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

[mattp]

These are indeed the 0.04 knock downs, just with driver cutouts.

For those interested, I am working on getting a component-only version of this kit available. To be honest, the price of the kit as it is now basically means you are getting the cabinets for free anyway, so I don't know if a component-only kit would be viable. There is nothing saying you can't buy the kit and toss the cabinets, although I would have a hard time doing that too.

I'll keep y'all informed.

[mattp]

Hey Matt,
Is there any chance a PCB that's already set-up for the crossover components could be included? I realize it would add to the cost, but given the choice, I'd rather build the cabinets compared to fitting the crossover for this little guy. Nothing earth-shattering, but on a build this size, everything is REALLY cramped. It would be great to have a board oriented for the crossover parts.

By the way, these little guys are amazing. They definitely out-perform their size!

Thanks,
Mike

I agree, the crossovers are tricky to get fitted. A PCB would be nice and I can look into it for these to see what cost increase there would be.

UPDATE: It looks like the component-only kit will happen at a small cost savings over the full kit. I would expect to see this up in the next week or two, I will have make changes to the manual.

[djg]

A crossover built on a big (comparatively speaking) round terminal plate might work, would require a cab change. I had to stack up my components and I fit the board on the bottom, more room on the back or even top. Perhaps a manual pictorial showing how to fit it all in. Tom Zarbo did a great job with pictures and instructions on fitting his Bantam crossover.

[silverD]

I finally got around to staining the boxes and went with java. I found I had to notch the cutout for the ND91 to allow for the terminal connections. I built the crossover on a small pcb and had to verify driver clearance in the box before I glued and soldered it together. I also insulated the connectors for the ND91 as I was concerned they might short to the driver frame. When I designed the finger joint boxes, I used the dimensions provided by Matt early in the thread and before the kit was available. I chose to offset the PRs like he suggested. After I assembled the first speaker, I tested it out and heard an odd noise as I turned up the volume. After some troubleshooting, I found the issue to be the lower mounted PR weights contacting the ND91 magnet on larger excursions. This was resolved with a bit of filing of the weights. My box dimensions are probably slightly off the flat pack provided in the kit. As others have noted, this is a tight build. The speakers sound great and provide more bass than their size would indicate. Here are some pics...

[silverD]

Here is a final shot of the pair...

[Jake]

Here is a final shot of the pair...

Beautiful job! Those turned out nice. Are you happy with the sound?

[djg]

Nice.

[mlau]

Interesting looking project.

a few dumb questions:
1. How picky are these for placement?
2. Do you think the passive radiators could be mounted inside?
Alternatively, could I add a rim of material to protect the radiator during excursions?

i would like to have a small speaker to put in a bookshelf

[robertf]

I purchased the kit on Saturday (3-2-19). Staff had to pull the kit and there was confusion on ringing me out. They said I was one of the first to buy the kit and there were technical difficulties with checkout. Had to stand around in showroom for about half an hour. Hope they get everything worked out for us people that are fortunate to be able to walk into Parts Express and buy the goodies! I have built the Helium's for desk top at work and I have never built a passive radiator design, so I will try these out.

[silverD]

Beautiful job! Those turned out nice. Are you happy with the sound?

Yes, I'm very happy with the sound. I haven't done much testing with placement, just been enjoying the speakers so far. I agree with Mike that the passives might be hard to mount on the inside. You'd need to offset them more and have a removable cabinet panel to allow for this. While doable, the design and assembly process would be much more complex.
mlau, do you mean a ring around the radiator on the outside that protrudes further than peak excursions?
Nate

[djg]

I t would be impossible to mount the speaker or PRs on the inside. If you want a bookshelf speaker to double as a bookend, this is not the right choice for you.

[mlau]

Any idea how these compare to the quarks or helium’s?

I am looking into my next build

[mlau]

And yup.

i was thinking of maybe a false side of some sort

[robertf]

These are my Passive Aggressive speakers. Wanted to do something different in finishing and I have not done a passive radiator design before. Speakers are decoupaged with fabric, Speakers sound better than I thought they would,however, fall short of the Speedsters I built last year. That was to be expected but for the price and size they work well. I took them to work to use and stream music about 10 hours a day.

[Jake]

These are my Passive Aggressive speakers. Wanted to do something different in finishing and I have not done a passive radiator design before. Speakers are decoupaged with fabric, Speakers sound better than I thought they would,however, fall short of the Speedsters I built last year. That was to be expected but for the price and size they work well. I took them to work to use and stream music about 10 hours a day.

Nice job, very interesting look. I bet your the envy of the office. Do you find them bright at all?