DIY Bracing Infinity Beta 20

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Robof83

Audioholic
Recently, I have been really looking into adding bracing into speaker cabinets to improve speaker midrange and base performance.

Basically I have two questions.

I have read reviews stating that the infinity beta 20s have very good drivers for their price range. However, no one ever seems to say anything about the quality of the enclosure. My first question is, would these speakers be a good candidate for a DIY improvement project?

Secondly, I am very challenged when it comes to this kind of stuff. Is this a situation where I could potentially screw something up and if so, would it be worth the risk.


Just searching around on google, I read that rockwool can be used to brace a speaker. Is that right? How would I go about bracing a speaker with rockwool?
 
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griffinconst

Senior Audioholic
I don't see how rockwool would work for bracing, maybe to deaden.
Look around here for lsiberian. I believe he had beta's and has done some DIY projects, so he's your guy.
Good luck
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
Recently, I have been really looking into adding bracing into speaker cabinets to improve speaker midrange and base performance.

Basically I have two questions.

I have read reviews stating that the infinity beta 20s have very good drivers for their price range. However, no one ever seems to say anything about the quality of the enclosure. My first question is, would these speakers be a good candidate for a DIY improvement project?

Secondly, I am very challenged when it comes to this kind of stuff. Is this a situation where I could potentially screw something up and if so, would it be worth the risk.


Just searching around on google, I read that rockwool can be used to brace a speaker. Is that right? How would I go about bracing a speaker with rockwool?
They can certianly be improved.

I would probably start by removing all the dampening material. Then I would add 1" x 2" dense oak wood bracing every 3"s through the cabinet on ever axis. This will require some planning.

Then I would replace the material they used with 2" rock wool or high density fiber like OC 703 or 705.

You can get a single sheet which is probably sufficient for a pair of betas from ATA Acoustics. The Rockwool is cheaper but harder to cut. Of course Fiber can mess up your lungs and make you itchy. I'll take more of a challenge cutting.

Wmax has some picture links of how to proper brace a speaker. I will let him decide if he wants to share them. I don't link other people's pictures without permission.

Try doing a search on his posts. You will learn a lot just reading through them. Most of what I know came from reading his posts.
 
R

Robof83

Audioholic
Thanks for the reply.

I was able to find two very helpful threads where WmAx describes modifying the infinity primus 250 speakers in a similar fashion. I think I may have even found the pictures you were referring to.

If I understand his post correctly he is saying to apply 1/3 - 1/2" thick layer of peel n' seal on every inside wall of the speaker, and then another 2" of this rockwool board on top of the peel n' seal?

Basically for the rockwool I am just cutting out sections whose areas are equal to the areas of the various sides of my speaker. Is that correct?

It says to apply an acoustic transparent cloth over the rockwool to prevent particles from entering the port. Does this mean I need to apply this cloth over every wall or just one in particular, and if the latter, which one should I apply it to?
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
Thanks for the reply.

I was able to find two very helpful threads where WmAx describes modifying the infinity primus 250 speakers in a similar fashion. I think I may have even found the pictures you were referring to.

If I understand his post correctly he is saying to apply 1/3 - 1/2" thick layer of peel n' seal on every inside wall of the speaker, and then another 2" of this rockwool board on top of the peel n' seal?

Basically for the rockwool I am just cutting out sections whose areas are equal to the areas of the various sides of my speaker. Is that correct?

It says to apply an acoustic transparent cloth over the rockwool to prevent particles from entering the port. Does this mean I need to apply this cloth over every wall or just one in particular, and if the latter, which one should I apply it to?
Yes that's exactly how to do it. you will probably want to add some braces. So you may need to cut it into smaller strips. Do cover it. You don't want to get rock wool into the voice coil. I imagine that speaker would sound much better that way. The drivers are very high quality. I debated modding them myself. But wanted the challenges of woodworking.
 
Matt34

Matt34

Moderator
Use some of the spray can glue to wrap a tshirt or other piece of cloth all around the mineral wool.
 
lsiberian

lsiberian

Audioholic Overlord
Use some of the spray can glue to wrap a tshirt or other piece of cloth all around the mineral wool.
Just make sure you don't use stinky shirts. We wouldn't want your speakers to stink:p
 
R

Robof83

Audioholic
For some reason the search function isn't working for me anymore. Just gives me an error.
 

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