Vented Usher 721 Build is Complete! with pics of course.

[WWWJD]

Today was a day that will go down in my book, as the day I decided I'll never want for a store bought speaker... ever again. A few nitty gritty details; 40"H x 9.5"W x 13"D. Vents are 2.75"D x 4.25" PE flares. (very nice pieces). These towers are rigged for bi-amping / bi-wiring... just because I can. ;-) Bottoms are stuffed with about 10 oz polyfill; four braces each with all panels either being dado or miter, a wad of polyfill behind each mid, and for now, these are covered with PE's Teak vinyl (which went very well btw).

Pictures of the build from day one:















The Grand Finale... *insert drum roll here*







As I'm sitting on my couch creating this post, I'm listening; being the noobi that I am, all I can say is that these sound incredible. My listening distance is about 13', no center or surround channels (yet)... sound stage is nice and wide, with vocals coming right out of screen (perhaps a little low, may need to tilt these back a smidge). Vented... low end on these is just plain brutal! I don't think I'll be in a rush to build a subwoofer anytime soon, even though I have the parts. Earlier in the evening I tinkered with Kungfu Panda, the end scene with the finger hold thingy actually rattled my pant leg, which is not a level of low end output I was expecting from these, even with the enclosure modeling flat down to 50'ish Hz, with F3 being around 40. I'm not sure how else to describe these, other than I'm utterly amazed.

For my first home speaker build, I don't think this could have gone any better. I've never been so anal about anything in my life, except for maybe my job, and that's a stretch!

I just want to thank you guys for being such a valuable resource; I've learned a lot over the last couple months... and still manage to know nothing.

[tomzarbo]

Very nice, Mark.

It looks like you pulled off every detail nicely. The textured front baffle is a nice touch, plus the cabinets match your existing equipment rack. I admired your crossovers when you posted them earlier, nice.

Welcome to the wonderful hobby of speaker building!

TomZ

[arlis_1957@yahoo.com]

your woodworking skills are very good. those x-overs are artful.
you should be very proud.

[mgrabow]

nice job on the crossovers... too many people just slap thier crossovers together because "you wont see them" I even seen some $20,000 speakers that have the crossovers slapped together... Nice job.

I saw the 45 degree angles on the mdf. Did you use biscuits or just glue..?

[djg]

Nice job, good looking baffle and vent. Excellent all around.

[gowa]

Very 'Pro', nice work!

[jerryanderson]

My compliments to the chef who cooked these up. Very Nice...I hope your enjoying them!

[WWWJD]

I saw the 45 degree angles on the mdf. Did you use biscuits or just glue..?

Just glue. I think before my next project, I'm gonna get me a good miter bit for my router... or maybe a better router.. They only make so many bits with a 1/4" shank... all the good ones are 1/2.

[gimpy]

Mark, nice buildup. I have a question on your bevelled glue-up especially since they look so nice. I am currently working on a center channel with all the sides 45* bevels (already cut out). How/what did you use to hold them (clampwise/jigs)? I am having problems trying to decide how to hold them together so they do not slide around from the 45* bevels.

Just know, that I am a very novice (read--very inexperienced) woodworker and also, very cheap.

[WWWJD]

...currently working on a center channel with all the sides 45* bevels (already cut out). How/what did you use to hold them (clampwise/jigs)? I am having problems trying to decide how to hold them together so they do not slide around from the 45* bevels.

Well, this was a big learning experience for me too, and hindsight's 20/20. This time, since my design incorporated bracing, I basically assembled two sides with bracing on it's side, like a H frame sideways. Positioning was still a challenge, keeping everything lined up.

The side panels were dadoed for the bracing. What worked well for me was assembling two sides with braces, and then the next two sides (front and back), were slightly undersized, with dados undercut. This let the front and back panels nest down into the joints. This left a lip to be trimmed with a flush trim bit, and the corners turned out really well. I think I'd have to post a drawing to really illustrate this method, as I feel it allows for a lot of slop with zero penalty in final assembly.

[racineboxer]

Are you driving these with the Onkyo 606 you bought a while back? If so, how is it holding up to the 4 ohm load?

[WWWJD]

Are you driving these with the Onkyo 606 you bought a while back? If so, how is it holding up to the 4 ohm load?

It seems to be fine; Out of a range of 80 on the volume scale, It's staying anywhere between 25 and 30. It ran just as hot on two cheap 6 ohm RCA speakers as it does now on the towers. I think I'd have to hold it wide open for a while before I'd know if it's an issue.

[zach_t]

Excellent looking build with excellent speakers!

Did you cut the 45º bevels with the router? I am 1/2 through a bassbox with veneered plywood. Thought I would try the 45º miter on the tablesaw, did not come out as good as yours, that is for sure.

[WWWJD]

Just the table saw this time around... took some good fencing and a jig.. but I pulled it off.

[lunchmoney]

Beautiful work, dude. Very impressive.

[Ludo]

Congratulations Mark on very professional looking build.

Personally, I am very partial to the sound of Kevlar cones and I can just imagine the clarity and dynamic range from those Ushers! Enjoy your new toys and many hours of awesome listening.

Louis

[Wolf]

Those look great! Congrats on your first build!

As to the mitered edges, I find the best way to get them accurately cut is to use a router table, and a 45 chamfer bit. This way you don't have slop like you do in the revolving blade, and your cut is uniform if you use a router fence. I'll be doing this with my "Vijon" project shortly, and I will use biscuits with mine for alignment. Strap-clamps are probably the best way to clamp this type of construction.
Later,
Wolf

[jonpike]

Yes... I agree... ditto... what he said... etc.

A really nice job, they do look great!

Now, bring them about a foot or 18" from the wall... (the front baffle about 3' would be better, but perhaps too negative WAF wise) and they should sound even better...

[jbruner]

Yes... I agree... ditto... what he said... etc.

A really nice job, they do look great!

Now, bring them about a foot or 18" from the wall... (the front baffle about 3' would be better, but perhaps too negative WAF wise) and they should sound even better...

...Yeah, What he said...

And, it looks like room treatments are the next logical step.

You don't need us to tell you you built a kick-buttT set of speakers!

Congrats!

[fishinfreak]

In case you didn't notice, there's a dead guinea pig stuck behind your CD rack in the pics...