Speaker build - CNO4

@Mark84 The website is an interesting read, never seen baffle-less speakers before!

Do the kits come with detailed instructions, measurements, crossover building etc?

Thanks,
Mark

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Let me join the chorus in saying that they look beautiful, and hope you are as pleased with the sound as the appearance.

Really top-shelf effort - very impressive.

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You can even see them in the video systems pics :+1:

Not these ones. I haven’t recorded them yet. That was my old speaker.

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The kits come with crossover layout, component values, and the same cabinet drawing that you can see on the website. Any measurements are on the speaker page of the website. The website will provide details on cabinet damping etc. You will also find a section on the site detailing some construction tips etc.

I think I’d need a bit more hand holding than a diagram to put the crossovers together!
How did you find it the first time you did it?

So you could make up a lot of the cabinets before buying a kit, a good way to try it out without a lot of investment.

The CNO Grande are piquing my interest, similar cabinet size as my current speakers and the same number and size of drivers. Would look nice in gloss white too I reckon :slightly_smiling_face:

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The crossovers are really simple. The diagrams are very easy to follow. The kit will come with m tag strip and the diagram clearly details the connections. That’s an easy part. Yes also you are right, you can begin construction from the diagram on the site. I have done this too. CNO grande would be a really good choice. It is likely that you would be very satisfied with that speaker for many years. Just make sure to follow the design and get all the volumes correct, ensure good panel thickness and bracing. Let me know if you decide to do it at some point I’d be more than happy to answer any questions.

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Awesome job and an awesome thread. Thanks for the insight into the process and the work required to do something like this.

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Thanks Neil. :+1:t2:

Thanks Mark, that would be much appreciated, cheers!

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Mark - these speakers are an absolute work of art and, with the ability to independently control the bass levels, you’re guaranteed ultimate enjoyment and flexibility with any source equipment you connect it to. I’ve built 2 pairs of speakers so far, but can only dream about the levels of accuracy and craftsmanship that you have demonstrated here! Thank you for sharing this amazing project with us and enjoy the fruits of your labor!

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Firstly, thanks to everyone for the kind comments, it has been a great experience for me to have the interaction whilst building. I don’t get much appreciation from the build at home as i think i have pushed the WAF (wife acceptance factor) to the limits with my time investment in two builds in a year.

For anyone interested, this is a quick update on sound but I probably won’t do another.
The speakers performance will continue to improve but having had them playing pretty much solid from completion they are probably 50% run in and i have a pretty good idea of their performance characteristics. Obviously it is very hard to describe sound so ill try to stay away from meaningless words of praise. Ill just start from the top down.

The tweeter sounds like it isn’t there! Not a lack of treble but a cohesion like I haven’t heard before. This took 24+ hours of running and i don’t know if this was burn in of components in the crossover or the driver itself but it came together in a pretty dramatic way. Space and imaging are extremely precise and never harsh or edgy.

Mids are completely transparent. Transient attack is fast and effortless. I assume due to the speaker sensitivity and the closed cabinet for the 6“ driver. There doesn’t seem to be any smear of detail but then i thought this about my previous speaker, but this one seems to have taken it to the next level. I assume the improved crossover component quality and low number of parts are responsible here.
You get the feeling that the recording is leaving nothing unheard. I am actually really surprised that the Atom has been able to deliver this improvement. The mids are also very smooth and again, nothing edgy here.

The bass crossover is installed using the hypex filter design program with a computer. This software can be used to tame any room issues but i would likely need some software and a mic for that. The amp takes the signal from the speaker cables meaning that the sound signature of the Naim amp is passed on. The hypex amps are very neutral and as they cross over at 80hz, this appears to impart no class D sound into the mix. The amp has a button on the back that can cycle through 3 presets, +4, +6, +8 db, this appears to be very useful for movies!
I have set preset 1 for music where the voltage gain from the Atom is then applied to the output with the need for an additional 6db to sound right for my chosen placement.
In short, this sounds amazing. I am hearing bass in places i didn’t know it existed. As an example, when listening to Nils Lofgren Live, I am hearing deep bass coming from the hits of his guitar strings on some tracks as you would on a live performance. The bass is clean and fast. Playing a test tone gives me what sounds like an entirely usable response from 25hz and up. The driver moves at 20hz but i can’t hear it!

I know i have new speaker syndrome potentially biasing my analysis but i just can’t find fault. It does everything i want it to and then some. The most important part for me is that i can lay on the couch listening to music and scrolling the net for hours without any hint of listening fatigue.

Another unforeseen positive is that my Atom barely gets warm playing these speakers, even all day. I assume the 91db efficiency is responsible for this and is also the reason that this speaker can play so loud without any hint of distortion.

At 36, i suppose i have enough time (i hope!) to attempt to acquire the electronics that this speaker is worthy of.

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They look gorgeous - happy with you that they sound amazing too. Congratulations again Mark for your great effort. Very admired your skill.

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Great to hear you’re pleased with the sound and as you say it can only get better as they fully run in. Thanks for letting us watch the process from start to finish it’s been really interesting to watch
All the best
Mark

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They look great, a high end quality pair of speakers, glad you are enjoying the music they play after your hard work, well done indeed.

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Wish I could hear them with a source like yours!!

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Thank you for the wonderful thread and report back on the sound.

The pictures and the reporting have been an absolute eye opener and made me think seriously about speaker efficiency

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Good thinking, excellent execution, superb result. We all agree, thank you for your leadership.

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Fantastic work Mark. They really do look superb :ok_hand:

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