It Starts Now! The Zolasoid II Project

[gregz]

At this point, I had a nice contrast of black front and light veneer, similar to the early veneer offerings of NHT. It was tempting to keep it natural, but after a quick test of the cherry stain on a piece of scrap, the decision was easy... STAIN!!

It was amazing how much figure even a light coat brought out in the wood:

Keeping the stain light was a good compromise between color, figure, and contrast. All that's left for the veneer is a couple coats of polyurethane:

However, my success at my first veneer is also a curse. Now I'm less pleased with my prep work beneath the black painted fronts. My wife's vote is to hide the fronts behind a grill. But... It's tough to leave them less than stellar, you know? I was tempted to take a short cut and have a cabinet shop belt sand and apply black veneer to the fronts, but there don't seem to be any small cabinet stores left in business who will do small projects.

I also have to re-consider what to do for feet. The stainless spiked feet I ordered 5 years ago are much smaller than I remember, and even with the spike portion unscrewed, they are so small they'd point load indents into my hardwood floor - and they look tiny and chincey on boxes this large.

So close, yet so far...

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Looking good!

 

[skyline_123]

Nice touch there with the tops! Very clean looking build.

 

[GO-NAD!]

Me likey!

 

[gregz]

Thanks, folks.

I spent most of the night thinking about what kind of feet I want to put on these babies, and I realized I have a basic lack of understanding of the function of feet.

Would I lose anything if I used a compliant material that de-coupled the speakers from the floor? I was thinking it would really look great to stack metal rimmed drink coasters as feet for that ribbed aluminum look. But the cork would be compliant, which seems at odds with an industry that prides itself on sharp stiletto spikes for feet.

 

[STRONGBADF1]

Thanks, folks.

I spent most of the night thinking about what kind of feet I want to put on these babies, and I realized I have a basic lack of understanding of the function of feet.

Would I lose anything if I used a compliant material that de-coupled the speakers from the floor? I was thinking it would really look great to stack metal rimmed drink coasters as feet for that ribbed aluminum look. But the cork would be compliant, which seems at odds with an industry that prides itself on sharp stiletto spikes for feet.

Decouple a sub. It will help stop it from vibrating the floor and you will hear more sub and less vibrations.

 

[gregz]

Decouple a sub. It will help stop it from vibrating the floor and you will hear more sub and less vibrations.

Thanks for the response. I'll pick up some felt bottomed wooden disks then; it will be easier on my hardwood floor.

 

[riverwolf]

At this point, I had a nice contrast of black front and light veneer, similar to the early veneer offerings of NHT. It was tempting to keep it natural, but after a quick test of the cherry stain on a piece of scrap, the decision was easy... STAIN!!

It was amazing how much figure even a light coat brought out in the wood:

Keeping the stain light was a good compromise between color, figure, and contrast. All that's left for the veneer is a couple coats of polyurethane:

However, my success at my first veneer is also a curse. Now I'm less pleased with my prep work beneath the black painted fronts. My wife's vote is to hide the fronts behind a grill. But... It's tough to leave them less than stellar, you know? I was tempted to take a short cut and have a cabinet shop belt sand and apply black veneer to the fronts, but there don't seem to be any small cabinet stores left in business who will do small projects.

I also have to re-consider what to do for feet. The stainless spiked feet I ordered 5 years ago are much smaller than I remember, and even with the spike portion unscrewed, they are so small they'd point load indents into my hardwood floor - and they look tiny and chincey on boxes this large.

So close, yet so far...

Looks like my retired 1259s are going to a good home.

-Brent

 

[ma7rix13]

Nice cabinets. I hope you have also upgraded your tv by now... 5-year old zombie threads are cool...

 

[gregz]

Nice cabinets. I hope you have also upgraded your tv by now... 5-year old zombie threads are cool...

That's an affirmative on the TV upgrade, and only just recently:

The only thing cooler than 5 yera old zombie threads are funny signatures.

Progress update:

I took a road trip and picked up a gently used pair of NHT drivers for a good price, and now I'm back in business as far as completing my original design without need for course correction or further equipment investment.

Chatted for a while with Riverwolf, and he's a good guy. Not many people out in the real world have as much appreciation for the finer aspects of audio as us folks do, so it's nice to talk with someone else who "gets it." My coworkers' eyes start glazing over like Krispy Kremes in about as much time as it takes to pronounce "in-room response."

 

[riverwolf]

Progress update:

I took a road trip and picked up a gently used pair of NHT drivers for a good price, and now I'm back in business as far as completing my original design without need for course correction or further equipment investment.

Chatted for a while with Riverwolf, and he's a good guy. Not many people out in the real world have as much appreciation for the finer aspects of audio as us folks do, so it's nice to talk with someone else who "gets it." My coworkers' eyes start glazing over like Krispy Kremes in about as much time as it takes to pronounce "in-room response."

Greg, what's taking so long? It's been 10 days since the cabinet photos. I thought we'd see final photos and listening impressions by now. ;-)

-Brent

 

[gregz]

I'll TELL ya what's taking so long... The stinkin weather + too much travel. It seems like every time the temperature gets high enough to polyurethane, I'm out of town. When I come back, it's windy, cold, and/or raining.

GRRrrrrrrr........

 

[GranteedEV]

I'll TELL ya what's taking so long... The stinkin weather
GRRrrrrrrr........

Tell me about it! It was like -20 today =\ I can't find my tuque anywhere either, or I would brave it and do some cutting.

 

[gregz]

Tell me about it! It was like -20 today =\ I can't find my tuque anywhere either, or I would brave it and do some cutting.

Uhm.... Actually, it's been in the 50's. Too cold to polyurethane, but I guess I can stop complaining now. I'll be in Montreal in December, so I'll get my comeuppance in cold soon enough.

 

[gregz]

Ok, we had a batch of warm days and I was able to get two coats of polyurethane on, so it's GO TIME!

I stuffed the boxes very conservatively with polyfill, then moved on to what I thought would be a fast finish.

Alas, the 1/4" terminal connectors I had weren't big enough for the wire gauge I had in my speaker boxes, and they were contained inside hard plastic that couldn't be removed without bending up the metal inside. I decided to try boiling them, and that softened the plastic enough for me to be able to slit it and then pull out the metal connector inside.

The heads on the mounting screws were too small, and fit through the speaker mounting holes, so I had to use washers. I can paint the screws and washers black later, but right now it's time to hook these puppies up for a SOUND CHECK.

During the down time, I sold my Behringer active crossover and bought me a used ART graphic eq. I figured even if I didn't need it now, I would down the road when these NHTs eventually wear out mechanically since they're of a style that's no longer made by anyone.

As it turns out, I needed to bump up my in-room response in the frequency band between 60 and 80 Hz, so the graphic eq was a good move.

It's early yet, but after tweaking the sound unscientifically to a few of my favorite CD's, I'm VERY pleased with the sound I'm getting.

I hope everyone is having a great Thanksgiving!