AudioCircle
Audio/Video Gear and Systems => Owner's Circles => Selah Audio Owners => Topic started by: Rick Craig on 18 May 2019, 05:40 pm
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Here's the test box...
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=194613)
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On-axis curves for the drivers without the crossover. Room effects show up below 200hz. The ribbon doesn't have that kind of bass extension - that's actually where the room's noise floor starts to dominate as the ribbon's response is completely gone at that point.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=194623)
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0-15-30 degrees horizontally for the midrange.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=194634)
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Nearfield bass response. The sealed box tuning is working well.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=194640)
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These look good, Rick! I'm excited!! :D :D
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0-15-30 horizontal off-axis response curves. Taken on the tweeter axis at 1M distance, 1/12 octave smoothing, 5msec blended sine signal.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=194772)
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Vertical response curves V1 (midrange axis), V2 (midpoint of tweeter and midrange), V3 (tweeter axis), and V4 (slightly above the top edge of the cabinet).
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=194844)
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Easy to drive impedance, 6 ohms nominal and 4.6 ohms minimum.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=194789)
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And last of all, 86dB /2.83v / 1M sensitivity.
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I'm really excited to be getting this kit and appreciate Rick for working with me to get it designed and completed. I reached out to Rick when it seemed that Philharmonic BMRs might never be produced again and, to be honest, I didn't really just want another BMR to lay on its side with the tweeter rotated. So I asked Rick if he could modify the Ceramica center design and as we talked through it it turned out he could get the BMR driver AND the same RAAL tweeter that the Philharmonic BMR uses. We could have also gone with the Scanspeak woofers, but he convinced me the SB Acoustics woofers would work as well (if not better) and the $150 price difference didn't hurt, either. Rather than ported, we're going with a sealed design for the center as I run dual Rythmik subs in my system. The cabinet is pretty simple, but I went ahead and got the baffle cut and routed for the drivers from Rick as the BMR driver is a little tricky and the price was quite reasonable. My only concern is my finishing skills as I will ATTEMPT to emulate a piano black finish. Fortunately, as the center speaker, it will be almost impossible to really see the sides and top of the cabinet once placed in position, so I'm not OVERLY worried. I'll be doing a thread on the build (which will be quite simple compared to some here, especially recently) but I've not even started on the cabinet yet, so it will be awhile. As everyone has said, Rick has been great to work with, especially given that he's done a couple of Audio Shows (you were at Axpona as well, right Rick?) during this whole period. Happy to be joining the Selah family!!
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Just would like an opinion on the BMR driver as I am considering trying it as a midrange in an old Large Advent loudspeaker (400-4000hz). Thank you for your opinions...
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Just would like an opinion on the BMR driver as I am considering trying it as a midrange in an old Large Advent loudspeaker (400-4000hz). Thank you for your opinions...
I probably wouldn't cross it that low as the surface area is small and the amount of linear excursion is limited.
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The test box is available for an unfinished kit. Please PM here or email / call for a quote with shipping included.
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Well, my daughter is finally able to get to putting the box together this weekend. We talked yesterday regarding her approach and whether she needed any additional tools, etc. (fortunately, no, she's got what she needs already). She'd forgotten I told her I got the baffle from Rick, so she was freakin' a little bit over the doing the baffle but was like "oh, no problem" when she found out that was done. I hope to get started working on the finish of the cabinet next weekend and then finishing up over the 4th of July weekend. I'm going to attempt a piano black finish, so am going to take my time on that.
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Well, my daughter is finally able to get to putting the box together this weekend. We talked yesterday regarding her approach and whether she needed any additional tools, etc. (fortunately, no, she's got what she needs already). She'd forgotten I told her I got the baffle from Rick, so she was freakin' a little bit over the doing the baffle but was like "oh, no problem" when she found out that was done. I hope to get started working on the finish of the cabinet next weekend and then finishing up over the 4th of July weekend. I'm going to attempt a piano black finish, so am going to take my time on that.
Looking forward to the completion of your cabinet!
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Exciting news to me that rick can provide a routed baffle for kits.. I have wanted to order kits with baffle or flat pack from diysoundgroup for the longest time but he doesn't ship to hawaii and shipping forwarders are so complicated. Selah is top of my list for my next speaker.. I've never had one with a midrange driver so I'm waiting for some new exciting midrange to get released before contacting him
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Exciting news to me that rick can provide a routed baffle for kits.. I have wanted to order kits with baffle or flat pack from diysoundgroup for the longest time but he doesn't ship to hawaii and shipping forwarders are so complicated. Selah is top of my list for my next speaker.. I've never had one with a midrange driver so I'm waiting for some new exciting midrange to get released before contacting him
Yes, we can provide baffles for most kits. What midrange are you wanting to use?
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Not sure.. something new and exciting or special.. the BG neo8s planar seems interesting.
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Looking forward to the completion of your cabinet!
Unfortunately I was entirely over optimistic, as was she, in declaring the cabinet would be put together that weekend. It actually was about another month due to a variety of reasons, most of which had to do with my daughter having pretty bad morning sickness. That said, the cabinet has been put together and I'm working on bondoing the joints. It's slow go as the stuff sets up so quickly. I've two sides close to done (need a tad more bondo) and then two more to do; then sand all smooth and start sealing. When that's done I'll start work on the paint job. I'll try to remember to take pics as I go. Here is one after I got the baffle glued to the box. I'll take another when the bondo is completed.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198005)
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Unfortunately I was entirely over optimistic, as was she, in declaring the cabinet would be put together that weekend. It actually was about another month due to a variety of reasons, most of which had to do with my daughter having pretty bad morning sickness. That said, the cabinet has been put together and I'm working on bondoing the joints. It's slow go as the stuff sets up so quickly. I've two sides close to done (need a tad more bondo) and then two more to do; then sand all smooth and start sealing. When that's done I'll start work on the paint job. I'll try to remember to take pics as I go. Here is one after I got the baffle glued to the box. I'll take another when the bondo is completed.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198005)
Good progress!
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A little more work done over the last few days. I confess I hate working with the bondo. I'm using Zinsser BIN shellac-base primer. I've done two coats, but will sand, check for imperfections, re-fill with bondo where needed, sand some more, prime again then move on to the next step. This is my first attempt at doing a finish like this.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198284)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198285)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198286)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198287)
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A little more work done over the last few days. I confess I hate working with the bondo. I'm using Zinsser BIN shellac-base primer. I've done two coats, but will sand, check for imperfections, re-fill with bondo where needed, sand some more, prime again then move on to the next step. This is my first attempt at doing a finish like this.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198284)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198285)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198286)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198287)
Looks like you're making good progress!
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A little more progress. Sanded down with 400 grit then another coat of Zinsser BIN applied. Starting to shape up.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198417)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198418)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198419)
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I did wind up doing another coat of primer and then sanding again. Yesterday I did the first coat of finish paint, Rustoleum's Appliance Epoxy black. I chose this based on some internet research on 1) ease of use (it's relatively forgiving); 2) durable, high gloss finish. This is the result. Sorry that the black garbage bags cut to use as drop cloths doesn't provide the best background contrast - but I had them on hand, they're pretty heavy duty, and I didn't have to run to the big box store yet again to buy drop cloths.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198826)
Unfortunately, my tendency toward impatience got the better of me and rather than put another coat on it yesterday, I wound up wet sanding (1000 grit) just essentially one coat. Some of the primer wound up showing through. Live and learn. I'll do two coats before wet sanding again.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198827)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198828)
Tales of a newbie cabinet finisher. The only other cabinet I've ever actually built from scratch was a subwoofer cab for an Adire Tempest almost 20 years ago. For that I just used a spray on hammer finish. One thing I've learned is that while this has been an interesting venture, it's not really something I want to do again. But looking forward to finally getting everything assembled and listening.
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I did wind up doing another coat of primer and then sanding again. Yesterday I did the first coat of finish paint, Rustoleum's Appliance Epoxy black. I chose this based on some internet research on 1) ease of use (it's relatively forgiving); 2) durable, high gloss finish. This is the result. Sorry that the black garbage bags cut to use as drop cloths doesn't provide the best background contrast - but I had them on hand, they're pretty heavy duty, and I didn't have to run to the big box store yet again to buy drop cloths.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198826)
Unfortunately, my tendency toward impatience got the better of me and rather than put another coat on it yesterday, I wound up wet sanding (1000 grit) just essentially one coat. Some of the primer wound up showing through. Live and learn. I'll do two coats before wet sanding again.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198827)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=198828)
Tales of a newbie cabinet finisher. The only other cabinet I've ever actually built from scratch was a subwoofer cab for an Adire Tempest almost 20 years ago. For that I just used a spray on hammer finish. One thing I've learned is that while this has been an interesting venture, it's not really something I want to do again. But looking forward to finally getting everything assembled and listening.
Gloss black is a demanding finish - you'll be up and running soon!
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Been working. More coats of the epoxy black. Let thoroughly dry/harden. Wet sand with 1000 grit. Repeat. Final wet sanding with 1000 and then 2000 grit. It's not perfect, but not horrid for a first attempt. Next I will use a rubbing compound with foam pads on my drill and then a final glazing compound to bring out the shine. Not intending to clear coat as it won't be where fingers will be tempted to touch. I'll post a picture when the rubbing/glazing is done and then some of the assembly. Can't wait to post impressions of the SOUND, which has been the whole point.
Still haven't decided if I'm going to do a grill cover or not. The black doesn't do so well in pictures so it's hard to see the progress but my fingers feel it.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=199045)
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Last pics before the install. After the rubbing compound and glazing compound and buffing.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=199061)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=199063)
It's not perfect and what they say about the finish showing every imperfection is correct. But more than two feet away, it looks pretty darn good.
Now the last leg before I get to actually listen to it!!
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Looks professional to me!
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Very kind. Up close in person you can tell.
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I did NOT take pictures installing the crossover boards and drivers. However here are a couple pics of the finished product. The first one, the flash highlights the blemishes in the finish - probably makes it look a little worse than it really is as that's not noticeable to the eye without light at an angle. The second shows it on the shelf under my TV. It's still a closeup. Sitting on my couch about 9 feet away, it looks fantastic.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=199131)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=199132)
I've not listened MUCH as yet since I just got this finished last night and, in the process of setting it up in my system, I discovered one of my subs was not putting out any sound so I spent an hour troubleshooting all the typical things - cables, sub outs, etc., and not coming up with a solution. Appears to be some kind of amp fault.
Obviously I've not rerun Audyssey so I've got it turned off and just roughly level matched the center with my LRs using an SPL meter. As I got the levels dialed in the blending with the LRs started to become seamless. The center I was using is the Emotiva C2 and always struck me, with multi-channel music, is a bit of an edge in the highs. The BMR-CC eliminates that "edge" altogether. All I've had a chance to really listen to is a track or two off of Nils Lofgren's "Acoustic Live". I'm looking forward to listening to a lot more, especially my multi-channel recordings and videos. I'll post more impressions over time as they occur to me. As of now, chalk me up as a very satisfied customer!!
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I did NOT take pictures installing the crossover boards and drivers. However here are a couple pics of the finished product. The first one, the flash highlights the blemishes in the finish - probably makes it look a little worse than it really is as that's not noticeable to the eye without light at an angle. The second shows it on the shelf under my TV. It's still a closeup. Sitting on my couch about 9 feet away, it looks fantastic.
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=199131)
(https://www.audiocircle.com/image.php?id=199132)
I've not listened MUCH as yet since I just got this finished last night and, in the process of setting it up in my system, I discovered one of my subs was not putting out any sound so I spent an hour troubleshooting all the typical things - cables, sub outs, etc., and not coming up with a solution. Appears to be some kind of amp fault.
Obviously I've not rerun Audyssey so I've got it turned off and just roughly level matched the center with my LRs using an SPL meter. As I got the levels dialed in the blending with the LRs started to become seamless. The center I was using is the Emotiva C2 and always struck me, with multi-channel music, is a bit of an edge in the highs. The BMR-CC eliminates that "edge" altogether. All I've had a chance to really listen to is a track or two off of Nils Lofgren's "Acoustic Live". I'm looking forward to listening to a lot more, especially my multi-channel recordings and videos. I'll post more impressions over time as they occur to me. As of now, chalk me up as a very satisfied customer!!
Great - thanks for the pictures and update!
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Congrats. Enjoy your new LCR sound
For nice Shiny Black Have you ever
considered Wilson Art Vertical Grade Laminate?
Makes for a nice finish.
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Rick,
Just want to say the more I listen to multi-channel music, either native or "up mixed", the more I'm loving the BMR-CC. It's like having a a great solid center image, but with even more clarity, dynamics, and transparency. Thanks again for designing and getting this "right". Can't see myself ever getting "upgradeitis" in regards to my speaker system unless I win the lottery, move into a HUGE house, and have more money than sense!
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Rick,
Just want to say the more I listen to multi-channel music, either native or "up mixed", the more I'm loving the BMR-CC. It's like having a a great solid center image, but with even more clarity, dynamics, and transparency. Thanks again for designing and getting this "right". Can't see myself ever getting "upgradeitis" in regards to my speaker system unless I win the lottery, move into a HUGE house, and have more money than sense!
Thanks for the update. It's always gratifying to know the results of my work are being enjoyed! If you can post a followup on the AVS Forum that would be much appreciated too!