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Hi All,
Right then, i have sent the money to my friend in the states for the AN Super 8's this morning. Also ordered the Beta 15's from Amazon, but just had an email to say the supplier has cancelled due to stock not available. Boo! So if anyone knows a good source please let me know. Maplin are way over priced.
Just got back from the wood yard with some option on the baffles;
8X4 18mm chipboard £17
8x4 18mm plywood £45, 25mm £63
8x4 18mm Latvian birch £65
8x4 18mm spruce / pine £33
8x4 18mm MDF £24 25mm £34
I would prefer £35 options unless you lot think its worth the extra.
No charge for cutting but they cannot do the holes for the drivers. I don't have a router so if you know of any solutions? Cant afford to buy one and jig etc.
As you can see I am very keen!
Many Thanks
Ian
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Another update; Found the Beta 15's here www.bluearan.co.uk good to deal with, had the 120hz filters as well. Received an Email stating dispatched order 20 mins after placing, impressive.
Cheers
Ian
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Well, choice of wood depends largely on how you want the finished article to look.
I'm not sure how much Open Baffles are influenced by the material they are made of.
Decent ply can be stained to good effect, whilst MDF is better suited to paint in my opinion.
Thicker is probably better, but also heavier if they are to be moved around.
Speaker apertures can be cut with a jigsaw and a bit of care. Measure the diameter carefully. Too big a hole and you will have problems with the mounting screws. No need to rebate the drivers. Whatever the material, make sure to drill pilot holes for all the screws to avoid splitting the board.
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I know a little bit about wood and the products thereof - I'm in forestry management & have spent some time selling timber to instrument makers.
For sound quality I would favour the nearest thing you can get to real tree - the denser the better. MDF is used by speaker manufacturers because it's cheap, usually flawless and machines & finishes well - don't be fooled by anyone on this.
But for best finish for least effort you should follow the speaker manufacturers lead!
Personally, I'd go for the Latvian birch - it will be very slow grown and, therefore, by far the densest of the options you mention.
Hope this helps
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Thanks Guys,
I appreciate your input.
I now have possession of the Beta's and ordered the rest of the parts.
Just come back from the wood shop, bought 18mm mdf to keep the costs down for now.
Al, may i ask what diameter hole you cut for the Audio Nirvana, i wont get this for maybe a week or two. Might as well get the baffles finished and waiting so i can just drop them in.
Cheers
Ian
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Diameter of cutout for STD 8 was 71/2 inches(7.5) according to the plans that Commonsense Audio sent me. I wouldn't go any bigger than that.
Presumably the Super 8 is the same.
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Just a wee update; I have built the speakers and have them burning in while waiting for the Super 8's. They should be with my friend in the US today.
http://i732.photobucket.com/albums/w...P1050498sm.jpg
Just need to drop them in and mount the crossovers. Going to use the fabric off the panels behind and recover the panels with plain black cloth. Its a really good way of keeping partners happy " You decide dear "
ATB
Ian
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Looking good.
You might find the output of the two sets of drivers varies a little during run in. I think i changed the resistor value three times in the first few weeks, until i eventually settled on whatever i'm using now. The AN drivers changed in character quite a bit in the first few days, and then seemed to get slowly better and better.
Remind me what amp you have. I guess most amps will run them in faster than my 5 watts.
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Fantastic! I hope to start mine soon, but will need to wait till I get enough readies as I plan (hopefully) on using an active crossover...
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Hi All,
Al, i am running in the Beta's on my Sony integrated, cushions, blankets and the radio on all day. Has already made a big difference to the bass output.
but will use my little Wave 8 mono blocks full time. They are 8 watt PP jobbies, but as soon as funds allow i will go down the Chinese SET route. either the Audioromy 813 or Mr Liang 845. Tracking Super 8's to my mates house today, fingers crossed!
Cheers for now
Ian
