Quick Pico Neo Build

[ajames]

Hi All,

Haven't delved much into audio in some time, but after re-discovering a little set of Wolf's PC speakers that i build several years ago and setting them up in my office during some construction, I got the bug to build something again. I've got half a dozen furniture, renovation, and diy projects on my list at any given time, but wanted to see if i could quickly bang out a little speaker project to satisfy my craving to build something ..

Enter the Pico Neo's.

I scavenged the Aura NS3's from the Wolf PC's, and disassembled a small shoe rack for some 1/2" melamine. Most of the material was single-faced, and for the pieces that were entirely melamine, i easily peeled off the melamine layer in on single sheet.

Tweaked some dimensions to pull all the pieces from my material and still land at the target 0.15 cu.ft.

Got the pieces cut, and backs drilled for the port and binding posts.

Front baffles are Teak. 3" hole drilled for the drivers. Back side will be chamfered and still need to notch out for the tabs on the driver.

Still deciding whether to chamfer the baffle, or go the roundover route. And at that -- whether to round over the four edges running front-back, or the vertical edges of the baffle.

Also haven't decided how i'll finish them yet. The teak will likely be an oil-based finish of some sort. Remainder of the cabinets will most likely be filled and painted. Thinking maybe a pearl white or something along those lines.

I'll try to post updates as i go! Last day in the office before breaking for the Holidays ...

thanks, ab

[andykriech]

That teak will look great. i would roundover all 4 edges, myself...
Andy.

[djg]

Wolf will be devastated.

[Wolf]

Builders will do what builders will do. Some cannibalize and scavenge from previous projects. That is something I've personally not done very much.
To each their own,
Wolf

[tomzarbo]

Yeah, the new guys reuse the same set of drivers until they realize that it's totally normal to have dozens and dozens of speaker drivers on the shelf to work with at any given time.

TomZ

[Wolf]

Dozens? I bet I have cleared a Franklin...
Wolf

[stephenmarklay]

I need to build up a stash to be cool!

[ajames]

No disrespect, intended! Looking forward to the day where I have a collection of spare drivers to play with. Teak? sure. Drivers ... i've got some work to do.

Projects come in short form for me these days -- sometimes in quasi-all nighters with a pot of coffee, or an afternoon alone in my garage. The PC's were an unassuming victim of convenience. Having removable backs, though, the boxes are ready and waiting for more drivers. I never gave them a proper finish, but for some rattle can white, so i'll experiment a bit and prep them for new drivers some day. Madisound has some black/black variants on sale at the moment ...

Temporarily clamped up the baffles, and i'm quite impressed with the bass these little drivers put out. The PC's seemed like they needed a little sub to compliment them, and i never gave them the opportunity to shine in that way. The Pico Neo's reach lower, and should make a nice little nearfield setup for my desk.

Ran some quick renders of the two options rolling around in my brain.

First is a simple radius design. I like the idea of running a small groove or dado at the joint between the baffle and box. Black paint, or maybe some brass inlay to dress them up.

Second is a more angular take. As they are now, the baffles are way oversized on the bottom by an inch or so which causes them to cant upwards maybe 8-10°. Toying with some facets to play off of that.

[djg]

It was a joke. Your project looks really nice.

[3rutu5]

Looks good i like your options. Personally i like the larger target, but like others say, each have their own requirement for the build. I've canabilised a few different builds until landing on one i liked. My last PC\Bookshelf (what ever it is) went from 0.12, 0.15 and finally landing on 0.18cift. Also tried a TL first and wasnt my thing, albeit copying somebody elses design. Not being like the rest, i dont have a dozen variants of drivers, so just worked with what i have. Will be trying a couple of different drivers soon for something a bit random.

[ajames]

Made some progress.

Finishing has definitely taken the most time for what otherwise was almost a single day build from flat stock to hearing music.

the particle board is an interesting material to finish. The cut edges aren’t fuzzy and porous like MDF, but do need a lot of filling. My process was something like:

flush trim/route the radii
quick wash cost of SealCoat (De-waxed shellac)
(2) coats of primer
filled voids/gaps/imperfections with Ready Patch (big fan)
sanded back through some of the primer
More primer
2 coats of rattle can white
3 quick coats of rattle can clear with some 400grit in between

If these were mains or a larger more high dollar project, I would definitely have gone over everything again with one or two more coats of the ready patch. As they are, there are many imperfections, but I don’t find it particularly bothersome in this case.

I’ll tape off the transition to the baffle and glue those on tonight.

once those are flush trimmed I’ll tape off each the paint and rub some oil based finish on the baffles.

I’ll let the clear harden for a week or two then attempt some mild polishing.

ab