Got some magic working for me.

[shawn_a]

Can't sleep (again) so I've been sitting here reading in my bedroom. The Shaun of the Dead soundtrack came up on the player and honestly I'm a bit shocked. Maybe it's because my ears have been fouled up for longer than I thought or what but damn if things aren't sounding VERY nice. I'm talking about the sub (RSS265HO vented on a 240W plate amp)and the mains (my RS150/28S TM's) are acting like they actually enjoy each other's company. I've really got to get the sub in it's final configuration now because I think I've found something special after a little bit of tinkering about.

This system has always sounded good together but tonight, well it's pretty much blowing me away with how nice things are sounding on this disc. Not at all expected really seeing how it's a lot of electronic music but it's talking to me now.

I know I'm not the first one to have this kind of EUREKA! moment but it makes me proud that I designed and built it by myself.

Let's turn the mood of this place around completely and remember why we started in this hobby in the first place. Think about that first time you said WOW outloud to yourself about a speaker project you did. What was that first special project where everything fell into place and you felt a bit giddy about actually pulling it off? Maybe then we can all get back to basics and having some fun. Life is too short for the animosity that's been creeping about lately. I don't know about anyone else but I could feel the life of this forum being sucked dry.

shawn

[mikebw]

My first semi-real project, a 2-way with ribbon tweets and 8" mids, along with my Q15/240 combo really puts a smile on my face every time. I know it's nothing compared to some of the projects on here, but I made it and I like it.

Unfortunately I can't really accomodate it at my current apartment, so I have it all setup at my friends house. We play it at parties and on the weekends when we all hang out there.

I'm just biding my time until I have my own house and can build some really nice stuff...

So the forum must live on until then!

> Can't sleep (again) so I've been sitting
> here reading in my bedroom. The Shaun of the
> Dead soundtrack came up on the player and
> honestly I'm a bit shocked. Maybe it's
> because my ears have been fouled up for
> longer than I thought or what but damn if
> things aren't sounding VERY nice. I'm
> talking about the sub (RSS265HO vented on a
> 240W plate amp)and the mains (my RS150/28S
> TM's) are acting like they actually enjoy
> each other's company. I've really got to get
> the sub in it's final configuration now
> because I think I've found something special
> after a little bit of tinkering about.

> This system has always sounded good together
> but tonight, well it's pretty much blowing
> me away with how nice things are sounding on
> this disc. Not at all expected really seeing
> how it's a lot of electronic music but it's
> talking to me now.

> I know I'm not the first one to have this
> kind of EUREKA! moment but it makes me proud
> that I designed and built it by myself.

> Let's turn the mood of this place around
> completely and remember why we started in
> this hobby in the first place. Think about
> that first time you said WOW outloud to
> yourself about a speaker project you did.
> What was that first special project where
> everything fell into place and you felt a
> bit giddy about actually pulling it off?
> Maybe then we can all get back to basics and
> having some fun. Life is too short for the
> animosity that's been creeping about lately.
> I don't know about anyone else but I could
> feel the life of this forum being sucked
> dry.

> shawn

[jayc]

[tomzarbo]

Yeah, I know what you mean... I remember one sub project I did for a friend, 10" Titanic MK2 in a smallish front ported box. Even though It was at the time the smallest sub I'd ever built (usually 12" or 15 inchers) it played louder than, and almost as clean as those "big boys". I can remember testing them for a small audience with some low frequency sweeps and watching the bottom of my pant leggs flutter from the wind of the port standing about 9 feet away! I laughed out loud, although you coulden't hear it over the sub's rumble. That's the thrill you JUST CAN'T GET from buying a store bought speaker. Once you've done it yourself, there's no going back! What a great hobby this is! Thanks for the the story, I'm with ya!

Zarbo

[natediggidy]

I was over at a friends house yesterday, planning out some home improvement work he wanted to do. This poor guy, who I know loves music as much as me, was using an old Fisher boom box and a cheapo portable CD player for a sound system. He went to play a CD but the batteries were dead on the CD player. Seeing an opening, I said "Why don't you just use your DVD player to play your discs?". I had to leave to get a tool and when I got back, he was playing a CD on the DVD player and liking it. Then I suggested we pull out an old JVC integrated I'd given him. We hooked that up using the boom box speakers and it sounded surprisingly good considering the speakers.
Once he started pulling out CD's to hear favorite cuts, I knew the "magic" had him.

What he doesn't know yet is he's about to get a pair of project speakers I no longer use. That boom box is about to be retired ;^) .

Friends, share the magic when you can!

[bogie]

Stuck a Tempest in a sonotube for a friend. He sez while looking at the specs and the web page.... "Oooh! Oooh! I wan' the _audiophile_ size, because I are one!"

He then proceded to kill it via overexcursion and no low-end highpass...

For Christmas, he's getting a pair of Q15s in approx. 0.95Q sealed boxes. Let's see him kill those...

[dancarroll]

I actually started for stress relief. As an attorney in California I must take a certain amount of continuing education on a three-year cycle. Besides substantive law, we have certain special requirements to fill, and one of those is a touchy feely one involving stress management. I was listening to a tape on the subject and the speaker said all folks who sit behind desks most of the day should have a hobby that makes them use their hands and requires projects that simply cannot be finished in a day. The latter requirement is to reduce deadline stress, a common problem in my job (and many others, I know). IE, if you know you just can't get it done today, you won't obsess over it.

I am not so sure the theory worked. Being a compulsive Type A, I may know I am not going to finish a pair in a day, but I still set out tasks in my head: today I will get the cabs cut out and glued; tomorrow I will router the front baffle and finish gluing, etc. It is made worse when I set mid term deadlines: I need these done by X date so I can give them to So and So as a gift. Still, if I don't finish my internal task list, I don't freak over it like I would missing a deadline at work.

Long story, sorry. Bottom line, though, is that whatever my personality disorders, I do enjoy making something with my hands and seeing at the end of the day something I built. I also enjoy it when I can say I actually designed the thing, though I have a mixture of love and hate over the first listen. My most sublime experience was building the project Curt C calls Vertex and I called Tradition, using a buyout 7" Vifa Woofer and the small faceplate Audax fabric dome tweeter. Curt designed the x/o, I designed my enclosure. I still remember the first listen, and saying "Oh my God." That is when I founded the Church of Curtology, as he is a deity walking among us.

All in all, a hobby I enjoy.

Dan

[dancarroll]

> Maybe then we can all get back to basics and
> having some fun. Life is too short for the
> animosity that's been creeping about lately.
> I don't know about anyone else but I could
> feel the life of this forum being sucked
> dry.

> shawn

A-Men, brothuh!

I am by no means the longest term guy here, but I have been around since late 2000. I can tell you the place goes through cycles like these, which actually (given that we have human beings involved) is to be expected. And sooner or later, someone reaches down and pulls us back where we should be. This time I hope it is you, Shawn.

I really do miss the old halcyon days with Paul H, Rusty A, Wayne J, and Mike Keenan. Those were some knowledgeable and hilarious folk. Sometimes a thread would go on for two days with ensuing hilarity the like of which we have not seen here for a long time, even in times when all is tranquil. That is just happenstance of visitorship, though. The current cast of Usual Suspects is by and large a good group of folks. The fact that I may like my sound THIS way (for me, I think that is with mids a bit receded) and someone else may like it THAT way (mids forward or booming bass or glass-shattering highs) is of little consequence. What matters is for some reason, we all like the hobby: some to get the sound (whatever that is for that person), some to build the enclosures and make them stunning to look at, some for both.

Shawn, you are on precisely the right track. In fact, you have earned some nylon loops as a reward! ;P Let me know where to send them!

Dan

[AJ]

> A-Men, brothuh!

> I am by no means the longest term guy here,
> but I have been around since late 2000. I
> can tell you the place goes through cycles
> like these, which actually (given that we
> have human beings involved) is to be
> expected. And sooner or later, someone
> reaches down and pulls us back where we
> should be. This time I hope it is you,
> Shawn.

> I really do miss the old halcyon days with
> Paul H, Rusty A, Wayne J, and Mike Keenan.
> Those were some knowledgeable and hilarious
> folk. Sometimes a thread would go on for two
> days with ensuing hilarity the like of which
> we have not seen here for a long time, even
> in times when all is tranquil. That is just
> happenstance of visitorship, though. The
> current cast of Usual Suspects is by and
> large a good group of folks. The fact that I
> may like my sound THIS way (for me, I think
> that is with mids a bit receded) and someone
> else may like it THAT way (mids forward or
> booming bass or glass-shattering highs) is
> of little consequence. What matters is for
> some reason, we all like the hobby: some to
> get the sound (whatever that is for that
> person), some to build the enclosures and
> make them stunning to look at, some for
> both.

Well put Dan! Personally, i like my mids recessed too. Highs have to be natural. Da175 bass.

[johnastockman]

> Can't sleep (again) so I've been sitting
> here reading in my bedroom. The Shaun of the
> Dead soundtrack came up on the player and
> honestly I'm a bit shocked. Maybe it's
> because my ears have been fouled up for
> longer than I thought or what but damn if
> things aren't sounding VERY nice. I'm
> talking about the sub (RSS265HO vented on a
> 240W plate amp)and the mains (my RS150/28S
> TM's) are acting like they actually enjoy
> each other's company. I've really got to get
> the sub in it's final configuration now
> because I think I've found something special
> after a little bit of tinkering about.

> This system has always sounded good together
> but tonight, well it's pretty much blowing
> me away with how nice things are sounding on
> this disc. Not at all expected really seeing
> how it's a lot of electronic music but it's
> talking to me now.

> I know I'm not the first one to have this
> kind of EUREKA! moment but it makes me proud
> that I designed and built it by myself.

> Let's turn the mood of this place around
> completely and remember why we started in
> this hobby in the first place. Think about
> that first time you said WOW outloud to
> yourself about a speaker project you did.
> What was that first special project where
> everything fell into place and you felt a
> bit giddy about actually pulling it off?
> Maybe then we can all get back to basics and
> having some fun. Life is too short for the
> animosity that's been creeping about lately.
> I don't know about anyone else but I could
> feel the life of this forum being sucked
> dry.

> shawn

I kinda get a bit embarassed when that stuff happens because I feel like a lot of you folks are friends, even though we've never met face-to-face. And I hope I don't get too personal when sharing some of my comments/experiences, or act too familiar towards anyone.

The first project that I did all by myself was the speakers in the pic...I found some info and XO suggestion for the little Audax Ti tweeter (from Audax web-site) and used that as a starting point. I tried it out, but I ended up with a larger cap and smaller coil for the tweet and added a fixed l-pad, and I used the BSC info I found at Curt's site to make up a 12dB/octave for the top woofer and used the info from David Weems "Designing, Building and Testing Your Own Speaker System" to make the bottom woofer a ".5". I experimented with different coils for that and decided a 1.7mH coil sounded best. Don't ask me what the actual slopes are, but they totally shamed some expensive Infinitys that one friend had and did the same to some $1500 Polks another gent owned! They thought I was a genius...don't say anything, OK? The cabinet turned out fantastic; I used some leftover 3/4" 9-layer Finnish plywood from a cabinet in my parents kitchen that had to be removed for a remodel. The baffle is covered with some of that PE textured black vinyl laminate and is 1.5" thick, with a slot port exiting at the rear. I sold them to my nephew and he loves 'em...he's become a little like me, as he gets his friends to bring over their speakers so they can compare, or he takes them to their house for comparos. I've done quite a few projects for his friends now. I was so amazed when I finally got those speakers to sound "right". First song that I played that just knocked the crap outta me (after the XO was finalized) was Working Man-Rush...I can still feel the goose-bumps!

John A.

[shawn_a]

I'm not sitting here unabashedly kissing your hiney when I say it's the "old-timers" such as yourself that keep me coming back. If it weren't for the element you guys represent, the BS that happens on here from time to time would have made me leave long ago. Tech Talk has been a sort of refuge for me in that other forums are rife with people I just don't want to socialize with. Too much high with the brow for my taste in other places.

I'm trying to do my part to help our little whole in the world. Lord knows it's seen better days and it's seen a few worse days. If I can do anything to get people into what I consider a really great hobby and hopefully help them along their way I'm feeling pretty good. But without the fun aspect, what is a hobby? Not much of a hobby if you ask me. And face it, PE rocks so why shouldn't it's online forum?

shawn

[shawn_a]

John my friend, I appreciate your kind words. I'm just trying to do what I can to get this place back to being a fun place to visit. Been a lot of harsh words and people bent way too far out of shape. This used to be a fun place to hang out and waste time but lately, yeesh. I'm thinking root canal would be more pleasant.

Never be embarrassed though. Your stuff is inspiring to say the least. I just think you have a knack for things due to those years of slinging high-end stuff around. Nothing puts things into perspective better when you are dealing in equipment with high-dollar price tags and you prove that you can do better.

Keep on rockin' John.

shawn

[Andy_G]

Yep, there have been ups and downs. I can't remember if Dan or I was here first, but we have both seen many altercations ! I've even had a few, never to the point of slanging off at people though, just disagreements ?

When things erupt and get personal, it is a pity, but it always gets back to "normal" (what ever that is in a DIY loudspeaker forum) reasonably quickly.

Group Hug to all !!!

[Andy_G]

gees Dan... MORE rectangular BOXES.... come on dude, stretch you mind ;-)))

they look nice.. for boxes !!!

[johnastockman]

> John my friend, I appreciate your kind
> words. I'm just trying to do what I can to
> get this place back to being a fun place to
> visit. Been a lot of harsh words and people
> bent way too far out of shape. This used to
> be a fun place to hang out and waste time
> but lately, yeesh. I'm thinking root canal
> would be more pleasant.

> Never be embarrassed though. Your stuff is
> inspiring to say the least. I just think you
> have a knack for things due to those years
> of slinging high-end stuff around. Nothing
> puts things into perspective better when you
> are dealing in equipment with high-dollar
> price tags and you prove that you can do
> better.

> Keep on rockin' John.

> shawn

Shawn, I'm with ya 100%...I know I seem to bring up my experience in that high-end field of retail maybe too often, but it lends itself to the perspective you just described. Sometimes I forget who I told what! Just ignore me if I repeat myself...well, at least I'm consistent. I don't understand why it's not OK to have a different opinion or way of doing things, as long as it's not blatant mis-info (even then, a bit of tact goes a long way). I love this place and the diversity it brings to my computer every day, from the noobs to the experienced. It's just not worth getting your thong in a twist over disagreements. When you make it out this way, we'll have to take a trip up to Seattle's "stereo row", my old stompin' grounds...from Definitive with the 5-6 figure speakers/components, to Hawthorne for the tube stuff. Looking forward to seeing some pics of your new stuff!

John A.