paid. Mine were £10 UKS which I guess is about $16 USD but they were marked down in a sale and were probably around that price originally. I wish I knew where they came from

[jives11]

Originally posted by panomaniac
Here is The Thread.

There are certainly other threads on the subject.

Parts Express here in the U.S. sells a product called Quiet Kote

You might be able to find the same or similar in the U.K.

Thanks

BTW

These are interesting
http://www.audiodigit.com/index.php?section=50

and so is this (saw one in a hotel in Athens and thought " you could make a speaker from those "). In the UK these are £2 and $2.99 on the US Ikea site. Of course it may take 20 vases to be able to drill a 3" diamter hole in the base of 2


http://www.ikea.com/webapp/wcs/store...umber=90068019

[Ed LaFontaine]

safe material for treating the inside of an irregular speaker enclosure

How about a mixture of latex caulk and drywall compound? I would not try too hard to get a uniform coating. I think an irregular surface would be better to prevent standing waves.
It will crack due to shrinkage as it dries. They can be re-coated to fill, if you wish.

[Pano]

Those are fun! The Audio Digit crew seem to be working overtime. They come out with new stuff all the time. I will now be on the lookout for vases. =)

Ed might be on the right track, you might be able to come up with your own magic mixture.