last updated: Friday, 02-Apr-2004 23:22:55 EST
- audio home
- The Vifa X3
- Preamp
- Car Audio
- Shiva!
- PA Speakers
- Hafler stuff
- Phase Linear
- LM3886 amp
- lm12 amp
Construction notes:
- Use lots of glue. The more, the better. You can always sand it off later.
- Screws are your friend. 1 1/4" galvanixed deck screws to be exact. Galvanized screws won't rust like regular ones, and deck screws are stronger than drywall screws.
- PREDRILL ALL SCREW HOLES. Otherwise you'll split all of your expensive plywood.
- Speaking of ply, use 7, 9 or 11 ply wood to make this stuff out of. Usually sold under the name 'balitc birch'. It's between $50 and $75 a sheet. You'l only need one 4'x8' sheet for a pair of speakers.
- Use the gel version of Elmer's capenter's glue. It contains wood fiber and doesn't run or drip. It's actually stronger than wood is.
- Measure twice, cut once. Trust me on this one. Better yet, measure a few times, think about it, then come back, measure again and cut.
- Sanity check the diagrams. Make sure you understand how it's going to go together before you actually cut anything.
- This design is for biamped use only. I don't have a passive crossover yet. I might never have one. Optimal crossover frequency with the Eminence 12LFA and the Selenium D205Ti is right around 1400Hz. Play with it once you've got all of the parts.
- Brace the fsck out of the box. I used 4 braces, 3 lateral and one front-to-back.
- Pole cups are a good thing. Build the box and then find the balance point with a small piece of dowel.
- Feet are also good. Something that's 1/2 to 3/4" thick and 1 1/2" around is about right.
- Use T-nuts for EVERYTHING that will screw into the box.
- Allen screws are good. Use them too. They're worth the money.
- Get them coated. Find your local Line-X dealer and have them sprayed, Mine came out to $110 for the pair. Steve at Line-X Bartlett was ultra cool about it, and the coating is way better than Herculiner at the same cost.
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| This is the layout for assembling the box. All measurements in inches. |
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| Assembly diagram for the box. The picture is of the wrong horn. The one I used is not as deep. |
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| Box #2, unbraced and awaiting horn and handle holes. |
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| Same thing, different angle |
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| Now the side... |
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| This is box #1. It needed to be disassembled because I didn't cut it square and true the first time. Learn from my mistake. |
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| This is the work area. You can build it in a small space like this if you sweep regularly. Otherwise you'll bury yourself in sawdust. |
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| Woofer loaded into box #2 for initial testing. |
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| Same deal. |
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| This is why you don't want to have to take apart a box once it's been glued. |
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| It's ugly. |
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| And of course, after resquaring box #1 I had to recut the sides to be flush with the top and bottom. What a pain in the a**. |
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| Both assembled. Holes and lots of bracing to come. |
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| This shows the bracing. There are 3 horizontal braces. One directly behind the woofer, one behind and below the horn driver, and one above and behind the horn driver. |
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| The brace below the horn driver is almost int eh moddle of the box, and is attached to the baffle brace, an oak 2x2. Angles arent' important as long as they fit securely. |
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| Voila, a finished box. |
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| And the back... |
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| Making noise.The HF amp is now a Crown MA600. |
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| Box #1, assembled and ready for testing. Note the new (60x40) horn. It sounds a lot beter than the little conical one. |
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| Fromt 3/4 view. This is good perspective on how deep the box is relative to it's baffle width. |
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| From the rear 3/4 |
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| The back. Not much room for input cups, so I surface mounted a pair of Neutrik NL4MPRs (in and thru) |
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| With a meter stick, so you can know for sure that they're pretty small. |
Comments? email me.
