Customized Arcus cabs for Josh

Vapor Audio · « **on:** 18 Sep 2015, 04:57 am »

We were contacted to build a custom pair of cabinets using the Arcus design as the starting point. The difference being they would house the 12" Acoustic Elegance woofer, not the 10" found in the Arcus. So the entire cabinet needed to be upscaled. Being CNC cut stacked ply, that wasn't an issue. Re-draw the cabinet slices for the larger size and stack 'em up. Of course there's more to it than that, but that's the gist.

Once the cabinets were ready for veneer, that's when the fun began! Mappa Burl is quite frankly a massive pain, to get it glass smooth as you see in the pictures took about a gallon of sealer, 7/8 of which was sanded off. In addition, mixing up 5-6 custom colors of putty and colored epoxy to fill the pips, and then another 10-12 coats of 2K Gloss Urethane. I wouldn't be exaggerating to say there's 100 hours in the finish work alone, but the results are pretty spectacular as you can see yourself.

Josh will be inserting his own drivers and crossover, and I'd imagine he'll be sharing the final results with everyone here.

So the two things you can learn - we do build custom cabinets, not just finished speakers. And that if you want gloss Mappa Burl, expect some sticker shock! Enjoy ...

Folsom · « **Reply #1 on:** 18 Sep 2015, 05:11 am »

Wow... New respect for a vaneer with character like that.

fex02 · « **Reply #2 on:** 18 Sep 2015, 09:39 am »

beautiful job

dpatters · « **Reply #3 on:** 18 Sep 2015, 11:33 am »

Those look really awesome Ryan!!

Hope all is well in Vaporland.

Don P.

JoshK · « **Reply #4 on:** 18 Sep 2015, 02:05 pm »

Pretty excited to get these, it's been an adventure. Then I get to design the crossover.

I am using a pair of AE TD12M apollo's I've had for quite some time now together with the Beyma TPL-150H like the Arcus. These will be running off my Thomas Mayer 211 monos, run sealed and suplimented with 2x Rhytmik Audio HP15 SE

sebrof · « **Reply #5 on:** 18 Sep 2015, 02:22 pm »

Ay caramba, those look nice!
I won't compare the square boxes I just got finished building to those beauties, but I can appreciate the amount of work it takes to get them looking like that. And now I get to relax and listen to mine, while you're probably building more speakers

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #6 on:** 19 Sep 2015, 12:52 am »

Quote from: JoshK on 18 Sep 2015, 02:05 pm

Pretty excited to get these, it's been an adventure. Then I get to design the crossover.

I am using a pair of AE TD12M apollo's I've had for quite some time now together with the Beyma TPL-150H like the Arcus. These will be running off my Thomas Mayer 211 monos, run sealed and suplimented with 2x Rhytmik Audio HP15 SE

We'll give you the full schematic for our Arcus, which will get you very close. The Beyma is pretty tough, it requires a couple notch filters each with different Q. Not rocket science, but they're definitely trickier than working with a RAAL. They're also more critical of FR balance. With the RAAL as long as it's in the ballpark they sound fantastic, the Beyma needs to be pretty much spot on.

JoshK · « **Reply #7 on:** 2 Oct 2015, 06:57 pm »

So I unpacked one of the cabinets last night. Wowza, these are gorgeous. Worth the wait. I quickly test fitted the drivers, spot on. I always loved Mappa Burl but never wanted to work with this veneer myself. My skills are not up to snuff. I think this was Ryan's first time and he had a time of it, but did an amazing job. I think he was self-conscious about them but doesn't need to be. The high gloss is superbly done.

I had read up a lot on diyaudio about people using the Beyma. There is a general consensus about removing the rear chamber, building a larger enclosure and filling it will wool or denim. That is what I plan to do as it apparently removes one of the notches necessary.

SlushPuppy · « **Reply #8 on:** 2 Oct 2015, 07:05 pm »

Congrats Josh! Those cabinets look great!

PMAT · « **Reply #9 on:** 15 Nov 2015, 06:22 am »

Wood can be very tricky. It moves, swells, contracts, rejects, absorbes, raises up, tears, cracks, and more. And boy do I love it!

Folsom · « **Reply #10 on:** 15 Nov 2015, 06:31 am »

Are they playing or what? You too busy listening to report?

mav52 · « **Reply #11 on:** 15 Nov 2015, 02:37 pm »

Congrats, nice choice of wood.

Phil A · « **Reply #12 on:** 15 Nov 2015, 02:54 pm »

Beautiful finish - enjoy!

JoshK · « **Reply #13 on:** 16 Nov 2015, 03:28 pm »

I haven't got them running yet. I've been quite busy with other stuff, mostly in my social life, to get to it. I am planning to wire up the drivers with a speakon connector, so that I have the discrete driver connections externally while I prototype my crossovers and such. I also have a 4ch ATI 1504 amp and a miniDSP 4x10HD so that I can prototype an electronic crossover first, to listen a bit before I buy expensive passive parts.

First of all, I need to devise a new rear chamber for the Beymas, that I will fill with felt and cotton.

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #14 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 05:06 am »

Quote from: JoshK on 2 Oct 2015, 06:57 pm

So I unpacked one of the cabinets last night. Wowza, these are gorgeous. Worth the wait. I quickly test fitted the drivers, spot on. I always loved Mappa Burl but never wanted to work with this veneer myself. My skills are not up to snuff. I think this was Ryan's first time and he had a time of it, but did an amazing job. I think he was self-conscious about them but doesn't need to be. The high gloss is superbly done.

I had read up a lot on diyaudio about people using the Beyma. There is a general consensus about removing the rear chamber, building a larger enclosure and filling it will wool or denim. That is what I plan to do as it apparently removes one of the notches necessary.

I didn't see this until just now. You have no idea the feeling of relief that you're totally happy with the build. You're right, I was very frustrated with that veneer, and ended up being self-conscious of the results. I guess my stubborn persistence paid off

BTW, we haven't yet measured a pair of the TPL-150H that showed any signs of issues with the rear chamber. I think that issue is overblown, maybe has become an legend more than fact. But I'd suggest measuring yours first before you decide if it's needed. We also cross them over lower than anybody else has, and without any issue.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #15 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 02:45 pm »

I hadn't noticed this thread until now, but wow, those are spectacular Ryan. Well done!

Vapor Audio · « **Reply #16 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 06:07 pm »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 17 Nov 2015, 02:45 pm

I hadn't noticed this thread until now, but wow, those are spectacular Ryan. Well done!

Thanks Bob, even though the Mappa Burl frustrated me to wits end, I kinda fell in love with it at the same time. My wife loves it, and now I think we have a customer who wants it on his Joule build.

mresseguie · « **Reply #17 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 06:24 pm »

I just had a vision of my Toyota Tacoma covered in this.

This veneer is amazing!

JoshK · « **Reply #18 on:** 17 Nov 2015, 10:57 pm »

I normally don't like busy veneers, but this is one exception. I just think it looks classy as all heck. It suits my decor really well as well.

Berto · « **Reply #19 on:** 18 Nov 2015, 01:08 am »

Congrats Josh they are drop dead gorgeous. I've seen Mappa Burl finishes and frankly never loved them but I think yours are really special. Ryan hit it out the park!

The sound should be as 3-D as your veneer with your 211s