Hi Guys,
I know this is meant to be a DI-"Y" site
, but my woodworking skills are non-existant. However, my brother in law Dave is very handy in that department and we decided to trade skills over a couple of projects. He has constructed me the cabinets for the Ivan Leslie IPL S3TLM Transmission Line speakers and I wanted to share his work with you (and we'd appreciate your comments). The veneer is American Black Walnut, specifically positioned to make best uses of the grain oysters on the sheets. The grain itself runs from the stand, up the side, over the top and down the other side of the speaker in a continuous run. Front and rear veneers have been chosen for their features and positioned accordingly. The veneer is also mirror imaged between both speakers and is finished with oil and final wax. The speaker stands are hollow and have concealed screws to allow mass loading using sand, lead etc.
Album link HERE
I'll be doing the crossovers in an external box and will internally wire with either single core 5N silver wire with cotton piping (but have been warned if might be brittle and break due to the vibrations) or a silver plated copper stranded wire with a teflon jacket.
I take my hat off to Dave - I think he's done a really superb job here and I'll be proud to have these beauties in my listening room!!
Cheers
Jon
I know this is meant to be a DI-"Y" site
, but my woodworking skills are non-existant. However, my brother in law Dave is very handy in that department and we decided to trade skills over a couple of projects. He has constructed me the cabinets for the Ivan Leslie IPL S3TLM Transmission Line speakers and I wanted to share his work with you (and we'd appreciate your comments). The veneer is American Black Walnut, specifically positioned to make best uses of the grain oysters on the sheets. The grain itself runs from the stand, up the side, over the top and down the other side of the speaker in a continuous run. Front and rear veneers have been chosen for their features and positioned accordingly. The veneer is also mirror imaged between both speakers and is finished with oil and final wax. The speaker stands are hollow and have concealed screws to allow mass loading using sand, lead etc.Album link HERE
I'll be doing the crossovers in an external box and will internally wire with either single core 5N silver wire with cotton piping (but have been warned if might be brittle and break due to the vibrations) or a silver plated copper stranded wire with a teflon jacket.
I take my hat off to Dave - I think he's done a really superb job here and I'll be proud to have these beauties in my listening room!!
Cheers
Jon
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Those look superb Jon, be sure to buy your brother-in-law a few pints for those.
You'll be surprised at how much of the grain and figuring of the wood is brought out with a quality wax, even better would be a urethane high gloss finish.
One thing I did notice is that he hasn't recessed the drivers, is this not needed for the S3?
You'll be surprised at how much of the grain and figuring of the wood is brought out with a quality wax, even better would be a urethane high gloss finish.
One thing I did notice is that he hasn't recessed the drivers, is this not needed for the S3?
Driver Recess
Hi ShinOBIWAN,
Thanks for your kind comments - Yup, he'll be getting beer all right! I don't recall the instructions mentioning a recess (before I gave the whole pile of MDF to Dave to take away after a visit 
) and as the panels came fully machined, I assume it would be done if needed. The grille panel is quite thick and the material is stretched over the surface, allowing the driver surrounds enough space beneath.
However, I'll have a chat with Dave about this - he's keen to get feedback and I've emailed him a link to this thread.
Cheers!
Jon
Hi ShinOBIWAN,
Thanks for your kind comments - Yup, he'll be getting beer all right!
I don't recall the instructions mentioning a recess (before I gave the whole pile of MDF to Dave to take away after a visit ) and as the panels came fully machined, I assume it would be done if needed. The grille panel is quite thick and the material is stretched over the surface, allowing the driver surrounds enough space beneath.However, I'll have a chat with Dave about this - he's keen to get feedback and I've emailed him a link to this thread.
Cheers!
Jon
Recess?
....I've just been on the IPLacoustics.co.uk website and all drivers are surface mounted.
I can't wait to get these home and run in! They earn some nice comments here: http://www.tubedistinctions.co.uk/main.htm Link is on the bottom of the left hand column.
Cheers
Jon
....I've just been on the IPLacoustics.co.uk website and all drivers are surface mounted.
I can't wait to get these home and run in! They earn some nice comments here: http://www.tubedistinctions.co.uk/main.htm Link is on the bottom of the left hand column.
Cheers
Jon
Finished and running in.........
Here's an update!!!
I had the easy job of reworking the existing crossovers to get them into a box on the back of the speakers - we didn't want to have anything interfering with the waves inside.
Dave was magic in the wodd department - as usual!! The cabinets are oiled, waxed and buffed. The veneer has a superb sheen to it and the quality is outstanding! My neighbour commented that the finish was professional and I couldn't agree more!!
Soundwise, these TLs are shaping up nicely as they run in. I used the recommended long haired wool wadding behind the woofer, and the bass is now deep and tight. I'm running 8R2 in a resistor network for the ribbons, as that was what the previous builder used, but think I should try the stock 10R for completeness. That's another advantage of the external crossover box. I'll post some more reports in a couple of weeks.
Here are some pics:
Cheers
Jon
Here's an update!!!
I had the easy job of reworking the existing crossovers to get them into a box on the back of the speakers - we didn't want to have anything interfering with the waves inside.
Dave was magic in the wodd department - as usual!! The cabinets are oiled, waxed and buffed. The veneer has a superb sheen to it and the quality is outstanding!
My neighbour commented that the finish was professional and I couldn't agree more!! Soundwise, these TLs are shaping up nicely as they run in. I used the recommended long haired wool wadding behind the woofer, and the bass is now deep and tight. I'm running 8R2 in a resistor network for the ribbons, as that was what the previous builder used, but think I should try the stock 10R for completeness. That's another advantage of the external crossover box. I'll post some more reports in a couple of weeks.
Here are some pics:
Cheers
Jon
Veneering
Hi Rich,
Dave doesn't do this for a living - in fact we reckon it could never be commercially viable if you were to charge by the hour as the end price would make you wince. However, Dave did get a lot of pleasure out of building these (well, a bit more than the pain!! ) and he might well be able to help.
Just as an indicator, our veneer and glues came to around £150, but we were going for a matched and mirrored finish from a heavily figured wood. If we wished to use another wood, we could certainly have saved a roll of £25 veneer.
What did you have in mind?
Cheers
Jon
Hi Rich,
Dave doesn't do this for a living - in fact we reckon it could never be commercially viable if you were to charge by the hour as the end price would make you wince. However, Dave did get a lot of pleasure out of building these (well, a bit more than the pain!!
) and he might well be able to help.Just as an indicator, our veneer and glues came to around £150, but we were going for a matched and mirrored finish from a heavily figured wood. If we wished to use another wood, we could certainly have saved a roll of £25 veneer.
What did you have in mind?
Cheers
Jon
Iron-on Glue Film
Hi Richie,
We used glue film supplied by Vale Veneers (.co.uk). Dave used two electric irons. One hot to melt the glue and the other cold to act as a sink and to cool the glue evenly. This method helps to prevent the veneer from swimming on the carcass surface.
Good luck with your project. I'm intrigued - how about a PM clue??
Cheers
Jon
Hi Richie,
We used glue film supplied by Vale Veneers (.co.uk). Dave used two electric irons. One hot to melt the glue and the other cold to act as a sink and to cool the glue evenly. This method helps to prevent the veneer from swimming on the carcass surface.
Good luck with your project. I'm intrigued - how about a PM clue??
Cheers
Jon
Those look fabulous Jon.
I built a pair of S3s last year, but I cheated and bought the pre-veneered kit... but I did have to glue it together, and veneer the fronts and backs
http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dcp00203kd.jpg
http://img354.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dcp00149xc.jpg
I built a pair of S3s last year, but I cheated and bought the pre-veneered kit... but I did have to glue it together, and veneer the fronts and backs
http://img134.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dcp00203kd.jpg
http://img354.imageshack.us/my.php?image=dcp00149xc.jpg
Thanks Jon.
I use Ivans recommended 10 ohm tweeter resistor. I was fully expecting to play around with different values and to have to experiment with line damping etc, but to my ears it sounds beautifully balanced as it is. I might experiment one day, but for now I'm very happy=)
As for how they sound.... these are my first experience with t-lines and ribbon tweeters, but I have to say I am very impressed. Bass has a lovely "free and easy" feel to it that can shake the windows, but NO boom. It is textured and tuneful.
The ribbon tweeter is a real honey, very fast and open with absolutely no harshness, and seem to integrate with the mid very well to my ears.
They are also an easy load, I drive mine with a Glasshouse 300b SET amp and get all the volume I need with great imaging and fabulous bass in my small room.
I am very happy with 'em.
I use Ivans recommended 10 ohm tweeter resistor. I was fully expecting to play around with different values and to have to experiment with line damping etc, but to my ears it sounds beautifully balanced as it is. I might experiment one day, but for now I'm very happy=)
As for how they sound.... these are my first experience with t-lines and ribbon tweeters, but I have to say I am very impressed. Bass has a lovely "free and easy" feel to it that can shake the windows, but NO boom. It is textured and tuneful.
The ribbon tweeter is a real honey, very fast and open with absolutely no harshness, and seem to integrate with the mid very well to my ears.
They are also an easy load, I drive mine with a Glasshouse 300b SET amp and get all the volume I need with great imaging and fabulous bass in my small room.
I am very happy with 'em.
Nice one, Dik! I forgot to mention in my previous post that I used the 8R2 network that the previous builder used, but s/he had built the speakers with a ported cabinet. I'm tempted to try the 10R now for completeness - might be missing something although the speakers do sound great with a weighty presentation and fine detail from the ribbon. I've done around the 20 hrs that Ivan suggested for run in, but I'm sure the presentation will evolve over the coming months.
I run mine with a pair of Arcam D290P power amps (bridged mono), but am also hoping to try out some chip amps in the future just to see.
Cheers
Jon
I forgot to mention in my previous post that I used the 8R2 network that the previous builder used, but s/he had built the speakers with a ported cabinet. I'm tempted to try the 10R now for completeness - might be missing something although the speakers do sound great with a weighty presentation and fine detail from the ribbon. I've done around the 20 hrs that Ivan suggested for run in, but I'm sure the presentation will evolve over the coming months.I run mine with a pair of Arcam D290P power amps (bridged mono), but am also hoping to try out some chip amps in the future just to see.
Cheers
Jon
Revised Crossovers
Hi All,
I changed to 10R in the crossovers (just one snip in the resistor network) and took the opportunity to replace the speakers properly using the excellent room resonance/speaker placement spreadsheet from acoustica.org.
Result? I have a more natural sound than before and the soundstage is improved. Overall, really worthwhile, and, while the S3TLMs sounded very nice before, I think a positive improvement has been gained by using the 10R resistors in the crossover.
Cheers
Jon
Hi All,
I changed to 10R in the crossovers (just one snip in the resistor network) and took the opportunity to replace the speakers properly using the excellent room resonance/speaker placement spreadsheet from acoustica.org.
Result? I have a more natural sound than before and the soundstage is improved. Overall, really worthwhile, and, while the S3TLMs sounded very nice before, I think a positive improvement has been gained by using the 10R resistors in the crossover.
Cheers
Jon
Hi Dik,
These are the sand cast type, I believe. White, ceramic body. You can see a pair taped together in the crossover photo at the top of the thread. I believe these were standard issue with the IPLs, but Ivan has completely updated the kits with new drivers and crossovers. I don't know if the cabinet design has changed at all.
"t" on these forums has just built a pair, I'll ask what comes in the box.
Cheers
Jon
These are the sand cast type, I believe. White, ceramic body. You can see a pair taped together in the crossover photo at the top of the thread. I believe these were standard issue with the IPLs, but Ivan has completely updated the kits with new drivers and crossovers. I don't know if the cabinet design has changed at all.
"t" on these forums has just built a pair, I'll ask what comes in the box.
Cheers
Jon
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