First Venture into DIY

[The Dorn]

So having gotten the recommendation from this board a while back to use the Dayton 8 as a template for my first DIY project (under the parameters of needing good axial response and no sub, with size being no limitation, and on a college student budget), these speakers have finally come to fruition. I just wanted to post some pictures of them and get an expert opinion on how they turned out. Any criticism or input would be really appreciated. What would you have done differently and are there any noticeable flaws in the design? Anything that will help me with my next project would be great.

Some more info on the project:

The cabs are 3/4" MDF with the front baffles using two laminated sheets to give 1 1/2". They are braced with four staggered pieces of 3/4" MDF in each. The veneer is cherry that I found lying around my college's wood shop and convinced the guy running it to give to me for cheap (which turned out to be a beautiful choice), and all corners have solid strips of cherry inlaid and rounded over 1/4". The cab dimensions were made a little taller and skinnier to what I though gave the speaker more aesthetically pleasing proportions. The port was also dropped to the bottom of the cab (since the box is tuned to 32 Hz, I didn't think having it this far away from the drivers would matter) which I thought looked better. But other than those two changes, the design is true to the Dayton 8's specs (including the x-over).

I was also thinking of adding 1 lb of poly fill behind the drivers. Would this be a good idea?

Thanks for the advice.

[Steve Henry]

Very nice work. This too, was my first full range project. I ended up with about a handful of Acoustistuff behind each driver. This worked best in my listening room. You will have lots of friends wanting to listen !!

[philiparcario]

my only suggestion is to protect the xover a bit from direct air pressure. the stuffing may do the trick. It is less important due to lack of a large woofer. One day consider a sub .


http://www.deepsurplus.com/Speaker-P...X-1250-A-Stock

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...TOKEN=88948983

http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=300-804

this would be good along with this

http://www.creativesound.ca/details.php?model=F-1

you could relieve your towers of heavy bass duty cross at 80hz or maybe 100hz

[tom_s]

Dang! Love the cherry! I wish my 1st speakers looked as good.

[arlis_1957@yahoo.com]

very nice. its kinda cool to be able to see the x-over through the port. i have yet to try veneering. you done good.

[rogoll]

EXCELLENT! Wow, those are beautiful, especially for your first time! Have you done much woodworking prior to this?

[The Dorn]

my only suggestion is to protect the xover a bit from direct air pressure. the stuffing may do the trick. It is less important due to lack of a large woofer. One day consider a sub

Ok, thanks. I didn't realize that air pressure was an issue with x-overs. Is it simply to protect connections from coming loose, or can it actually damage components?

And yeah, the sub is definitely being considered, haha.

[The Dorn]

EXCELLENT! Wow, those are beautiful, especially for your first time! Have you done much woodworking prior to this?

I haven't done much woodworking before, actually. The woodworking shop at my college is huge, though, and has people on staff to that are a big help. They were primarily the reason for the success of this project, haha. But I learned an incredible amount for next time around.

[rogoll]

Ok, thanks. I didn't realize that air pressure was an issue with x-overs. Is it simply to protect connections from coming loose, or can it actually damage components?

And yeah, the sub is definitely being considered, haha.

Yeah, I'm curious why you recommended that as well. I guess that high pressures could distort electrolytics, but other than that I can't imagine what problems it could create. Of course, "there are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, than are dreampt of in your philosophy"...meaning there is a WHOLE LOT that I DON'T know.

[Paul Carmody]

Well, you asked for input...

The cab dimensions were made a little taller and skinnier to what I though gave the speaker more aesthetically pleasing proportions.

How much skinnier are we talking? Baffle width is not usually something you want to change, unless it's by a very minor amount.

The port was also dropped to the bottom of the cab (since the box is tuned to 32 Hz, I didn't think having it this far away from the drivers would matter) which I thought looked better.

For the most part, the port doesn't care where it is. The only really handy rules to know are that it shouldn't be facing the driver itself. (ie: you shouldn't be able to look through the port to see the back of the driver) And the ends of the port should be at least as far from any wall (inside the cabinet or out) as the diameter of the vent.

I don't see how internal air pressure would affect XO parts at all.

I was also thinking of adding 1 lb of poly fill behind the drivers. Would this be a good idea?

For vented cabinets, I usually find that I don't need as much polyfil as think I do. Too much, and the bass sounds a little too "choked" and "thumpy." Not enough, and there is a hump in the bass response. Just right, and the vented bass response should make you giddy.

Also, the DC200 should give you pretty good bass response; in the right-sized cabinet they'll get down to the 20 Hz range without problems... so I'm not really understanding the need for a sub. What are your cabinet dimensions? Let's double-check that tuning.

[john trials]

REALLY nice looking speakers!!!

Cherry is highest on my list for veneering my Statements (I'm having trouble commiting to a wood type!), and after seeing your speakers, I am definitely using cherry. Those look fantastic!!!!!!!!!!!!