[gr_Enjoyer]

Newbie here, I've been doing some research in anticipation of building a pair of NX Otica's. At first I wanted to start with the NX Studios, but I've come to the conclusion that I want to shoot for the highest quality 2.0 channel and expand to a servo sub from there for both music listening and home theater. I have never built a speaker kit, and I have limited knowledge about it, so it is intimidating. Is this possible as a first time build?

I do plan to follow some build threads, but does the kit come with step by step instructions too, or is it meant to be self explanatory?

Is there a recommended brand of glue, paint or stain for the wood, and would it be done before or after assembly?

I have a medium sized rectangular room and I plan to listen about 8 feet from the speaker position, and allow 3 feet of air behind them, however one will be around a foot to the side of a wall/cabinet, is that going to be a problem?

Lastly are there any other recommendations before jumping into it?

[Danny Richie]

Newbie here, I've been doing some research in anticipation of building a pair of NX Otica's. At first I wanted to start with the NX Studios, but I've come to the conclusion that I want to shoot for the highest quality 2.0 channel and expand to a servo sub from there for both music listening and home theater. I have never built a speaker kit, and I have limited knowledge about it, so it is intimidating. Is this possible as a first time build?

We do have first time builders start with top level kits. It is and can be done.

I do plan to follow some build threads, but does the kit come with step by step instructions too, or is it meant to be self explanatory?

Plans are not step by step. You can start at just about any point. You can assemble the cabinets first, or start with the crossovers. Some of it is pretty self explanatory when you get it. For instance, if you have seen the pictures of them then the CNC cut panels all make sense when you look at them.

There is also a lot of support here and from use directly if you have questions. 

Is there a recommended brand of glue, paint or stain for the wood, and would it be done before or after assembly?

Any standard wood glue will work well with MDF. As for finishes, the sky is the limit. It can be simple or very creative.

I have a medium sized rectangular room and I plan to listen about 8 feet from the speaker position, and allow 3 feet of air behind them, however one will be around a foot to the side of a wall/cabinet, is that going to be a problem?

Any time a side wall is only a foot away, it can be an issue. With a reflective surface that close, you will want to treat that reflection point with some absorbing material.

Lastly are there any other recommendations before jumping into it?

Go through some of the build threads here and don't be afraid to ask questions.

[Craig Young]

@gr_Enjoyer I can relate 100 percent. I was going to start off with the studio, but started with the otica's. There are a lot of information here on Audio Circle which helped make it possible for me to complete the project. The area where I was the weakest in was the glue (Titebond Extend) hardening too quick for this rookie to have an easy success. I had small gaps which I filled in with epoxy to make my corrections. I think that the dry fitting was excellent but the wood swelled a tiny bit with the wetness of the glue. My first go at it was a failed attempt to apply glue to 2 surfaces which took too much time for me to be successful. In conclusion to my glue nightmare, I would probably sand just a little to loosen up the fit and only apply glue to one of the surfaces to speed up my assembly for clamping. I have since found a woodworker which I would probably use for any future projects. I am currently having great listening sessions with the otica's and double trouble. Good luck with your choice and path.

[Jaytor]

I built the NX-Oticas as my first DIY Audio project (at least the first in about 40 years). The flat-packs are very well made and fit together easily and nicely. I was able to build them including finishing (I used acrylic paint designed for cabinets) over about three weeks.

If you don't know how to read a schematic, building the crossovers will be the most challenging part, but there are plenty of people on this forum to help you out. There are many successful builders that were in this position.

The one recommendation I would make is to get a number of good quality wood clamps. I would recommend a minimum of four, but more will definitely come in handy. Skip the cheap ones from the likes of Harbor Freight and get good quality clamps.

[rfluongo]

To build on the clamp recommendation, I would pick a few of these:

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07PLV5LX8/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_search_asin_title?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Really think through how things will be clamped before squeezing any glue. The NX-Oticas are not square so band clamps helped a lot for me.

[g3rain1]

One thing that I had trouble with is that the front baffle and and sides are not square with each other. It's more like an 80 degree angle and my clamps wouldn't always stay.

[FullRangeMan]

Lots of good advice from Danny in this topic 

[Danny Richie]

One thing that I had trouble with is that the front baffle and and sides are not square with each other. It's more like an 80 degree angle and my clamps wouldn't always stay.

It's a 10 degree angle. I set my table saw to a 10 degree angle and long ways ripped a 2 by 4. Then I set those on each side and had a flat surface to clamp to.

[NoahH]

Clamps are definitely key.

I used strap clamps for my nx-tremes and they worked very, very well.