Just finished two Zaph projects!

I wanted to post some pictures of the finished product and to thank Zaph for his great designs.

My first DIY loudspeaker was the Seas L15RLYP / 27TFFC System. I built these originally in the PE enclosures and like them so much I decided to build my own boxes for them. ( I also decided to sell all my Norh systems 4.0 and 6.9's and replace them with zaph designs).

While I was building the L15 enclosures I decided to start on the ZD5. Since I had never built a speaker enclosure and was not sure how the L15 box would turn out I decided to have the ZD5 box built by a professional. I contacted and Lee Taylor and soon had both projects moving along.

It goes without saying the sound from both is phenomenal!

Here are the final results.

Enjoy!

I followed the design as closely as I could. I keep to the same baffle dimensions but made the internal walls 1.25 inch thick which meant I had to make the box deeper. Everything else followed the design.

Given this was my first project it took me some time to build. I had the shop where I bought the wood cut it into 8x14 rectangles. Then I cut one very carefully to use as a template on the router table. Using the template I cut the rest of the pieces. It took me about 8 hours but again this was my first project and my first time using a router / router table.

I bought all the parts from Madisound except for the Cardas terminals and sonic barrier damping material.

I used 1.5 sheets of birch plywood at $55 per sheet and the shop charged $20 to cut it into 8x14 pieces.

Overall it was very reasonable and the sound is incredible. I would highly recommend building these. They sounded wonderful in the PE boxes, I really just wanted the plywood look after seeing others use it.

Here are some more pictures...

Some more pictures including some of the ZD5..

L15 side

L15 back

L15 System


ZD5 front

ZD5 side

ZD5 back

ZD5 system

The ZD5 crossovers were very complicated. I used Solen caps. Both the resistors and inductors were purchased from Lee Taylor (who also made the enclosure).

The hardest part on the crossover was getting it to fit in the available space. I built separate boards for the tweeter and woofer. Still both were massive! They are standing vertical, side by side in the bottom of the box lined with foam.

I wish I had taken pictures of the final completed crossovers but it looks like I overlooked that step. Here are a few from the initial building steps. You can see most of the components and the size of them within the pictures. Fitting 100 and 80 uF caps along with 1.8mH made from 10awg wire was very difficult. They barely fit in the bottom of the enclosure.






On the L15...I choose this design over the L18 primarily because of the smaller size. I was planning to use these in the bedroom and really wanted the smallest speaker I could find but that still had reasonable bass and could be run full range. The L15 went way beyond my expectations.

I hate to try and describe the sound but to answer a previous question around how they subjectively sound to me...

The L15 are amazing speakers for the size and cost. They are very detailed and image well. Everyone who has heard them is amazed at the amount of bass they are producing (until they hear the ZD5). Vocals are also very impressive and natural. I have to add that I originally built the L15 with the high pass response shaping network using the 27TDFC. This was too laid back for my liking and I was a little disappointed. Once I removed this part of the crossover the top end was perfect and had great sparkle. After extended listening I was concerned that the ZD5's could not sound considerably better.

However the ZD5 does improve across the board, but to me and my wife the difference outside of bass is subtle. Vocals sound cleaner, bass is deeper and tighter. There seems to be a much better separation of instruments/sounds. All of the music seems to be heard in both but the ZD5 just sounds cleaner, more distinct and overall better. Keep in mind most of my friends that come over and listen only notice the stronger bass.

In short I highly recommend both and would definitely build them again if I had to do it over.


Here is one more L15 assembly photo that I found while looking for crossover photo's

sdclc126 said:

Which speaker do you feel has superiour sound, or is it too close to call?

P.S. - I'd like to compliment you not only on the speakers but on your taste in interior design!

😀

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Thanks on the interior design. I have to give the nod to my wife there as I can't take credit. As to which has the best sound its definitely the ZD5 but the L15 sounds really good even next to the ZD5.

badman said:

First, nice work.

Shame, on the laminated cabs, that you didn't put 'waves' on the inside cutout- increase the overall dimensions, make the walls a little thicker, and give them some 'waves', break up wall and internal resonances.

Oh well, still lookin' pretty good 🙂

Love the veneer on the ZD5s. Those solen 10 awg aircores are precious- I have a 5.4mH pair they wound for me.... yowza!

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I did increase the thickness. The wall is actually 1.25 inches thick all the way around. The original zaph design called for 3/4 inch walls. I did not create waves on the inside but I am not sure that would matter as all walls are lined with 3/4 to 1 inch sonic barrier. Given this would cover any wave in the wood do you still think it would make a difference?

This probably sounds crazy but even with the sonic barrier I painted several coats of acoustic damping paint. I think I was hoping it would create an even more rigid enclosure. Probably a total waste.

Ray Collins said:

gab,
How did you align the laminated box panels when you glued them? Did you glue in stages or all panels at once?

Ray

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I glued the first enclosure in two steps doing half each time. The second one I glued all pieces at once. I used basically the same process for both. I applied the glue to each piece and stacked them up.

Once I had finished applying the glue I flipped them vertically (as they would sit as speakers) and sat them on two clamps. I tightened the bottom clamps so that they were firm. To align the sides I used two levels as a straight edge and two more clamps.

I laid a scrap board from the center cut out on the top and used a mallet to tap it down flat. Then I tightened down the temporary clamp on the side to pull the sides in. Once more on the top with the mallet.

Then I really tightened down the the bottom clamps. I added two more clamps to the top for a total of 6 clamps and tightened.

Then removed the ones from the side and applied them to the middle of the box as you can see in one of the photos. Wiped all the excess glue off and let it set.

m0tion said:

True, but if you'll notice the builder also didn't round the edges of the ZD5 which is explicitly stated as being REALLY important on Zaph's page.

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As far as I know the round over, the use of 1 inch mdf over 3/4 and ladder bracing are the only deviations from the design. The round over was definitely a concession that was mulled over for a while.

My wife was very set on having all sides veneered and the cabinet builder was not able to veneer a round over. So it was either have a painted front with the round over and have my wife upset or square edges and a happy wife. In the end it was not a hard choice.

It probably does have an effect on the sound but I am guessing its small in the grand scheme of things. At any rate I am very happy with the results.