Thanks Dave.
I had planned to make them 30 litre internal volume but decided that aesthetically they looked less imposing and far more elegant at 28.5 litres. The concept I had was to achieve a look somewhat akin to a nice piece of antique furniture whilst achieving high end performance.
Grant.
Thanks.
The finish took about three weeks to build up. Lots of fine coats of clear oil, lightly rubbed down with wire wool between coats and finally finished with several coats of Wax.
Actually, I came very close to chosing walnut for my build, lovely material! So I look forward to seeing how yours turn out.
Grant.
That that isn't too much volume is a good indicator that the FonkenFX on the drawing board isn't pushing the envelope too much.
dave
dave
Beautiful construction and finishing Grant.
These are sealed boxes right, not vented?
Great to see another FX120 build.
Jeff
I finished the "Whetstones" (or the "Stones" for short) in May of 2009 and toured them around to some of the DIY shows in the midwest (DIY Dayton and DIY Iowa), and the comments were all positive (except for the usual dings against full-range designs, like lack of treble detail and extension). Overall presentation is laid-back but with surprisingly punchy bass for such a small speaker. Overall, very easy to listen to.
The driver is the Tang Band W4-1052S, and an 8-component filtering network is used to tame the rising response and add a bit of BSC. I think of them as 'single-driver speakers for people who hate single-driver speakers' since they are not about euphonic coloration, a shouty midrange, or a preference for a specific type of music. They excel with orchestral, vocal, acoustic rock, and jazz music, but are tolerable on other types of program with complex harmonics (like heavy metal and classic rock) due to a frequency response that's passively equalized to within +2/-3dB. Sensitivity with the filter in line is 82 dB, but you can gain an additional 3 dB if you cut the BSC resistor in half and just place them closer to the rear wall. The reduction in BSC is also recommended if you use them on your desk against the wall.
See below for link to the writeup.
The "Whetstones" at Iowa DIY 2009 (Photo Credit: J. Andreasen)
Whetstones
The driver is the Tang Band W4-1052S, and an 8-component filtering network is used to tame the rising response and add a bit of BSC. I think of them as 'single-driver speakers for people who hate single-driver speakers' since they are not about euphonic coloration, a shouty midrange, or a preference for a specific type of music. They excel with orchestral, vocal, acoustic rock, and jazz music, but are tolerable on other types of program with complex harmonics (like heavy metal and classic rock) due to a frequency response that's passively equalized to within +2/-3dB. Sensitivity with the filter in line is 82 dB, but you can gain an additional 3 dB if you cut the BSC resistor in half and just place them closer to the rear wall. The reduction in BSC is also recommended if you use them on your desk against the wall.
See below for link to the writeup.
The "Whetstones" at Iowa DIY 2009 (Photo Credit: J. Andreasen)
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Whetstones
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That unfiltered plot doesn't look that bad to me. I find a rising response beneficial for listening 20-30 off axis, which I normally do. But I understand the purpose of your filters and it looks beneficial/smartly constructed.
Wall mounted 10:1 TL's with CHR-70.
Sound excellent for the price.
There is enough bass so no need for a sub.
Have done some measurement with diy equipment and they play down to under 40 hz. The baffle is tilted so they beam quite on axis to my listening position.
I know that you shouldn't be picky dealing with a driver for $75/pair but the mids could, with certain voices, sound a bit nasal or papery.
I will try the new alpair7 later to check if the sound of them are more fitted to my personal taste.
Regards H@kan
Sound excellent for the price.
There is enough bass so no need for a sub.
Have done some measurement with diy equipment and they play down to under 40 hz. The baffle is tilted so they beam quite on axis to my listening position.
I know that you shouldn't be picky dealing with a driver for $75/pair but the mids could, with certain voices, sound a bit nasal or papery.
I will try the new alpair7 later to check if the sound of them are more fitted to my personal taste.
Regards H@kan
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Clever design and mounting!
Me Like 😀Brings to mind using the corner of the wall and ceiling for bass loading......
This pair was built for a friend. Could be the best sounding BLH ever...just love the big sound.
Mine are MDF, lovely finish in metallic red, with DX3's. (See Audiogon)
Building them in CNC'd slices is a DIY'ers dream.
One of the the most exotic speakers in the world built in Australia....? Who would have thought of such a thing....then again, we build Halcro amps...
Andrew
Mine are MDF, lovely finish in metallic red, with DX3's. (See Audiogon)
Building them in CNC'd slices is a DIY'ers dream.
One of the the most exotic speakers in the world built in Australia....? Who would have thought of such a thing....then again, we build Halcro amps...
Andrew
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Well they're for sale on audiogon. http://pic8.audiogon.com/i/c/f/1255051489.jpg. Why does it say 08/10/09 if you finished them the other day?
Oh I see you built ones like these! Sorry I was a little confused, cause I saw the pics and knew I had seen them before. I'd like to see the red ones too!
