[Digi-G]

How are you guys doing the actual wire braiding?  Is there a video somewhere showing that?

[Hobbsmeerkat]

How are you guys doing the actual wire braiding?  Is there a video somewhere showing that?

The wire is already braided, you just need to feed rope into it. Then separate the different colored strands at each end to terminate into connectors.

Danny has a great video showing the assembly process here:
https://youtu.be/DfjQJxeTANE

[Hobbsmeerkat]

General update so I can keep tab on things that are either in progress or working on down the line.

Veneer:
Glue & flush trim the first batch of veneer.
flatten 2nd batch, repeat for back side.
Stain, tone, & clear w/ lacquer.
Prime & paint all remaining surfaces. (Face, top/slope & bottom)

Top grill:
Prime & paint black
Cover with black cloth.

Crossover plans:
Sonicaps & Miflex Copper bypass caps
Path Audio resistors
Erse 14AWG foil inductors

Servo sub stands:
Danny was looking to sell a pair of them when I visited last month, & the OB setup should compliment my Studios really nicely where/when I can listen to them in the unused family room, since it's a spacious room with a vaulted ceiling. (I dont remember if they're dual or triple 8" subs tho) I'm really excited for these!

(I was really tempted to buy his X-Omnis from him too... )

Cables:
I plan to purchase another set of Danny's 16-strand DIY kit, but for use in the main room, probably doing 8-10' runs. Bananas & Tube connecors.

Etc:
Awaiting availability of New NQ woofers to place the order.
No-rez for inside & upper slope.
Assemble & mount crossover
Quick setup & listen in room before 40-100hr break/burn-in time.
Then finally, enjoy.

[Hobbsmeerkat]

Update!
Got the flattened veneer glued to one speaker!





Gotta start flattening the 2nd batch of veneer next! 

[Early B.]

Looks great!

[VinceT]

Really Really Nice!

[Hobbsmeerkat]

Thank ya both! I'm really happy that im finally making good progress on these!

Hopefully i can get to work on flattening the next set of veneer tonight, and have that glued to the 2nd speaker by the end of the week. So I can start work on the back/bottom and get them dyed/stained, tone coated & cleared asap before latent moisture becomes a problem. Thankfully, a cold-front is moving in today which should mean cool dry air for the next few days.

[WarmColors]

 NQ woofers are those an upgrade? Or the standard woofers that were introduced with the studios?

[Digi-G]

Crossover plans:
Sonicaps & Miflex Copper bypass caps
Path Audio resistors
Erse 14AWG foil inductors

Which Sonicaps and bypass caps?  And how do you decide?  I'm not an electrical guy so I don't understand any of this.  Is it budget driven - get the best you can afford?

I just started building the same kit and I'm already wondering what to do with the electronics.

[Hobbsmeerkat]

NQ woofers are those an upgrade? Or the standard woofers that were introduced with the studios?

The M165-NQ is the standard woofer for the studios and the NX series, tho most use the 16-Ohm version in parallel around the tweeter.

The model that should hopefully be arriving in the next couple weeks is a little different from the older versions that have been used until now The phase plug is more rounded than pointed, and the back is flat. According to Danny, when I visited back in October, the response on the current production run is a little bit smoother than the older models, but is otherwise identical.

Crossover plans:
Sonicaps & Miflex Copper bypass caps
Path Audio resistors
Erse 14AWG foil inductors

Which Sonicaps and bypass caps?  And how do you decide?  I'm not an electrical guy so I don't understand any of this.  Is it budget driven - get the best you can afford?

I just started building the same kit and I'm already wondering what to do with the electronics.

The values of the electronics are all chosen by Danny and are already included in the kit along with the wiring diagram. But you can also chose to pick out your own parts if you wish.
That said I can imagine that the base kit with Sonicaps, Mills resistors, & air core inductors is already a fantastic way to go.

My choice for Path Audio & foil inductors was based on a couple different upgrades by others on the forum who have also done the same/similar upgrades in the past. I havent ordered them yet cuz I want to verify their values before purchasing.

But yes, essentially I wanted to get the best I can reasonably afford, hence why I'm passing on all copper caps, and going with Sonicaps & Miflex copper caps instead.

[AlexH]

Those are going to look great.

[Hobbsmeerkat]

My servo sub stands arrived from Danny today! 
(Yes that's an X-Statik in the background, the pair arrived today also~ )

[corndog71]

Nice!  Looking forward to your thoughts on them.

[hawkeyejw]

Dang Hobbs your collection is expanding rapidly! 

Nice job so far on the monitors, that finish is going to be beautiful. Looking forward to hearing what you think of the Statics too. Do those have upgraded crossovers?

[Hobbsmeerkat]

Ive listened to them for about an hour or so, with a single servo sub stand in the middle.

But so far they sound great! The mids are really clear & spacious, and since they dont play down very low, they offer plenty of detail.
That said, it does lack a bit of clarity and depth in the treble that my X-LS have, so I'm guessing its still the stock crossover.
But there are songs that sound better on these than my X-LS

The subs are really fast with lots of detail and easily hit into the 20s  without the boom of my 12" Rythmik, I'm definitely excited to hear them running as a pair in the future tho! should help with the low end extension a fair bit. The lowest notes in Boz Scaggs "Thanks to You" are just a little thin, so the 2nd tower should help.

I've got their placement about 5' into the room, crossing just behind me, but I still need to dial in the sub a bit more. Depending on how I'm sitting the bass is either full or drops out. It's likely playing up too high, causing cancellations at the listening position.

Unfortunately one of the X-statiks was damaged in shipping, but I'm working with the seller on filing an insurance claim.  I've sent a message to Danny to ask about possible repairs. Luckily its not catastrophic. but still a bummer. 





I would love to upgrade/replace the crossovers & add a pair of tube connectors in the future tho.

[corndog71]

Having owned and upgraded several X-series speakers I could easily identify what you're talking about.  It's kind of a graininess.  Sonicaps are much cleaner sounding. 

Here's a shot of my upgraded X-Statik crossover with Sonic Platinums and Gen 2 as bypasses.



My Statiks also had some flexing of the open baffle section during shipping.  Fortunately the Moho veneer does a good job of hiding it. 



BTW, if your 12" sub is boomy then it's not dialed in right.  Or it's in a bad spot in your room.  There should be no boom unless it's in the recording.

[Hobbsmeerkat]

Having owned and upgraded several X-series speakers I could easily identify what you're talking about.  It's kind of a graininess.  Sonicaps are much cleaner sounding. 

Here's a shot of my upgraded X-Statik crossover with Sonic Platinums and Gen 2 as bypasses.



My Statiks also had some flexing of the open baffle section during shipping.  Fortunately the Moho veneer does a good job of hiding it. 



BTW, if your 12" sub is boomy then it's not dialed in right.  Or it's in a bad spot in your room.  There should be no boom unless it's in the recording.

Yeah thats likely the case, i dunno if grainy is quite the right word, but but there's definitely a softness or veiled aspect to the sound.

My XLS just has the base kit with tube connectors, but i know it's already a head of the game in terms of overall quality. So ill probably order the sonicaps as upgrades, or go all out and do point to point wiring with the bigger inductors.

Hah thats interesting that your crack pattern is nearly identical to my own. At least yours does hide it really well.

I may do it "right" & replace the whole front baffle, or i may go the easier route and just sand it down and fill & seal in the problem spots then paint to match.
But I know if/when it gets shipped in the future, another hit like that will likely destroy it totally.. unless i can come up with an easy way to reinforce it & still remain hidden under a fresh coat of filler & paint.. or reinforce it before shipping..

It's no longer boomy since I've gotten it dialed in, thankfully. That said, it still loads the room differently than the OB servo stands, which still do a great job once they're dialed in.
After I get that room a cleaned up, (cuz its a total wreck now) I want to get both stands up and playing, cuz there's not quite enough room at the moment for both, unless I move the XStatiks aside and put my X-LS on the stands.

[Hobbsmeerkat]

Seems like it's impossible to avoid getting these really tight ripples in my veneer... But hopefully I can get this figured out..
(The joys of going with raw veneer rather than treated paper-back)
 

[Digi-G]

I'm just tossing this out there - I don't know if it would work or not.  What about using a hot iron and using steam to flatten those pieces?

[Hobbsmeerkat]

I'm just tossing this out there - I don't know if it would work or not.  What about using a hot iron and using steam to flatten those pieces?

I have tried that before, but it didnt really make much difference, sadly. But I'm sure i can get it worked out its just gonna take some time.. I've made progress since last night thankfully, but not ideal.

Steam isn't recommended tho, since it will cause the veneer to swell.