[Mister Pig]

In the process of the final assembly of the Sachiko speakers. Got them up and running at the moment, but have not made final decisions on damping material.

At the moment I have two inches of Dacron batting on the top/bottom and rear wall of the compression chamber. I also inserted a think 1/2 sheet at the back end of the throat to the horn to filter out some low level vocal information that was making it out of the horn.

Trying to determine if there are any alternate damping materials that would result in better performance in this application.

Parts Express makes a product called Sonic Barrier, that looks to be of similar construction to Black Hole 5. Its only a three layer design, versus four of the BH5, but its far more reasonably priced.

The question is this. Is there any negative effects to driver performance using this kind of material in the compression chamber? I understand that it performs well in a bass reflex design, but does it change the loading on the driver at all by the compression chamber?

Curious to know what materials others may have experimented with in a back loaded horn cabinet.

Regards
Mister Pig

[Mariusz]

I've used Acousta stuff - http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=260-317 about 0.5 lb - 1 lb. (more or less). 

Are you using standard fe206e or modified version?

Mariusz

[Mister Pig]

I've used Acousta stuff - http://www.parts-express.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?Partnumber=260-317 about 0.5 lb - 1 lb. (more or less). 

Are you using standard fe206e or modified version?

Mariusz

Using the standard FE206E, since the cabinet is originally designed for it I thought it best to make that the first driver to go in it.

Only have about 50 hours on the drivers, but the initial results are quite positive. Tonal balance is quite good, harmonics are fleshed out, and quite impressed with the quality the bass...the detail is remarkable.

Running an Elekit TU 879 amplifier on it. The first kit I ever built! With the tutoring of good friend Jake J.  Fairly stock, although added VCAP coupling capacitors, and a Mundorf power supply capacitor. Loaded it with a pair of RCA 6L6GC Blackplates and Telefunken 12AX7. So far its worked nicely with the Sachiko.

Regards
Mister Pig

[Mariusz]

Fe206e needs a lot more then 50h to open up. IME, 400-500h. 
If you like what you are hearing after breaking-in period, leave it alone. But if you want to take it a notch farther, get in touch with David of Planet_10 http://www.planet10-hifi.com/. But I am sure you already know that.

Congrats on your DIY quest.

P.S
 Another inexpensive integrated amp that sounds great with Sachiko (and lot of other SD designs) is Audio Space 2004 link. It killed Glow amp modified by RHB Sound Dezign and it certainly sounds a lot sweeter and 3D then MiniWatt. I might have it "in house" for evaluation in few weeks to share some more detail.

Best
Mariusz

[Mister Pig]

Well I had ordered one sheet of the 3/4 inch Sonic Barrier material, and I installed it in the Sachiko. One 18 by 24 inch sheet will do the driver chamber top/bottom walls and the panels behind the speaker. There is not enough to do the sides of the chamber.

Previously I have installed one thin sheet of 1/2 inch dacron into the back of the horn mouth to remove some of the lower register vocals that was making its way through the horn.

The initial results were tighter bass, with a removal of the mid bass bump that was present with only dacron in the chamber. The imaging improved, and the sound is properly balanced from side to side. Initial impressions are that the dampening material does its job, and there appears to be no ill effects from its use.

With that said, I do not have near enough hours on the drivers. The sound is still somewhat constrained, and the upper midrange/lower treble could stand to be a bit more prominent. Although the sound is listenable, and I can start putting time on the drivers.

I had not ordered the correct amount of wire, so I was waiting for some Cardas SE 15 to arrive. It showed up the other day, so I can now get it and the binding posts installed. Currently I have a complete run of 12 awg Monarchy Ohno Continuous Cast Copper wire run from the amp to the drivers.

So this project is far from complete, although the initial results look promising.

The Sonic Barrier appears to work as advertised, and seems to be a fairly priced product for what it accomplishes.

Regards
Mister Pig

[Mariusz]

Thanks for the input Mr. Pig.

What amp are you using with Sachikos Mr?

I have heard those with various amps and surely sounded different every single time. 
 
They sounded best with 300b monos a modified EL34 monos - both by Consonance Cyber line.

Wireing is also important but should be last on your list.
Copper works nicely so does LAT hook-up wire (silver coated copper).

Cardas post are great and that is what I am using as well.


Best
Mariusz

[Mister Pig]

Thanks for the input Mr. Pig.

What amp are you using with Sachikos Mr?

I have heard those with various amps and surely sounded different every single time. 
 
They sounded best with 300b monos a modified EL34 monos - both by Consonance Cyber line.

Wireing is also important but should be last on your list.
Copper works nicely so does LAT hook-up wire (silver coated copper).

Cardas post are great and that is what I am using as well.


Best
Mariusz

Currently running an Elekit TU-879 S on the Sachiko. Unit is mostly stock. Have VCAPS installed in the coupling cap position, and a 2 piece Mundorf cap in the power supply. This is a SEP amplifier, capable of 6 wpc. Currently have RCA 6L6GC Blackplates installed, with a Telefunken 12ax7. Also ahve on hand a set of Sylvania 6L6 that I like quite a bit. Amplifier can take other pentodes, such as el 34, KT 66 & 88, and other common variants.

Actually this is the first kit amplifier I have built. A friend of mine tutored me through it this summer, and its been an interesting experience. I also have an Arte Forma 2A3 amp on hand to listen to, and it works quite nicely too.

However, I find that the Sachiko seems to appreciate more power than one would expect of a speaker with 96dB efficient driver. In the past I have owned several 300B amps, some capable of 13 wpc. I am getting the impression that an amplifier in this power range would be able to extract deeper and more foreceful bass out of this speaker than the Elekit does.

Of course this is all speculation. Until the driver gets enough hours on it, no lasting observations can be made. Now I do have a Rowland Model 5 sitting in the rack, but I think that may be a wee bit too much power

Terry Cain had great success with Cardas internal wire, and over the years I heard all his speakers...and got to see him in his shop several times. I was fortunate to live about 60 miles from him. Since you have to start somewhere, I decided to draw on Terrys experience, and give the SE 15 a go. It's not terribly expensive, and has a good track record of working in many SET/HE systems.

Planning to install the Cardas wire on tuesday. Will see how things progress from there.

One problem I havent solved is the spikes. Ordered a set from Parts Express, but was not impressed with the quality of the inserts. I chose not to install them, and am looking for alternatives.

Regards
Mister Pig