The DO is Getting a Baby Brother!

[fuzz092888]

Sorry that's happening, Fuzz. I hope that you get it squared away. On the bright side, it looks nice.

Either I'm doing something wrong, or I have the worst luck ever. This is the second time I've had this problem. When I ordered that Pierce driver awhile back I had the same issue and now these. I'm tempted to say it's not me because the second Pierce driver worked fine and I went through the same process. Same with the CSS driver, Jeff Bagby kit, the LMS Ultras and every other driver and speaker I've had so far.

Even better news. I went looking for the shipping materials and I'm pretty sure I chucked them

Thanks, I really like the chamfers that it has on it. Placement ended up being different than I had originally thought, just because I have to figure out what to do with the Pierce sub if I move it out of its current location. I'm thinking of hacking up the box a little and turning it into an OB subwoofer. I modeled it up and it doesn't look terrible, so while it's not really an OB driver, could be a fun experiment without spending any money. Which is the best kind of experiment

 

[Adam]

...could be a fun experiment without spending any money.

Well...any more money.

 

[fuzz092888]

Well, Mark got back to me and asked me to take the drivers out of the box and run some sine waves through them to check them. Good news and bad news. Bad news is that for some reason the miniDSP was going into clipping early. What I mean is that instead of going from -30 to -20 to -10 to 0 to clipping, it would go from -20 and then if I ticked the volume up one more time it would go straight to clipping. Not cool. Other bad news is that one driver does appear to have something awry. It could be something as small as not having one of the venting holes completely sanded smooth, or it could be worse. Bottom line is that it makes a loud whistling noise as excursion rises. I think the other driver is fine though, so that's the good news.

Now I'm waiting on Mark to e-mail me back and tell me what he thinks is up with the driver that sounds funky.

 

[fuzz092888]

I think removing the miniDSP from the signal chain fixed the issue. After testing free air, per Mark's recommendation they seemed to work fine and the whistling is exactly what I thought it was. He said it won't be an issue in box and he was right. Now the sub is back together and I've run a few tests with it and it seems to be functioning fine. I still need to get everything dialed back in since there was a lot of moving things around and reconfiguring the signal chains and whatever. Plus I think Audyssey is still sending all the correction and delay information for the single 18" to the new sub.

All that aside and discounting the extreme clutter of the teeny tiny place I live, I can confidently say that IMAX ain't got sh!t on me

 

[afterlife2]

Be nice to get closeup shots with the new driver in. Glad you got it all sorted out. That Mark guy is good.

 

[fuzz092888]

Be nice to get closeup shots with the new driver in. Glad you got it all sorted out. That Mark guy is good.

Yea, but then you'll see my shoddy priming job up close and personal It looks worse than it really is, mostly because I skipped a final sanding. This way it can get mucked up and have whatever done to it and all I'd have to do is sand it off instead of having to reprime it.

He sure is. I told him that happened and he was happy it got worked out and asked me to e-mail him back after I've had some time to compare it to the LMS Ultra DO. He's curious to know how I think the drivers stack up.

I'll try to grab a few pics tonight after we get home from the GF's parents.

 

[Adam]

Yea, but then you'll see my shoddy priming job up close and personal

Not if you use Bryce's camera.

 

[fuzz092888]

The flash gives it a yellowish tinge that it doesn't really have. Oh well, I don't feel like digging out my actual camera so phooey to all y'all that don't like it

 

[slipperybidness]

Both are a no go simply because I learned my lesson about a high gloss finish and trying to accomplish it in an environment that isn't bug/dust/particulate free.

Just for future reference (and you may already know this, but I figured I would mention it). You can set up a makeshift paint booth with some painter's plastic and a household HEPA. Use the plastic to partition off a corner of the garage, and try to cover the floor and ceiling too. Put the HEPA (or 2) in the plastic "booth" and turn it on high for several hours before you need to paint/finish. Obviously, switch off the HEPA and remove it from the booth when you are ready to paint.

Of course, if you are gonna go to all that trouble, it is best to have a particle-free jump-suit too. And, if you're gonna set it up, then you might as well do ALL the needed painting before you take it down.

While still not the ideal environment, it will be much better than an un-controlled garage.

 

[fuzz092888]

I had looked up plans to make a spray booth kind of like that, but it wasn't worth the effort given that I could be moving anywhere between a month to a year from now. Plus it was hard enough to carve out some space for my tools from my old man, let alone space for a spray booth. At some point when I have my own place I'll revisit it, although by then I may be up for trying veneering.

 

[fuzz092888]

I had been in contact with Mark from IST and told him about the sub I built and that I'd be comparing it to the LMS Ultras in the same configuration and he was curious to hear my thoughts. My thoughts are below and his response are below.

Hi,

I’m not sure if you remember our previous conversation, but I had the dual opposed with LMS Ultras and then built another dual opposed with the UXL’s. Sorry I never wrote back, but it’s been a bit of a whirlwind with getting a new job and then having to move and settle in. In any case, before I moved I had some time to play with the two subs and I can honestly say that the UXL’s met my expectations for performance and then some. In my opinion, the LMS Ultras still have the edge in a throw down drag out battle of the 18”s, but for $1500/driver I’d be pretty pissed if they didn’t. However, to my ears, I would guesstimate that in my room and for my uses the UXL’s give me 90+% of the performance above 20hz at reference levels. I was so impressed with them that, when it came down to having to leave a couple subs behind due to space constraints in the new place, I took the UXL sub over the LMS Ultra’s. Size and weight was also a factor, but if I for a second felt I was giving up an unacceptable amount of performance or quality, I would have made it work in a heartbeat. However, I’m extremely pleased with the UXL’s and wouldn’t have any problem recommending them to anyone interested in the LMS Ultras as a cheaper and possibly better alternative.


Cheers,
Alex

Hi Alex,


Thanks muchly for your impressions. This says a lot. The TC driver is a
beautiful unit and is well engineered. I tip my hat to Thilo and all the
work he did on it. But you are right, the unit must justify its cost.


The UXL was never meant to be a 'TC killer' but if it achieves 90% like
what you said, then I'm happy.


Best,
Mark

 

[GranteedEV]

Man. I want some of those.

 

[fuzz092888]

Man. I want some of those.

I was so nervous taking a chance on something new, after having had the LMS Ultras, but I'm extremely happy I did. Great drivers at a great price. The extra sensitivity over the LMS Ultras is a big money saver as well.