Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

[nyt]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

NYT, what was the finishing process. Did you sand the raw veneer to a higher grit (320 or higher) or just apply sealer over raw veneer and sand the sealer? Also, did you just use one coat of sanding sealer then the poly?

I linked to a thread I posted on the AVS forum earlier showing the process. Veneer was lightly sanded first. A couple of coats of sanding sealer should do the trick, goes on quick, don't expect it to fill.

[Jesse055]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

Grabbed a kit from DIYSG for my bedroom. Clear coat over walnut veneer. Great little speakers.

[ATTACH=CONFIG]48709[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]48710[/ATTACH]

[ATTACH=CONFIG]48711[/ATTACH]

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Wow, that is the most appealing walnut veneer I have ever seen. I thought it was Brazilian rosewood. Wow!

I was looking at rosewood veneer but it's all about 200 for a 4x8 roll. And you really never know he grain and true color until you get it. If I could buy the walnut and knew it had this beautiful color and grain pattern, I'd go with it. I know you say you bought from veneer supplies, do you know if the walnut they carry still looks like this?

The walnut I bought here at PE doesn't have this type of unique grain.

[generic]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

I feel like the classic Dayton doesn't deserve your finishing work, but fantastic job. Those look amazing.

[JDCrae]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

They look fantastic! Appreciate the attention to detail and going that extra mile to make them look so spectacular. Not sure about the comment stating they don't deserve the finish. I must completely disagree. For me, it doesn't matter if it is a 100.00 per pair speaker, or 10,000 per pair speaker. Both should be finished to level you want, and to the best of your abilities. Clearly you have done that here, and it shows in the final product. Kudos for the great job!

[generic]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

They look fantastic! Appreciate the attention to detail and going that extra mile to make them look so spectacular. Not sure about the comment stating they don't deserve the finish. I must completely disagree. For me, it doesn't matter if it is a 100.00 per pair speaker, or 10,000 per pair speaker. Both should be finished to level you want, and to the best of your abilities. Clearly you have done that here, and it shows in the final product. Kudos for the great job!

It comes down to personal choice. I'd never spend more on a finished box then the drivers cost, but that's just me. Those look like multi thousand dollar retail speakers.

[JDCrae]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

It comes down to personal choice. I'd never spend more on a finished box then the drivers cost, but that's just me. Those look like multi thousand dollar retail speakers.

Ah, I see what you meant. My apologies as I misunderstood what you were saying. I do agree that it comes down to a personal choice. Another aspect though is fundamental reasons behind DIY to begin with. Hifi audio speakers cost is most times attributed to the finishing and high quality thereof. I have personally seen bricks and mortar hifi store speakers that have drivers that may cost a few hundred, but the price tag is 2K and more. The finishing is often times where the cost comes from due to the many labor hours it takes to get some of the finishes found. Take a look at Salk speakers and you can appreciate why his speakers, which are considered reasonably priced by many, still cost thousands or tens of thousands due to the incredible finishes. Yes, some of his designs use $800.00 woofers, (Someday!) but the real cost on his end is the incredibly laborous finishing. The Tidal towers that were showcased at CAF 2014 cost 105K a pair. I promise you the drivers come nowhere near that pricepoint.

At the end of the day, we DIYers are not able to secure huge discounts on the drivers, nor crossover components. The area where DIYers save is the finishing. You don't have to pay B&W 500, 1000 or 10,000 dollar for 1000 man hours of applying lacquer and fanciful veneers, french polishing etc to get that piano black finish. To the DIYer, you can spend a couple of hundred on a quality hi end veneer, finish as you like and seal, and like you said have a few thousand dollar equivalent speakers at a mere fraction of the cost, provided you are willing to put in the time and effort required.

There is nothing wrong with a speaker spray bombed with orange peel. If that's what you are willing to do and willing to spend time with that's all fine and dandy, I just want to make sure people are congratulated on making a truly hifi finish on a hifi speaker as at the end of the day, what he did is why most of us, myself included got into this.

Just my .02

[Navy Guy]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

Really excellent job on the finish! You definitely have some photography skills as well to get those great shots.

[xsundown]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

That table looks familiar in a youtube video I seen the other day. Did you happen to build speedsters or something like that and make a youtube video? I think there was a subwoofer involved too. Could have been the sopranos speakers.

[nyt]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

Wow, that is the most appealing walnut veneer I have ever seen. I thought it was Brazilian rosewood. Wow!

I was looking at rosewood veneer but it's all about 200 for a 4x8 roll. And you really never know he grain and true color until you get it. If I could buy the walnut and knew it had this beautiful color and grain pattern, I'd go with it. I know you say you bought from veneer supplies, do you know if the walnut they carry still looks like this?

The walnut I bought here at PE doesn't have this type of unique grain.

I don't see why it wouldn't, looks like standard walnut to me. They had some nice burled stuff also.

I did a build recently with Jatoba, which also looked nice.

This is the raw wood, unfinished:

[nyt]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

Ah, I see what you meant. My apologies as I misunderstood what you were saying. I do agree that it comes down to a personal choice. Another aspect though is fundamental reasons behind DIY to begin with. Hifi audio speakers cost is most times attributed to the finishing and high quality thereof. I have personally seen bricks and mortar hifi store speakers that have drivers that may cost a few hundred, but the price tag is 2K and more. The finishing is often times where the cost comes from due to the many labor hours it takes to get some of the finishes found. Take a look at Salk speakers and you can appreciate why his speakers, which are considered reasonably priced by many, still cost thousands or tens of thousands due to the incredible finishes. Yes, some of his designs use $800.00 woofers, (Someday!) but the real cost on his end is the incredibly laborous finishing. The Tidal towers that were showcased at CAF 2014 cost 105K a pair. I promise you the drivers come nowhere near that pricepoint.

At the end of the day, we DIYers are not able to secure huge discounts on the drivers, nor crossover components. The area where DIYers save is the finishing. You don't have to pay B&W 500, 1000 or 10,000 dollar for 1000 man hours of applying lacquer and fanciful veneers, french polishing etc to get that piano black finish. To the DIYer, you can spend a couple of hundred on a quality hi end veneer, finish as you like and seal, and like you said have a few thousand dollar equivalent speakers at a mere fraction of the cost, provided you are willing to put in the time and effort required.

There is nothing wrong with a speaker spray bombed with orange peel. If that's what you are willing to do and willing to spend time with that's all fine and dandy, I just want to make sure people are congratulated on making a truly hifi finish on a hifi speaker as at the end of the day, what he did is why most of us, myself included got into this.

Just my .02

I have the means to use higher quality components, but not much of a point here when you can get the job done with minimal cost. These drivers sound good. They don't put off any horrid noises when pushed beyond the levels they should be run at.

I feel like the classic Dayton doesn't deserve your finishing work, but fantastic job. Those look amazing.

They sound very pleasing. Most commercial speakers aren't exactly using expensive components either. These don't really draw any attention to themselves, and they don't make bad noises when pushed too loud. Response is flat and down to below 30hz in room. I'm not beating on these, and they do the job well.

It comes down to personal choice. I'd never spend more on a finished box then the drivers cost, but that's just me. Those look like multi thousand dollar retail speakers.

Sure, I could have spent more on drivers, but to what end? The t/s params on this driver are ideal for this usage scenario. The crossover components also cost more than the drivers. I wanted a small setup in my bedroom that could dig down below 30hz without a sub. Mission accomplished. If I wanted something that could play super loud with low distortion, I'd be using 15" JBL drivers crossed over to some monster waveguides with compression drivers, like in my other setup ;)

Really excellent job on the finish! You definitely have some photography skills as well to get those great shots.

Thanks, it's another hobby of mine.

That table looks familiar in a youtube video I seen the other day. Did you happen to build speedsters or something like that and make a youtube video? I think there was a subwoofer involved too. Could have been the sopranos speakers.

I don't have many car videos posted, so likely not me. I have a bunch of cars and race cars I've built, but no speedsters.

I have some vids that show my garage/shop a bit. Here are some from a couple of sub builds, the second being a time lapse, which is kind of neat.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qHEHpdvX40c

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1p12GHbLUUc

[djkest]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

Good to see you here, I see you on AVS all the time. I Fancy myself a hobbyist photographer but none of my shots look that good. I am guessing you have a special lighting setup and a black cloth backdrop. Look great BTW. I recently saw some high end audiophile speakers that used a $15 and $30 driver in each side, and $100 of mundorf crossover components. These speakers sold for well over $2000 pair and had exotic wood enclosures. People raved about how awesome they sounded. I think putting nice walnut veneer on some classix II isn't that big a deal.

Oh, and speedsters are small Paul Carmody speakers with a tang band woofer and fountek ribbon.

[xsundown]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

Those two TC sounds woofer video LOOOOOOOL :applause:

[nyt]

Re: Classix II in Piano Black / Walnut

Good to see you here, I see you on AVS all the time. I Fancy myself a hobbyist photographer but none of my shots look that good. I am guessing you have a special lighting setup and a black cloth backdrop. Look great BTW. I recently saw some high end audiophile speakers that used a $15 and $30 driver in each side, and $100 of mundorf crossover components. These speakers sold for well over $2000 pair and had exotic wood enclosures. People raved about how awesome they sounded. I think putting nice walnut veneer on some classix II isn't that big a deal.

Oh, and speedsters are small Paul Carmody speakers with a tang band woofer and fountek ribbon.

I thought you meant porsches ;)

A good crossover goes a long way. I'm generally unimpressed with the "high end" expensive speakers. Audiophoolery for the most part.