First set of tower speakers built
This is my first set of tower speakers that I have attemped, I took a few "short cuts" as I was in a bit of a hurry to complete these (modifications and improvements to follow....these are sort of a "first-stage reference box" setup)
The drivers are Dayton, The woofer is an RS150S-8 Reference Series 6" Shielded Woofer and the Tweeter is a DC28FS-8 1-1/8" Shielded Silk Dome Tweeter, the crossover is a stock 2nd order Dayton 2-way crossed at 2000hz (this was the "in a hurry" part....I'm exploring my options and I'll build a custom crossover as soon as I'm comfortable doing so)
The cabinets are build of 3/4" MDF and are a "stepped design".....the pedastal is actually part of the enclosure, I wanted to go with the "mini-monitor on a pedastal" look but needed the extra volume that the pedastal offered to meet the requirements of the woofer. I'll be finishing the "mini-monitor" and the "pedastal" in different ways to complete the illusion. The drivers are surface mounted only because my router took a dump on me on the last woofer cutout (story of my life...). Dimensions are: Monitor...8"x8"x15", Pedastal...6.5"x 6.5"x22.5", with a total overall height of 38.25" and a total enclosure volumn of .63cu ft. The exclosures are rear-ported and damped with about a 1/4 pound of poly-fill, Construction was done using wood glue and 1-1/2" drywall screws.
I don't have a way to test these speakers other that with my wide-ranging and eclectic music collection. Imaging seems VERY good, the speakers dissapear into the music very well but definitely have a "sweet spot" (I think recess-mounting the drivers will take care of that a bit). Bass reproduction is suprisingly good and highs are crystal-clear. A subwoofer is a must as these only go down to about 45hz. The amplifier is a Harman Kardon AVR-235
Overall I'm rather impressed with these as this is my first project of this type (I've build sub-boxes and mini-monitors but never a tower) and is a clean-slate design (I know that's not reccomended for newbies but I REALLY didn't like any of the DIY designs that I saw out there). I had a friend that is an acoustic engineer come over to take a listen and he was also rather please with the imaging and reproduction that these are capable of. all in all I'd say I more than accomplished my goals of a clean sounding tower pair that can work well both for music reproduction and for home theater use. I also have to say that the WAF is VERY GOOD !!!, she was more than happy to have spent the money to build these once she heard them.
All input is welcome....please feel free to critique my design and offer improvement ideas.
