[Endo2112]

Again, I beg to differ with Danny on the path resistors, with my trials, they were consistently better than the duelands time after time.

Don

[Huskerbryce]

I really appreciate all the diy people and everyones opinions, not only on this forum but all the forums.  I am not an audio or electrical engineer.  I am a guy who appreciates more for less.  I was once an audio salesman of high end stuff.  Now, I prefer to build my own.  If there was a perfect speaker, or perfect amplifier, or perfect crossover, someone would have invented it, and everyone would have employed it by now.  This hobby is awesome because we have different ears, different likes, different ideas and all that difference makes the hobby fun.  It’s not the money, not the quality, not the equipment that makes it fun.  It’s the ability of people to come together with different ideas.  Not only to move the hobby forward, but to educate the next generation and garner friendships through it all.  We all read things, and have opinions, and through all the disagreements, it would be boring if we all thought the exact same things.  Heres to more audiophile fun!  Lets push the boundary.  I have learned so much from these forums, I hope I can give something back.  Heres to building better speakers.

[jmimac351]

I appreciate the kind words.  I used rhodium plated copper posts to try to minimize the loss.  I have really nice cables that utilize banana plugs that wont fit in the electra connectors.

I have some Anticable speaker wire with the "Z-plug" banana connectors.  They were are a very tight fit into a fresh tube connector.  What I found was that after inserting the Anticable banana connector, the female part of the tube connector expanded a bit.  Now when inserting a male tube connector into that same female tube connector, it is no longer snug fitting.  Point being... the female part of the tube connector adapted to the very slightly larger size of the Anticable banana. "Banana" is supposed to be 4mm.  I haven't taken my calipers to them to see which ones are a bit small / large. 

[Huskerbryce]

I tried to fit the banana into the electra tube connectors and pushed hard enough that I was afraid I was going to break something so I abandoned the idea of using the tube connectors.  I decided to try some higher quality rhodium plated copper binding posts.  Hopefully they work without too much signal/electrical loss.  Not sure there is any real way to ever know.

I suppose I could cut the ends off.  Then, hard solder them to the inputs of the crossover.  I think both destroying the look of the nicer cables and ruining the look of the crossover, for what is likely a very negligible difference, would not make much sense.

[Tyson]

I think your binding posts are good.  Not as good as the tube connectors of course but still, they are fine. 

If you ever do want to change them for something better then the WBT low mass binding post is the best ‘regular’ post I’ve heard. 

KLEI Naked Harmony is also excellent.  As is ETI Research.

Usually I just buy whichever one is on sale.

But again it’s not urgent.  Your current posts are fine. 

[Hobbsmeerkat]

Again, I beg to differ with Danny on the path resistors, with my trials, they were consistently better than the duelands time after time.

Don

They do sound good but I have a different problem with them.

My main problem with them is the steel ends they use on their resistors, which is false advertising best I can tell, since they advertise them as "non-magnetic."

[Huskerbryce]

Tyson, thank you for the input. I’ll have to check out those binding posts. I’m always open to upgrades. The design I went for allows upgrade options to be wide open for making these things better.

[jmimac351]

they advertise them as "non-magnetic."

I noticed that as well.  It seems odd they make a point to mention that when a magnet will stick to the end caps.  A friend has had 2 instances of receiving broken Path resistors and he recommended to ask for them to be tested prior to shipping. 

Even so, he also said they sound great...

[Danny Richie]

I appreciate the kind words.  I used rhodium plated copper posts to try to minimize the loss.  I have really nice cables that utilize banana plugs that wont fit in the electra connectors.  These are the best option for me to fit what I currently employ.  I hope the loss of performance is very very very small.  Ive tried to think of everything I can to minimize loss while maximizing form, functionality and performance!  I have high hopes that improvements will happen over time.  I tried to build them with upgrades and future improvements in mind.  Im excited to hear them.

Standard banana plugs fit right into the tube connectors. Then again, the whole point in using tube connectors is getting things like banana plugs out of the signal path.

[Huskerbryce]

Received the flat pack.  Ive got it glued together, sanded with 220 grit and removed any wood glue dribbles and spots.  I am very much on the fence about how I want to attack the finishing process. MDF is just not a fun material to try to finish when you want flawless paint seams.   I applied bondo wood filler to any small seams and letting it dry.  I think the next step after sanding will be some kind of wood sealer. I know there are a lot of methods and products out there. I’m leaning toward some kind of shellac based sealer. I’m slightly concerned about sanding that. I have worked with shellac before and had problems with it gumming up. After all of this consideration, if anyone else has any better ideas or advice, I am all ears.

[Huskerbryce]

A few photos of progress so far.

[Peter J]

I'm going to strongly suggest you know how you're going to finish before you put anything in the way of sealer on. Most wood finishes are not compatible with automotive primers if that's your intention. 
Planning now will save you headaches later. Shellac is handy for some things, but there are better products for sealing MDF.

[Huskerbryce]

Better products for sealing MDF……..like what?  Im looking for specifics.  Not conjecture.  Can you expand upon this ideology of “better” for the sake of my learning?  I would love any insight to products, methods or ideas. Thanks.

[Huskerbryce]

I looked at hardeners, rustins mdf sand sealer and other sanding sealer products but there doesnt seem to be any one product that stands out.  There has to be some people here who have actually treated, sanded and painted mdf with success.  I would love to know what you all did and what products you used.  Thank you all for any insights!

[TRADERXFAN]

I think he was just warning to be careful - saying it depends on what you plan is for finishing. Automotive paint or something else? Then that determines what you should do for sealing...

What are you going to do?

[Peter J]

I think he was just warning to be careful - saying it depends on what you plan is for finishing. Automotive paint or something else? Then that determines what you should do for sealing...

What are you going to do?

Precisely. If you plan on automotive paint, nothing at the Big Boxes is likely to be of use.  If Duratex is your jam, sanding sealer of almost any ilk will work. There's stuff in between as well. The point I'm making is to be successful with a finish, know where the goal line is first. Anything else is hit or miss. And BTW, any conjecture on my part will be clearly identified. Do you have spray equipment? Plan on taking to someone to finish? Want to learn a new skill, increase tool arsenal or just "get 'er done"? I'm happy to guide, but need to know your goals finish-wise to be of much help.

[Rusty Jefferson]

Received the flat pack.  Ive got it glued together, sanded with 220 grit and removed any wood glue dribbles and spots.  I am very much on the fence about how I want to attack the finishing process. MDF is just not a fun material to try to finish when you want flawless paint seams....

It's difficult for sure. Most use automotive epoxy primer to seal the MDF and then a lot of 'filler' or high build primers. It usually takes several spray/sand cycles to hide the seams and allow for eventual shrinkage before applying topcoat and/or clear. It's best done professionally in a booth. Don't put anything on them now if you're intending to have them finished. There's some examples in this recent thread.

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=189153.0

[aricml]

It's difficult for sure. Most use automotive epoxy primer to seal the MDF and then a lot of 'filler' or high build primers. It usually takes several spray/sand cycles to hide the seams and allow for eventual shrinkage before applying topcoat and/or clear. It's best done professionally in a booth. Don't put anything on them now if you're intending to have them finished. There's some examples in this recent thread.

https://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=189153.0

This is what I did.  I initially thought I could do the priming myself with Krylon sandable primer, which I did, however that process gave me enough experience to take my X-statiks to a pro to get painted.  The auto body shop wound up spraying epoxy primer over the work I had done anyways, so that was a good bit of waster effort, but you live you learn.  While the color I chose may not be everyones cup of tea, I'm really pleased with the end result and it was not terribly expensive to have done.

[nlitworld]

Not sure if this will be of great help, but HERE is my build thread for my NX-Studios where I tried to document a lot of the steps for painting using automotive materials. Lots of sanding required, so before all else invest in a Costco size bottle of ibuprofen.    There are plenty of us here familiar with finishing in those materials and even more with standard veneer finishes, so please reach out and lean on everyone's experience to guide you. We love living vicariously through other people's hard work.

-Lloyd

[jmimac351]

Not sure if this will be of great help, but HERE is my build thread for my NX-Studios where I tried to document a lot of the steps for painting using automotive materials. Lots of sanding required, so before all else invest in a Costco size bottle of ibuprofen.    There are plenty of us here familiar with finishing in those materials and even more with standard veneer finishes, so please reach out and lean on everyone's experience to guide you. We love living vicariously through other people's hard work.

-Lloyd

You, Peter, Mike Lundy, and others have been very helpful with tips / best practices.  I've been taking screenshots of tips and putting them into my own stack of stuff.  Thank you for sharing your experience! 

It would be great it we had a sticky thread focusing on "Painting / Finishing MDF - Best Practices" as there are a ton of little tips scattered among build threads over the years.  Also, it would be fun watching experienced woodworkers debate the pros / cons of their favorite glue.