My Current Project...(Teasers...)

[mattp]

More progress. I got the stands finished up and I have to say I am very happy how they turned out. Assembly was a little tricky and filling them with sand was tedious but it worked out well in the end. And they are heavy. I haven't had a chance to weigh anything yet since I don't own a scale but I hope to at some point.

Ignore the mess in my listening room. That is all going to be changing soon too.

[mattp]

[mattp]

[mattp]

Again, lighting here shows them as two different shades but they aren't. I am planning on hanging some curtains along the back wall and around the corners, electronics will be moved to the side of the room to make room for the subs. For whatever reason this pic makes the space look tiny but it really isn't. My head is a good 8+ feet from the speakers here and they are about 7-8 feet apart (they are much bigger in person than you would expect). I am still messing with placement now that they are at the right height.

Next up... two dual opposed 12's.

[mattp]

I forgot about my quazi-paint booth setup. Not really a booth but it worked.

[jhollander]

Looks good. Is the sand worth the hassle?

[rpb]

For speaker placement, try 48" to 52" out from the wall. I think you will find the sound changes compared to 34" or so.

[mattp]

Looks good. Is the sand worth the hassle?

Thanks John. Well I cannot objectively say the sand was worth it in terms of acoustics but it was certainly cheap enough to do. I like overkill and heavy/weighty/damped things when it comes to speakers and it seems to be doing the trick quite well. Let's just say if it wasnt there it would bug me.

For speaker placement, try 48" to 52" out from the wall. I think you will find the sound changes compared to 34" or so.

Thanks rpb. Those dimensions i posted didn't sound very accurate when I typed them so I double checked when I got home. Turns out they are just under 6 feet apart tweeter to tweeter. My head is about 7 feet back. I have been messing with placement and toe-in for a couple days. I did move them out from the back wall but only to around 42" (wall to baffle). Any closer and it might be too much. My chair is only 15" from the back wall when not reclined and I usually listen with my feet up.

But...moving them is free. So time will tell. I might try bringing them out a few more inches.

[mattp]

Ok so I need opinions.

What I have now is basically the look I was going for. The off white with oak just does something for me. It has a certain elegance to it in my eye.

But..

I have been told by more than one person that it just looks like bare white pvc pipe. An idea thrown at me was basically to try and match the woofer color. Something darker, like a hammered graphite finish.

What are anyone's thoughts? It IS after all just PVC but it is painted a satin off white. Please share opinions.

MP

[Chad2]

Maybe you should texture the pillars so they don’t look like pvc pipes but keep them white/cream color.

[jhollander]

Black is OK but imo I think you need something off black like Grafite, black brown like Kona might work as well. I'd definitely consider something flat. The other option would be a white pearl like Nick did on the moon drops

[a4eaudio]

Color matching the woofer is a nice idea. Another idea would be to get several swatches of brown (or just take one of the stands in to Home Depot/Lowe's/Ace/etc.) and color match the oak.

[Wolf]

Wrap the pipes in carbon-fiber, or a faux-fiber. That's off black and not white, and would gel well visually.

Later,
Wolf

[ugly woofer]

Good call John, pearl white didn't even enter my mind while reading this.

I'm biased but I think pearl white is the way to go, it keeps your color theme and at the same time will definitely stop onlookers from thinking that is just plain pvc pipe.

On the other hand they are your creation, and if you like them just the way they are, who cares what anyone thinks...leave them alone.

[mattp]

Wrap the pipes in carbon-fiber, or a faux-fiber. That's off black and not white, and would gel well visually.

Later,
Wolf

I actually considered doing this too. I will sleep on it for a while and rethink the options. I can change it any time without too much fuss.

Good call John, pearl white didn't even enter my mind while reading this.

I'm biased but I think pearl white is the way to go, it keeps your color theme and at the same time will definitely stop onlookers from thinking that is just plain pvc pipe.

On the other hand they are your creation, and if you like them just the way they are, who cares what anyone thinks...leave them alone.

Pearl white is a good idea, I hadn't considered that. I might wait until the system is complete and the room is set up the way I want and make my decision then.

I really appreciate the input guys.