The Minions

[Leroy R]

Finally finished a pair of these for my daughters. The build thread is here: http://techtalk.parts-express.com/sh...d.php?t=224424

[mattk]

Nice finish on both colors. Do you have a spray gun, or did you rattle can?

[Taterworks]

Boy, someone's been stockpiling Lepai amps!

[jclin4]

OK, that's one project down...and how many more to go?

Just kidding, great work!

[Leroy R]

Thanks, the finish on both is Krylon rattle can.

Not sure I'd call this project finished. I still have enough of these little drivers to build 18 more pair of the minions. I bought 15 of the Lepai amps to go with these. I still see the purchase of more amps in my future.

Still have to finish the OS builds for my girls. Have the parts for two 10" Dayton DVC subs. Need to finish building my Peerless India 838 6.5" buyout project and figure out crossover for them. Lastly on the current project list is a 12" Titanic sub. Think I am going to be busy for a while.

[johnnyrichards]

Thanks, the finish on both is Krylon rattle can.

Not sure I'd call this project finished. I still have enough of these little drivers to build 18 more pair of the minions. I bought 15 of the Lepai amps to go with these. I still see the purchase of more amps in my future.

Still have to finish the OS builds for my girls. Have the parts for two 10" Dayton DVC subs. Need to finish building my Peerless India 838 6.5" buyout project and figure out crossover for them. Lastly on the current project list is a 12" Titanic sub. Think I am going to be busy for a while.

The little guys look great!

(I too, have many projects burning. It is a disease, dontcha know)

[Leroy R]

Thanks. I flew to New York for my oldest daughters wedding last weekend and took these with me to give to my girls. They love them and I guess that's all that matters.

[tubetrek]

Leroy,

Thanks for the wonderful idea and plans.

I took this opportunity to finally get my kids into DIY audio. They have been watching me build stuff for some time and they always want to participate but I didn't want to them to make a mistake on MY babies.

I thought this project was a great way to get them involved and build their own system without too much cost. My kids are 7 and 10 and watching them glue together MDF and sand and hook them up to their iPods was a great bonding experience for all of us, but seeing their eyes light up when they hear their final product and being proud of their accomplishment is priceless.






now i need to build a set of my own!

Thanks again!

Ted

[Leroy R]

Awesome, I'm glad they provided such a rewarding experience for you and your kids. Sounds like you liked the end product too. Are they going to paint them or finish them some other way. Post pics of their finished projects please.


I think someone commented here or in the build thread about my terminal block choice. I selected the terminal block based on this being a budget project and these were the cheapest terminal blocks PE had. I'm not a big fan of the spring loaded terminals and would have preferred something more low profile, but all the other options were at or more than 4 times the price of these terminals. Couldn't see the terminals being the most expensive part of the project.

[ckmoore]

I am making some for work PC usage. I am just going to hardwire a 15 foot wire and feed through a small hole, and seal it with silicon. For this application, I dont think a terminal block is necessary.

[Leroy R]

Here's a pair I did in burgundy for a coworker. Still haven't gotten around to using multiple drivers in a single enclosure or making any kind of tilted stand for them yet, though I do have some ideas rolling around in my head.

[bungelow_ed]

I've been following your build thread with great interest. My hats' off to you for creating the ultimate budget speaker project.

My 11 yr old son's birthday is next month and I decided to build him a pair coupled with a Lepai amp, and Triska sub. While looking around I came across the Tymphany 4" woofers on clearance.....

Now I'm thinking of adding the 4" woofers in a separate cabinet w/ Minions in the 4 square cabinet above. Woofer cabinet is a ported box w/ x-over at ~3 KHz. The Minion would be full range as per your design.

I'm thinking of doing four strand braid of phone cord which will be attached directly to the x-over and speakers. A simple touch that adds a little class...

With your permission I'd like to call them the Minion Masters. Where I work we have a saying, "borrow freely and credit widely." The credit goes to you.

[Leroy R]

Sounds interesting. Keep me posted on how they turn out Ed.

I think it's great that people are using these as a bonding project to do with their kids.

I've seen a number of people saying they were buying the drivers to build these, but haven't seen much feedback. I hope it's not because people were disappointed with them after building them. The first pair I built, I used some left over accoustastuff from my tritrix project. Subsequent pairs have used the polyfil from Walmart. I've found that varying the amount of stuffing can have a significant effect on how they sound. Up to a point, it seems to extend the low end, but too much starts to make them sound a little flat, lifeless.

I'm going to be veneering a pair with Hickory this weekend for another coworker and either walnut burl or rosewood on the pair I use at work. I also have some dark bronze hammered finish paint I want to use on a pair.

[bungelow_ed]

Well the 4" boxes are glued up, except for the baffle which is old growth CVG Fir. I may deaden the baffles with old style Dynamat. I can't get the image of an acoustic guitar out of my head. Aaron wants red boxes, so red they will be.

With just a little luck and the tolerance of my family they should be functional today or tomorrow. Four inch drivers and x-over parts were ordered last night. PE usually delivers out here in 5 business days. With a little more luck they should be complete in 10 days.

[Soundslike]

Hi Lee,
I have four of the drivers on hand and plan to build a set with my grandson -- he's eight. After looking at one of the little drivers for a minute, he picked up a scratch pad I had laying around. Here's his design:



Think this will work? We should have a lot of fun building these together, but just between you and me, I think I'll use your design.

Ron

[r-carpenter]

very nice, very simple. looks great!
I did similar speakers couple of years ago based on Dayton RS100
http://techtalk.parts-express.com/al...pictureid=2140

[Leroy R]

Ed, I'm looking forward to seeing your finished product.

Ron, his first draft doesn't look all that different from mine. A little narrower and taller. You've got a future designer on your hands. ;-) Looking forward to seeing and hearing how your joint venture goes.

t-carpenter, nice little cubes you built. How did you like them with that driver? Were they sealed or ported? Going to have to go check out that driver if it's still available. What were the internal dimensions?

[r-carpenter]

t-carpenter, nice little cubes you built. How did you like them with that driver? Were they sealed or ported? Going to have to go check out that driver if it's still available. What were the internal dimensions?

This is the one I've used and it's no longer available.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...number=295-358
this is the replacement.
http://www.parts-express.com/pe/show...Number=295-352
I like them. Of cause not a "do it all" driver, but it's quite nice. It's small so beaming isn't that big of an issue. Low end (if one can call it that) is clean to a 100hz.
I've used it sealed in a 6" cube (external, 3/4" wall thickness, crossoverless) and in a 3L ported box (with BSC and tank). Don't think it make sense to expect much of a lo end out of it. It is very pleasant if one considers the limitations.

[Crayborn]

Anyone got any recommendations on a Tweeter/ Xover to incorporate into the Minion's design? Getting a new office and would like to improve on the cheesy Polk computer speakers that I have.

Chuck

[Leroy R]

The don't need a tweeter. The mids and highs are fine. If anything, they could use a woofer or subwoofer to fill in the bottom end.


Veneered a pair in Hickory this weekend and a pair in Rosewood.

The Hickory pair was finished in a satin poly and will probably be ready for assembly tomorrow.

I used some gloss poly I had left from my tritrix build on the rosewood pair and that isn't turning out so well. For some reason the poly won't cure, it's staying sticky. I had them in the garage where the heat was plenty high enough, but thought maybe it was too humid there, so I moved them into the house where the A/C keeps the humidity down and the temp is still high enough, but they are still not curing.