Bobken said:
Thanks for pointing that out Bob, I was non the wiser until you mentioned all this.
It seems that things are going bad to worse here. Whoever packs these drivers should be sacked. I hope the people that assemble these drivers are more competant
First they neglect to include the accessories with my Supers and now I find out that my bass drivers are likely missing bits 🙁The exact driver model I have is the 9" SB75-234SL.
If you want to try filling the frame, take a look at Chemical Metal. It's a 2-part epoxy filler with metallic additives. I used it on my alloy wheels and it is quite good.
Hi Shin,
I am sure ATC will help out here and resolve the missing parts, one way or another.
As I have said several times before, I have found them to be very helpful, but I am now beginning to wonder if this apparent problem is because they don't normally deal direct with members of the public, as they are just not set-up for doing business as 'Retailers'. Generally speaking, I believe they will only supply their dealers/distributors, who of course have accounts with ATC and purchase 'quantity' supplies regularly from them.
My own dealings with them are always through my electronics business, so perhaps this might explain the different approach you have experienced recently.
Anyway, I hope it is soon resolved satisfactorily for you, but if for any reason this does not occur quite soon, please let me know, and I will help out as promised.
Regards,
P.S. I am sure you will never have any reason to doubt the assembly skills of those working at ATC, as, having visited them several times, they do a good job in this regard.
I am sure ATC will help out here and resolve the missing parts, one way or another.
As I have said several times before, I have found them to be very helpful, but I am now beginning to wonder if this apparent problem is because they don't normally deal direct with members of the public, as they are just not set-up for doing business as 'Retailers'. Generally speaking, I believe they will only supply their dealers/distributors, who of course have accounts with ATC and purchase 'quantity' supplies regularly from them.
My own dealings with them are always through my electronics business, so perhaps this might explain the different approach you have experienced recently.
Anyway, I hope it is soon resolved satisfactorily for you, but if for any reason this does not occur quite soon, please let me know, and I will help out as promised.
Regards,
P.S. I am sure you will never have any reason to doubt the assembly skills of those working at ATC, as, having visited them several times, they do a good job in this regard.
Bobken said:
Don't mind me Bob, just a bit fed up, especially after realising that I've got bits missing from my bass drivers too.
The cheap snipe about the assembly was a stupid comment by me. The driver constuction and materials are impeccable, its a shame that there aren't more drivers which have a similar philosophy.
I hope I haven't put anyone off buying ATC because mark my words; they are amongst the best drivers in the world. I think I've just had bad luck here and this seems especially true considering that I've never seen a bad word against them until my own.
Bob is right that they don't deal with the general public (I had to beg them to get an account setup last year and I had to beg again to get my super domes because they've stop supplying them to new customers simply because they can't make enough). Perhaps this means that they aren't properly equipped to deal with day to day requests from the general public, then also factor in the virtually horizontal attitude down there - I think Billy must instill some of the Australian 'style' in the rest of the employee's 😀
Hi Shin,
Let's hope it is soon resolved as I am sure ATC wouldn't want to cause anyone undue aggravation in a case like this.
Certainly, as you are aware, their design/development and manufacturing are second to none in quality, but maybe because they are simply used to dealing with only a few selected Distributors, their administration lags a little behind, sometimes, especially in an out-of-the-ordinary situation like you have now explained.
Like myself, being already familiar with ATC's normal requirements before placing any order, their usual Distributors would probably know that gaskets etc. may need to be specifically ordered in addition to the drivers, and this might possibly have avoided the frustration you have experienced.
Also, as occurred to me when I made the offer to help out here, some of my first thoughts were over how I could pack just a couple of these flimsy gaskets securely, so that they arrived safely at the destination. For me, I wouldn't mind (as a 'one-off') cutting up a suitable piece of stiff cardboard, or whatever, and trying to find a strong envelope to fit etc., but possibly to ATC (who are clearly kept busy and with a small admin. staff, anyway) this could be a headache for them.
I am not trying to find excuses, but this could explain why things have not gone so smoothly for you on this occasion, and I know that most of ATC's resources are put into making the excellent products, rather than into non-productive 'support' staff.
During one of my visits, I complimented them on having such a happy and willing workforce, and this is probably part of a deliberate philosophy at ATC which seems to work well and doubtless keeps overall productivity high. Having a top-heavy admin. area has been the downfall of more than one otherwise-successful manufacturing business, as this frequently causes aggravation amongst the 'workers' who sometimes resent apparently having to 'carry' these less-productive staff.
The downside is that ATC probably need to rely much more on their Dealers to sort out (or avoid) these admin. matters, and I am guessing now from what you have just said that this is what has happened here.
I do hope it is soon resolved for you, but I will act as your 'fall-back' position, if this is not done by ATC for any reason.
Regards,
Let's hope it is soon resolved as I am sure ATC wouldn't want to cause anyone undue aggravation in a case like this.
Certainly, as you are aware, their design/development and manufacturing are second to none in quality, but maybe because they are simply used to dealing with only a few selected Distributors, their administration lags a little behind, sometimes, especially in an out-of-the-ordinary situation like you have now explained.
Like myself, being already familiar with ATC's normal requirements before placing any order, their usual Distributors would probably know that gaskets etc. may need to be specifically ordered in addition to the drivers, and this might possibly have avoided the frustration you have experienced.
Also, as occurred to me when I made the offer to help out here, some of my first thoughts were over how I could pack just a couple of these flimsy gaskets securely, so that they arrived safely at the destination. For me, I wouldn't mind (as a 'one-off') cutting up a suitable piece of stiff cardboard, or whatever, and trying to find a strong envelope to fit etc., but possibly to ATC (who are clearly kept busy and with a small admin. staff, anyway) this could be a headache for them.
I am not trying to find excuses, but this could explain why things have not gone so smoothly for you on this occasion, and I know that most of ATC's resources are put into making the excellent products, rather than into non-productive 'support' staff.
During one of my visits, I complimented them on having such a happy and willing workforce, and this is probably part of a deliberate philosophy at ATC which seems to work well and doubtless keeps overall productivity high. Having a top-heavy admin. area has been the downfall of more than one otherwise-successful manufacturing business, as this frequently causes aggravation amongst the 'workers' who sometimes resent apparently having to 'carry' these less-productive staff.
The downside is that ATC probably need to rely much more on their Dealers to sort out (or avoid) these admin. matters, and I am guessing now from what you have just said that this is what has happened here.
I do hope it is soon resolved for you, but I will act as your 'fall-back' position, if this is not done by ATC for any reason.
Regards,
Hi Shin.. You must be excited apart from this little frustration
Has anyone suggested to fill holes with moddeling vax, which might be even better
Has anyone suggested to fill holes with moddeling vax, which might be even better
tinitus said:
Hi Tinitus.
Your right, its great fun to see them transform slowly from rough MDF cabinets into something that maybe better than what I'd imagined.
On another note, ATC finally followed up with the missing bits. Bit disappointed that they couldn't even be bothered to let me know they'd posted them or provide an appology. I emailed Bob on Monday and the next bit of contact I get is the parcel waiting for me this evening. Nevermind, I've got them now so what the hell.
The molding stuff has arrived too. Need to build a shallow box to hold the baffle now. Hopefully I'll have a go this weekend.
Finally I need a little more advice. I kinda feel like a sellout asking this because it goes against something that I believe in or rather don't believe in. What am I talking about? Highend cables of course 😉 At the moment I have a few meters of cheap QED £3.50 a meter stuff. I was planning to use this for all the internal wiring but thought I'd go for some ego boosting overpriced stuff 😀 I know its a joke but I was looking at the QED Genesis biwire cable:
http://www.qed.co.uk/i106c159-158/QED_Cables/Speaker_Cables/Genesis_Silver_Sprial_Bi-Wire.htm
I like the sound of the lower priced QED stuff, some says its over bright but I think it sounds very slightly more 'alive' than other cables.
The only problem is that the cable looks like a biatch to wire up:
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Any idea's on how to do this? I'm thinking braid each of 19 conductors together, that seems obvious enough but what do you do with the alu foil screen and mylar wrap? Your probably thinking "this guy builds speaker and yet he doesn't know jack about cables?" And you'd be completely right, like I said before, I never bought into the whole cable thing but I figure that this deserves something decent even if its just a placebo effect for me 😉 😀
If I were to do it again.. I'd probably use this stuff in a 3 conductor braid per terminal with the ends formed as needed and microsorb sandwiched in between conductors at the formed/contact ends where solder won't be used:
http://home.att.net/~chimeraone/cccaudiowireccaudiosolder.html
(..its basically the Furutech/Neotech wire from a bulk run.)
(I'd probably use a cotton wrap on it as opposed to something synthetic.)
as to the QED stuff..
sounds about right, maybe using a soft/compliant heatshrink around each "leg". Some people ground the shielding, others run a small amount of dc through it via a battery, most - probably just do nothing with it.
http://home.att.net/~chimeraone/cccaudiowireccaudiosolder.html
(..its basically the Furutech/Neotech wire from a bulk run.)
(I'd probably use a cotton wrap on it as opposed to something synthetic.)
as to the QED stuff..
sounds about right, maybe using a soft/compliant heatshrink around each "leg". Some people ground the shielding, others run a small amount of dc through it via a battery, most - probably just do nothing with it.
ScottG said:
Thanks for the info Scott.
I've made my mind up on the QED stuff because I've had pleasant experiences with their cheap stuff.
And why on earth would you pass DC through the shielding? Bizarre.
If you ground the shielding, I assume its to the amp chassis?
ShinOBIWAN said:
I don't know why you would pass minimal DC in the shielding.. Thorsten recomended this sometime ago without explaining why (..or at least I don't remember why). I haven't even tried it myself (to lazy and I don't want to cut-into the sheathing I have).
You might try pinging Kuei Yang Wang (aka Thorsten) to see what his response is.
Note: I just tried looking around for compliant heat shrink.. Kimber Kable seems to have this - maybe QED has some soft stuff as well?
Yes, on the amp grounding.. I've seen some DIY amps before with 3 terminals per channel. I suspect that this could go "either-way" quality-wise (though IMO most likely not audible at all) .. so best left to experimentation.
More progress:
Here's the support that provides a weight relief for the forces that are bearing down on the unusual cabinet shape.
Note that the silver landing pad for the pole will be attached to the bass enclosure. The threaded foot on the end of the pole allows adjustment of the overall length to ensure a good stable fit. And finally the grey base holds the threaded foot and is attached to the plinth.
Here's the support that provides a weight relief for the forces that are bearing down on the unusual cabinet shape.
Note that the silver landing pad for the pole will be attached to the bass enclosure. The threaded foot on the end of the pole allows adjustment of the overall length to ensure a good stable fit. And finally the grey base holds the threaded foot and is attached to the plinth.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Here's the woofer baffle sprayed up and ready for final finishing when the part has hardened:
And finally I have sprayed one of the plinths and this again is ready for final finishing in a weeks time.
It hasn't been all plain sailing today though, I ruined a paint job on one of the mid/treble baffles by accidentally catching the wet finish with the tip of the gun. It looks like some rubbing down and then a respray, no big deal.
And finally I have sprayed one of the plinths and this again is ready for final finishing in a weeks time.
It hasn't been all plain sailing today though, I ruined a paint job on one of the mid/treble baffles by accidentally catching the wet finish with the tip of the gun. It looks like some rubbing down and then a respray, no big deal.
One last thing to remark upon on the mold:
(driver attachement to concrete)
For mine I increased the size of each driver mounting hole. Then I used some screws (don't know what kind) where the thread diameter was slightly larger than driver holes and carefully screwed them into the concrete holes, and then unscrewed them. The purpose of the was to "groove" the inside of the holes - and I don't know if this was a neccesary step or not. Next I filled in the holes with wood filler. Finally, after the wood filler was "solid", I pre-drilled the wood filler and the baffle was ready for attachment.
Now with your mold process its likely you won't have the negative impressions of the holes to any substantial effect because the mold liquid likely will not fill the baffle holes properly. Thats OK.
Instead, drill into the mold at those locations, plumb and centered but slightly larger in diameter to the thread diameter of the screws you will be using.
Then create of very small form for a single negative hole, slightly longer than the required depth of the screws you will be using. (..alternativly make a "ring" form that includes ALL of the holes.) Spray the negative hole mold with releasing agent and then pour the liquid into that mold (..repeat as necessary if doing just one hole at a time.)
This should provide you with tiny "poles" jutting out on the mold where the screws will be placed.
From there do what I did.. i.e. cast the concrete and then fill-in the holes with woodfiller (or something like it you can drill into.
.................................................................................................
Note you DON'T have to do it this way. Instead of doing an additional mold pour you could alway purchase some dowels to insert into the mold and then lightly coat each one with the mold material or silcone caulk. (..this is the method I used, because I wasn't working with a pour mold product.)
Alternativly you could fore-go the entire process and just drill into the concrete baffle if it doesn't have aggregate that will get in the way. (..and then use screws made for concrete.)
Up to you..
One last thing..
Concrete is usually 3 parts sand, 2 parts aggregate, 1 part cement. Considering that you don't need the compressive strength of concrete you could always use JUST CEMENT (i.e. no sand or aggregate).
(driver attachement to concrete)
For mine I increased the size of each driver mounting hole. Then I used some screws (don't know what kind) where the thread diameter was slightly larger than driver holes and carefully screwed them into the concrete holes, and then unscrewed them. The purpose of the was to "groove" the inside of the holes - and I don't know if this was a neccesary step or not. Next I filled in the holes with wood filler. Finally, after the wood filler was "solid", I pre-drilled the wood filler and the baffle was ready for attachment.
Now with your mold process its likely you won't have the negative impressions of the holes to any substantial effect because the mold liquid likely will not fill the baffle holes properly. Thats OK.
Instead, drill into the mold at those locations, plumb and centered but slightly larger in diameter to the thread diameter of the screws you will be using.
Then create of very small form for a single negative hole, slightly longer than the required depth of the screws you will be using. (..alternativly make a "ring" form that includes ALL of the holes.) Spray the negative hole mold with releasing agent and then pour the liquid into that mold (..repeat as necessary if doing just one hole at a time.)
This should provide you with tiny "poles" jutting out on the mold where the screws will be placed.
From there do what I did.. i.e. cast the concrete and then fill-in the holes with woodfiller (or something like it you can drill into.
.................................................................................................
Note you DON'T have to do it this way. Instead of doing an additional mold pour you could alway purchase some dowels to insert into the mold and then lightly coat each one with the mold material or silcone caulk. (..this is the method I used, because I wasn't working with a pour mold product.)
Alternativly you could fore-go the entire process and just drill into the concrete baffle if it doesn't have aggregate that will get in the way. (..and then use screws made for concrete.)
Up to you..
One last thing..
Concrete is usually 3 parts sand, 2 parts aggregate, 1 part cement. Considering that you don't need the compressive strength of concrete you could always use JUST CEMENT (i.e. no sand or aggregate).
Finally got round to finishing a bass cabinet this evening:
Crappy pictures don't do it any justice whatsoever.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
An externally hosted image should be here but it was not working when we last tested it.
Crappy pictures don't do it any justice whatsoever.
holy crap. the reflection in that last pic is shocking. I certainly will never have the patience to produce something like that in my life time.
Just make sure you support these ones properly when you're working on them/leaving them to dry 😉
Just make sure you support these ones properly when you're working on them/leaving them to dry 😉
Vikash said:holy crap. the reflection in that last pic is shocking. I certainly will never have the patience to produce something like that in my life time.
Just make sure you support these ones properly when you're working on them/leaving them to dry 😉
Thanks for the comments Vikash 🙂
You've got the same spray equipment as me Vikash so you could easily do that or even better.
If you don't fancy the effort, send me some stuff you're wanting sprayed up and I'd be glad to do it for a small fee. Maybe I could start a side line with this? Hmmm....
love the little lights in your steps/sleepers 😀
what rubbing compound/polish are you using to get that finish?
what rubbing compound/polish are you using to get that finish?
lufbramatt said:
The steps are pretty funky come night-time. The garden's like Disney Land with lanterns, spotlights, uplighters and a fountain with lights that take advantage of refraction within the water - one word 'Women'.
About the compound, polish and waxes:
The coarse rubbing compound was Farecla G3, this gets rid of the deepest scratches caused by sanding the surface level, after you've finished with the G3 you'll have lots of swirl marks and a fairly decent gloss finish.
Move onto a fine cutting polish afterwards and this will remove virtually all the swirl marks after some applications. Once you buffed out the residue you'll have an pretty impressive looking finish.
After this I wanted extra gloss, a more brilliant shine and some protection so I used a high quality acrylic sealant and then an acrylic wax. The acrylic wax can be applied by hand but must be buffed off by polishing machine using the softest cotton head you can find otherwise you'll be left with residue on the finish that's very tough to remove by hand, the reason for this is that it hardens and forms a thin acrylic layer over the paint.
Here's links to what I used:
Farecla G3:
http://www.paints4u.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=2789
National A-Grade fine Cutting Polish:
http://www.paints4u.com/ProductDetails.aspx?productID=536
Car-Lack Acrylic Sealant:
http://www.carsparkle.com/cgi-bin/c...g=prod&ref=93&cat=acrylic&catstr=HOME:acrylic
Car-Lack Acrylic Wax:
http://www.carsparkle.com/cgi-bin/c...=prod&ref=150&cat=acrylic&catstr=HOME:acrylic
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