Sonicjoy's NX Studio build. With photos.

Tyson · « **Reply #20 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 02:33 am »

Quote from: Sonicjoy on 19 Feb 2020, 01:40 am

Thanks Tyson! I am hoping I will like them. Danny told me not to be surprised if I like them better than the Emerald Physics. That would be a surprise because I love the sound of the EP's Best speakers I have owned.
It will be interesting to hear the difference. The NX-Studio has open baffle tweeter but not mid range and the EP's have open baffle mid and bass but not the tweeters. Looking forward to the comparison. Your impressions of these are one of the main reasons I decided to try them.

I've heard the EP's several times, they are very good speakers! Without a sub, the EP's will have a big advantage as the NX-Studios just don't go down very far. Which is a good thing, IMO. Why? Because Danny focused on getting max speed and resolution from that driver, even at the expense of much bass response. IME he's got the best cone midrange driver going. I think you will love it, especially if you can get a nice sub to fill in the bottom end during the demo.

Rock Ball · « **Reply #21 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 07:33 am »

Sonicjoy, nice shop!

Thanks for taking the time to document the build and sharing the photos with us. You are doing a really nice job on those speakers.

Sonicjoy · « **Reply #22 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 01:55 pm »

Quote from: Hobbsmeerkat on 18 Feb 2020, 07:38 pm

Im so excited to see the final results! I've already decided these are going to be my next set of speakers! so seeing the building process is going to make it a lot less daunting when the time comes to buy them!
Keep up the incredible work!

Thanks Hobbs. It's a fun project for me. I haven't build any speakers since I was about twenty (a long time ago). I will keep posting as the project continues.

Sonicjoy · « **Reply #23 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 02:03 pm »

Quote from: Rock Ball on 19 Feb 2020, 07:33 am

Sonicjoy, nice shop!

Thanks for taking the time to document the build and sharing the photos with us. You are doing a really nice job on those speakers.

Rock Ball I'm happy to share. I get a lot of good info from reading these forums and want to give back when I can.

Should have more to add after this weekend. Will be fitting the Norez and tube connectors and maybe starting the crossovers.

Thanks!

Tomy2Tone · « **Reply #24 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 03:13 pm »

This is great! Thanks for sharing Sonicjoy!

What's your plan for the wave guide for the tweeter? Paint it black?

Sonicjoy · « **Reply #25 on:** 19 Feb 2020, 03:24 pm »

Hi Tomy. Ya probably black but I'm still trying to decide on the color scheme.

Jmitchell3 · « **Reply #26 on:** 20 Feb 2020, 03:42 am »

Great build log so far. Can't wait to see the finishing touches. Thanks for taking the time to write it up and share it here!

vilding · « **Reply #27 on:** 20 Feb 2020, 10:41 am »

Wow! Looking great!
Saving up for a pair right now.

Sonicjoy · « **Reply #28 on:** 24 Feb 2020, 02:23 pm »

Hi folks! I made some more progress on the NX Studio's this weekend. These are coming along nicely and I am having fun building them.

Both sides are now installed.

I have decided on the color scheme. The side panels are going to be clear finished cherry and the front and top will be black.
That was my original idea and I decided to stick with that.
I cut a saw kerf with a thin kerf blade on the table saw between the baffle and the side panels for an nice clean dividing line between the colors. It's about 1/16 inch deep.

I installed brass threaded inserts in the bottom for attaching the stands. I left a lip around the bottom edge to hide the mounting plate of the stand.

The 7/16 inch holes for the tube connectors.

After the first coat of finish. Boy that really brings out the grain of the cherry.

This is after three coats. I'm not sure how many coats I will put on. Just have to see how it looks. Probably at least five or six.

I also used a sealer on all MDF surfaces inside and out.

Next will be the black paint. (The back and bottom will also be black.) Then adding the Norez and installing the grill cloth and grill mounts.
At that point I will be ready to build the cross overs and then final assembly. Getting there.

Chilkoot · « **Reply #29 on:** 24 Feb 2020, 05:38 pm »

Looking good.

Tyson · « **Reply #30 on:** 24 Feb 2020, 05:41 pm »

Just FYI, they will take about 120 hours of pretty good use to fully open up.

Do you know the burn in trick of facing the speaker directly at each other a few inches apart and inverting polarity on one speaker? Doing that lets you run them at pretty high volume but the phase inversion cancels out a bunch of the sound. Throw a couple heavy blankets over them and you can peacefully let them burn in while you sleep.

Hobbsmeerkat · « **Reply #31 on:** 24 Feb 2020, 08:31 pm »

That's good info, thanks for the tip, Tyson!

Sonicjoy · « **Reply #32 on:** 25 Feb 2020, 02:11 am »

Thanks guys! Tyson yes I have heard of that break in technique. I usually just put Pandora on and let it play all day while I'm at work. There's no one around here to bother during the day. Plus we use the audio system for TV as well so I gets a few hours a night that way as well. I absolutely love how my open baffle speakers sound with TV and movies! The imaging is just amazing. But that's another topic for an other day/thread.

I applied two more coats of finish on the cherry today. Five total now. Looking very good now. Cherry darkens a lot as it ages and is exposed to light so these will get much darker and richer in color as time goes on.

Captainhemo · « **Reply #33 on:** 25 Feb 2020, 04:38 am »

Looking really good SJ. Like the lttle extras.. reveal between baffl / sdie panels, threaded inserts, & the lip to hide the stand plate. Gonna be nice man

jay

Sonicjoy · « **Reply #34 on:** 25 Feb 2020, 03:28 pm »

Thanks Captain! Coming from you that is a nice complement. I will take some better photos when these are done. Been using my phone for the build but will break out the DSLR and take some nice portraits and post them.

danvprod · « **Reply #35 on:** 25 Feb 2020, 04:53 pm »

These are coming out awesome! Looks very good.

Sonicjoy · « **Reply #36 on:** 2 Mar 2020, 03:57 pm »

Alright back with more progress. Completed the finishing this weekend as well as installed most of the Norez.

The veneer covered and masked off. The black is plastic from a trash bag.
I applied three coats of primer, four coats of satin black and two coats of clear.

Now you can get an idea of what these will look like.

The paint turned out very good for a rattle can job. I sanded between all coats with 320 grit.

After all the finishing I was able to take them home and work on them on the kitchen table.
(You guys have never done that have you?)

Here the Norez has been mostly installed. Still need a couple pieces around the crossovers after
they are installed and on the top ramp after the tweeters are installed.

Here are the dimensions of the side panels which are the hardest to figure out.
Tips for cutting the Norez to size: The sheets are 27" by 24" and 1" thick. I cut each sheet into 2 strips
5" by 27 and 2 strips 8" by 27". The 8" is for the sides and the 5" is for the top back and bottoms.
There is just barley enough so calculate carefully. After doing the inside I was left with a 5" by about 14"
long piece to do the top ramp with. The top needs to be 7" wide so cut the piece into two 5" by 7" pieces and it will be just enough.
The very few scraps can be used to fill in any small left over spaces. There was literally nothing left over.

These woofers look to be very high quality.

Very cool!

Now starting see what the finished product will look like.

I just put a woofer and tweeter in to see what end result will look like.

I must say that I am very please with the look of these. There are so many ways to finish speakers
and I went back and forth quite a bit be for deciding on this look.

My listening room is starting to look like a HI-FI store with this project going on.

That's all for now. Next will be to finish the grills and then build out the crossovers and install them and the drivers and test it all out.
I just hope I can make sense of the crossover instructions. It's just a schematic. I think I understand it.
I may post a photo to have you guys look at it to make sure it looks right before I finalize it.

Anyway I'm on the down hill stretch. More soon.

Jmitchell3 · « **Reply #37 on:** 2 Mar 2020, 04:08 pm »

They do look very nice! Is there enough room through that woofer hole to mount the crossover?!? with my chubby hands not sure...haha.

maty · « **Reply #38 on:** 2 Mar 2020, 04:08 pm »

Impressive. You are a good son!

Clarified and optimized

Sonicjoy · « **Reply #39 on:** 2 Mar 2020, 04:23 pm »

Thanks guys! That does look a little better Maty. I'm using my phone for the photos and editing. I will take some better pics with my DSLR after they are finished. Plus it's dark in my room early this morning.