[Bretherman]

UPDATE:

I mocked up the second board:



Drilled the holes:



Ziptied, soldered and started wiring the front to the back of the board (see the wire reaching around the back at the top left of the board):



I made sure to strip off the coating on the inductor before securing it to the board this time:





I added more zip ties to this board than the last one:



So I ended adding more to the first board as well:



Damn! Forgot the heat shrink again!



Boards compared to the originals:





Time to throw on some silicone:







That post connection that I forgot the heat shrink on? I just applied some silicone to it. I didn't want to go through desoldering it off. This will arguably provide better insulation anyways.



Using the original foam to size the No-Rez:



It's a tight fit. At times it was awkward both trying to get the board into the box, and sliding the foam in. This may be easier if you opt for a thinner piece of wood to mount the components on:



Looking at where I'm gonna need the place the post nuts:



I was able to bend the post wires and orient them towards the post holes:



Held the nuts with some pliers, and screwed it in from the back. I was messing with one of them for about 10 minutes, getting very annoyed -- until I realized I was trying to screw in the wrong end of the post. Other than that, it went smoother than expected.



Tested it to make sure it works:



Tested the fit of the speaker, and there wasn't any clearance issue. I realized I'm not going to be able to solder the board wires to the drivers, as they are either too short, or I made them too short. I will get rid of the slide-on connections for the drivers, solder some speaker wire on them, and connect those to the board.





Slide-on connection tabs:



Don't forget the heat shrink before you solder!



Done.



Connecting drivers to board (don't forget the heat shrink.):



Leaving enough wire length where I can take the driver out, and place it on the ground if needed.



Tested to make sure it works:



Put some liquid nails in there. Couldn't get too much in due to little room, but this should hold it.





I'll make a note on the No-Rez. It was awkward to put in, especially with zip tie ends protruding and what not. Though, compressing it with your fingers while sliding it in, it was able to be pushed back just about all the way.



Did the same thing to the second speaker, and waited for the Liquid Nails to dry.

As I mentioned previously, the No-Rez didn't stick, so I just left it in there, being held by the board and the walls. This was later corrected with Liquid Nails (thank you S Clark).

[Bretherman]

I've been enjoying the speakers for a few days. I can't really point out any sound qualities as this is the closest thing to Hi-Fi that I've heard personally. Nothing really I can compare it to, but it sounds better than a friend's $100 sound bar.
I think it sounds better than before, though it certainly didn't sound bad before. I'm sure my setup plays a role, and my receiver may be a weak link in realizing the speaker's true potential (Kenwood KR-4070). Sounds much better with the "Loud" button on, and sounds thin with that feature off (both pre, and post Insignia upgrade).
Though I'm almost convinced it's at least a little better sounding. This is without the No-Rez glued to the enclosure mind you.

Time to pull out the No-Rez, glue it in, and place some fiberglass insulation in there.

Had to cut this zip tie since it was cutting into the No-Rez:





Placed a generous amount of Liquid Nails, slid in the No-Rez, and moved it around as best as I could to spread the adhesive.



Small pack of insulation. It was in an obscure place at the hardware store. If you don't see it, ask someone if they have it. I almost missed it.



Gloves to combat the insulation itch.



Gently stuffed in as much as I could.



Opened up the other one, and wait, what the hell is that fuzzy stuff?



MOLD! NOOOOOOOO!



Oh my god.



This is a nightmare.



I'm pretty sure the reason that the No-Rez didn't stick initially is because the water putty wasn't completely dry. It obviously had enough moisture to start a small alien colony.

At this point, over the next two weeks I tried to combat the mold with a combination of whatever disinfectant I could find in the house, heat from a hairdryer, leaving it in the sun, and a water and bleach mixture.



At a point I was fed up, and glued the No-Rez in anyways, hoping that would kill whatever was under there (but I'm no mold-killing expert).



Lots of bleach-water sprayed in there.



About two weeks after trying to treat this, it looked like it was dead. Or at least it looked like it wasn't spreading. None of that black stuff would come off, so I figured it was stained permanently, and I could just throw it back together now.

I'd like to note that the Water Putty felt more dry now (not that I didn't think it was dry before). Please let that Water Putty cure for a bit.

I put everything together, AAAAAND the speaker didn't work.

From initially finding the mold, to posting this now, I've been listening to music through one speaker. It sounded good, but I was so disheartened that I wanted to just toss these and look for another pair.

I decided to at least try to yank the board out, and see if I can find the issue.

Pulled the board out (wasn't too much Liquid Nails on there).
And behold the corroded post contacts.





Twisted some wire on the good section under the heat shrink, and hooked up the driver to test.





And it still works!

This at least gave me some inspiration to keep going with this project.

The only thing that I absolutely loathed is that mold.

I ripped out the No-Rez and just found more nightmare fuel.





My question at this point is, how hard would it be to design a new enclosure for this? No way I'm keeping that old one.
Can I just create a ported rectangle with the same volume, and call it a day?

[AKLegal]

That sucks. 

I'm sure you could find a parts express cabinet that would fit the bill.  http://www.parts-express.com/cat/hi-fi-speaker-cabinets/288

[Danny Richie]

Dang, you should build you some new cabinets for sure.

Also, when putting the wiring on the drivers or the terminals, never, ever stick the wire through the hole in the terminal, twist them around, and then try and solder to it.

The wire makes very little contact with the terminal that way. And it takes a long time to solder to it causing way to much heat to get into the wire and terminal. Plus if you then want to un-solder it then it is a nightmare.

Instead strip a short segment of the wire and tin it with solder. Also tin the terminal with solder. Then heat the solder on the wire with your soldering gun and place it on the terminal to solder the two together. Ideally you want as much surface contact as possible between the wire and the terminal. The solder is just there to hold the two together. Soldering the wire to it can take as little as two to four seconds. Then heat shrink them. And if you have to un-solder them you can do so quickly and easily. 

[Bretherman]

Dang, you should build you some new cabinets for sure.

Also, when putting the wiring on the drivers or the terminals, never, ever stick the wire through the hole in the terminal, twist them around, and then try and solder to it.

The wire makes very little contact with the terminal that way. And it takes a long time to solder to it causing way to much heat to get into the wire and terminal. Plus if you then want to un-solder it then it is a nightmare.

Instead strip a short segment of the wire and tin it with solder. Also tin the terminal with solder. Then heat the solder on the wire with your soldering gun and place it on the terminal to solder the two together. Ideally you want as much surface contact as possible between the wire and the terminal. The solder is just there to hold the two together. Soldering the wire to it can take as little as two to four seconds. Then heat shrink them. And if you have to un-solder them you can do so quickly and easily.

Thanks for the tip! If I've done this the first time I forgot heat shrink on the post terminal, it would have been way easier to undo 

That sucks. 

I'm sure you could find a parts express cabinet that would fit the bill.  http://www.parts-express.com/cat/hi-fi-speaker-cabinets/288

Wow, I didn't know blank cabinets were a thing. I may go for building my own and stick to the DIY theme of this project.

[mlundy57]

You want the same internal volume. If you can't get one with the same volume. go for one with a little more rather than less. Also, you can fudge a little with height and depth but try to keep the width of the baffle the same. I'd bet Danny has a filter in the network to compensate for baffle step loss and the design of the filter is dependent on the width of the baffle. If you change the dimensions of the cabinet too much the crossover networks won't be accurate any more.

Parts Express has both finished cabinets (you have to cut the driver and port openings) and unfinished flatpacks.

Mike

[Danny Richie]

Also, you can fudge a little with height and depth but try to keep the width of the baffle the same. I'd bet Danny has a filter in the network to compensate for baffle step loss and the design of the filter is dependent on the width of the baffle. If you change the dimensions of the cabinet too much the crossover networks won't be accurate any more.

This is correct.

[S Clark]

What a nightmare!  I'll add one more bit, from my decades of teaching chemistry,  silicon caulking contains acetic acid (vinegar) which will corrode most metals.  Avoid direct contact with metal, or better yet, use caulking specifically formulated for metal flashing. 

[Folsom]

Use way higher hear on your soldering iron to attach speaker wire, especially with the nice fat wire from Danny. If you try and use low heat the thermal creep will move to the speaker and farther down the line from having to be heated for a much longer period. The wire would be way better with some flux on it, as it's a bit resistant to being tinned. Also some heatshrink for a few inches is a good idea because the insulation melts pretty easy on the wire.

Also add some solder to the tip of the iron so when you press it to the solder point with the soldering iron it'll transfer heat better.

I highly recommend flux, Especially with brass binding posts. None of this stuff likes to take solder.

[Bretherman]

Just a small, long overdue update to this post.

(I'm using a different method than Photobucket for pictures. Please let me know if there are issues)

I had left off with dealing with building a new box for the speakers since the originals were overrun with mold; most likely due to me thinking the water putty filler was dry, and it was in fact, not.

At the time I had made another post asking for some guidance on my box design, which was a huge help: https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=149856.msg1602834#msg1602834

With very little skill, I had all the pieces cut out of 3/4" MDF:



Created a router circle jig from a spare vinyl flooring piece, and a wood screw spaced out to get the right diameter:



This worked, but was terrifying to use:



Box was mocked up with a small brace running front to back.

The box was later assembled with wood glue.



The port on the original box was a bit difficult to remove. I was able to get it out by breaking off the lip:



While removing the components from the moldy boxes, of course the other speaker contact posts also corroded from the moldy water putty:



The last picture of the old box for your viewing pleasure:



I don't have any picture of the process, but the port opening and the speaker opening were very lightly chamfered via the router.

Then the speakers were primed and sealed:



I had some extruded butyl rope left over from a project installing sound deadening in a car (I used Sound Deadener Showdown products as he goes above and beyond in his method and quality of materials if anyone is ever interested), and I applied some around the edge where the port tube meets the port hole:





Got some fresh foam from GR Research:





Applied some top and bottom:



But of course it's not going to be all smooth sailing with this project. Not in my case at least! 

While working with the board and foam, I had broken off a wire:



After picking at the silicone, I noticed some blue-ish green coloring.

I think S Clark was right when he mentioned initially on my silicone application step that silicone contains acetic acid, and can eat away at metals (unless you particularly use calking made for metal flashing).

Good tip S Clark!

I wonder if this was the case of the silicone, or if it was the moisture seeping passed the silicone...?



This was repaired by just soldering in a small extension with speaker wire I had on hand:



But, everything was surely moving along. Components are in (with new binding posts to boot):





And they are done!

Could use a coat of paint, but actually I liked the white look, so they've stayed like this since.



I'm not a critical listener by any means, so positioning of the speakers was subject to change:





All of these pictures are from the original project back in 2017. Apologies for such a delay in it. Few more notes on the next post.

[Bretherman]

So, as I mentioned previously, I feel like I think they improved in sound, but wasn't sure.

Well, later that year in 2017, I had upgraded from my Kenwood KR-4070:



To a Kenwood Basic C2, and a Niles SI-245:



The improvement in sound going from the vintage Kenwood receiver to the amp/pre-amp combo was noticeable.

I feel like I couldn't critically compare the speaker upgrade, as the receiver was the limiting factor.

But the speakers sound great -- and have been for more than 5 years now with zero issues!