[lacro]

Ron,
 The satin black looks great! I like satin almost as much as piano black. IMO the 1/2" roundover really sets these small speakers off. It gives them a "modern" look. I'm amazed how fast you and Jay build a set of speakers
  I need to finish detailing my vehicles and get to building my CC, and doing the upgrades to my Encores. You are inspiring me to get going

Larry

[Ron]

Larry,

   Glad you like the satin black. I too like both satin black and high gloss back. Both colors
look nice, but of the two my preference is satin black because it doesn't show scratches and swirl marks like the high gloss black. Do you plan to do the full upgrades ( No-Rez, Sonicap capacitors, and Mills resistor) on both your X-LS Encores and the center channel you plan to build? I have built a number of pairs of X-LS Encores which are great sounding speakers. Eventually I would really like to build a pair of fully upgraded X-CS Encores for front mains. Should be a very nice sounding system.

 Glad I have inspired you to start on your new build.

Ron

[bdp24]

Thanks Ron. I've been looking at Rustoleum and Krylon, and they don't have anything they call Eggshell the way the brush and roller paint companies do. I'll check out Duplicolor, and I may have to add a top coat of a semi-satin clear coat to get the eggshell look.

[PDR]

I built a pair of subs a few years ago using the Krylon satin, and then finished them with the satin clear.
They turned out very nice for rattle can jobs.

Dont want to hijack this thread, I'll PM bdp24 some pics.

[mlundy57]

Ron,

When you do the roundovers are you doing them after the cabinets have been glued up?  Do you set up any type of jig, guide, or assist or do you do them freehand?

Thanks

Mike

[Ron]

Mike,

  I do the roundovers after the cabinets have been glued together. The assembly is done free handed using wood glue and clamps, but I do use a square to make sure the butt joints are at a perfect 90 degree angle. After the cabinets are assembled and the glue has dried, I go over all the edges with a flush trim bit with a roller bearing guide in my router to make sure all the edges are straight and even. I then use a 1/2" rounderover bit also with a roller guide bearing to do the roundover. Hope this helps to answers your questions.

Ron

[Captainhemo]

I've also found it  best to do all your   filling / blcok sanding  etc  before   doing the round  over.   If you have everything  done before you  do the round over,  there is no chance of  sanding into the round over at all.    Just leave it  close to the end then go over the round over with a    piece of  240 grit on  some  sort of  foam to  be sure to    give it a nice   smooth  edge where it meets the   panels

Also  if you happen to be a guy who uses screws to help hold your  cabinets together  while the glue  is drying be sure that the  bearing of your  round over bit  is run  on  the panel face without the filled screw holes.  If there is any  imperfection at all and the  bearing hits it,  it will   affect the cut   Thankfully someone brought this up  some time ago  ,  a good point to  know and something to think about when using any bit  that uses a bearing as a guide

-jay

[Ron]

  Forgot to mention that I do the filling/sanding too before doing the roundover. Thanks Jay for pointing that out.

[bdp24]

Mike,

  I do the roundovers after the cabinets have been glued together. The assembly is done free handed using wood glue and clamps, but I do use a square to make sure the butt joints are at a perfect 90 degree angle. After the cabinets are assembled and the glue has dried, I go over all the edges with a flush trim bit with a roller bearing guide in my router to make sure all the edges are straight and even. I then use a 1/2" rounderover bit also with a roller guide bearing to do the roundover. Hope this helps to answers your questions.

Ron

Ron---Do you use a small hand-held router (like the Bosch Palm), or a big double-handled fixed base/plunge type router to do your roundovers?

[Ron]

Mike,

 I use a double handled, fixed base, 1-1/2 HP Porter-Cable router. Also, when cutting recessed holes I use a depth gauge to set the desired plunge depth. You can buy the depth gauges from Rockler Company.

Ron

[Ron]

  I finally finished my grills yesterday which turned out pretty good.  The following pictures show how they look:









The grills are held in place by small neodymium magnets, 1/4 O.D. x 1/4" long.

Ron

[lacro]

Ron,
 The grills completely change the look of the Encores It really tones down the dramatic look. I am probably in the minority, but I really prefer the look without grills, especially with these speakers. I didn't even bother making grills. I know you built these to sell so grills are probably mandatory.

Larry

[bdp24]

Ron, do you have a pic of the grill frames without the cloth attached?

[Ron]

Mike,

  I am sorry but I forgot to take pictures of the frames before covering them with the  grill cloth. The frames were constructed from 1/2" thick MDF 7-5/8" W x 13-1/8" H. The area above the woofer was cut 7-1/4" diameter x 1/4" deep to clear the woofer flange. I used black knit fabric grill cloth from Parts- Express which was secured to the frame with 3M brand No. 77 spray adhesive and 1/4" stapes.

Ron

[Captainhemo]

Nicely done  Ron  ,  they look great 

Larry,  I'm  on the fence regarding grills   funny,  with my  Ob7's,  I'll have them on for a while,  then  off for a while,  just can't  make up my mind 

-jay

[mlundy57]

Mike,

  I am sorry but I forgot to take pictures of the frames before covering them with the  grill cloth. The frames were constructed from 1/2" thick MDF 7-5/8" W x 13-1/8" H. The area above the woofer was cut 7-1/4" diameter x 1/4" deep to clear the woofer flange. I used black knit fabric grill cloth from Parts- Express which was secured to the frame with 3M brand No. 77 spray adhesive and 1/4" stapes.

Ron

Ron,

When determining the diameter for the woofer recess do you measure to the outside edge of the woofer flange (where the woofer meets the baffle)?

Mike

[Ron]

Mike,

  Sorry for the slow reply to your question. The diameter of the woofer recess in the grill frame is 7-1/4" x 1/4" deep. This is also the outside diameter of the woofer measured at the edge where it meets the baffle.

Ron

[Ron]

  I would like to make some final comment about the pair of X-LS Encores that I just finished building regarding how they sound. They were built with all the performance upgrade options
including Sonicap capacitors and Mills resistors in the crossover and the interior walls were lined with No-Rez. Also, I used I used 1-1/2 ounces of Acousti-Stuf in the rear part of the cabinet.
 The overall sound quality is amazing. They have a very clean, transparent, and open sound
with excellent sound stage imaging and depth. Vocal reproduction is very natural and clean
sounding. Bass response is tight and well defined down to around 55 hz. They are not quite as detailed sounding as the GR Research N series speakers, but come very close. At the price that
Danny is selling these kits for they are a fantastic bargain.

[Danny Richie]

Ron, you are correct. This is the best bargain in the industry.