Yes the cabinet construction is definitely where a large chunk of your funds go when purchasing a speaker.
Thank you. Jeff A
I find tin pan alley an excellent track for critical listening of speakers was extremely helpful when home demoing speakers recently
I don’t know if you’ve seen Naim SL2s in the flesh but they must’ve taken some serious woodworking skills to manufacture with the curved front and precision plates between the 2 boxes.
Hello Mark, I’ve been thinking I should probably try a more simple, less expensive build before the CNO Grande … in case I screw it up or discover what I think I can do doesn’t match reality
The Ekta mkII is on my list along with the Discovery 861.
I appreciate the way Troels chooses drivers from different ranges to create the best sound, not just going for the most expensive and flashy. The Ekta has almost top of the range drivers combined a tweeter from the discovery range, that says a lot to me about his approach and priorities.
I’ve spent a ton of time reading his site and am much more confident about the crossovers now. Just need to try the woodwork side, I’m getting some thick normal plywood just to experiment with routing driver holes and trying different joints etc from his plans.
Should be fun
Cheers,
Mark
Hah, was looking at the same model for the same reasons. (Well, one driver less than my current ones). I would just go for white satin.
But as you say in your latest post I am doubting whether best to start with a simpler/cheaper set. OTOH I would have no use for those. So perhaps better to ruin a few panels in the process of trying to get these right.
Yes a difficult decision! I’ll see how my experiments go before deciding!
I got a router for my birthday a couple of months ago, maybe it’s a sign to just go for it!
I wish I had the space to work. I’ll unfortunately will be dependent on a place, which luckily I do have nearby, where you can rent one. Guess it will rack up a bit as a first build might be slow going. But an advantage might be if there’s other people there that might be able to offer advice.
You are going to need one of these.
Search “adjustable router guide Jantzen audio”
Starting with a cheaper set is really not the best idea. I understand your point but i would build to suit your budget. Otherwise you will just end up wasting money. Put the funds into the pair you want and stretch for the best crossover components you can afford… It makes a difference. Don’t let anyone on here telI you otherwise. I have heard it many times. I’d go for the set you want to build and what you think will better what you already have. As long as you start with a box shaped design you will be fine. If you get a cut wrong, well just bin it and cut again. I make mistakes and cut wrong sizes. i sometimes have to go and buy a new panel to get the cut right, It happens. measure twice or three times… and cut once. When you have built your box, you will route the front panel separately so you can get this wrong and try again. Cut the front panel slightly too big (a few mm) and then glue on, and use a flush trim router bit to trim down to perfect size. You could practice by routing a hole and trying to flush mount something circular into a piece of timber.
Thanks for confirming what I was thinking.
I was actually going to ask how you made sure the panels the fit exactly when gluing. Do you also use a tongue and groove? Or indeed simply, oversize and trim?
Oversize, glue and trim… That is mainly the front panel though. I don’t use a tongue and groove. I don’t really use many screws either. I use a few screws on the side panels when construction the cabs as it allows skipping the drying time. If the panels fit well, glue is all you need.
You better start a build thread if you go for it!
I agree. Carpenter’s glue (or even just plain PVA) makes a very strong joint.
Screws are usually only necessary to hold things in place while glue sets, if a clamp can’t do the job.
A tip I have found useful for positioning pieces while gluing is to clamp a cleat (bit of scrap wood) either side of the join, with some plastic sheet between each and the join. This allows you to clamp the cleats and know the piece being glued can’t slip sideways, without needing to use screws.
yeah it’s really amazing how strong it is. I tried to pull a glued joint apart to test the strength but the wood broke before the glue failed.
Yes I’ll need one of those, however the parallel guide that came with the router has a circle cutter function (min radius of ~9cm) so I can use that for testing which is quite handy.
Cheers!
Amazing thread, speaker build project. Not sure how I missed this to begin with but really enjoyed following the journey!
Cheers. Glad you enjoyed it.
@Mark84 Do you plan to add dustcovers, since you embedded the magnets? And if so, any idea on how to deal with the stepped baffle? I think dustcovers might end up being a requirement in my case.
Also, as I think I recall you were in NZ or Australia, did you ever consider Joe Rasmussen’s Elsinore? I like that even though he does sell kits, the design is completely “open”.
I made 2 individual grills per speaker last time. I think that this time I will just make one, as the step is smaller and if I stand it off a little it will be ok.
I haven’t seen those speakers before. They look ok though. Many builders out there by the looks of it. I suppose I stick with Troels’s designs as I know I like the sound that he creates.