New hybrid build - the Tikki Lau D8

[takitaj]

Here's my new design I'm working on. It's kind of a hybrid using 2 Dayton Classic 8's on a vertical baffle, a TB W5-704D and an SB29RDC-C004 mounted on a tilted baffle.

The bass section is about 1.7cf ported through a double flared 3", bottom firing port. Simulation shows an Fb about 31hz, F3 @ 49hz, F6 @ 47hz & f10 @ 35hz. I previously had these in a 3cf tower design. The low end was incredible but the mid bass was lacking and actual testing showed some combing. I'm hoping the smaller volume will "tighten up" the lower bass and boost the upper ranges a bit. Just smooth out the whole lower end. The low end will be crossed around 350hz and the mid will be crossed around 3-4khz.

Since everyone likes pictures

The saw is getting a workout!

Starting the glue up. Lots of bracing but not over done.

[takitaj]

More pics...

Adding some damping to the larger flat surfaces.


Test fitting & showing the baffle tilt.



More on the way!

[joeybutts]

Looks awesome so far! I love pictures, and even more so, awesome bracing!

[takitaj]

Thanks! Here's a few more. This is where I'm at right now. The next step is to CNC the baffles and the bottom for the port. Then the final glue-up and get ready for some in-box measurements and tweak the x-over design. So far the sims are looking promising. They are going to sit on bases with the Dayton heavy duty rubber feet (finished but not shown) which will put the lower woofer about 8in off the floor and the port about 5-6in up. I'd love to use spikes instead but not with the HW floors. Not to mention I'm already on thin ice with wifey!



Sneaking a peak

[bungelow_ed]

Very nice! I have to echo the comment on braces and add yours look very elegant. Form following function with weight only were needed.

Sort of reminds me of the Maserati Birdcage frames. OK, I may have dated myself here......

Looking forward to seeing more pictures and comments.

[takitaj]

It's been a busy few days since I posted last. A lot of progress was made! I got the woofer baffles glued up, the bottoms cut at the right angle and the mid/tweet baffle positioning calculated and cut.




My semi DIY CNC router cutting the countersink for the mid baffles.


I used BSC calculator to determine the best positioning for the midrange and tweeter. Nearly dead flat down to 1.5k! All the corners will 1/2" radiused. I am contemplating doing a 45 instead, still not sure.



Installed the hurricane nuts and routed out the back side of the midrange opening for breathing room.

[takitaj]

Moving on to gluing up the mid baffles. The mid baffles were slightly different in height, not sure how that happened but, I forgot this and ended up with a small gap at the top of one cabinet so I'll have to shim that up later.



All baffles glued, port holes cut and mounted. I have a few more peices of damping material to apply and the last wood piece I've been avoiding since the start (bottom angled piece).




I counter sunk the termials and left plenty of room in case I want to bi or tri-amp them later.


Here it's just clamped together so I could get a glimpse of what they will look like. Tantalizingly close!!




I'm contemplating making a cone to mount under the port (I call it the "chocholate chip" ) I'll have to cut a pocket in the base so it fits flush but we'll see what kind of ambition I can drum up today.

As soon as it's complete and get the drivers mounted I can start and post the measurements and x-over design. I'm going to try out the LspCAD Lite and compare it with PCD. I LOVE the drag & drop GUI in LspCAD!

Well back to work....

[Soundslike]

Very nice work, great string. You're creating a work of art with all the sculpture-like bracing, angles, and features. Look forward to the final results.

[joeybutts]

Looking awesome!

Is a board missing from the front right now?

[6thplanet]

You need a couple of these for your port.

[takitaj]

Thanks for the kind words guys! There's a LOT of hours into these things and still a bunch more to go. It should come out looking pretty nice in the end. Even the wife is starting to like them! I'm thinking of painting them black and putting a jacket of real wood on the sides, kinda like these http://techtalk.parts-express.com/sh...6&postcount=33 From literally a sketch on an envelope to what it is now...

Joeybutts: There was a board missing from the front. The one I've been avoiding...it's done now. One cabinet is complete minus the base and is in clamps right now. I should have the other one done tomorrow.

You need a couple of these for your port.

That's exactly what I was talking about. (the "chocolate chip") Once I get both cabinets glued up I'll design one up & cut it on the CNC. I'll counter sink the base and leave a flange on the cone so it will look seemless when it's done.

[bmaupin]

What are the outside dimensions of your cabinets? I really like the look of your cabinets, but I will need around 3.0 cuft for a pair of the 8"s I have.

[takitaj]

The cabinets are 39" tall by 11" wide by 15" at the deepest point, 12 3/4 at the top and the upper baffle tilt starts at 17 1/8" from the top. They will sit on a total of 5.5" base.

I had the Dayton's in a 3cuft tower with a slot port and it just wasn't right. Awesome real low but dead in the middle and not a smooth response at all. Plus I had a dome midrange and it just didn't work out either, hence going to the W5-704D. After a bunch of work with the sims, the 1.7cuft worked out a lot better. I'd gladly give up a couple Hz on the low end (from 30 to 34 Hz) to smooth out the entire range.

[6thplanet]

Yeah, I flush mounted those "chocolate chips" into the granite bases of my speakers. Also worth noting is it lowers the tuning a couple of Hz. I used a 3" aero port, so the base and bottom of the cab are 3" apart. The guide is about 3.5" tall. Nice work on your project by the way...those are coming together fantastic! +2 on the internal bracing.

[takitaj]

Well, I messed up. I had calculated 1.7 cuft but it's actually 2.43 cuft. I'm not sure what happened but it is what it is now. I fired it up this morning with some music and it sounded like the woofers were out of phase but they clearly were not. It took me a little while to figure out what the heck was going on!

Now when I re-sim the low end with the correct volume it shows a big hump between 30-400Hz, peaking at around 80Hz and the actual measurement show it as well, although not as well defined. The planned baffle step should still be the same (500 to 1.5kHz) as I used the correct dimensions when I calculated that. I haven't rounded the corners yet and I think there's some diffraction thrown in there also. I'll have before and after measurements so I'll be able to show the actual effects of that later.

Here's the woofers together as it is now.


With the larger volume the originaly planned 9.5" port was actually tuned to around 24Hz.


That explained the missing bass. After shortening the port down to 6in (31Hz) the bass came back but it's a little boomy due to the hump. I'd like to get the Fb a little higher but I can't make it any shorter as I already just stuck the 2 flares together to get 6in.


I have to do a little more figuring to get this back on track. I might just fill the bottom with some sand to get the volume down a little more. We'll see......

[bolland83]

You could always add more bracing

[greywarden]

That's a helluva lotta bracing, I guess you could use a couple chunks of 2x4 haha...

[djkest]

Wow, looks awesome! Can't wait to follow this progress.

[takitaj]

I thought of adding more bracing but that would defeat the light but effective purpose.

I decided just to go with what it is...which is actually 2.29 cuft. (about 2.1 with the bracing and drivers) Every time I entered the info into the sim it came out different so I just did it out by hand. I shortened the port to 6in (just stuck the 2 flares together) and that yielded an Fb of 32.5Hz. That'll work!

Finished one cabinet, took measurements and designed the cross over. I just ordered the parts so they probably won't be here 'til Monday or Tuesday, maybe even Wednesday given the time of year.

The measurements showed a solid 6db of BS between 80-500Hz which I compensated for as well as a second dip between 200-500Hz. It's fortunate I used 2 woofers! The final sensitivity should turn out to be around 88-89db (shown at 1volt) and a flat response (+/- < 1db) from 150-25 kHz and the lower end +2/-3db from 40-150Hz! I just hope it actually turns out this good for real. Final cross over points ended up at 610Hz and 3900Hz and surprizingly few parts. The total cost for both xovers would have been about $200 but I had about $50 worth already.

[takitaj]

Not much to update, just a couple pics of the finished speaker , minus the real wood "jacket". I picked out some nice Paduk which should be a good match for our living room and really contrast nice with the black...plus all I'll have to do is put a few coats of poly on everything after. I stuck in the xover from the towers just to be able to listen to them and first impressions are real good. Crossover parts should be here Tuesday and I'll post up some pics and some final measurements after voicing.