Now that's what I call determination

[KatieandDad]

Have a read of this guy's DIY clone of the B&W 801D.

It's AWESOME.

Building (2) High End Tower Speakers - Blu-ray Forum

 

[lemans23]

Those speakers are really quite beautiful in person (that's actually the 800D). Curious how they sound compare to factory

 

[KatieandDad]

Originally I was sceptical about the air in the speaker walls caused by his method of bending the boards. The originals are not grooved but bent under heated conditions.

There are obviously gpoing to be some differences but how much of that will be noticable is difficult to guess.

 

[tinitus]

wow ... and wow

impressive work, and design
but IMO ... too ugly to look at every day
(or its me who are too old)

is it a good speaker, soundwise ?

 

[KatieandDad]

The originals are lovely to listen to but at £11K they're not cheap.

 

[tinitus]

well, I guess that price tag gives his effort more sense

how did he get the drivers ?

 

[KatieandDad]

If you read the full article he managed to persuade B&W to sell him the drivers and the crossover boards. Normally you have to own a pair to be able to get the spares.

 

[xrk971]

Very nice work... and from the look of the materials, effort and equipment involved I would say more than 11k pounds Sterling went into this reproduction. If one has access to a full blown production factory floor like this, maybe doable, but the amount of time looks immense. Determination AND access to shop with equipment are necessary.

 

[Kjeldsen]

Originally I was sceptical about the air in the speaker walls caused by his method of bending the boards. The originals are not grooved but bent under heated conditions.

There are obviously gpoing to be some differences but how much of that will be noticable is difficult to guess.

The method is well known for speaker enclosures - Dali Euphonia is made this way

 

[lemans23]

wow ... and wow

impressive work, and design
but IMO ... too ugly to look at every day
(or its me who are too old)

is it a good speaker, soundwise ?

Truthfully, I was not blown away by the sound when I heard them last year. That said, I've always found B&W to be a bit too...clinical? Superb accuracy, superb sound, but to me they sound like the best possible monitor. I can't put my finger on it, but they've always just sounded dry or that they're all about precision rather than musicality. The latter is what I think makes a speaker great: you bring the musicians into the room rather than perfectly reproduce what was recorded. I know this sounds like rubbish, but I thinket not a coincidence that every pair of B&W's I've heard has this quality.

 

[lemans23]

Originally I was sceptical about the air in the speaker walls caused by his method of bending the boards. The originals are not grooved but bent under heated conditions.

There are obviously gpoing to be some differences but how much of that will be noticable is difficult to guess.

Yes, that technique is called kerfing. The grooves are typically also bonded together with some form of binder. When I was making car audio enclosures with flared ports, I would make a paste of MDF dust and woodglue, and basically use it as a filler. As was just mentioned, it's a very common and reliable technique when done properly.

 

[KatieandDad]

Personally the B&W sound is one that I've grown to love. Unfortunately I lost my 801D's due to divorce, but my B&W 683's are still lovely to listen to.

 

[KatieandDad]

Yes, that technique is called kerfing. The grooves are typically also bonded together with some form of binder. When I was making car audio enclosures with flared ports, I would make a paste of MDF dust and woodglue, and basically use it as a filler. As was just mentioned, it's a very common and reliable technique when done properly.

Yes, in the article he mentions that the outer skin is filled, he uses multiple layers of MDF to eventually make a cabinet over 1" thick.

Looking at the construction it looks pretty close to the original, whether he's got one to copy or has just copied the design idea I don't know.

The cabinet is different because the original isn't encased in fibreglass. The original midrange enclosure was also not made of MDF AKAIK.

 

[tinitus]

I once heard one of the older 801, and thought it was really great
not sure I liked any of the others

 

[lemans23]

Yes, in the article he mentions that the outer skin is filled, he uses multiple layers of MDF to eventually make a cabinet over 1" thick.

Looking at the construction it looks pretty close to the original, whether he's got one to copy or has just copied the design idea I don't know.

The cabinet is different because the original isn't encased in fibreglass. The original midrange enclosure was also not made of MDF AKAIK.

Indeed it is not. The mid enclosure is made of a composite which they claim is acoustically superior.