Chilli Chang review/mod

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greenie512 said:
I haven’t EnABL’d my FE 167’s yet nor have I read everything on this subject. But I can see/accept the pattern idea on driver cones trying to assist “break-up” etc on the edges of a thin structure but on a 18mm MDF panel I think we might be drifting into the area of “snake oil” and the magic of rich men’s cables.

Agree.

However, if you have EnABL'd your drivers, you could EnABL your cabinets in a really obvious way, e.g. using gold-painted bits to emphasise the cosmetic factor, which I think would look quite cool :)
 
Alex from Oz said:
G'day Jeroen,

I've been following your FE167 EnABL thread.

How about cabinet EnABL?

Cheers,

Alex

Afer reading he positive responses on for instance the EnABL baffle thread I do start thinking about doing it.

The cabinets are still plain wood, one is now sanded, the other half way as it is still cold outside... so, with the bare cabinets I could "lay on" the pattern and paint over it. If the pattern is thin (0.5mm or so) then it should be almost not visible.

I used the plans from the frugal-horn site to suggest a plan for where to apply the pattern. I'm not going to "pimp" the cabinet completely but want to add minimum pattern with maximum effect (I hope). So.. perhaps the mast effective surfaces? Please take a look at the pic at let me know what you think.

One pattern on front baffle but continuing on mouth sides and top/bottom, one on the straight back pieces just above the vent and one on the angled fron surfaces of the mouths. Nohting on any sides (in or out) or back.

I'm thinking about thin pieces of (balsa) wood from the hobbyshop. Any other suggestions welcome.

Thanks,

Jeroen
 

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JeroenR said:

I'm thinking about thin pieces of (balsa) wood from the hobbyshop. Any other suggestions welcome.

Thanks,

Jeroen

Why balsa?
soft wood might damp better?

I was thinking the same idea, but using oak.
Have some thin, narrow, strips, ripped on table saw, just need to cut them in short pieces, use long guide to glue them.

I'd thought soft wood (even pine, etc) would be harder to cut, blad would would want to follow grain of wood).
 
G'day Jeroen,

I haven't tried balsa wood for the blocks so I can't comment on it's effectiveness.
It might be best to start with known materials first so you have a point of reference - then by all means experiment and see what other materials are effective.
Have a look at the link I posted re: the Chilli Changs cabinet EnABL. That will give you a great place to start.
Then, yes, do the baffle and mouths as well - and tell us your results!

Cheers,

Alex
 
greenie512 said:
Jeroen, I'd suggest trying some outriggers/spikes...

...



chylld said:
JeroenR, any new updates? am following your build with keen anticipation :)


It is still freezing outside so no progress on the cabinets.

The drivers are finished (EnABL-ed) so ready to go in when the cabinets are finished. There are some details and pics in the FE167E EnABL thread here on diyaudio.

I also worked on the stands. It is a big T made of teak wood oiled with line oil. The feet will stick out 5 cm on the sides and 10 cm on the back. Hopefully this proves stable enough. I'm still looking for some nice feet though. In the pic you see the temporary solution. If anyone knows where to buy goodlooking adjustable wooden feet than please let me know.

Thanks,

Jeroen
 

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A small update...

The speakers are finished and playing for a few days.

The looks : I think they look great. The speakers have four coats of paint; two undercoats and two red top coats. The structure of the wood is still visible which I think adds to the character. The paint is a beautiful Dutch paint that is used in restauration of old farms f.i., the colour is called ossenbloed (ox-blood), the paint has a very high gloss due to the high amount of line oil. The feet are made of teak that are left blank (to balance with the wood of the cone, haha) and treated with clear line oil. The speakers, although not really small, are not intrusive objects in my living room, just nice objects that do not attract direct attention. A very high WAF factor. I am a bit proud, can you tell? :D

Now for the sound : Plain dull... But, as mentioned in the second line, they are just playing for a few days. I will try to play them as much as possible the coming weeks and then get back. For now I hear a full sound, a fair amount of bass but no voices... really, like the singers did a step back.

The amp used is a 2.5W (I hope) 6v6SET or a 5W 6V6SEP, the 5W amp is just enough to drive the Chili/FE167 combo. The Chili's are replacing BD 103sigma pipes which I loved. The BD pipes are light on bass but very precise and because no filter was used perhaps a bit too precise (forward). It might be that this is specific for the 103 or the pipes and that I need to "adjust" to the more mellow sound (read that somewhere) of the 167.

So, more in a few weeks.

Jeroen

edit : attachment was gone after choosing the preview...
 

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