Finished 2641s (pics)

bald · « **on:** 6 Mar 2006, 01:33 am »

Finally finished my pair of 2641s that Kfr01 and I began building about 6 months ago.

You can see the review of his pair here http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=23298&highlight= for more details about music/soundstage/etc and all the 2-ch details that I'm not really into. I mostly wanted to post pictures as a sort of cathartic "Thank God this project is buried" type of therapy.

The only real difference between our speakers is he finished his with a 45 degree bevel on his front baffle and covered with laminate, whereas I used the black ash vinyl from Partsexpress. Also, his xovers are external while mine are installed inside the port chamber.

My initial impressions are the same as when I heard his several months ago: great vocals and impressive bass. The speakers really are awesome. Kfr01 built them because he loves 2-ch, I built them because I love movies. We're both very pleased with how they perform in both areas. I'm not going to blather on about the sound, but suffice it to say I think anyone who builds these would not be disappointed. I plan on keeping them for a very long time.

This was my first DIY project. In the end, the results are great. Was it worth it? Probably not in the sense that I don't have this kind of time to build cabinets. In the future I would have someone else do a better job for me and just foot the bill. Assuming I had done that, however, and spent the $1800 to ship a finished pair, I think the value of this kit/finished speaker is still very high compared to what $1800 buys you in terms of a retail product. I would highly recommend them to anyone.

The kit itself was well packaged and organized. It was, however, a bit short on wiring. We had to supplement the internal wiring pretty substantially. I have to say that the exodus binding posts are fantastic. They're huge, solid and very easy to install.

I'm using a pioneer 1014 to drive these and the results are great. Have only listened to a few cds and watched the Walk the Line DVD, but am very happy with things so far. I'll update later when I've had a chance to put them through their paces with a few action movies, which is what I built them for.

-bald

kfr01 · « **Reply #1 on:** 6 Mar 2006, 05:57 am »

They look great and sound great. Even though I have the same speakers in my living room, I enjoyed a quick listen at Bald's the other day.

I never thought we'd get those things out of my garage. I think my wife is even happier than Bald that they're done.

I agree with Bald, DIYCable's pricing for completed speakers is so competitive that busy people who don't especially enjoy woodworking might be happier ordering a complete product.

The size of these speakers make them more difficult to manipulate during construction than the smaller kits.

At $1800/pr shipped, these speakers are still bargains. I feel that they'd be bargains at $5,000 a pair and more.

mcgsxr · « **Reply #2 on:** 6 Mar 2006, 01:19 pm »

Tasty - I can only imagine the bass that must come from those 4 Extremis woofers... perfect for HT I bet - and front ported too, so easier to hit the old WAF for placement...

Kevin Haskins · « **Reply #3 on:** 6 Mar 2006, 02:31 pm »

bald,

Hey.... they look great.

DIY is great for people who don't have busy schedules. What I tell people is that you don't really save money by building your own equipment unless you make less than minimum wage.

Most people don't appreciate the labor until they build something.

There are several projects I'd like to do on my house. I could do all of them but I won't. I'll hire a contractor because the contractor is better and faster than I, and I value my marriage.

klh · « **Reply #4 on:** 6 Mar 2006, 04:40 pm »

What are you using for you center channel? Have you tried pulling the speakers a little more out into the room? I'm sure they are were they for obvious reasons, but as an excercise in futility, it might be interesting to see how it changes the sound. Very nice work. BTW, where did you get your screen... does it have pull down masking at the top?

saphoto · « **Reply #5 on:** 6 Mar 2006, 05:44 pm »

Very nice, good job. I think the black cabinets with the black driver’s looks really good. I agree with kfr01, these are a bargain.

bald · « **Reply #6 on:** 6 Mar 2006, 08:38 pm »

Hi, thanks for the comments.

I didn't mean to make the building process sound that bad. Now that it's done I'm glad I did it. Just saying, knowing what I know now, I'd probably have someone else do it. But I'm happy I saved the ~$800 or so at this point.

The center channel is an energy cc-1. Outclassed in every respect by the new 2641s for sure, but is still a relatively capable center. If I had the time/money I'd love to replace it with a kitLCR. But this will have to wait.

The screen is just something I put together with some help from my grandfather (carpenter, homebuilder, furniture guy etc). Just some flat black paint and some blackout cloth from Joann's. Has worked really well for the minimal cost/effort needed to set it up.

The masking is just black felt wrapped around some lightweight but stiff home insulation held up with some adhesive. It removes relatively easily to be replaced by boards that mask to a 2.40:1 ratio, but I find myself doing that less and less and just leaving the 16:9 boards up. I would love some kind of automated masking system, but haven't found a cheap way to do that.

The other screen project that has crossed my mind for my future home would be an acoustically transparent screen. I know kevin had some project on the back burner involing a DIY solution, haven't heard much about that lately though.

I agree moving the speakers inward and giving them some breathing room would probably be ideal, but at this point the WAF wouldnt be too happy with that. What you don't see in the picture are 2 older floor standing onkyo 3-way speakers that are my rear channels. She is tolerating quite a bit, so my front stage has to hug the wall.

-bald

klh · « **Reply #7 on:** 6 Mar 2006, 08:59 pm »

The WAF is a tough thing to beat. Having your wife put up with speakers that big alone is a feat! They look really nice.

Steven Kephart · « **Reply #8 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 09:45 am »

Quote from: bald

The other screen project that has crossed my mind for my future home would be an acoustically transparent screen. I know kevin had some project on the back burner involing a DIY solution, haven't heard much about that lately though.

I did this with Celtic Cloth from Dazian stretched over black grill cloth (Kevin's recommendation). My center channel (a single WR-125 running full range for now) is directly behind the screen and it works great. I think my total materials cost for my screen was about $30.

Kevin Haskins · « **Reply #9 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 04:52 pm »

Quote from: Steven Kephart

Quote from: bald
The other screen project that has crossed my mind for my future home would be an acoustically transparent screen. I know kevin had some project on the back burner involing a DIY solution, haven't heard much about that lately though.

I did this with Celtic Cloth from Dazian stretched over black grill cloth (Kevin's recommendation). My center channel (a single WR-125 running full range for now) is directly behind the screen and it works great. I think my total materials cost for my screen was about $30.

There is supposed to be another cheap acoustic DIY screen material that you might want to look at. It is supposed to be much better than the Danzian. A friend of mine who has a $8000 screen (non acoustically transparent) says it matches his screen. I'm supposed to be getting a sample to measure to see how it performs acoustically. I'll throw it up with the Danzian and the cheap Optoma screen to get some kind of impression. I hope it works....

kfr01 · « **Reply #10 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 04:56 pm »

Quote from: Steven Kephart

I did this with Celtic Cloth from Dazian stretched over black grill cloth (Kevin's recommendation). My center channel (a single WR-125 running full range for now) is directly behind the screen and it works great. I think my total materials cost for my screen was about $30.

Steven:

Welcome to AC. Here's hoping you stick around --- you've made valuable contributions to the12volt boards.

kfr01 · « **Reply #11 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 04:58 pm »

Quote from: Kevin Haskins

There is supposed to be another cheap acoustic DIY screen material that you might want to look at. It is supposed to be much better than the Danzian. A friend of mine who has a $8000 screen (non acoustically transparent) says it matches his screen. I'm supposed to be getting a sample to measure to see how it performs acoustically. I'll throw it up with the Danzian and the cheap Optoma screen to get some kind of impression. I hope it works....

Kevin: I'd be interested in that experiment as well. Also, any progress on the slim-line HT products, acoustic panels, or the subwoofers. (Will be putting together dedicated HT room within the next year in new home -- woohoo!)

Kevin Haskins · « **Reply #12 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 05:30 pm »

I have a feeling Steven will be sticking around.

Ahh... progress. One at a time:

Acoustic Panels: We are going to punt on this one. There are too many other people doing panels and we want to stay focused on other projects. DIY versions are pretty simple though. Just cover the OC panels with fabric and your done.

Silhouette Speakers: These have been put on the backburner while we finish up our amplifiers. Once the amplifiers are selling I'll continue work on these.

Subwoofers: These have been a real boondoggle. Things are looking up though and it is looking like we will be building our EX & CX drivers in-house. I'm still looking at 12-16 weeks at a minimum from now because there are a lot of things we have to source to be up and building.

zybar · « **Reply #13 on:** 8 Mar 2006, 05:57 pm »

Quote from: Steven Kephart

Quote from: bald
The other screen project that has crossed my mind for my future home would be an acoustically transparent screen. I know kevin had some project on the back burner involing a DIY solution, haven't heard much about that lately though.

I did this with Celtic Cloth from Dazian stretched over black grill cloth (Kevin's recommendation). My center channel (a single WR-125 running full range for now) is directly behind the screen and it works great. I think my total materials cost for my screen was about $30.

How is the picture quality?

George

Steven Kephart · « **Reply #14 on:** 11 Mar 2006, 05:59 am »

Quote from: kfr01

Steven:

Welcome to AC. Here's hoping you stick around --- you've made valuable contributions to the12volt boards.

Thanks! I had to come here and read your great reviews.

Steven Kephart · « **Reply #15 on:** 11 Mar 2006, 06:04 am »

Quote from: Kevin Haskins

There is supposed to be another cheap acoustic DIY screen material that you might want to look at. It is supposed to be much better than the Danzian. A friend of mine who has a $8000 screen (non acoustically transparent) says it matches his screen. I'm supposed to be getting a sample to measure to see how it performs acoustically. I'll throw it up with the Danzian and the cheap Optoma screen to get some kind of impression. I hope it works....

I would be very interested in hearing your conclusions as well.

Steven Kephart · « **Reply #16 on:** 11 Mar 2006, 06:05 am »

Quote from: zybar

How is the picture quality?

George

I'm happy with it. But then I don't have any experience with any other materials or screens.