Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

[WesL]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Thanks. I had attempted your finish technique a while ago and it turned out less then desireable (I have a hard time going from brain to hand, haha) so I went with veneer.

After a few weeks with them serving in as my mains, I think the Armadillo CC is gonna be my next speaker build. Haven't figured out the baffle layout yet for translam. I have enough veneer and walnut left. Need more plywood and MDF.

I may just go flat black to blend in to the entertainment center I want to build. While I do like the look of my black industrial wire rack shelving, I really need a legit piece of furniture that holds all my stuff. I have a nice one from costco but neither my amp nor center channel fit it properly. Too heavy and too big.

[bolland83]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Those are incredible! So... when can we expect to see the matching center channel build? :D

[jakeparsons]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Nice Work!

[WesL]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Very nice build... and those translam baffles look amazing! I'm especially impressed that you did that all with a track saw.

Most of it was with the tracksaw. I do use my BT3k Ryobi tablesaw for some stuff. Never really comfortable with a tablesaw though. The tracksaw is just about impossible to injure yourself unless you are just the most careless person ever or have incredibly bad luck. Ha

I literally said out loud "holy sheet" when I saw the first picture. Very nice job!

Well, sorry to make you cuss. Thanks! I'm still saying that when I listen to them. I haven't had the television on since hooking them up. Just listening to music here and there.

[christianb]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

I literally said out loud "holy sheet" when I saw the first picture. Very nice job!

[matt996]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Very nice build... and those translam baffles look amazing! I'm especially impressed that you did that all with a track saw.

[Mike220]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Mike220, ya gotta do what you gotta do. I'm sure it pained you to see them go. No small effort in that build.

Thanks to the rest of yous guys as well.

Yes I do miss them. The bad thing about building them yourself is that I see the flaws and it kills me. I rushed to finish them and they had a lot of flaws from not sanding good enough on the mdf seams. My buddy loves them so it all works out. He thought they looked great however I knew I can make a new build better looking overall so I went for it with paint. I will try veneer next on these 5 minion 3's im building and on my next big build. Your gonna be really happy with these Tarkus especially looking that nice!

[WesL]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Fantastic looking build! Those look like they would cost 5 figures at a retail store.

Thank you kind Sir.

So far I really haven't played anything that I do not like on these. They are sorta forgiving on poorly encoded MP3's but when I get to a 320kbps file its funny to hear new things in songs that I've been listening to for years and missing. I got chills listening to the Alice In Chains Unplugged album. Hearing the strings vibrating on the acoustic guitars gave me goose bumps. Rodrigo y Gabriela? Forget about it. Tron Legacy Soundtrack is another good one. It plays havoc on my Polk subwoofer but these just cruise along no sweat. Such a great design.

John A, I'm fairly critical of myself. We tear our own (and each others) training ops apart at work afterwards to find flaws, better practices or what we did that got us killed. Its a deeply embedded 17 year habit. hahaha. I am so proud of this build. Its complexity was far above anything I've attempted prior. I made LOTS of mistakes along the way. Changed my mind halfway through the build and wanted removeable baffles, that was a challenge.

DerekJ, I'm ashamed to admit how much effort I have into those baffles, they are so rigid and rock solid. 1" thick on the tops and 1.50" on the bottoms. I put my hand on them while cranking something bass heavy and feel no vibrations. So cool. I'm sure the proper tools would have made quick work of them. I had to push/pull each baffle with a 32kg kettlebell/Optima Red top combo resting on them across that sandpaper board 50 times then quarter turn, repeat for a full rotation. I think I rowed the English channel a few times, Hahaha. There are a few low spots but it just adds character. :D

gleite311, Just go for it. I did some scrap first, then again, then watched a few more videos, then more scrap. Ha. I have enough veneer left over, I'm thinking about doing something with it for an amp case. Kinda want it to match the speakers. Have some b/b leftovers as well....hmmmmm. Arlis_1957's Amp project really inspired me to learn more about it and attempt to mimic his build with the self made power supply board.

Mike220, ya gotta do what you gotta do. I'm sure it pained you to see them go. No small effort in that build.

Thanks to the rest of yous guys as well.

[Mike220]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Nice work dude! I would have kept mine if they looked that good!

[Derekj]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Those baffles sure look like a lot of work, but definitely are worth it in the end!

[Paul Carmody]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Fantastic looking build! Those look like they would cost 5 figures at a retail store.

[johnastockman]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Wes, excellent! The look is fantastic. I'm in agreement with not seeing the "hack" part of the finished speakers. I learned a lot of the practice-on-scrap part by making mistakes and having to start over. All those small lessons add up to quality work, and it looks to me like you've gotten there already. I know that as a builder, I see all the little missteps and small flaws that others would have a hard time identifying or even seeing at all. So I've learned to go with what they see...and I see a fantastic end-result. I'd be VERY proud to have those in my living room.


John A.

[speedle]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

+1 on that! Those are truly beautiful speakers.

[gleite311]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Those look fantastic - I like how the translam and walnut contrast on the baffle. Someday I'll have to try out veneer with a project... I'm just nervous I'll really screw it up.

[dynamo]

Re: Second speaker build, I give you Paul Carmody's amazing Tarkus

Um..wow.. Those are amazing. Great work! It is projects like this that inspire me to build and do DIY..it's just that mine turn out like crap.. :D