A little project I've been working on the past few months. I wanted some "ultimate" desktop speakers and with my limited workspace thought 3D printing would be a way to go about it. Still a WIP, but some first impressions...
The drivers are Markaudio Alpair 5.3. I used WinISD to create an EBS3 alignment which turned out to be 4.4 liters tuned to 58Hz. The cabinet design calls for a bit of EQ at the bottom end: 2.8dB at 74Hz with a Q of 0.707
Above is the "final" design. There are some aesthetic points and a few printing issues that I'm not 100% on board with, but overall I'm pleased with the way they turned out. Waiting for paint...
The design shown is a two piece (top and base) hollow printed design. Meaning I designed each part as a solid piece and the printing service I used removed extra material in order to have a hollow closed shell as opposed to the prototype which I designed as open shells to be printed solid and closed with covers (see attached). It saved a bit of money and hassle giving the solid design to the printing service and letting them adjust as needed. I intend to fill the hollows with epoxy resin at some point but it feels like a little bit of overkill for now. They are lined with eggcrate foam, connectors put in place, wired, and then the top is press fit onto the base.
Listening impressions:
Wow! For the first few hundred hours on the drivers I had them sitting on my piano bench in the prototype boxes to break in. One day I put on Harry Connick Jr's eponymous album and went about my business in another room. I kept catching myself thinking someone was playing my piano, haha!
Now that I've had these properly set up and gotten some good listening sessions in, I have to say that these are really exceptional for near field listening. The imaging and sound stage are crystal clear. I can close my eyes and see each cymbal strike, make out the exact separation between instruments in an orchestra, on some tracks from The Beta Band 3EPs for example I realized that notes can have different shapes. Bass is clean, clear, and precise and is more than competent to all but the lowest EDM notes. I've become addicted to playing Billie Eilish's "Billie Bossa Nova" and James Blake's "Limit To Your Love" as the bass presence is just amazing.
The only issue I have with them is that they only really come alive at a louder listening volume than I'd like. These are intended to be desktop speakers for somewhat background listening. They do sound very good at those listening levels, but get better as they get some more power.
When I get a quiet moment I'll do some measurements. I especially want to see before and after of the result of filling the hollows.
The drivers are Markaudio Alpair 5.3. I used WinISD to create an EBS3 alignment which turned out to be 4.4 liters tuned to 58Hz. The cabinet design calls for a bit of EQ at the bottom end: 2.8dB at 74Hz with a Q of 0.707
Above is the "final" design. There are some aesthetic points and a few printing issues that I'm not 100% on board with, but overall I'm pleased with the way they turned out. Waiting for paint...
The design shown is a two piece (top and base) hollow printed design. Meaning I designed each part as a solid piece and the printing service I used removed extra material in order to have a hollow closed shell as opposed to the prototype which I designed as open shells to be printed solid and closed with covers (see attached). It saved a bit of money and hassle giving the solid design to the printing service and letting them adjust as needed. I intend to fill the hollows with epoxy resin at some point but it feels like a little bit of overkill for now. They are lined with eggcrate foam, connectors put in place, wired, and then the top is press fit onto the base.
Listening impressions:
Wow! For the first few hundred hours on the drivers I had them sitting on my piano bench in the prototype boxes to break in. One day I put on Harry Connick Jr's eponymous album and went about my business in another room. I kept catching myself thinking someone was playing my piano, haha!
Now that I've had these properly set up and gotten some good listening sessions in, I have to say that these are really exceptional for near field listening. The imaging and sound stage are crystal clear. I can close my eyes and see each cymbal strike, make out the exact separation between instruments in an orchestra, on some tracks from The Beta Band 3EPs for example I realized that notes can have different shapes. Bass is clean, clear, and precise and is more than competent to all but the lowest EDM notes. I've become addicted to playing Billie Eilish's "Billie Bossa Nova" and James Blake's "Limit To Your Love" as the bass presence is just amazing.
The only issue I have with them is that they only really come alive at a louder listening volume than I'd like. These are intended to be desktop speakers for somewhat background listening. They do sound very good at those listening levels, but get better as they get some more power.
When I get a quiet moment I'll do some measurements. I especially want to see before and after of the result of filling the hollows.
Attachments
Last edited:
Awesome! I also have a pair of 3D printed 1-ways on my list for the near future. I assume you are using some DSP to EQ these?
Just FYI you can probably fill the voids with concrete/cement instead of resin if you want. I looked into it (for the same reason) and concrete does not need air to cure! 🤷♂️
Just FYI you can probably fill the voids with concrete/cement instead of resin if you want. I looked into it (for the same reason) and concrete does not need air to cure! 🤷♂️
Yes. On windows using Equalizer APO. Literally design the EQ/filter in WinISD then transfer those values to APO.
Good call on the cement. I've been struggling with what exactly I was going to fill them with. I did order some resin but I've been hesitant to actually use it as I don't have a good space to do it and I know it's going to smell a lot.
You do realize this is a website where people talk about building audio equipment for fun? 😏
Pretty much my plan for the 1-ways also. I had a slightly different shape in mind but overall a very similar build to what I had in mind. I will be measuring mine nearfield at least since I have the UMIK and everything, and I will be printing it myself (in pieces) but otherwise it's basically same concept. I will let you know if I ever get around to it. 😀
Also have a UMIK. What I'll probably end up doing is bringing them into work to do a full measurement as there is a big enough auditorium I can use on my office campus. Figure I'll set them up on a rostrum on the edge of the stage pointing toward the seats. That should be about 2m from the floor, 4m from the ceiling, and ~20m from the back wall with plenty of acoustic treatment.
A5.2/3 is an excellent driver.
I keep thinking of ways to 3-D print an exhancement of these… i think that the hollows in the walls could be filled to get something like Andy Paylor’s monsters. Thanx for the idea.
dave
I keep thinking of ways to 3-D print an exhancement of these… i think that the hollows in the walls could be filled to get something like Andy Paylor’s monsters. Thanx for the idea.
dave
Found these a little while ago, thought they might be of interest on this thread. Not my design, but sure is cute. Poised to buy a 3D printer...
https://cults3d.com/en/tags/alpair
https://cults3d.com/en/tags/alpair
You can get the paid planset. Larger versions have been 3D printed. For Fostex FE103 SOL, but the same size fits the FF105wk and Alpair 6.2p.
dave