[mlundy57]

Here are some pics of a pair of NX-Studio monitors I am finishing up. They are up and playing for break in but still have to make the grills and add the No-Rez to the top ramp. This pair has walnut baffles, the sides and back have ash veneer that has been dyed black with Rudio Pre-Color Easy intense black, and black Dura-Tex on the bottoms. The sides and back have two coats of Rubio Monocoat 2C black and the baffles have two coats of Rubio Monocoar 2C Pure. Once the Rubio Monocoat 2C fully cured, the sides, back, top, and baffle got two coats of Black Forest Wood Company's Platinum ceramic coating and one coat to their ceramic top coat. I used a small chamfer bit on the sides and bottom to create a reveal between the baffle and sides.












When installing the tweeters, I left the hook up wire long enough to easily remove and reinstall the tweeters if there is ever a need.




I installed the crossovers before installing the baffles.




I have more pics of the build process if anyone is interested.

Mike

[2bigears]

  fantastic work.  I'll buy those if ya wanta do it again,   Ha.  I'm to lazy. 

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

Mike,
If you haven't selected a grill cloth as of yet, nlitworld and I, used the same grill cloth in different colors. We both really liked the quality of the material. The cloth looks much better in person, than any photo presentation.

If interested, here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TQSZSN9/ref=twister_B07TJHY14F?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

Project came out really nice.

[BrandonB]

Mike that looks really nice.  I have a few questions.  Did you get the baffle with a flat pack or did you make it yourself and  did you use a brush to put all the product on or a sprayer?  Again that looks sharp.  I have imagined an NX studio pair with the dark walnut baffle like that and the rest painted black or a black baffle with the sides veneered in a dark walnut.  I noticed in a previous build you used a black milk paint.  Do you prefer paint over some sort of varnish and is the milk paint your brand of choice?

[nlitworld]

I have more pics of the build process if anyone is interested.

Mike

Pfffft, of course we're interested! Those look fantastic. 

Also as far as grill cloth goes, that soft one NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER said was hands down nicer than any others I tried. Not perfectly transparent to where you'd want to leave it on all the time, but great for every day listening and keeping dust from getting on the top ramp. Also we both used a different material on the top ramp besides regular no-rez. I happened to like it a little bit better keeping a bit more of the airy sparkle sound to the very top end compared to the norez. Could fins the Amazon link if you were interested.

[mlundy57]

Mike that looks really nice.  I have a few questions.  Did you get the baffle with a flat pack or did you make it yourself and  did you use a brush to put all the product on or a sprayer?  Again that looks sharp.  I have imagined an NX studio pair with the dark walnut baffle like that and the rest painted black or a black baffle with the sides veneered in a dark walnut.  I noticed in a previous build you used a black milk paint.  Do you prefer paint over some sort of varnish and is the milk paint your brand of choice?

The solid wood baffles are not part of a flatpack. The solid wood baffles are ordered from GR while the flatpacks come from Jay and Don. They are not compatible with each other. If you want a solid wood baffle, you have to build the rest of the cabinet. If you want a complete flatpack, an MDF baffle is the only option.

Rubio Pre-Color Easy can be applied with a cloth, brush, or pad, though a brush would be very wasteful. I used a white scotch-bright type pad for applying both the Pre-Color Easy and the 2C hard wax/oil. I used hand application for the Pre-Color and a buffer for the 2C. If you don't want the sheen any higher than it is on this pair, this is my preferred finish method. It's pretty simple, durable, and repairable.

With paint, I prefer a sprayed finish over brushing or rolling. It comes out smoother. Milk paint is one option though I have used others as well. Anymore I have to outsource any spraying because I don't have a usable place to do it. There are a number of finishes that can give a gloss finish. Some, like Arm-R-Seal (varnish) are wipe on while others, like lacquer are best sprayed. If you want a high or mirror gloss finish you will need a sprayed topcoat designed for that. The topcoat can be applied over paint or veneer.

[mlundy57]

Mike,
If you haven't selected a grill cloth as of yet, nlitworld and I, used the same grill cloth in different colors. We both really liked the quality of the material. The cloth looks much better in person, than any photo presentation.

If interested, here is the link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07TQSZSN9/ref=twister_B07TJHY14F?_encoding=UTF8&th=1

Project came out really nice.

Pfffft, of course we're interested! Those look fantastic. 

Also as far as grill cloth goes, that soft one NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER said was hands down nicer than any others I tried. Not perfectly transparent to where you'd want to leave it on all the time, but great for every day listening and keeping dust from getting on the top ramp. Also we both used a different material on the top ramp besides regular no-rez. I happened to like it a little bit better keeping a bit more of the airy sparkle sound to the very top end compared to the norez. Could fins the Amazon link if you were interested.

The grill cloth I usually use is Mellotone Premium from Parts Express  https://www.parts-express.com/Mellotone-Premium-Black-Speaker-Grill-Cloth-Yard-64-Wide-260-332?quantity=1  I'll check out your suggestion

Sure, I'm interested in checking it out the top ramp material if you can find the link

[nlitworld]

Sure, I'm interested in checking it out the top ramp material if you can find the link

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B077Q2HYMW?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I covered the whole top ramp area including the back side of the baffle and sides. Cheap and easy experiment to see which one you like better.

[mlundy57]

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B077Q2HYMW?psc=1&ref=ppx_pop_mob_b_asin_title

I covered the whole top ramp area including the back side of the baffle and sides. Cheap and easy experiment to see which one you like better.

Can't experiment with these though. They're not mine.

[nlitworld]

Surprisingly these cut nice enough you can press fit them into place  without adhesive. If and when you do experiment it's easy to A/B test against norez. Both are great options, just a different sound characteristic between the two.

[Evo-No_Revo]

Hi Mike, those look fantastic! Hope to come and pick them up in a couple weeks. Thank you for your time and efforts. Now I just have to hold tight for the break in period. Beautiful work my friend!

[NXSTUDIO-DRUMMER]

Mike,
I'm going to refer you, to a old link of my NX-Studio build on AC, regarding the BXI Panels, I designed and laid out for my build at the time.
I personally love the results, and never looking back to use the NoRez, on the top of ramp, for complete clairity.

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=182641.0


Mike,
The speakers look really nice! 

[KTS]

Mike,
Yes please more pictures. They look amazing!!

Thank you, Kelly

[EdwardT]

That's super nice work. I’m certain the new owner will be very pleased.

[Danny Richie]

Wow, those look nice.

[mlundy57]

While I had heard the NX-Studio Monitor before, it was paired with OB servo subs. I had been listening to these off and on in the workshop while they were getting some burn in time before the client picked them up. They sounded real good but set up as desktop speakers flanking the computer monitor for the CNC wasn't close to an actual listening situation for these speakers. Last week, after they had 200 hours on them, I took them over to Norman's for a real listening session with the weekly Hi-Fi crew.

The midrange and top end were everything I expected. The bass response wasn't. The NX-Studios had much better bass than I was expecting. While we didn't measure the bass extension, in both jazz and bass demo tracks, the double bass sounded full and natural. It never sounded like a note was missing on a run down the scale. The kick drum, while lacking some punch, was present and clean. The bass that was there was tight and well behaved. I wouldn't say a subwoofer is necessary. However, pairing the Studios with a good sub fleshes out the bottom end and improves the overall presentation.

The speakers were a good 3ft from the wall and had a very wide and deep soundstage extending well past the speakers. There was very good separation within the soundstage. Highs were airy, clean but never bright with wonderful decay. A very impressive speaker for sure.

[Norman Tracy]

Photos from our HiFi night audition of the walnut baffled NX-Studios Michael just completed.

I agree with what Michael writes above. The GR woofers really work well in this design's sealed box. I do love sealed box bass and these do the sealed box tricks of tight critically damped bass while suggesting deep bass due to the slower roll off below F3 frequency. I'm told the owner will use with a REL subwoofer and that is another area where sealed box bass will shine integrating with a sub. Based on our audition I predict they will work quite well with the REL.

The other impressive trait of this pair was the extended detailed nuanced Neo 3 treble. My daily system for a couple of years now uses GR Neo 3 tweeters. The performance of this NX-Studio has me thinking time to upgrade to the good by-pass caps used in this build.

Also a comment on the build quality, Michael has really perfected his oiled + wax finishing process for both the walnut baffle and dyed veneer box. The resulting semi gloss finish is understated and elegant. Really highlights the woods used.

[Evo-No_Revo]

Hello All,

This is Christopher.  I had Mike Lundy build these NX-Studios.  I will say at the outset that Mike is a wonderful guy to work with.  He was hitting a rough patch at the time we were discussing the build.  I just dropped them off and let Mike do his thing as he was able.  I think Mike is in a better place physically and his work space is more sorted out.  All that said what a lovely man to chat with on many subjects.   
So to Mike, I tip my hat to a true gentleman.     Thank you.

As for the NX-Studio I am completely happy with them.  I have been listening to them for about 3 months now.  I was doing a lot of shifting in many aspects of my system.  I ended up running Euphony Studio Server on my PC and running Euphony Endpoint on my little Atom/JCAT XE USB.  To me it is the best computer playback.  Not as easy as Roon but I can still run Roon and use the Euphony Endpoint and get most of the way there.  Plus I was waiting on my new tonearm and I had SoundSmith repair my EAT JO #5 cart with a new SoundSmith Boron cantilever.  So I got all that sorted out and installed finally.

I have climbed the heights or should I say heights in cost of some pretty high end gear.  It never really came together.  I have had Von Schweikert Audio, TAD, Magnapan, Martin Logan, Klipsch Cornwall IV and lots more.  But never have I had the moments that I have experienced with the NX-Studios.  The layering and depth are eye opening.  OB is fascinating  to experiment with. 

I can't really do a real review.  I can say that I am in a place that I am not looking now.  I am enjoying my music.   That is a major destination point after 43 years in this hobby.

I can't help but wonder what the Optica would be like...  But I will leave that for another year.   

Thank you GR-Research and thank you Mike. 

PS:  My system looks very different with the bright lights on.  Usually pretty dark in that room.

 

[Tyson]

I agree completely - once you hear with the NX series of speakers can do, you stop looking or itching for another set of speakers.  These speakers are (IMHO) the top of the top, performance wise.  We are very fortunate that Danny sells them for as cheap as he does.  Based on what I've heard over the years, the NX Studios really should sell at the level of Raidho and TAD (ie, very very expensive).  But Danny charges us based on cost, not on 'performance', which is unlike pretty much every other manufacturer out there. 

Also, nice room!

[BrandonB]

Here are some pics of a pair of NX-Studio monitors I am finishing up. They are up and playing for break in but still have to make the grills and add the No-Rez to the top ramp. This pair has walnut baffles, the sides and back have ash veneer that has been dyed black with Rudio Pre-Color Easy intense black, and black Dura-Tex on the bottoms. The sides and back have two coats of Rubio Monocoat 2C black and the baffles have two coats of Rubio Monocoar 2C Pure. Once the Rubio Monocoat 2C fully cured, the sides, back, top, and baffle got two coats of Black Forest Wood Company's Platinum ceramic coating and one coat to their ceramic top coat. I used a small chamfer bit on the sides and bottom to create a reveal between the baffle and sides.












When installing the tweeters, I left the hook up wire long enough to easily remove and reinstall the tweeters if there is ever a need.




I installed the crossovers before installing the baffles.




I have more pics of the build process if anyone is interested.

Mike

Mike are you building the speakers from scratch or are you using a flatpack?