Good one Dave. You'd be looking at 18mm (3/4in) or so for the partition, so 3 layers of 6mm ply would do the job. I would also include plenty of locating pegs around the rim to push the bowls into a more perfectly circular shape.
If you didn't mind the flat spots showing (ear mounts? flashing lights?) you could combine speaker mount, holey brace, port tunnels and partition into one structure in a single plane.
I hadn't built a pair of speakers for a very long time so wasn't going to spend out on a load of stuff/tools just to test skills. Speaker is a Visaton FRS8M. Sound decent enough in my kitchen, mounted near the ceiling.
On a personal note, I may need to build a pair of new best speakers soon and you Wodenists are just confusing me with all this damn creativity. Good luck with the venture - it has to be better than shifting heavy boxes full of air around the globe.
If you didn't mind the flat spots showing (ear mounts? flashing lights?) you could combine speaker mount, holey brace, port tunnels and partition into one structure in a single plane.
I hadn't built a pair of speakers for a very long time so wasn't going to spend out on a load of stuff/tools just to test skills. Speaker is a Visaton FRS8M. Sound decent enough in my kitchen, mounted near the ceiling.
On a personal note, I may need to build a pair of new best speakers soon and you Wodenists are just confusing me with all this damn creativity. Good luck with the venture - it has to be better than shifting heavy boxes full of air around the globe.
Reports are that final execution depends on the set of bowls you end up with -- they are not very consistent. My middle sandwich is 12+9.5+12mm
dave
Sorry Bud,
.. gave you a wrong steer there - It's "Rethm Speakers" (I've got to figure out how to add those link things) - they're built in India at ridiculously low price - the Third Rethm" was revieved in 6moons awhile back - they've since sorted the "too hot" midrange - could definitely use some EnABLing but still have achieved pretty good result, especially with the 'rear of driver' interferance problems.
The Ikea bowl I used is the 5" wooden "blanda" bowl to "finish off" the pvc sleeve around the frame and side of the magnet to give a smooth surface from the frame edge right around the magnet - gets rid of a number of peaks/dips in response. The steel blanda bowls actually do effect the sound (yeah! true) and are definitely 'brighter', even with damping material added inside.
The mould shape for the "tail" for the rear of the spheres can be found in all sorts of places - for a 160Hz Xover, it needs to be about 500mm (18") long and the air horns found on trucks and boats is nearly ideal for that - doesn't actually need to be exponential, as can alter damping material (a bit of trial/error anyway).
Dave,
the EnABLed Fostex 167E drivers went out "on loan" and haven't come back!! They certainly measure a bit different to the stock drivers!
I think the "Passion" guys used a higher amount of damping for the PHY drivers but I vaguely remember something about deflection/diffusers. Be interesting to find out what is inside the top Cabasse spheres - not common speakers out here.
.. gave you a wrong steer there - It's "Rethm Speakers" (I've got to figure out how to add those link things) - they're built in India at ridiculously low price - the Third Rethm" was revieved in 6moons awhile back - they've since sorted the "too hot" midrange - could definitely use some EnABLing but still have achieved pretty good result, especially with the 'rear of driver' interferance problems.
The Ikea bowl I used is the 5" wooden "blanda" bowl to "finish off" the pvc sleeve around the frame and side of the magnet to give a smooth surface from the frame edge right around the magnet - gets rid of a number of peaks/dips in response. The steel blanda bowls actually do effect the sound (yeah! true) and are definitely 'brighter', even with damping material added inside.
The mould shape for the "tail" for the rear of the spheres can be found in all sorts of places - for a 160Hz Xover, it needs to be about 500mm (18") long and the air horns found on trucks and boats is nearly ideal for that - doesn't actually need to be exponential, as can alter damping material (a bit of trial/error anyway).
Dave,
the EnABLed Fostex 167E drivers went out "on loan" and haven't come back!! They certainly measure a bit different to the stock drivers!
I think the "Passion" guys used a higher amount of damping for the PHY drivers but I vaguely remember something about deflection/diffusers. Be interesting to find out what is inside the top Cabasse spheres - not common speakers out here.
Hi, my first post on this amazing forum. 
Hope Studio Au don`t mind that I borrow his thread a little bit.
First of all. What an amazing project! Absolutely beautiful those spheares Studio Au. I am going to do the same, but with full range drivers. The problem is which ones? I would like to build with 6,5" or 8" drivers but I am not shure if there are any that would work in an 9.1 liter enclosure. I am also going to build two 10" subs. That means that the full range drivers don`t have to play much under 100hz or so. I am going to spray paint the spheres milky white (gloss). One thing that is important to me (SQ is the main thing but..) the driver it self has to be nice looking. Now THAT is a challenge with full range drivers... The driver should be black, white or both. The nicest one I`ve found is the Fostex Sigma-series but Madisound was not completely shure it would work well down to 100hz...
Ok...my post is kind of a mess, but I will try to summarise.
1. 6,5'"-8" driver
2. Doesen`t have to play under 100-120hz
3. White, black or both
4. Completely round frame. Important. Looks best with the sphere enclosure.
5. Prise range... well.... $100-$200 each. No more.
Impossible?
Frode
Hope Studio Au don`t mind that I borrow his thread a little bit.
First of all. What an amazing project! Absolutely beautiful those spheares Studio Au.
I am going to do the same, but with full range drivers. The problem is which ones? I would like to build with 6,5" or 8" drivers but I am not shure if there are any that would work in an 9.1 liter enclosure. I am also going to build two 10" subs. That means that the full range drivers don`t have to play much under 100hz or so. I am going to spray paint the spheres milky white (gloss). One thing that is important to me (SQ is the main thing but..) the driver it self has to be nice looking. Now THAT is a challenge with full range drivers... The driver should be black, white or both. The nicest one I`ve found is the Fostex Sigma-series but Madisound was not completely shure it would work well down to 100hz... Ok...my post is kind of a mess, but I will try to summarise.
1. 6,5'"-8" driver
2. Doesen`t have to play under 100-120hz
3. White, black or both
4. Completely round frame. Important. Looks best with the sphere enclosure.
5. Prise range... well.... $100-$200 each. No more.
Impossible?
Frode
This thread has give me some good ideas...I finally started my design and picked up a 12" bowl from target
Thomas O'Brien® Large Wooden Bowl : Target
I have already sanded down the lip flat (took 1/2 hour with 60grit) to place a 12" round MDF baffle on it with a 1 1/4" round over. I then sanded the edge flush to the bowl (there was a slight dip) Im going to mount a 10" waveguide in it (QSC HPR-122i waveguide). Im looking to create a similar speaker design shape to the B&W 800D, mine is not an exact sphere though (I was also going to try "Smooth on" moldings and use a 12" play ball my kids have in the mold setup).
MDF Kerfing for the curve of the main box is next.
Sorry no pics at this time...its a prototype so Im figuring things out as I go...the 2nd one will be documented.
Thomas O'Brien® Large Wooden Bowl : Target
I have already sanded down the lip flat (took 1/2 hour with 60grit) to place a 12" round MDF baffle on it with a 1 1/4" round over. I then sanded the edge flush to the bowl (there was a slight dip) Im going to mount a 10" waveguide in it (QSC HPR-122i waveguide). Im looking to create a similar speaker design shape to the B&W 800D, mine is not an exact sphere though (I was also going to try "Smooth on" moldings and use a 12" play ball my kids have in the mold setup).
MDF Kerfing for the curve of the main box is next.
Sorry no pics at this time...its a prototype so Im figuring things out as I go...the 2nd one will be documented.
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Alpair 6 is ~3.5" driver. The Alpair 7 (i have really been taken with this driver) is considerably more advanced (nominal 4"), but with its wide bezel a bit harder to fit into the bowls -- i have plans for a CHR70 version, i'd hazard that the new multiform cone pushes the CHR up into (and possibly past) the Alpair6 -- i have some CHR Mk2 breaking in right now. A6 are probably getting scarce on the ground anyway with a 2nd gen not coming till late summer/fall as a best guess.
For your application, these small drivers will outperform a larger driver, in all but playing REALLY loud and in potential dynamics. And it is hard to fit anything much larger in the bowls.
dave
Ok, had to check the specs.
84.5dB, power, 20 Watts nominal. Xmax 4.4 mm
Tell me how it can do 100dB at 12 feet (which is 110dB @ 1 meter)?
btw, very nice looking driver though!!! Two Alpair 10s with a ribbon tweeter might look awesome...thanks for making me search, good site http://www.markaudio.com/
84.5dB, power, 20 Watts nominal. Xmax 4.4 mm
Tell me how it can do 100dB at 12 feet (which is 110dB @ 1 meter)?
btw, very nice looking driver though!!! Two Alpair 10s with a ribbon tweeter might look awesome...thanks for making me search, good site http://www.markaudio.com/
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1/ know how conservative Mark is
2/ it is being cut off in the bass, increasing power handling
3/ i said reasonable size room not outdoors
dave
Real numbers would be much more helpful in knowing the driver potential. Is there any 3rd party measurements that prove this opinion?
If you have to have a larger chassis, take the 28cm bowl (see post #1) and use say the Alpair 10 or even Alpair 12.
Many options.
Patrick
My bad...the plan is to use the biggest bowls, and in my opinion it will look "strange" with 4" drivers. Thanks for the drivers suggestions.
My bad...the plan is to use the biggest bowls, and in my opinion it will look "strange" with 4" drivers. Thanks for the drivers suggestions.
The problem is that a much bigger driver won't really fit.
Attached is a snapshot of a sketch of a blandaOnken thot experiment based on the big bowls. The wagon-wheel stuff in the join piece is the venting. I had to push the bowls out 12mm front & back to get the required volume for the CHR70 (blue driver). To use the nominal 6 1/2" Alpair12 (red driver) you have to cut away a lot more of the bowls. Then you end up with about half the volume required for the driver -- and the A12 works in a very small box.
dave
