Yet an other OS MTM build :-)

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What was I thinking.. How did this all get started? It was last December when I was looking into getting a sound system for my living room and was searching the internet for options. Ultimately I was thinking about getting a cheap surround sound system from Monoprice. Yes I really didn't won't to spend any money. Then I remembered reading somewhere about DIY kits. It would mean much better sound. I thought maybe I could get something like the Dayton BR-1's. As my search for options continued I came across the Overnight Sensation Kit and was immediately intrigued, and eventually ended up on Paul Carmody's site. What there is an MTM version? They look even cooler I thought, and they would have a little more output.
After a lot more research and trying to get an idea what would be involved, I decided that I could definitely do it.. From Scratch! After seeing many DIY builds of the OS TM and MTM versions I wanted my MTM's to be front ported. I just like the look and also was possibly putting the speakers right up against the wall next to my computer.
So to get a nice visual of what the speakers would look like my first step was to design the speakers in SketchUp. You can download the SketchUp file here: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/mod...1-7ec2ac832220

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A few weeks went by before I actually started the build. At that moment I only had a circular saw so the only thing that I was able to work on was the basic box.

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Thinking ahead I knew I would need a router, bits and a circle jig to cut out the holes for the drivers. I was able to borrow a router from a coworker, and I ordered some cheap bits online. I still needed a circle jig. Scouring the net and not wanting to pay $40 or so for a circle jig I decided to build my own. That also gave me the opportunity to get a little feel for the router.
The SketchUp file for the circle jig can be found here: https://3dwarehouse.sketchup.com/mod...a-4a10a72579fd

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After glueing the box together I made the internal braces and glued them in

[thekorvers]

Cool! Nice work. Continue with your documentation. You got us curious now. And welcome to the Forum by the way, you are well on your way to being addicted.

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I wanted to be able to take the back off the speakers, so I created a frame that could be lines with some windows seal tape to make the back air tight. Also added some t-nuts to be able to screw the back on.

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Well looks like the boxes are done! Time to work on the baffle. The box was build with 1/2inch MDF, but to beef it up a little I added the 3/4inch brace and the baffle is also 3/4inch.
And then I ran into a problem.. The plunge rods and locking lever on the router were not very precise. I tried cutting the holes for the terminal cups and ended up with divots at the position where I plunged into the MDF.. grr.. there was no way I would try to cut my baffles with this router. Lucky the stars aligned; my birthday came up, which provided me with a nice gift card, I had a 10% off coupon from Lowes, and the Bosch plunge router dropped $30 in price.. I couldn't resist!! Let's go cut some circles!

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Well that was fun! I think cutting the holes for the drivers was my favorite part so far. Next I cut the baffles to a little over size before glueing them on. Also it was time to get the ports cut to size and epoxied into the the baffle.

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Baffle glued on it's trimming time. The baffle were little oversized and had about an 1/8 inch overhang. Trimming the baffles down with a flush trim bit made for a perfect fit. round overs for the left and right and 1/4 inch round overs for the port holes.

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WOW! the speakers are done! The boxes at least. Let's do some sanding, priming, sanding, painting.

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I am very happy with the way the paint job came out. One more final test fit of all components.

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It's crossover time. After doing the layout and glueing the components to the board both of my kids got to solder one crossover each. They had a good time. and after some testing, I screwed the crossovers to the back wall and finalized and checked all the connections.

[crossbound]

What an amazing fun project this has been. Thank you to everybody on this forum. I found so many great information during my research and decision making process. And of course THANK YOU to the one and only Paul Carmody for designing these fun and great sounding speakers. The best compliment I could have gotten was the other night, while watching the Arrow with the family, my daughter said out of the blue:"Daddy, I really like our new speakers!"
They have been running for a little over a month now and still bring a smile to my face. I'm a happy camper for sure. And of course this project has got me itching for more. Maybe a pair of Paul's Amigas? hmm.. oh I'm treading on dangerous grounds :-)

[crossbound]

Cool! Nice work. Continue with your documentation. You got us curious now. And welcome to the Forum by the way, you are well on your way to being addicted.

Thank you thekorvers!

[Chris Roemer]

Great little "story".