[Tyson]

For Christmas this year, I gave my son a LGK 2.1 kit.  How cool of a dad am I?   

We just finished the build and I took lots of pics so I thought I'd document it here. 

I don't have a wood shop or any fancy tools.  For Danny's kits, YOU DON'T NEED THEM.  A few basic tools and some flexibility is all you need!


Quick group shot of the raw parts and the CNC cut flatpack:






Time to cut up some of the NoRez (for the woofer section) and some recycled denim material (for the midrange section):





Quick dry fitting just to make sure things line up:





Getting ready to assemble the crossover.  Here's a cool trick Danny taught me.  You can simply lay the crossover parts on top of the schematic and you end up with perfect layout and wiring:






Crossovers assembled:






Time to assemble.  Having a lot of clamps helps.  I only have this many, so I could only assemble one speaker at a time:






All clamped up:





All dry.  But if you notice the top (and side) edges stick out:





This sandpaper will knock that edge right out and give you a smooth transition between the baffle and the sides.  Front, back and sides all need to be sanded:





Tape up the opening so sawdust doesn't get into the inside:





Again, nothing fancy.  I just took my speakers outside and used a giant trashbag to collect the dust during the sanding with my power sander:






Perfectly smooth and time to paint.  My son wanted black (for his gaming setup) so we're going to do 2 coats of textured Duratex:





We had some throw cloth from the last time we painted some rooms in the house and we just re-purposed them here:






Painted all around the top of the speaker.  Can't paint the bottom yet because it would smear everywhere:






Hanging them in my garage to dry.  Here's also where I'll paint the bottoms:





First coat is all done.  Repeat the last few steps for the 2nd coat.





Here I'm about to use a black marker to fill in inner lip of the cut out around the drivers.  I use a marker because using paint is often too thick and then you can't fit the driver.






Inner lip of the cutout is blacked out and the drivers are soldered in:






Looking good:






Sounding good, too:

[BrandonB]

It looked like the crossover is almost the size of the speaker cabinet?  It also looked better than all the speakers Danny gets in to upgrade.  Including the ones that are $3k+. 

[Tyson]

It looked like the crossover is almost the size of the speaker cabinet?  It also looked better than all the speakers Danny gets in to upgrade.  Including the ones that are $3k+. 

Oh yeah.  And they are STOUT.  Heavy little buggers.  Internally it's a sealed top section and a sealed bottom section, with a diagonal mdf piece dividing them.  So the internal space is non-parallel in one of the dimensions. 

It's heavier and better built than many bookshelf speakers under $5k.

[Tyson]

And now in place, making beautiful music.  They also handle things like gunshots and explosions in games really well:

[mkrawcz]

That’s my computer setup along with a Topping PA7 and Geshelli J2 into the computer.

[BrandonB]

And now in place, making beautiful music.  They also handle things like gunshots and explosions in games really well:

Is that the texture of the Duratex straight from the roller?

[Tyson]

That’s my computer setup along with a Topping PA7 and Geshelli J2 into the computer.

Nice setup!

Is that the texture of the Duratex straight from the roller?

Yep, just 2 thick coats of duratex with the included foam roller.  Like this:

[Danny Richie]

Great build!

Okay, I want you to try something for me.

After you get all of those pricey parts burned in (that will take a while). Set them up in your main system in place of the NX-Otica's. Set them on some stands well out into the room a little further out than you would for the NX-Otica's and a lot closer to you than normal. Filter off the bottom end if you can. Everything from 80Hz and down will be good. If you need some inline filters let me know and I'll loan you some. Blend the servo subs to match them in level and balance. Then give them a good listen in that application and tell me what you think.

[mkrawcz]

Great build!

Okay, I want you to try something for me.

After you get all of those pricey parts burned in (that will take a while). Set them up in your main system in place of the NX-Otica's. Set them on some stands well out into the room a little further out than you would for the NX-Otica's and a lot closer to you than normal. Filter off the bottom end if you can. Everything from 80Hz and down will be good. If you need some inline filters let me know and I'll loan you some. Blend the servo subs to match them in level and balance. Then give them a good listen in that application and tell me what you think.

They actually image a touch better than the NX-Oticas.