This summer I came across a classified ad I couldn't refuse over at TechTalk making my dream of this exact speaker a reality. A pair of NeoPro 5i, pair of PHL1120, and four TD15M's for a VERY reasonable price. I'm not sure what it is but I don't have much motivation for speaker building during the warmer months, these guys sat in boxes all summer and fall. Just like last year though around January I started getting the itch t build something. For some reason I have the misfortune of getting the itch right around the time temps are bottoming out here in northern MN
Honestly though the real reason involved visiting a local audiophile's setup that was very very good (
TLS Guy over at audioholics forum) plus hearing my good friend Dave's
Magnepan MMG's in my room A/B'ing against my waveguides (and sounding better than them EVEN at high SPL AND being pushed by a lowly Onkyo TX-SR304
). It took me a long time to admit it to myself but there was always something "off" with my waveguide build (
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1220016). I'm pretty certain someone that knew what they were doing could have gotten them straightened out but I just lack the knowledge and motivation at this point to fix them. Something in the crossover.
So once again I find myself out in the garage cutting wood in full MN winter gear: long underwear, snowpants, winter boots, hooded sweatshirt, winter coat, hat, gloves; the whole bit. I finally got some use out of my table saw (that I had been too intimidated by to use before) though so the cutting went very smooth. I overbuilt the boxes a bit - I've been trying to do something more elaborate with each build. They have a double baffle and include window bracing that is glued together in the middle (check the pics below). I used the 1 1/4" roundover on the baffle and went over the rest with a 3/4" roundover. I still want to attempt to flush mount the drivers but neither will be all that easy. I need to get a bushing set for my router then maybe I'll give it a shot.
Currently I'm using the TD15M still in the old speaker with the new mid+tweet enclosure set on top. The crossover is a passive network that Curt Campbell was kind enough to share with me. Unfortunately it's not one of his published designs and it is not mine to share (please don't ask, I have a lot of respect for Curt and he was nice enough to share it with me - I'm not going to break his trust). It's the crossover he designed for exojam's JCW 3-way (
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1061558) minus the woofer network. I had a pair of black anodized double binding post plates so I wired them up for biamping with the tweeter and woofer networks completely separate (why not right). The woofer - mid crossover is active using DCX2496. I haven't messed with this XO very much (for some reason I don't think it will have a significant effect on the sound), I just set it for LR24 at 350hz arbitrarily.
Listening impressions have been very, very positive. The new speakers do not exhibit any of the crossover issues I had with the waveguide. Also measuring them in-room with REW shows a very nice FR curve - even with room interaction?
I'm hoping someone can give me suggestions on what to do for the woofer enclosure. I'm trying to figure out if I can cut down the current enclosures and re-use them somehow or if I should do it right and build new ones. The bummer is the current enclosures would go to waste. If I do build one I want to do a tapered enclosure similar to dlneubec's BaSSlines (
http://www.avsforum.com/avs-vb/showthread.php?t=1064857) with them tapering to the width of the mid+tweet enclosure. The tweeters are way too high right now, I've got them pointing down a bit (propped the backs up on some DVD's) but it's still not quite right and doesn't work for listening in other rooms very well...
Pics:
Note, my wife LOVES when I glue up speakers on the kitchen counter!
