Fun with the new ND Passive's - The Passive Aggressives

[mattp]

Cabinet samples were promising but not perfect so we are awaiting a couple small changes. We are trying to make knock down cabinets as easy to clamp together as possible.

Kevin,

For near field applications these will sound best raised a few inches off of the desk.

FWIW, I had these setup on the fire place mantle in my (late) grandparents house last week and they easily filled the living room, dining room and kitchen even at low levels. I am still amazed at the ease of the bass response these things have.

[mga2009]

good news about the kit! sadly, if it is a 4ohm speaker, my sony avr will not be able to power them. an 8ohm version is not possible? Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

[mattp]

good news about the kit! sadly, if it is a 4ohm speaker, my sony avr will not be able to power them. an 8ohm version is not possible? Sent from my ONEPLUS A3000 using Tapatalk

Unfortunately an 8 ohm version is not in the works right now. The 4 ohm ND91 simply works best in this box alignment.

Chances are your AVR will not have a problem driving these, it is a pretty easy 4 ohm load, although it ultimately depends on your AVR. Don't forget we have a multitude of small amps that will work well at 4 ohms that won't break the bank.

[mga2009]

Unfortunately an 8 ohm version is not in the works right now. The 4 ohm ND91 simply works best in this box alignment.

Chances are your AVR will not have a problem driving these, it is a pretty easy 4 ohm load, although it ultimately depends on your AVR. Don't forget we have a multitude of small amps that will work well at 4 ohms that won't break the bank.

My AVR is a Sony STR DN1080, it does not have preamp outputs, not even for the mains! And I wanted to use the Passive Agressives for surround duty... Thanks!

[djg]

Watco oil finish. Grain looks better than my picture portrays it.

[djg]

Done. Sound nice in a 2.1 setting. If you want a set of these, you might want to wait for the kit. The drivers are a bit fussy to mount. The woofer has a terminal mount requiring a relief in the mounting hole that gets really close to the edge of the woofer frame. The tweeter is not quite a fractional hole size, I went 1 3/8" with my Jasper jig, and had to enlarge the hole by hand. It's really crowded inside too.

Other than that, very cool little speakers Maybe they'll loosen up and get bassier. I just finished them.

[tomzarbo]

Yikes! That maple is just gorgeous looking! I've seen a similar quilted look on maple veneer, but I didn't realize that it could run through a whole board like that, or that it would look so nice.
I'd love to see a pic of someone's crossover board on these.
Those are beautiful. Nice job!

TomZ

[djg]

Thanks Tom, that board was among the plain maple shrink wrapped stock of 1 bys at Menards. My crossover has the caps stacked on top of the resistors, very tight. Not photogenic. I was wanting to build your Bantams but they seemed really tight with those Peerless PRs.

[tomzarbo]

Thanks Tom, that board was among the plain maple shrink wrapped stock of 1 bys at Menards. My crossover has the caps stacked on top of the resistors, very tight. Not photogenic. I was wanting to build your Bantams but they seemed really tight with those Peerless PRs.

The PR actually made it easier than trying to fit a board in there believe it or not. No issue fitting everything by stacking resistors on caps, etc. just like you did with yours. I would think that having two PR's plus a woofer would really take up space in there. Wonder if a 'crossover on a stick' would work for these.

I'm reminded of Wolf's nearly famous poem about 'Small Speakers' which seems very fitting in this design....

TomZ

[Wolf]

Reposted....

Ode to a small speaker...

When the wires pull the speaker off the stand,
Or when they barely fit the palm of your hand,
Or internally they don't go as planned,
Then it's a small design.

When the bass makes them dance and oscillate,
and also you hyperventilate,
and you question the project's thermal state,
Then it's a small design.

When nothing else will fit inside,
then bending rules you past abide',
But all your logic's justified,
Then it's a small design.

If empty cabs weigh less than parts,
and going outside the box is art,
Then you'll know right from the start,
That it's a small design.

Later,
Wolf

[djg]

My cordless drill spun the whole unit around when installing the woofer screws 'til I turned the clutch down to 2.

[Wolf]

LOL!

...When you're going to town
and screwing down
but all it does is spin around
Then it's a small design!

Hah!
Wolf

[djg]

You are truly a renaissance man.

[djg]

I made little pedestals from the leftovers to get these up to ear level. Turning the bass up on the Nobsound 2.1 amp really gets these woofers woofing. Great project highly recommended.

[djg]

Has anyone else made these? Great little speaker, a real fun project.