Reiver custom commissions photo-gallery

[ScottL]

A few images of some custom commissions we have undertaken. First up (because I was one of the designers, so I thought I'd exercise some shamelessness) some Frugel-Horn 3 commissions.

For the sake of background, FH3 is a tapped hypex corner-horn with an internal low-pass choke. The curved back is a functional part of the design, helping to re-shape the wavefront back toward its more natural spherical shape, and is based on work done by my friend Ron Clarke, who's day-job at the time was, if I recall correctly, designing hydrofoil patrol-boat hulls.

First pair are with the Mark Audio CHP-70, the second the Fostex FE126En. Both are in ash veneer, with a rubbed oil finish. The third pair uses the Mark Audio Alpair 7.2 with a cherry veneer and rubbed oil finish.

[ScottL]

Sticking with a theme related to my friends over at Planet10 Hi-Fi in British Columbia, here we have a couple of builds of dmar-ken.3 cabinets. Strange name, somewhat unusual, but effective box. Brief piece of explanation for those who are interested:

The dmar-ken.3 is an ancestor of the original Fonken that Dave Dlugos (of Planet 10) designed for the then-current Fostex FE127E. Since that first design, he has developed dozens of variations for different drivers. Functionally, the cabinet is a little deceiving. It looks like an Onken, which is a functional descendent of the Jensen Ultraflex, which in turn descends from Thuras's original bass reflex patent. Dave's Fonken, dmar-ken, and all the variations thereof, are almost the exact functional opposites however. The original Onken, Ultraflex & early bass reflex cabinets use their massive vent systems to provide maximum efficiency at the box tuning (Fb). The Fonken / dmar-ken etc., despite superficially resembling these boxes, have different design goals. Here, high aspect ratio vents are employed, the considerable friction providing a damped bass alignment.

The two builds here show a pair in an unusual Ziricoat (yes, it's a new one on me too) veneer, and another in a slightly more conventional (but still very nice) American black walnut, both with our preferred rubbed oil finish. We sometimes use wax too; these are 'just' in the oil however.

[Ali Tait]

Look good Scott, those in Ziricote were made for me. Very good they were too.

[Marco]

The first ones in post #2 are GORGEOUS!

Marco.

[Ali Tait]

Aye, they were even nicer in the flesh. :-)

[ScottL]

In the flesh? I knew it was quite a rare / special veneer, but I didn't realise it was that different.

Since the zircote has gone down well, here are a few more images of it. One of the raw veneer, and a couple of the cabinets from different angles. Plus another shot of the one in American black walnut, since I quite like that one too.

In all honesty, I'm always impressed at the quality of finish Colin achieves. It's craftsman made, bespoke-furniture. Granted, I'm biased. But all you have to do is ask somebody who has seen something he has built. They'll say the same. Because that's what we want to provide. Colin can speak for himself on this one, but you know those small artisan shops selling bespoke wooden furniture and accessories? You find them in little villages all over the place -North Yorkshire, the borders, Devon, Somerset, parts of Scotland etc. That's the sort of 'feel' that I think we try to provide.

[ScottL]

A set of custom, stackable LP storage boxes. These are constructed in Finnish birch ply, with real oak veneer, fronted with 6mm solid oak, with our usual rubbed-oil finish.

Before anybody asks -no, I don't know what those red and blue things are that Colin was using to prop the boxes up in the last image!

[ScottL]

This is a pair of bass-reflex cabinets for one of the (many) Diatone P-610 driver variations. Their owner had bought them from the chap who had built the enclosures, and was happy enough with the sound they produced, but wanted the aesthetics to be improved. Fair enough. This was probably one of the most challenging refurbishments Colin has had to do, because the basic carcass was not in the best of shape. The material wasn't great, the main angles were not properly square, and the thing was riddled with hidden nails, screws etc. These images show the boxes as they were when they arrived for a little 'cosmetic enhancement'.

[ScottL]

...and this is what Colin did to them. I still don't know how he did it. It would have been easier to build a new pair of cabinets from scratch.

Short version: a massive amount of work was done on the box itself; it was properly sanded back, screws removed & holes filled, smoothed, new chamfers cut (as good as could be done, since the original box was not square / was out of alignment). Trimmed out vent, new binding posts, and veneered in Santos Rosewood, with a gloss varnish finish.

[ScottL]

Yes: it's a pair of Yamaha NS1000s. Now, whatever you think about the NS1000 from an acoustic perspective, they were not the prettiest of speakers. Well built, functional and well designed -yes. Attractive? Especially if the years have not been kind to their finish? No.

Here's a pair that came in for Colin to refurbish. Their owner had stripped out all the hardware beforehand; cabinets sanded, given bookmatched real-oak veneer, and an oil finish. A custom pair of stands were also built (not shown). The images show the process as the cabinets were taken back, minor issues fixed, and veneered.