First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

[707kevin]

A friend gave me 1/2 sheet of 3/4" 13 ply mahogany, so I though why not build some speakers. My Current cheapos are such junk I'm just tired of them and there is at least 200mhz missing between my crappy speakers and my crappier sub.

Anyways, this is my first woodworking project and my first speaker project. People here talk about good, sharp router bits and I can't agree more now that I've used borrowed tools (The guy I borrowed from said single pass 3/4" deep cuts are no problem with his router and a 3/4" bit....wonder why it's doesn't cut clean anymore??)

This has been really fun so far. The drivers in the baffles leaning up against my wall sound better than my other speakers by a mile.

Plans are to 45 deg bevel the baffles to do it a bit different and show the 13 ply a little, then fill mistakes, sand and stain ebony. The natural mahogany just won't go in my house very well.

Boxes will be mdf filled sanded and smoothed painted charcoal or black.

Still not sure if I want to gloss the baffles, boxes, both, or satin all over...

I have enough wood to do a center and two MTMs so I'm cuting the baffles for those for future use.

Thanks for looking, comments and suggestions for a noob are welcome

[pypes]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

The recesses don't look too bad. I was using a friends bit as well on my recent build and finally went and bought a new one. What a difference indeed!

I'm looking forward to hearing your impressions on these. I've been kicking around getting a kit of the 5.2 for some desktop speakers as I have some nice birdseye maple around but only enough for the baffles on some smaller sized speakers.

[707kevin]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

Hey thanks.

I'm happy with the cutouts overall considering it's my first try at it. Now I know I can do better next time.

I beveled the edges yesterday. There are 2 or 3 very small (less than 1/8) voids in the ply I need to fill and a few chipped areas, then I'm ready to build the boxes.

I start a new job next friday, so I might not have time to finish them this week... we'll see.

Will post back with impressions.

[[email protected]]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

nice job so far. when you stain the baffles, be sure to stain the recesses well too. it will make the little gap around the tweeter less obvious. also, some foam on the back of it to raise it just proud of flush will help.
i just finished a small floorstander. i used flat black spray paint followed by a few coats of simi-gloss water based poly. you can see here.

http://s413.photobucket.com/albums/pp216/arlis/thin%20mtm/

[707kevin]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

nice job so far. when you stain the baffles, be sure to stain the recesses well too. it will make the little gap around the tweeter less obvious. also, some foam on the back of it to raise it just proud of flush will help.
i just finished a small floorstander. i used flat black spray paint followed by a few coats of simi-gloss water based poly. you can see here.
http://s413.photobucket.com/albums/p...is/thin%20mtm/

Thanks - I stained tonight, and used a small brush to get the recesses stained well. I'm happy with it so far. Pics after the tung oil.

[707kevin]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

I assembled the speakers today and started listening. I like them. I just need to remind myself that they are only 5" drivers. Sounds bigger to me

I still need to seal & paint the MDF boxes, but that means I can't listen to the speakers until I'm done...so maybe next week.

[707kevin]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

I finally got a chance to double check everything and started upping the volume a bit...

I am NOT disappointed!

I think I've listened to Coming Back to Life (Pink Floyd, Division Bell) about 6 times now. I am totally amazed at the sound from these for the size & especially the price.

I might need to tweak a little, and maybe it's just my ears or some bad recordings, but some songs are a bit heavy on the mids - it's uncomfortable to listen to at volume. Maybe I never noticed before on crappy speakers? The well recorded stuff is GREAT on these, and who would have guessed that these little 5" guys would put a little vibration in the walls?

Small room, tight budget = Build the ZA5's Now I can not wait to get to the center and get some movies going.

[707kevin]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

Question regarding the MTM version...

Just how much room do they need? I much prefer the smaller baffle than the center version which can be used for L&R.

I can keep my speakers easily 10-14" from the screen, and should be able to keep the MTM 10" off the wall.

[707kevin]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

anyways... I like em, not perfect, but they look good from the couch.

[GTB]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

Very, very nice!

[[email protected]]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

maybe in the future you could build two more mtm and move the mt to the rear. twice the cone area will help in the bass dept. a bit. even with 5".

[jeff_free69]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

Question regarding the MTM version...

Just how much room do they need? I much prefer the smaller baffle than the center version which can be used for L&R.

I can keep my speakers easily 10-14" from the screen, and should be able to keep the MTM 10" off the wall.

Lookin good! (I've found that as time goes by the imperfections get smaller

according to Zaph:
"(MTM) is also workable as a near boundary or near TV design...
There is very little baffle step compensation in this design, and the overall tonal balance favors a broad smooth rise through the upper midrange"

Simply put, baffle step means rolling off the highs and is done when a speaker is sitting further out in the room. When closer to the walls, the lows get reinforced and you don't want to roll off the highs. So he took this into account for you.

If this is your first good speaker, you probably noticed it doesn't pretty up the sound by artifically boosting hi's and fattening the lows like entry level consumer stuff does. So your favorite rock recordings may not sound they way you're used to.

[ewetho]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

Those look very nice. Flaws only indicate that it was man made not machine made. You made your own distinctive design choices and I like them. Good job and enjoy them immensely.

You will have to correct your sub now to make sure you are good top to BOTTOM!

[707kevin]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

THANKS: wow, thanks for the nice comments.

MTM: My plans are to move these to the rear surrounds if/when I do the MTM's
I got a new job, so I can afford it no problem...
I got a new job, I have no time to build them...

SUB: Honestly, I don't even use my sub anymore except for action movies. It's just too muddy and sloppy sounding, even after adjusting the level and xo. Music, even the rock stuff just sounds better. I'm not a bass head, so I was actually quite surprised by the lows of these, especially at low volume it seems.

[707kevin]

Re: First Timer Here - Zaph Za5.2

Worked on a speaker stand for a few minutes today.

Used 1 x 8 (3/7 x7 1/4) oak stock for strength & durability. Will fill pipe with concrete 14 inches up or so.

A 1/2" pvc pie inside the main column will allow speaker wire to run up the stand, through a channel, and to the rear of the speaker.

I still need to grab some cheap spikes. I plan on sanding and buffing the ABS plastic, and painting the wood satin black.

Sketchup rocks