C'mon NaO, One More Note

[fuzz092888]

Well, rather than continue to pollute the "New Stuff" thread and my own HT thread I guess it's about time I started a proper build thread...........even though I still haven't purchased any of the lumber and most of the drivers.

In any case this is going to be a pair of NaO Note II RS from John Kreskovsky. After a lot of back and forth e-mailing with John it was decided that I should go with the standard SLS woofers over the XLS or XXLS and they will be in a configuration very similar to the LX521 woofers. I'll also be going with the rear tweeters.

I've already ordered a few different bits that I'll need for the build and I think I've figured what lumber I'll be using for which parts. I'm going to go with an all hardwood build, which makes screw ups extremely costly. A little personal pushing of myself to be precise and take my time. To help move the process along I'm making a template for the top baffle, which may or may not require more than one take. So far I'm reasonably happy with how it's turned out so far, but it needs a little touching up.

Sometime in the next couple weeks I'll order the upper mid woofers so I can check the spacing and clearance to see if a second take will be needed. Hopefully by the end of the month I'll order the wood for the top baffles and get those finished up. Hopefully by then John will have finished the alteration to the woofer section and I can get the dimensions for that so I can order wood for the side panels and woofer section.

Here's what I've got so far. It looks a little rough and lopsided, but I'll get that sorted out with the sander. I just need to be careful not to remove too much material because it gets pretty tight there. If I take off too much and there's not enough room for the round over I'll have to start over and make another.

 

[Alex2507]

I met that John K. dude!

Tell him you know me to not have it affect the price one bit.

 

[fuzz092888]

I met that John K. dude!

Tell him you know me to not have it affect the price one bit.

Sweet! He seems like a really nice guy, in my limited interaction with him. I wouldn't say that. I'm sure if I mentioned you he'd double or maybe even triple the price

Don't sell yourself short

 

[fuzz092888]

Well I got my lumber in for the front baffle. Unfortunately for me, I'm not unwrapping it. Just slapping a shipping label on it and sending it back out into the world. I decided I really wanted to get these top baffles right and wood is too expensive for me to butcher it, so I'm getting the baffles CNC machined. I'll still have to put the round overs on and make the section for the rear tweeter, but I think I can handle that.

The upper mid woofers should have been here today, but the tracking info seems to have frozen on them and I have no idea where they are. I truly despise USPS tracking.

 

[macddmac]

Well I got my lumber in for the front baffle. Unfortunately for me, I'm not unwrapping it. Just slapping a shipping label on it and sending it back out into the world. I decided I really wanted to get these top baffles right and wood is too expensive for me to butcher it, so I'm getting the baffles CNC machined. I'll still have to put the round overs on and make the section for the rear tweeter, but I think I can handle that.

The upper mid woofers should have been here today, but the tracking info seems to have frozen on them and I have no idea where they are. I truly despise USPS tracking.

So, you're going to have the lumber you recvd cnc'd? If so, cool, worth the extra expense-err..investment!
agreed on the ups tracking/ my ups thing.. pita!
Cheers, Mac

 

[fuzz092888]

Indeed. I decided this is going to be my solid hardwood build, and I sprung for some pretty sweet looking lumber for the baffles. I figured that after spending $150 on the lumber alone, another few bucks to get them machined would be worth it. Plus those curves would've been hard to set up and then cut. I did 85-90% of the work on the files so it saved me a ton of money since cutting is relatively cheap. Next up is probably the lower mid-woofers and then sometime next month I'll order the side panel material, which I am extremely excited about.

Still haven't received the updated build diagrams for the woofer section, but at this rate it's not a big deal at all.

Note to self, building your own speakers is easy if you just keep throwing money at the problems

So, you're going to have the lumber you recvd cnc'd? If so, cool, worth the extra expense-err..investment!
agreed on the ups tracking/ my ups thing.. pita!
Cheers, Mac

 

[lsiberian]

Note to self, building your own speakers is easy if you just keep throwing money at the problems

And time don't forget time.

 

[fuzz092888]

And time don't forget time.

Definitely. I'm still learning to slow down and make sure I allow whatever I'm doing to take as much time as it needs. Patience continues to be one of my weaker points.

 

[fuzz092888]

Upper mids are in. They're small, but darn are those magnets strong.

 

[Nestor]

Well I got my lumber in for the front baffle. Unfortunately for me, I'm not unwrapping it. Just slapping a shipping label on it and sending it back out into the world. I decided I really wanted to get these top baffles right and wood is too expensive for me to butcher it, so I'm getting the baffles CNC machined. I'll still have to put the round overs on and make the section for the rear tweeter, but I think I can handle that.

The upper mid woofers should have been here today, but the tracking info seems to have frozen on them and I have no idea where they are. I truly despise USPS tracking.

Interesting wood. Has quite the sheen to it, though the grain doesn't stand out much. I do see some curly in in the grain. I'm thinking a dye stain will bring that out.

 

[tarnum]

Hi, fuzz092888!
How is your build progressing? I wanted to ask couple questions about it, but not sure if you're still into this project.

 

[fuzz092888]

Hi, fuzz092888!
How is your build progressing? I wanted to ask couple questions about it, but not sure if you're still into this project.

I am still progressing slowly but surely. I got a bit side tracked doing a few other things that aren't speaker related, and I have yet to get my baffles back from the machine shop, but I'm still very much trying to make progress on it.

 

[tarnum]

Sounds good!
Would you please elaborate a little more on your decisio to go with SLS woofers instead of X/XX's? Seems like you're serious to make them very best in appearance and keep for prolonged time, so why compromise (imo) in key components?

BTW, does John talk about woofer configuration that you mentioned in first post here, similar to LX521? Here, post 399: NaO Note II RS - Page 40 - diyAudio

FYI, I have designed an "optional" cabinet for the Note II RS which integrates the woofers with the rest of the speaker as opposed to the modular "woofer box". This cleans up the look as the woofer box protruding to the rear of the speaker has been eliminated. The contour of the speaker from the side now follows the shape of the side panels, similar to the NaO II RS. This also makes the speaker less pron to rattles as all panels are glued in place.

The new cabinet uses the same main baffle and side panels so updating to the new cabinet only requires discarding the original woofer enclosure and cutting a few new panels. Perfromance remains the same.

Anyone who has built or is building the Note II RS may contact me for the optional cabinet plan set.

As always, thanks for your support.

 

[fuzz092888]

Sounds good!
Would you please elaborate a little more on your decisio to go with SLS woofers instead of X/XX's? Seems like you're serious to make them very best in appearance and keep for prolonged time, so why compromise (imo) in key components?

BTW, does John talk about woofer configuration that you mentioned in first post here, similar to LX521? Here, post 399: NaO Note II RS - Page 40 - diyAudio

I went with the SLS woofers at Johns urging. From his own measurements he has shown me that the gains aren't anywhere near worth the added cost, especially if these are going to be crossed over to a subwoofer(s) which he recommends anyways for truly full range and/or high SPL playback. He told me that if it were him, he'd never spend the extra money on the XLS or XXLS woofers. He only includes them in the design because he knows some won't agree with him and will want to show off the "better" woofers.

He and I have spoken about it and it is definitely the right choice for a woofer configuration. You can ask him on the DIY Audio thread or e-mail him directly. Since he hasn't put the information out there himself, I'm loathe to do it for him. Suffice it to say, that it was the way the woofer section was always supposed to be and the way he originally planned on it being.

 

[tarnum]

Ok, I see, thank you! Yes, if you plan to get dedicated sub then it make sense to save good $0.5k for it.
Please show us the baffles when you got them. I'm definitely into outsourcing this part and will appreciate if you can recommend the guy.

 

[fuzz092888]

Ok, I see, thank you! Yes, if you plan to get dedicated sub then it make sense to save good $0.5k for it.
Please show us the baffles when you got them. I'm definitely into outsourcing this part and will appreciate if you can recommend the guy.

Even without a sub the benefits just aren't there. If you look at the music and design website and the NaO Note II RS page it shows.

I'll definitely check back in when I finally get the baffles.

 

[fuzz092888]

Baffles finally arriving this weekend. Right meow Walter has them and is holding them hostage, that SOB

 

[gab]

Baffles finally arriving this weekend. Right meow Walter has them and is holding them hostage, that SOB

I may have missed it but what kind of hardwood are you using for the baffles?

gab

 

[fuzz092888]

I may have missed it but what kind of hardwood are you using for the baffles?

gab

Solid zebra wood top baffles.

 

[gab]

Solid zebra wood top baffles.

that's gonna look good! pictures please when you get them done

gab