Paul Carmody's Tarkus, done finally!

[prasi]

Finally finished PC's Tarkus speakers almost a year after planning on the occasion of my daughter's first birthday!.
Initial PCB for mid+tweeter had a mistake which was brought to my notice by a fellow builder in India.
So had to correct the design and manufacture the pcbs again!.

Painting took lot of time and efforts. Its horrible to work with enamel paint.

Tested them yesterday, and they do sound amazing and loud.
Still early days, will keep listening to them over the next few weeks.

Yet to fit the spikes and install them in main listening area.

regards
Prasi

 

[Marra]

That is a beautiful gloss finish prasi. Well worth the effort.

 

[fatmarley]

Looks good.

 

[prasi]

Thanks guys,
the material is 3/4" MDF.
Very difficult to paint MDF and get a glossy as well as faux wood finish with enamel paint.

The pcbs made the xo very simple to build, I think I did both the xo in 1 hour .
The low end of the speaker is wonderful (tuned to 29Hz) and top end is quite mellow and not bright.
Yet to listen some rock music for which these are designed. I will let them burn-in for a few weeks.
here is designer's blog
Tarkus - undefinition

Regards
Prasi

 

[AllenB]

3/4" MDF. .. faux wood finish

I am impressed.

 

[prasi]

Thanks Allen

 

[fatmarley]

IIRC some people found the treble a touch too subdued on the Tarkus and adjusted the crossover to give a bit more sparkle. You could always experiment with the L-pad values if you find the treble a bit lacking (swop out the 5R for 3.9R or 3.3R).

No disrespect to Paul, everyones ears, system and room is different. Even tweeters can be made with different sensitivities.

 

[prasi]

Thats a very nice advice.. I will definitely consider it once its placed in final listening area.
Simple matter as to piggyback-solder another 10ohm OR 20ohm in the post#1 schematic.
Thanks !
Prasi

 

[Vunce]

Hi Prasi,
Fantastic Tarkus speaker build!! The finish looks really good Prasi.
How is the break-in going? Have you listened to loud Rock yet 😀

Best,
Vunce

 

[jwjarch]

Nicely done Prasi! What amp are you using with these?

 

[prasi]

Thanks guys.
I am still breaking them in and also yet to install the 10ohm resistor to increase tweeter level slightly, as suggested by fatmarley.

Currently its being powered by a locally made commercial integrated amplifier (a measly 25W) . So , no loud rockin' yet!

I planning on a nice little diy amplifier probably with Mooly's mosfet amp.

regards
Prasi

 

[jwjarch]

Interested to hear what you think when you get them dialed in and put some more power to them, Prasi. Have you considered an Alpha BB from XRK? 😉

 

[prasi]

Hello jwjarch,
Sorry I didnt reply earlier. Missed it.

I am building a 60W Class AB amp to power it. No loud levels for me as I live in an apartment.
Regards
Prasi

 

[jwjarch]

Hi Prasi. I missed your reply! Haha! How are the speakers sounding now that you have a few months on them? What Class AB amp did or are you building?

 

[Moondog55]

Prasi I have about a kilowatt available in total in my big system but usually listen at about 11 watts, so 35 should be reasonably loud in a Tarkus

 

[urilivne]

Do you have a cut-list for the wood?

 

[PeteMcK]

"a measly 25W" - I find 15W is more than enough to annoy my neighbours

 

[beenzapped68]

Finally finished PC's Tarkus speakers almost a year after planning on the occasion of my daughter's first birthday!.
Initial PCB for mid+tweeter had a mistake which was brought to my notice by a fellow builder in India.
So had to correct the design and manufacture the pcbs again!.

Painting took lot of time and efforts. Its horrible to work with enamel paint.

Tested them yesterday, and they do sound amazing and loud.
Still early days, will keep listening to them over the next few weeks.

Yet to fit the spikes and install them in main listening area.

regards
Prasi

Hi Prasi,


Well its 2021 and I am finishing up my take on the TARKUS!
I went to your web site and sent a request, thought I would try here also...
Are you selling the PCBs for the Tarkus? I would be so grateful for a set as I am starting my Crossovers right now!
I will post some build pictures as I get closer,but here is a teaser!
Thanks, Ron

 

[prasi]

Do you have a cut-list for the wood?

Hi urilivne,
Sorry I didnt reply earlier, I didnt get any notification.
I dont have a cutlist, but have an AutoCAD/ DXF drawing of the panels, if that helps

regards
prasi

PS: An update: Now that I have many many months on them, I think they sound even better! I dont think I will need any other speakers . They are especially suited for Indian classical music as the sound is mellow and enough bass with very good vocals. (this is about the limit of my audio-foolery vocab)

 

[poseidonsvoice]

Prasi,

Those look fantastic and being the layout expert that you are, I am sure it sounds even better 😉

Best,
Anand.