[Brian Bunge]

I've spoken to Al about offering veneered cabinets and finished speakers for his OB2X kits.  I wanted to make sure there weren't any issues with my doing so, especially if there were some differerences in pricing.  In speaking with Al, I found out part of the reasoning for his $1499/pr. pricing for the finished speakers was that he was having to pay for shipping them multiple times.  In order for Al not to lose his shirt he has to pass on those costs to you, his customers.  So Al has said that if I can offer cabinets and finished speakers at somewhat better prices that he's all for it.  While it does take sales away from him on cabinets, he does still make money off of the kits.  And it also takes some of the pressure off of him to do finished speaker systems when he's extremely busy with other projects at the same time.

So with all that in mind, I've taken a close look at the cabinet plans to see just what all is entailed in building these.  I would change the bracing around a bit just to tie in the side walls a little better than the plans show, and Al was all for that.  Other than that, the cabinets would be built per the plans which calls for 3/4" MDF for all sides except for 1" thick MDF front baffles.

I've decided that pricing for the cabinets would be $800/pr. in my standard veneers, which are oak, maple and cherry.  They would be finished in multiple coats of wipe-on poly for the maple and cherry with the option of also using this on the oak or a satin black lacquer for those wanting a black finish.  Other custom veneers are also available and prices will be quoted on a per customer basis. 

If you prefer to have your speakers completely assembled and shipped to you they are available with the same finishes listed above for a price of $1400/pr. + shipping.

If there are any questions please feel free to post them here.

[Vapor Audio]

My suggestions after building a pair, make the cabinet at least 3 inches deeper - both because it looks funny so shallow, and because it's pretty hard getting your hand around in the shallow cab once it's assembled.  To offset that extra volume, make a false floor that's removable and mount the crossovers there.  They need some high mass bases too, since the cabinet is tall and light, it wobbles easy and I'd assume driver motions have more impact on those cabs than is typical.

Here are a couple pics of mine btw, birds eye maple wiped with about 10 coats of gloss tung oil

[Brian Bunge]

Wow!  Those look very nice!  I've done some Birds Eye Maple veneer before.  A gloss finish really looks nice on it.  BTW, did you veneer the back side of the open baffle, paint it black, or just leave it raw MDF?

From an aesthetic point of view, I would probably prefer them deeper as well. 

Here's what I did for a base on a tall cabinet that was slender but deep.

[RAW]

The small cabinet was designed for the customers who want small.As I talked to Brian  I told him about a deeper cabinet and this will have a slated cabinet.

With the smaller cabinet adding a base to them as well as spikes will have a lot more influence for the over all look as well as sound.
We recommend a base 2" wider on each side flush to the front and rear.We use this same design on all our speakers.


Brain has our support for offering cabinets for these or any other of our designs people would like him to build as he is located in Florida makes a lot of sense for some people just to purchase finished speakers and or cabinets from him.
We still offer customer crossover assembly for those who would like us to build the crossovers and ship all the parts to Brian but Brian can to the Assembly as well.
This will have a lot more flexibility for our customers for cabinets as well as finished speakers.

[RAW]

Ryan
Nice looking OB2X by the way aa

[Vapor Audio]

Thanks for the compliment Al, they did turn out pretty nice looking ... although I know where every minute flaw is on them

I veneered every visible area of them, including the back of the open section ... it looks really nice that way, almost like it's cut from one big chunk of wood.

I wouldn't tilt the cabinets back unless you make them about 6" shorter.  The tweeter is already just a hair above ear level when sitting for me, and if you tilted it back 5 degree or so, I'd notice a bit of a response droop.

[Brian Bunge]

If I understand correctly, Al was not talking about angling back the baffle, but rather having the back panel of the cabinet at an angle.  If I'm wrong I'm sure he will clarify things for me.

[RAW]

Thanks for the compliment Al, they did turn out pretty nice looking ... although I know where every minute flaw is on them

I veneered every visible area of them, including the back of the open section ... it looks really nice that way, almost like it's cut from one big chunk of wood.

I wouldn't tilt the cabinets back unless you make them about 6" shorter.  The tweeter is already just a hair above ear level when sitting for me, and if you tilted it back 5 degree or so, I'd notice a bit of a response droop.

Just the lower woofer will have a slant on the box for this driver, this reduces reflections even more from the top MT
The speaker is not tilted back but rather just the lower woofer box will have a slant to it when you look at it from the side, just off the top of my head with out looking into the program I do believe it is a 30 degree slant

[Vapor Audio]

Just the lower woofer will have a slant on the box for this driver, this reduces reflections even more from the top MT
The speaker is not tilted back but rather just the lower woofer box will have a slant to it when you look at it from the side, just off the top of my head with out looking into the program I do believe it is a 30 degree slant

Gotcha ...

Another idea just popped into my head, play with the placement of the lower woofer in relation to the floor to add some boundary reinformement.  Make a cabinet with 3 or 4 holes cutout for the woofer vertically along the front, then plug the ones not in use with an MDF plate screwed over the hole, measure the in room response of each different woofer mounting location.  Since it's a 3 way crossed over low, you don't need to worry about lobing.  But that extra energy from floor reinforcement I suspect could totally change it's bass response.

You guys should put me on the payroll 

[RAW]

This is why the OB3X
With a side mounted woofer close to the floor loads very well.Just like our HT3 aa and HT8 aa

[Vapor Audio]

This is why the OB3X
With a side mounted woofer close to the floor loads very well.Just like our HT3 aa and HT8 aa

The M-165x driver doesn't need the boundary reinforment near as much as the M-130x does ... why not do the same with the OB2X?  Not side firing, but put it closer to the floor.

[RAW]

Two different designs two different options.

Like I said the OB2X was also designed this way for looks as well.Yes loading the lower woofer closer to the floor can have some added benifit.But some people can not get the understanding of the lower woofer or side woofers play in a freqency that is NON directional.

But to tweek as you do is all in the DIY