Epique 7" & PR Subwoofer Project Underway

[tomzarbo]

Driver openings routed and first coats of spray poly applied.




Also made up a little amplifier trim ring to push the amp out of the enclosure a little bit. I'll see if I have to drill any airflow holes to help keep the amp chip cool. That's getting a textured stone paint... won't really be seen much, but might as well make it pretty.

Hoping to get this finished up by this weekend.

TomZ

[Chris Roemer]

That looks really nice Tom.

[davidroberts]

Very cool indeed. Just think if they expand that series into larger drivers...

I do have a bedroom system that is dying to use a smaller sub with one of the 2.1 amps. I am going to have to do some modeling to see if the 2.1 can provide enough juice to one of these. If not I have been looking for a reason to try one of the DSP amps.

[tomzarbo]

That looks really nice Tom.

Thanks a lot Chris.
I had one area where the veneer didn't stick at the end of one panel, I think the glue was thin there.
I taped it off after the first coat of poly, and pried it open with a dental pick, and dropped a few drops of superglue in there and clamped it for 5 minutes. Took care of it thankfully.

The poly REALLY darkened this thing up a lot. I was a bit surprised. Hopefully in a bright room you can still see the grain.

Very cool indeed. Just think of they expand that series into larger drivers...

I do have a bedroom system that is dying to use a smaller sub with one of the 2.1 amps. I am going to have to do some modeling to see if the 2.1 can provide enough juice to one of these. If not I have been looking for a reason to try one of the DAP amps.

In one of my YT videos I ran the smaller Epique with a Dayton DTA2.1 amp with 100 watts to the sub. It was able to push it almost to it's max, but that's because I was using my MPJ&A signal generator which has a really hot output. I was probably using just one 4 ohm coil as well.

I tend to think that most of the 2.1 amps would not have quite the oomph to push this driver to it's happy maximum.

TomZ

[tomzarbo]

I was able to finish this up today...



It's certainly got more output, and digs just a touch deeper than it's little brother, but it's not a huge difference.
There is an ample amount of bass for music, even played loudly. I really like it. I may put some slightly taller rubber feet on it, but other than that, I think it's good.

I hope to have a construction video out on this by next weekend.
TomZ

[gregbegland]

Love the shape of the cabinet round overs. Love the look of the drivers. Missing the nice graining of the veneer compared to the unfinished look.

[tomzarbo]

Love the shape of the cabinet round overs. Love the look of the drivers. Missing the nice graining of the veneer compared to the unfinished look.

Agree with you 100% on all points.
This thing looks almost black in a dark corner. It's not as pronounced as the pictures make it look, but not too far off.
Maybe a water-based poly would keep the natural look of the grain better. They tend to not darken the wood as much.

Maybe a satin finish as opposed to gloss might help as well.



Here is another pic on the floor in more sunlight, little better, but not much.

TomZ

[djg]

Maybe some accent lighting?

Joke, it looks beautiful, nice job.

[Ugg10]

Love the shape of the cabinet round overs. Love the look of the drivers. Missing the nice graining of the veneer compared to the unfinished look.

Great project, well done. Got to agree with the finish though, I used similar paper backed veneer (SaiRaiFo brand) and it works really well with a 320grit sand to flatten the grain and then two coats of danish oil. This does darken the colour but brings out the grain and provides a Matt finish. I have not tried it but you can then bees wax it afterwards if you want a bit of shine.

[tomzarbo]

Great project, well done. Got to agree with the finish though, I used similar paper backed veneer (SaiRaiFo brand) and it works really well with a 320grit sand to flatten the grain and then two coats of danish oil. This does darken the colour but brings out the grain and provides a Matt finish. I have not tried it but you can then bees wax it afterwards if you want a bit of shine.

Thanks for that info. I'll look into it, maybe try it on some scraps of veneer. I appreciate the guidance!
TomZ

[Ugg10]

Exactly what I did when trying to decide on a stain for mine. Natural vs grey vs slate.


Untitled by A H, on Flickr

Before/after stain and oil


Untitled by A H, on Flickr

And here is the finished article.


Untitled by A H, on Flickr


Untitled by A H, on Flickr

[anunnaki]

I am thinking that with that type of veneer, a rubio monocoat would have helped it not darken quite as much and being flat helped to allow the grain to stand out more?

Great work though here! I like the opposed round over look!

[tomzarbo]

I am thinking that with that type of veneer, a rubio monocoat would have helped it not darken quite as much and being flat helped to allow the grain to stand out more?

Great work though here! I like the opposed round over look!

Yes, I'm going to have to experiment a bit with this veneer, I still have several sheets left and I love the look of it, so I have to dial in a finish that doesn't turn it black. : )

And thanks! The video should be out in a day or two.


UGG10: those are beautiful speakers! I like the diagonal location of mid/high drivers for probably improved diffraction. The veneer is beautiful! What is it?

TomZ

[Ugg10]

Thanks for the nice comment.The veneer is Sicilian Walnut bought from here - https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/284926338...r=586704625503. I believe it is a SaiRaiFo product (Save the Rain Forrest) that is an engineering wood and the pattern seems to be very similar on all sheets so you get a matching pair. I then added a coat of Furniture Clinic Grey wood stain and two coats of Furniture Clinic danish oil.

I added a layer of this veneer to my Mackie HR824 monitors but did not stain, I also left the grain raised which is also a nice tactile finish. (resparyed the front baffle as well). All purely aesthetic but it beats the black ash veneer originally on them.


IMG_9717a by A H, on Flickr

[tomzarbo]

Here is a card with enough information to build this if anyone is interested:



Dayton Audio Epique E180HE-44 Subwoofer: https://www.parts-express.com/Epique...r-Coil-295-104
Dayton Audio Epique E180HE-PR Passive Radiator: https://www.parts-express.com/Epique...diator-295-114
Dayton Audio SPA300-D 300 watt subwoofer plate amplifier: https://www.parts-express.com/Dayton...lifier-300-806



TomZ

[tomzarbo]

I've uploaded the video for this project to YT for anyone interested.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fr7aCSPtNq0

So does it pound out the bass? Yup, for it's size it really surprises. it's able to play louder than my other project, the "Epique Small Cube Subwoofer" which used the smaller version of this sub driver along with two 8" designer series PR's. I wouldn't say this project plays much, if any deeper than that one, although it could -- I was trying to keep this enclosure size tidy -- still, it's great for music, and I'm finding it very satisfying for listening to all kinds of music with. The Epique subs -- both of them -- just play cleaner than anything of comparable size -- at least to my ears -- and sounds good cranked up nice and loud.

If you do happen to watch the video, at the end I do a demo in my family room/kitchen area and the volume at 25 feet plus away is just impressive.

The SPA300-D and Epique E180 drivers/PR's are a great combination, in my opinion.

Next up... a (hopefully) tiny Epique Triple-Five with the 5.5" Epique driver/PR's. Fun!

TomZ

[DrewsBrews]

...Maybe a water-based poly would keep the natural look of the grain better. They tend to not darken the wood as much.

Maybe a satin finish as opposed to gloss might help as well.

TomZ

I think this would be a perfect finish for this type of veneer. It keeps tone/color very close to unfinished, but also does not accentuate figure in wood. Since it is man made I doubt there is much, or any, figure anyway. Satin applied with an inexpensive hvlp spray rig yields pretty amazing results when you block sand between each or every other coat to flatten it out. More coats required than oil based stuff, but much faster drying, low odor, and super easy cleanup more than makes up for it IMO. I can't recommend the spray cans of water based poly though. The stuff is so fast drying I get a ton of surface bubbles from the propellant.. Might work for buildup coats, but not the final coat/s.

But as-is.. Could still block sand it and apply a coat or two of satin over it. Doesn't matter that previous coats were gloss.