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  1. #51
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    Quote Originally Posted by rlust
    Sounds fun!
    I ordered my parts today.

    I am building my own cabinets. I started building tonigth. The cabinets are going to be solid cherry.

    I will take pictures during the process also!

    I hope the results meet my expectations.
    You should really use MDF and then veneer it with cherry. MDF is much more stable and I think it's more dense. What did the materials cost? I'm still kind of debating whether to buy cabinets or build them - but leaning toward buying them because I'm not sure I can do it well enough. For the sub though, I will definitely build my own.

  2. #52
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    I am going to try the cherry. It is a very dense heavy wood.
    I have a wood shop and several hundreed feet of rough sawn cherry so really no cost

    I am about ready to assemble the cabinets.

    Will let you know how it goes.

  3. #53
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    I ordered the drivers from Madisound yesterday -- will ship tomorrow. I'll order the other parts from PartsExpress tomorrow and should have everything in hand by next weekend. I can't wait!

  4. #54
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    I'm almost done. I have the crossovers built, and I just cut the holes for the drivers last night. I have to cut the port tube holes, then wire them up and install the drivers. I should be done this weekend. I'm taking pictures along the way, which I'll post (somewhere?) when I'm done.

    Bryan

  5. #55
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    Actually, solid cherry is not the best material for speaker cabinets because they resonate. The best speaker cabinet material for these speakers is 3/4" MDF because it is accoustically dead, then you can either veneer or paint them.

  6. #56
    seeking solace in music
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    Whaaahhhooooooww!!!!

    A nice sense of community spirit here in this thread and full marks to EFE for designating his time to his passion.

    To me this is what the internet should be about. You have a guy, EFE, willing to pass on his knowledge and expertise to others, for no gain, just because he loves what he does.

    EFE I admire your sentiments.

    Many years ago in the 1970s I built a kit speaker the Kef/Wilmslow Audio CS1 and, although it is not my main speaker system, I have been reluctant to let it go. To this day the CS1 is recognised in Britain as one of the all time greats, based on the famous L3/5a designed by Rogers. It has it's place in history.

    I see here exactly the same thing happening. The beauty of building your own speakers can not be over emphasised. I highly recommend anyone sitting on the fence to jump into it with passion and devotion.

    Hell knows I am tempted to ship the parts myself in a desire to relive the buzz I got back in the 1970s.

    EFE thank you for contributing.

    Slippers flapping!!
    In the music world Impetuosity is not just a youthful trait; I'll explain if you type slowly.

  7. #57
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    Dang, I am so excited! I finished up 4 of the Ed's 'new and improved' AR.com speakers with the SEAS drivers tonight and I am at this moment listening to them for the first time! I hooked them up to a Panasonic SA-XR55 I bought a couple months ago and haven't had it plugged in until tonight.

    I'm kind of afraid to play them too loud until they're broken in, so I have the volume set at about -50db. I'm also not really sure what the frequency response is for these speakers, but I set the receiver to play them full-range. I'm planning on building a sub soon, so when that happens I'll reset the receiver to play bass only through the sub.

    I don't have a point of reference, so I can't tell you how "good" they sound -- but they sound fine to me so far just playing FM radio. So how long should I play them before they're broken in, and how do you tell?

    Bryan

  8. #58
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    So, rlust... did you finish yours yet? If not... I WIN! They sound fine, although I would like to test them to make sure they are performing up to spec (whatever that would be). I have a Radio Shack SPL meter and downloaded a program to measure things from http://www.hometheatershack.com/roomeq/. But I don't know what/how to do it.

    Next project will be a sub to go with these speakers, but I have no idea where to start or what to get for that. I wrote to PartsExpress.com to see if they could help me come up with something. Will let you know...

    Thanks!
    Bryan
    Attached Thumbnails Attached Thumbnails No more EFE AudioREVIEW DIY Speakers at Madisound-eds-speaker-4.jpg   No more EFE AudioREVIEW DIY Speakers at Madisound-eds-speaker-1.jpg   No more EFE AudioREVIEW DIY Speakers at Madisound-eds-speaker-2.jpg   No more EFE AudioREVIEW DIY Speakers at Madisound-eds-speaker-3.jpg  

  9. #59
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    Completed

    I completed my pair a couple of weeks ago!

    They sound fantastic! As far as breaking mine in I just hooked them up and started using them. First to my upstaris systems and then to my home theater system. I hear a improvement when hooked up to my Yamaha RXV-1500. I have a complete Infinity speaker system in the theater with Infinity IL60s in front. I was very impressed with these little bookshelf compaered to the Infinitys.

    They have an amazing sound stage and presense that is much better than I expected, and I had high expectations. I am using these speakers to teach my 11 year old son how to listen to a quality speaker! He can hear the difference in the openess and lack of distortion ecven at high volume levels I have run them at -5db on the Yamaha with great results!


    Pictures to follow of the build process and results!

    This has been fun and ready to build another pair for my summer house.

    Cheers!

  10. #60
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    bcass, rlust - congrats on finishing your projects.

    In terms of testing - unless you have a mic and measurement jig setup there's not a whole lot in terms of meaningful Frequency Response measuring you can do - even with test tones and an SPL meter. The SPL meters are too imprecise to be of much use here, unless your home has an anechoic chamber in it. If you followed the instructions and the components are up to snuff (and Seas quality is as good as any), it should be up to spec. Your ears would hear something if they were off. Trust your gut. Enjoy the music.

  11. #61
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    Completed Project Pictures

    Here is a link to several pictures.

    http://picasaweb.google.com/rclust/CheerySpeakerCompany


    Maybe cherry is not the best cabinet wood, but the warm sound that I get from an acoustic guitar and piano solo is amazing, and I am very happy!


    THANKS ED!!!

  12. #62
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    rlust,

    Very nice job on the cabinets.

    One piece of advice. I noticed that you completely filled the cabinets with stuffing. Ed says that they should have about 1/2 of the cabinet loosely filled - no more. Others have made the same mistake in the past with these speakers, and you will find they sound quite a bit better with less stuffing.

  13. #63
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    PRJackson,

    Thanks for the tip, I will make the change and see if I hear the difference!

    Does Ed Recommend that the cabinet is sealed internally?

  14. #64
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    Quote Originally Posted by rlust
    PRJackson,

    Thanks for the tip, I will make the change and see if I hear the difference!

    Does Ed Recommend that the cabinet is sealed internally?
    I wouldn't bother using any solvent sealer if that's what you're asking.
    I would recommend running a thin bead of silicone along the seams though. You want to minimize air leaks.

  15. #65
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    am back...

    Hey guys.

    I've been away a while. This project hasn't escaped me, though. I'm glad there's a finished example here already.

    Bryan, I see you went for the PartsExpress Cabinet. quite nice, huh? They just look so good -- Well built too! I recently finished a couple of pairs using the Curved-side version of those cabinets.

    The Cherry Veneered ones look so Rich! The finish is unmatched for the money.

    How about a review/comparison from anyone. Surely there are opinions by now.
    "The easiest way for evil to succeed is when good men choose to do nothing."

  16. #66
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    This thread kind of died out. I haven't been here for awhile, but I built a pair of the original design back in 2003. I also got the BIC center channel speaker and had Ed modify the cross over to voice it to the AR. Truly great sounding speakers for the money (and a lot of fun to build).

    I hadn't realized all the significant changes in the interim until I read through this thread. I've got a daughter getting married next year about this time and made an off-handed comment about building another pair of speakers and giving them my ARs. After reading this I'm not so sure...might have to just build them something else. These are too fine a little speaker to let get away.

    Now, the real point of this thread, two things. Has anyone compared the sound of the old version to the latest with the Seas drivers?

    Second, any suggestions on recommended parts for the crossovers. I'm not a big believer in being able to hear the difference in capacitors and inductors, but was wondering about what gauge wire for the inductors would be best to go for or any other recommendations for the actual components other than the values. My recollection about the original design is there was a complete parts list.

    Just as an aside, based on just my initial look at costs, the price of these has risen considerably. In 2003, a pair cost me $325, including boxes (pre-builts from Speaker City) and shipping.

  17. #67
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    Lightbulb Updated Schematic for v2

    If anyone cares here is the updated Schematic for the Ed Frais DIY v2 Speakers.



    Ed recommends the 2 Ohm resistor at the Tweeter, but said people can put a 1, 2 or 4 in its place.

    FlashGordon

  18. #68
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    I see it's been a couple of months since this thread has had much action. But I'm new here and this seems like a project I'd like to do.

    I'm getting close to finishing my detached garage and will finally have a place to do some projects this Fall/Winter. After several years of being away from my audio enthusiasm, I finally jumped back in after years working on my old fixer-uppper house. Finally got the living room trimmed out completely and painted. It's a small house so I really only have room to mount bookshelf sized speakers on the wall. Right now I have my old PSB Alphas from the early 90's mounted via Omnimounts to the wall on either side of the Panny Plasma.
    I've always enjoyed woodworking and I'd love to take on this project. I've recently purchased some catalyzed black primer and dull varnish for another project and I think it would make a nice finish for MDF speaker cabinets.

    But I have a couple of additional ideas. I recently purchased a Onkyo HT Receiver and I'd like to try a DIY 5.1 speaker setup:

    I presume these same drivers would work well to make a complementary center channel speaker for HT. I also presume that the 1 tweeter & 2 woofer setup would be the way to go? If so, what cabinet and crossover modifications would need to be made? Good idea or no?

    This is such a highly acclaimed DIY bookshelf speaker kit. It seems to be a great way for those of us who don't have alot of "hobby cash" to still be able to enjoy quality sound. Is there such a highly acclaimed DIY powered subwoofer kit that would blend well with these bookshelf speakers?

  19. #69
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    JJsnoise,

    The best person to ask is Ed Frias himself, for advise on the center speaker. Right now I run 7 DIY V1's in my dedicated theater room all powered by an Anthem MCA5 and MCA 20 via an Outlaw 990 processor. The center channel uses the same speaker (upright like the rest). The sound stage is wonderful, powerful and clean, and with all 7 powered up, listening to music is so visceral that you can't conceive anything sounding better.

    Nice to see this thread has gone on for so long since I posted it almost 3 years ago. It reflects very highly on a speaker that is becoming sort of a cult favorite because it is just that good.

    Regards

    GMan
    Last edited by GMancusa; 11-17-2009 at 01:21 PM.

  20. #70
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    So what’s the latest on these mods?

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