After listening to all the noise about these speakers I finally went and got a pair.
Not bad looking. Cabinet a little on the light side. Impressive gloss baffle bezel. Banana terminals looked better than the Lsi9's I had.
Played them for about 2 hours and agreed that for $21/ ea. they are a steal. Imaged nicely and only an occasional honk. Wife loved the way they looked and complimented the living room.
So I took them apart.
The sidewalls were light from the bending technique used so I filled them with Olympic wood filler. An entire 8 oz. can per side using the Best Buy gift card I purchased the Insignias with. The bottom got an added 1/2" mdf layer and I also added mdf over the existing baffle. Sound deadening panels will be added as well as carpet padding.
The cabinet will now be used upside down with the port hole serving as a tweeter cutout and the speaker terminals are now towards the bottom where they should be. Makes me think that the cabinets were a production screwup and were acquired for zilch. Would explain the pricing anyway.
I plan on making these ported so I will install one behind the tweeter. I.25" dia. is all it can handle without getting into the sidewalls. The interior volume is around .30 cf. or so. I am now looking at drivers but not sure how much I should spend on this project. The RS150 would do but I'm not sure about their power handling. (I've blown one already). Suggestions for driver/x-over combos would be appreciated. These are being designed for stereo listening.
Not bad looking. Cabinet a little on the light side. Impressive gloss baffle bezel. Banana terminals looked better than the Lsi9's I had.
Played them for about 2 hours and agreed that for $21/ ea. they are a steal. Imaged nicely and only an occasional honk. Wife loved the way they looked and complimented the living room.
So I took them apart.
The sidewalls were light from the bending technique used so I filled them with Olympic wood filler. An entire 8 oz. can per side using the Best Buy gift card I purchased the Insignias with. The bottom got an added 1/2" mdf layer and I also added mdf over the existing baffle. Sound deadening panels will be added as well as carpet padding.
The cabinet will now be used upside down with the port hole serving as a tweeter cutout and the speaker terminals are now towards the bottom where they should be. Makes me think that the cabinets were a production screwup and were acquired for zilch. Would explain the pricing anyway.
I plan on making these ported so I will install one behind the tweeter. I.25" dia. is all it can handle without getting into the sidewalls. The interior volume is around .30 cf. or so. I am now looking at drivers but not sure how much I should spend on this project. The RS150 would do but I'm not sure about their power handling. (I've blown one already). Suggestions for driver/x-over combos would be appreciated. These are being designed for stereo listening.
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polkymon said:
Hahaha I love it... I see trouble down the road on this relationship.
The Good- beefing up on the enclosure and damping but go slow on each of the mods so you don't take steps backward.
The Bad - leave the tweeter and port alone unless you know how to improve them.
The Ugly - Just start from scratch on another pair if you don't like the drivers.
I like the box work
I bought more than one pair just to have the boxes. My plan is to put an RS150 into it with a tweeter (TBD). It would require the extra baffle layer on the front. I don't plan on re-using the original.
Your box re-finishing is a good idea. I may go that route after seeing your work.
dlr
I bought more than one pair just to have the boxes. My plan is to put an RS150 into it with a tweeter (TBD). It would require the extra baffle layer on the front. I don't plan on re-using the original.
Your box re-finishing is a good idea. I may go that route after seeing your work.
dlr
Re: I like the box work
I'm still working on the boxes. I may spend more on drivers depending on how much improvement I can make on the boxes.
I used Dc-fix for the outside. EZ to work with and excellent quality from Germany.
http://www.berlinwallpaper.com/dcfix/Woodgrain.htm
dlr said:
I'm still working on the boxes. I may spend more on drivers depending on how much improvement I can make on the boxes.
I used Dc-fix for the outside. EZ to work with and excellent quality from Germany.
http://www.berlinwallpaper.com/dcfix/Woodgrain.htm
These look great🙂
Can you comment on the vinyl finish that you used? Is it very sticky or do you think that the edges will curl in time? Is it textured or just a printed pattern?
I am trying to find some material like this to finish some speakers and was planning on the vinyl that Parts Express sells. Do you feel this is a better product?
Can you comment on the vinyl finish that you used? Is it very sticky or do you think that the edges will curl in time? Is it textured or just a printed pattern?
I am trying to find some material like this to finish some speakers and was planning on the vinyl that Parts Express sells. Do you feel this is a better product?
Jackboot said:
The vinyl is quite sticky but you must prepare the surface. I use mineral spirits to remove anything that will prevent a solid bond.
The vinyl does have a slight grain to it which helps it look realistic and also allows you to "stain" it with good results. I use an acrylic craft paint (2 oz. bottles for .99 at any craft store) to get the color I want. What you see is actually a very light cherry vinyl painted with a honey gold wash. I always give it a coat of Minwax semi-gloss poly which not only gives it a nice luster but seals the edges as well.
My signature pic has D-C-Fix on it and it looks like a well finished veneer. The pic here shows floorstanders with PE cherry vinyl with gold DC-Fix and the bookshelfs with another painted DC-Fixl. The PE stuff is thicker, very sticky and has a shine to it. I prefer to tone it down with a coat of satin poly.
They are both good products it just depends on the application. PE vinyl will not make sharp bends but the D-C-Fix or other contact papers will.
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polkymon said:
All of your projects look very beautiful. Nice work! 😀
I have yet to tackle the asthetics of speaker building and have just used auto carpet or left them bare MDF so far. On my most recent project I want to make them look nice because they are going in my living room.
I'd like a black finish so I guess painting the vinyl won't be necessary. I'm doing a 1/4" roundover on the edges of the front - so from what you have said it sounds like the D-C-Fix will be a better product to make the sharp bend around the front.
Sorry for the n00bish question - but I'm looking at the minwax product and they have a polycrylic and a polyurethane product...which "poly" were you referring to? LINK
...how in the world did you accomplish that piano black finish on the floor standing speakers? Or is that simply a contact paper also?
Many thanks
PS: wow that Berlinwallpaper place really rapes Canadians on shipping...$20 shipping to send a $7 roll🙁
If the paper gives you fits try paint. Rustoleum Textured, Hammered and Professional High Performance Enamel are all good products.
I prefer polyurethane over polycrylic because I get a smoother finish. The polycrylic will not yellow though over time but isn't a concern with darker colors. Polycrylic is also much more expensive.
The floorstanders are painted with spray can lacquer and then wet-sanded with 400, 600, 1000 papers and 0000 steel wool. I discovered Softsoap makes a fine final buff finish material.
I don't recommend lacquer for your first project unless you read up on it and practice on scrap wood. But once you do there is nothing like it.
Don't worry if you can't get the D-C-fix just get some contact paper at the hardware store and some acrylic paint at the hobby store and play around with different combinations. Below are two examples showing before and after wash-painting different papers.
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I prefer polyurethane over polycrylic because I get a smoother finish. The polycrylic will not yellow though over time but isn't a concern with darker colors. Polycrylic is also much more expensive.
The floorstanders are painted with spray can lacquer and then wet-sanded with 400, 600, 1000 papers and 0000 steel wool. I discovered Softsoap makes a fine final buff finish material.
I don't recommend lacquer for your first project unless you read up on it and practice on scrap wood. But once you do there is nothing like it.
Don't worry if you can't get the D-C-fix just get some contact paper at the hardware store and some acrylic paint at the hobby store and play around with different combinations. Below are two examples showing before and after wash-painting different papers.
Just as an after-thought. I believe Dennis Murphy has done a mod on the Insignia's crossover that has, supposedly, really improved the sound quality to this speaker. I think it's at murphyblaster.com.
Frank
Frank
fsa said:
Dennis Murphy is a very awesome guy - he's helping me with my speaker design too.
Zaph did a bit of commentary on his design - while he very much liked the new crossover, he found that much cheaper parts would give similar results.
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