Building some speakers

[Diapason]

It's not really the point, but I would be intrigued to know in what way these differ to the Kontrasts, and what similarities they might have (in sonic terms). Loudspeaker design always seems like a black art to me, but that's partly because I know nothing about it. At some point I'd love to get a handle on what really makes the difference: shape, materials, drivers, crossovers. Obviously it's all of them, but at what levels?

[Ken Moreland]

Great job , well done . I love the crossovers , maybe it's worth comparing separating them from the speaker body . Enjoy.

[Fran]

Great stuff .. Since the crossover is removable have you considered going active?

To be honest - no I haven't. There's a lt of love out there for line level crossovers and then separate amping for sure. Maybe something to experiment with in the future for sure.

but I would be intrigued to know in what way these differ to the Kontrasts, and what similarities they might have (in sonic terms).

Me too!! They should have some similarities and some differences (I know, that covers everything!). The box is similar but different, the mid/woofer is the same, but the tweeter is substantially different. The crossover is completely my own so no similarity there at all. Some day!

Can you post a pic of the fronts with drivers in place?

Ask and ye shall receive!!

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[markof]

Wow.
Congratulations.
Mark.

[tony]

watsapp photos I saw looked really nice but the ones posted today here are fabulous. Maybe you have added a few coats of polish? They look incredible Fran.

[ho66es]

great thread, beautiful looking speakers, look forward to a listen .

[Fran]

Actually in those pics I had just keyed the surface as I need to give them another couple of coats of oil to bring up the lustre a bit more. So, its probably a bit dull in the pics. I'm not looking for a high gloss at all, more a satin with good depth to the finish.

[Terry]

They look stunning Fran. Superb job.

Terry

[DaveF]

Great work Fran. Going by the pictures I think they look better than the Audioplan Kontrasts. I really like the way you can position the tweeter angle. I suspect there will be a long queue outside your gaff to hear these.

[Fran]

Thanks all for the kind comments. Once these restrictions lift there's no bother with anyone coming along that wants a listen!



I said earlier that I would talk about the costs. The truth is that DIY isn't cheap, but its a matter of value.

So what did I spend?

MDF and cutting the panels to size - €110
Speaker drivers, damping material, inductors, resistors, capacitors etc €396
Veneer €162
Fancy crossover components €206

Total €874

That doesn't include my time (of course), and some incidentals like screws, filler, nails, glue, sandpaper etc. You could easily have another €100 or more there if you had to go out and buy them.

So of those listed costs, really the fancy crossover components are a luxury item, and you could certainly paint the cabinets for a lot less money. A textured rattle can finish wouldn't look terrible and would probably cost closer to €40 or €50. That would bring the price back down by maybe €250. Also, I bought inductors etc with the speaker drivers from France, so in essence I paid for the crossover components and then paid again for fancier ones. The original ones BTW are not bad - they were mundorf air cored inductors so no slouches themselves.
I justify the spend to myself in saying that the extra few bob will mean nothing in 2 or 5 years time, and of course I felt I knew from listening to them that it was worth it sonically.

So there you go, I've told the story from one end to the other. I still have plenty to do with these - I need to experiment with different amps, and positioning, toe in, rooms and so on. I have a little cosmetic touch to do on the front facing port too which I hope to get to this week.

Now its on to listening and enjoying.....