TriTrix TL Build

[skyline_123]

I built this TriTrix TL set for my Mother for Christmas to go with her new computer (I know I'm a little late ). Also, my sisters like to watch movies off the hard drive so I thought they could use some decent sound. I've also been itching to hear these speakers for myself because they've gotten such great reviews and cost very little. The entire kit, including cabinets, was about $200.

Curt Cambell designed these and says they produce usable bass down into the 40 hz range, quite impressive. I was most surprised at how well they imaged and how low they played. I think they lack a little detail in the mid range compared to my other speakers but they're still a pleasure to listen to.

I'm currently powering these with the Sherwood RX-4105 Stereo Receiver
and they played very loud with very little distortion. I was really impressed. I would highly suggest this kit to anyone who is toying with building a set. Also, there are two very good video tutorials on how to construct the crossovers and the enclosures.



Here are some pictures of the construction process.

 

[skyline_123]

 

[skyline_123]

 

[Alex2507]

Wow ... that's amazing! The grill assembly is genius and looks killer.

Way to go.

 

[jp_over]

Looks great!

 

[Swerd]

Sean - Great build photos - thanks!

It looks like those grills are made from ½" MDF. Those magnets must be plenty strong enough to hold them up. Are they the ones PE sells? The grills I've done used much thinner (~¼" thick) masonite or plywood.

I like the use of hurricane nuts to mount the drivers, even for the tweeters !

 

[GO-NAD!]

That's a fine job! Will you be posting a full review of them?

 

[krzywica]

Fantastic job man! Those look amazing!

*EDIT* 2K posts!

 

[skyline_123]

Wow ... that's amazing! The grill assembly is genius and looks killer.

Way to go.

Thanks! You should see the people's faces when I ask them to put the grill back on. You'd think I just showed them how to clone money.

Sean - Great build photos - thanks!

It looks like those grills are made from ½" MDF. Those magnets must be plenty strong enough to hold them up. Are they the ones PE sells? The grills I've done used much thinner (~¼" thick) masonite or plywood.

I like the use of hurricane nuts to mount the drivers, even for the tweeters !

Thanks Richard. Yes, the magnets are from Parts Express and they are STRONG. You can place one on each side of your hand they'll stay put. I was initially worried about vibration when the speaker are playing and thought they might chatter but they're solid. Great Value too!

I like the 1/2" MDF grills because it allowed me to put a small round over on them. It gives it a nice touch. When I was deciding how I wanted to construct my grills, I tried to get some ideas by looking online at what other DIY’ers were doing but there wasn't much out there. If you have any photos of your grills, I wouldn't mind seeing them.

That's a fine job! Will you be posting a full review of them?

I'm not sure I will, at lease for a while; I have too many other projects that need immediate attention. Plus, I've already delivered the speakers to their final destination and there, they're not set up for any critical listening. The room is large and in charge and because of the furniture arrangement, I can't position them in any respectable enough location to appreciate them to the fullest. There are, however, many build threads out there where people have written their reviews as well as Curt’s website and the Parts Express Website. Eventually, I will post a review pitting these against the Behringer Truth 2030p’s considering they cost about the same and are both highly thought of.

All the reviews say the same thing about how great they sound and how they're such a great a value and it’s true. The price really does add a level of enjoyment. I like to audition expensive gear when I go out to stores because I like to fantasize about stuff I’ll never be able to afford, much like car shopping. So I think I have developed a certain expectation when it comes to listening to new speakers. When I know the price of the gear, I have an even greater expectation (which is bad and often leads to disappointment) and that was part of wonderful surprise that the TriTrix offered. If you have friends come over who know something about audio, they’ll never believe you when you tell them how much they cost.

In my ER18 build thread, I compared them to the TriTrix and wrote a little something about them. I thought it was a little unfair to compare these because of the price/size difference but they are both MTM TL Towers. Just look at the size difference.

 

[mattsk8]

Nice!!! Now I'm really excited about building mine! Have all the components (including the wood), just need some time! Have to wrap up this kitchen re-face I'm working on first . Decided to finish the cabinets w/ cherry. Super excited!! Thanks for that thread. Good to hear from someone who knows speakers that they sound good!

 

[GranteedEV]

Great Build.

I would have built the tall version though, to get that MTM higher up just like your ER18s. I guess the short ones have a better MAF? (lol)

 

[skyline_123]

Nice!!! Now I'm really excited about building mine! Have all the components (including the wood), just need some time! Have to wrap up this kitchen re-face I'm working on first . Decided to finish the cabinets w/ cherry. Super excited!! Thanks for that thread. Good to hear from someone who knows speakers that they sound good!

Funny, we're doing a kitchen re-face as well (sort of).

I look forward to seeing the cherry finish. I hope you don't make the mistake I did and fire these things up before the cabs are fully finished. I get impatient and have to listen to them even thought they're completely naked. Then, I have a hard time breaking them down to finish them.

Great Build.

I would have built the tall version though, to get that MTM higher up just like your ER18s. I guess the short ones have a better MAF? (lol)

MAF, ha, thanks for the good laugh! Funny thing is though, that is EXACTLY what it boiled down to. In fact, she actually told me that she's almost fully accepted them in her home and is very pleased with the sound.

 

[Alex2507]

she's almost fully accepted them

It's odd that I actually found myself having to remind her that she was the one who asked me to set up a home theater for her (for the girls really). Don't let her act like she is allowing you this indulgence. I'm sure she expressed a desire for this level of audio at some point but has now wants the sound to come from the lips of angels ... well, the angels are busy.

 

[j_garcia]

Very nice work, and they have a nice simple look to this kit. I didn't realize they didn't include grilles. I've been thinking about building a pair for my dad. I thought Matt34 was looking to build a pair of these also at one point?

I've always loved that "no holes" grille look. Here are my mains. Note the lack of mounting also:

There are metal slugs flushed into the MDF just under the veneer and magnets in the grilles. The grilles are cut to match the edges of the midrange drivers so they automatically self center. I didn't build these, a friend of mine who happened to be the cabinet builder for GR some years back did them.

 

[skyline_123]

It's odd that I actually found myself having to remind her that she was the one who asked me to set up a home theater for her (for the girls really). Don't let her act like she is allowing you this indulgence. I'm sure she expressed a desire for this level of audio at some point but has now wants the sound to come from the lips of angels ... well, the angels are busy.

You are most correct here. She often doesn't understand what she wants or refuses to acknowledge the responsibility that comes with it. One minute, it's a wonderful luxury and the next, she just wants it out of her life forever.

I was her idea for build the computer but it was my idea to add the sound system that would fill such a large space sufficiently. It also frees up the two 2030p's to go back to surround sound duties. That's a whole other project...

Very nice work, and they have a nice simple look to this kit. I didn't realize they didn't include grilles. I've been thinking about building a pair for my dad. I thought Matt34 was looking to build a pair of these also at one point?

I've always loved that "no holes" grille look. Here are my mains. Note the lack of mounting also:


There are metal slugs flushed into the MDF just under the veneer and magnets in the grilles. The grilles are cut to match the edges of the midrange drivers so they automatically self center. I didn't build these, a friend of mine who happened to be the cabinet builder for GR some years back did them.

Great looking speakers there! I too am a fan of the no holes grill look. It gives the appearance they were made for being naked but wait, they're both.

 

[Alex2507]

I can't seem to get past that hidden magnet grill business. I'm thinking that little felt self adhesive sticky thingies on the grill magnets would work well to keep the grill cloth and paint from wearing. They have tiny little fuzzy wuzzies probably 1/4" in circumference at Home Depot.

There's a lesson to be learned about audio, regular people and priorities. I'm still learning it but that's because I'm a slow learner. My first clue that I had gone down the wrong road was that after a year Denise still did not know how to turn the TV on. Cheryl tolerates my tinkering and appreciates decent audio with movies but is perfectly happy listening to the musical guest from SNL from the TV speakers. This hobby really is for us. Dragging other people into it is generally a lesson in futility.

The good thing is that you have a handful of worth while builds under your belt and now there's stuff you just know. Of particular interest to me is what you must have picked up in regards to applying finish/paint especially with that HVLP. I can't wait for you to start messing with veneers.

 

[lsiberian]

I want to try these out, but I suspect now would be a bad time with my 3-way still not done and 6 other drivers needing to be worked with.

 

[jeffsg4mac]

Very nice work, and they have a nice simple look to this kit. I didn't realize they didn't include grilles. I've been thinking about building a pair for my dad. I thought Matt34 was looking to build a pair of these also at one point?

I've always loved that "no holes" grille look. Here are my mains. Note the lack of mounting also:

There are metal slugs flushed into the MDF just under the veneer and magnets in the grilles. The grilles are cut to match the edges of the midrange drivers so they automatically self center. I didn't build these, a friend of mine who happened to be the cabinet builder for GR some years back did them.

I Need YOUR mains as my mains

 

[skyline_123]

I can't seem to get past that hidden magnet grill business. I'm thinking that little felt self adhesive sticky thingies on the grill magnets would work well to keep the grill cloth and paint from wearing. They have tiny little fuzzy wuzzies probably 1/4" in circumference at Home Depot.

There's a lesson to be learned about audio, regular people and priorities. I'm still learning it but that's because I'm a slow learner. My first clue that I had gone down the wrong road was that after a year Denise still did not know how to turn the TV on. Cheryl tolerates my tinkering and appreciates decent audio with movies but is perfectly happy listening to the musical guest from SNL from the TV speakers. This hobby really is for us. Dragging other people into it is generally a lesson in futility.

The good thing is that you have a handful of worth while builds under your belt and now there's stuff you just know. Of particular interest to me is what you must have picked up in regards to applying finish/paint especially with that HVLP. I can't wait for you to start messing with veneers.

Those fuzzy wuzzies are a good idea. My guess is that mom and the sisters aren't going to be showing off the drivers to their friends very often so wear won't be much of an issue. If they were in my house, I would need those pads.

"lessons in futility", well said sir. It's funny because every so often I have someone over to demo my ER18's and I haven't been able to figure why they're so content with not sitting in the sweet spot. They'll just sit down wherever they dang well please. Then they'll proceed to try and carry on a conversation with you or text on their phone. Ugh! Lessons in futility is right.

I look forward to dealing with veneers. I have those Overnight Sensations sitting in my garage waiting for some cheap walnut veneer I bought. Yes, I know, I'm terrible with my speaker time lines . I did get a couple pieces to stick nicely but my method was not very repeatable. The good fellas on the race team have agreed to lend me an old vacuum pump so that I can vacuum bag my veneer. I think this is going to be the way to go. I have some other projects I need to complete first though.

 

[Swerd]

I can't seem to get past that hidden magnet grill business. I'm thinking that little felt self adhesive sticky thingies on the grill magnets would work well to keep the grill cloth and paint from wearing. They have tiny little fuzzy wuzzies probably 1/4" in circumference at Home Depot.

For what its worth, Jim Salk builds his grills with the same hidden magnet method. On my STs, which I've had going on 3.5 years, there has been no visible wear on the paint on the front baffles. There are no fuzzy pads. There are four pairs of magnets involved, one in each corner of the grill, and four more buried under the front baffle that line up with the grill magnets. All together, they are strong enough so nothing moves when the grills are on. The grill cloth doesn't extend far enough to get between the magnets.

There's a lesson to be learned about audio, regular people and priorities. I'm still learning it but that's because I'm a slow learner. My first clue that I had gone down the wrong road was that after a year Denise still did not know how to turn the TV on. Cheryl tolerates my tinkering and appreciates decent audio with movies but is perfectly happy listening to the musical guest from SNL from the TV speakers. This hobby really is for us. Dragging other people into it is generally a lesson in futility.

Words of wisdom gained through experience. Someone once asked my why I wanted speakers so big, they only got in the way. I didn't answer - SongTowers are clearly not too big and if speakers get in the way then it might be time to get rid of some other furniture.

Cheryl sounds like a keeper. If you look for a woman who has more definite opinions on audio, she might want her own system because yours sucks.