Tom,
Your speakers are coming along great. What is the xover point from mid to tweeter, and how low do you expect to run the 4"?
Rodd Yamashita
Your speakers are coming along great. What is the xover point from mid to tweeter, and how low do you expect to run the 4"?
Rodd Yamashita
Tom,
Those are looking good. I just put some of those budget ApexJr into some BD-Pipes, they seem to work decently (i'm XOing at 10k thou).
And i recommend everyone have a close look at the use of mor-tite (looks a lot like Duct-seal) on the baskets and magnets (i usually don't load up the back of the magnet like you did) -- this can be a hugely effective mod -- even on big-buck speakers.
dave
Those are looking good. I just put some of those budget ApexJr into some BD-Pipes, they seem to work decently (i'm XOing at 10k thou).
And i recommend everyone have a close look at the use of mor-tite (looks a lot like Duct-seal) on the baskets and magnets (i usually don't load up the back of the magnet like you did) -- this can be a hugely effective mod -- even on big-buck speakers.
dave
Hey.
guys- look at his "crushed tube" construction.This had crossed my mind, but I was afraid the tube would either be too difficult to crush, or would crease unevenly. This proves the concept I would Say!!!.
Again proving the "Makers" on this site are infinitely more vsaluable to this site the the "airmchair theoretitions"
He now has an enclosure that is flat on the front for easy driver mounting, but close to the egg shape that seems ideal for boxes:
rigid, least standing waves, pretty easy to make, withstands pressuration and resonance well, not necessarily too heavy. smooth baffle step transition and large radius corners for maybe better imaging (I think the front baffle should be tapered to very thin on the edges to make this last true) Of course this would work for conventional 2 or 3 ways also.
guys- look at his "crushed tube" construction.This had crossed my mind, but I was afraid the tube would either be too difficult to crush, or would crease unevenly. This proves the concept I would Say!!!.
Again proving the "Makers" on this site are infinitely more vsaluable to this site the the "airmchair theoretitions"
He now has an enclosure that is flat on the front for easy driver mounting, but close to the egg shape that seems ideal for boxes:
rigid, least standing waves, pretty easy to make, withstands pressuration and resonance well, not necessarily too heavy. smooth baffle step transition and large radius corners for maybe better imaging (I think the front baffle should be tapered to very thin on the edges to make this last true) Of course this would work for conventional 2 or 3 ways also.
Cudos on a Inventive and Inspiring Project
Just a couple of questions and a request:
How did you manipulate the sonotube into shape?
Does the “see through view from above” drawing accurately represent it’s actual shape?
And if the drawing does not accurately represent it’s shape, would you post a photo looking straight down into the tube from above?
I'm looking forward to reading your impressions of their sound, as a similar project may very well be in my future.
Good Luck and Happy Trails
Just a couple of questions and a request:
How did you manipulate the sonotube into shape?
Does the “see through view from above” drawing accurately represent it’s actual shape?
And if the drawing does not accurately represent it’s shape, would you post a photo looking straight down into the tube from above?
I'm looking forward to reading your impressions of their sound, as a similar project may very well be in my future.
Good Luck and Happy Trails
Tom, have to say the speakers are awesome!
Even if they didn't make a sound, I'd be impressed, but judging by what's been said so far, I'm sure they will sound great too.
It's very cool how you were able to crush the Sonotube. It's debatable whether this come out cheaper than my Cubicon D-tubes (about $60 for a 12" diameter x 62" long including shipping). But, yours certainly will look a bit more professional, and Sonotube is a lot easier to obtain than Cubicon stuff. I think you should have an excellent enclosure there, all I can say is that's a lot of stuff to add to that poor tube! 🙂
My Cubicon tubes only have a half height baffle on the inside of the tube, two layers of just plain 'ol 3/4" particleboard. Just a simple layer of polyester fiberfill around the top half of the inner walls, and a layer of velvet around the outside of the tube. Solid oak top cap with a particleboard insert under, and pine bottom cap, with no insert just yet. Anyhow..
As was said earlier, good thing you have a large closet. My cabinets certainly are the most expensive part of my speakers, but you're on a whole other level, like 5 levels up. 🙂 I'll have to remember your Sonotube crushing trick, this certainly gives me some new ideas , thanks!
Regards,
Aaron Gilbert
http://www.aaroncgilbert.com/myhometheater.html
Even if they didn't make a sound, I'd be impressed, but judging by what's been said so far, I'm sure they will sound great too.
It's very cool how you were able to crush the Sonotube. It's debatable whether this come out cheaper than my Cubicon D-tubes (about $60 for a 12" diameter x 62" long including shipping). But, yours certainly will look a bit more professional, and Sonotube is a lot easier to obtain than Cubicon stuff. I think you should have an excellent enclosure there, all I can say is that's a lot of stuff to add to that poor tube! 🙂
My Cubicon tubes only have a half height baffle on the inside of the tube, two layers of just plain 'ol 3/4" particleboard. Just a simple layer of polyester fiberfill around the top half of the inner walls, and a layer of velvet around the outside of the tube. Solid oak top cap with a particleboard insert under, and pine bottom cap, with no insert just yet. Anyhow..
As was said earlier, good thing you have a large closet. My cabinets certainly are the most expensive part of my speakers, but you're on a whole other level, like 5 levels up. 🙂 I'll have to remember your Sonotube crushing trick, this certainly gives me some new ideas , thanks!
Regards,
Aaron Gilbert
http://www.aaroncgilbert.com/myhometheater.html
I had no idea about this cubicon stuff
http://www.cubiconcorp.com/shapes.htm
it does come in great shapes. What an important piece of info!!
The will even slap veneer on it if you want!
The price really doesn't seem that bad? Where did you get yours?
Direct?
http://www.cubiconcorp.com/shapes.htm
it does come in great shapes. What an important piece of info!!
The will even slap veneer on it if you want!
The price really doesn't seem that bad? Where did you get yours?
Direct?
Tom,
I was pointing at a sonotube i had to a construstioneer friend, and the 1st thing he said was if i cut it lengthwise it would naturally unravel (as they are designed to for removing once the concrete is dry.
Did you have any problems with this or take any special measures?
dave
I was pointing at a sonotube i had to a construstioneer friend, and the 1st thing he said was if i cut it lengthwise it would naturally unravel (as they are designed to for removing once the concrete is dry.
Did you have any problems with this or take any special measures?
dave
Variac said:
Because it is big, the shipping can be a significant portion of the price. I looked into what it would cost to get up here, and it more than doubled the cost.
dave
Aaron
I just looked at your sight and you did a great job on the project.
Cubicon looks like it could be a great product. I think I will use it for the next set.
dave
I never cut the tubes lengthwise so I can't help with that.
In hindsight I think I should have made my first DIY speaker a little simpler. I hope I last long enough to get the subs done.
I just looked at your sight and you did a great job on the project.
Cubicon looks like it could be a great product. I think I will use it for the next set.
dave
I never cut the tubes lengthwise so I can't help with that.
In hindsight I think I should have made my first DIY speaker a little simpler. I hope I last long enough to get the subs done.
Cubicon stuff.
Variac,
I got my Cubicon D-tubes from Anderson International Trading, http://www.aitwood.com . I believe it used to be that you could order from Cubicon direct, but no longer. AIT is also the only distributor that I've had success in dealing with, and Cubicon doesn't seem to return email. As Planet10 noted, the shipping is quite expensive. I happened to get a deal because AIT quoted me a shipping cost before they actually placed the order, so I only paid $15 per tube, ground shipping of course. This is USD. Grand total for five 62" x 12" D-tubes if I recall correctly was $275. Not beating any MDF prices here, that's for darned sure..
It's funny I had to go through AIT, because all they stock are the plain cylinders, my D-tubes shipped direct to me from Cubicon.
I seem to recall Adire Audio was considering offering some Cubicon cabinets at one point, but bagged the idea because the company was so hard to deal with.
tom1356,
This is your first DIY speaker??!! Man some people, ever heard of the term 'start small'? 🙂 My first speaker used the Audio Concepts AC8 woofer and a Radio Shack 2 x 6" Piezo horn tweeter. 1st order crossover, no impedance equalization, simple sealed box. I thought they sounded pretty good, and they still work fine, but have been relegated to computer speakers.
One thing to keep in mind with the Cubicon tubes is that they may have a raw end. I don't know if this is true of all them or just mine, but I suspect it's all. For some odd reason, they decided to put the end on one side of the 'front' panel of my D-tube, instead of the back. It's a pretty ugly edge if you were not planning to wrap the tube in cloth like I did or wrap it in veneer. It's possible that the edge could be smoothed out enough so that a simple painting would do, but sanding on cardboard seems weird. It does work though, I sanded the top and bottoms of mine. If you thought MDF soaked up water though... don't get the Cubicon tubes wet!
Edit: By end I mean like a seam, except this isn't a seam it's just the edge of the 8 or 9 layers of cardboard that are wrapped together to make the shape. It runs the entire length of the tube, as you'd expect.
Aaron Gilbert
Variac,
I got my Cubicon D-tubes from Anderson International Trading, http://www.aitwood.com . I believe it used to be that you could order from Cubicon direct, but no longer. AIT is also the only distributor that I've had success in dealing with, and Cubicon doesn't seem to return email. As Planet10 noted, the shipping is quite expensive. I happened to get a deal because AIT quoted me a shipping cost before they actually placed the order, so I only paid $15 per tube, ground shipping of course. This is USD. Grand total for five 62" x 12" D-tubes if I recall correctly was $275. Not beating any MDF prices here, that's for darned sure..
It's funny I had to go through AIT, because all they stock are the plain cylinders, my D-tubes shipped direct to me from Cubicon.
I seem to recall Adire Audio was considering offering some Cubicon cabinets at one point, but bagged the idea because the company was so hard to deal with.
tom1356,
This is your first DIY speaker??!! Man some people, ever heard of the term 'start small'? 🙂 My first speaker used the Audio Concepts AC8 woofer and a Radio Shack 2 x 6" Piezo horn tweeter. 1st order crossover, no impedance equalization, simple sealed box. I thought they sounded pretty good, and they still work fine, but have been relegated to computer speakers.
One thing to keep in mind with the Cubicon tubes is that they may have a raw end. I don't know if this is true of all them or just mine, but I suspect it's all. For some odd reason, they decided to put the end on one side of the 'front' panel of my D-tube, instead of the back. It's a pretty ugly edge if you were not planning to wrap the tube in cloth like I did or wrap it in veneer. It's possible that the edge could be smoothed out enough so that a simple painting would do, but sanding on cardboard seems weird. It does work though, I sanded the top and bottoms of mine. If you thought MDF soaked up water though... don't get the Cubicon tubes wet!
Edit: By end I mean like a seam, except this isn't a seam it's just the edge of the 8 or 9 layers of cardboard that are wrapped together to make the shape. It runs the entire length of the tube, as you'd expect.
Aaron Gilbert
Looking cool, Tom, can't wait to see the finished results!😎
Nice to see you are using oil, it is easily my favorite finish, and unless I am building for someone else, it's all I use these days!
Nice to see you are using oil, it is easily my favorite finish, and unless I am building for someone else, it's all I use these days!
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