[StevieM]

Hi all

When we moved house we decided to put the TV and the hi-fi in separate rooms, that way I could listen to my music whilst others could watch TV. Accordingly, the hi-fi was set up at one end of the dining room. This is a smallish space, and made speaker set up rather difficult. But it was worth it for the increased freedom it brought.
But the hi-fi never sounded quite right, and I resolved to change the speakers to ones that suited the room better. I looked at lots of commercial and kit speakers but none fitted the bill. Then I came across the Aspen website and found there a pair of speakers that could be tuned individually to suit the room - perfect !!
I ordered the kitset in January and they are now complete.
The instructions are easy to follow, and construction is easy too, even for some one of limited carpentry skills like myself. The panels were cut and polished at a joiners shop, and I did the rest. I really like the looks of the speaker, not your usual rectangular box, and because they are oak veneered the WAF (wife acceptance factor) is 100%
More importantly - they sound terrific. As claimed on the Aspen website, these speakers have a lively, musical sound, majoring on clarity and detail. And they do ! They have great projection, for that 'out of the box' sound. Thus far I can find nothing wrong with these speakers. The tuning arrangement works really well, and I am still exploring that aspect. I am confident of being able to tune these to work optimally in my room - they already sound great so perhaps I'm already there ?
So, lots of pluses and no minuses for the Aksonics. The only limitation is one hinted at already elsewhere - for a full range sound some may feel a subwoofer is necessary. At the moment, I'm happy with that aspect as the Aksonics have a fuller and faster bass than the bookshelf Kef References that they replace.
Having now experienced the benefits of a speaker that can be tuned, I’m starting to look on ordinary box speakers as being somehow inadequate……and variants on this theme start suggesting themselves to me. How about a version with a single full range driver, or maybe a 3 way ? Perhaps I’ve got the speaker building bug now ?
Finally, I would like some help from others on this forum. When I alter the box volume and/or port size, I can clearly hear changes in the speaker behaviour. But what is actually happening in terms of bass response etc ? Can anyone advise me about the underlying theory ?

Steve

PS rest of system is LP12 + Ittok, Rotel CD player, Inca Tech amp (50 W mosfet thingie from the late 80’s)

[Oz_Audio]

Hi Steve, I have heard the AKSonic with both the 55 and 100 AKSA.
If you replace your 80's thingy, build the 100, they sound sensational together and you will not be disappointed!!  The 100 really gets the bass going, if your room is on the small side, this combination should be enough.

Mark

[AKSA]

Hi Steve,

Thank you for your definitive comments on the AKSonic.

I often have one in my house - Ron and I share the prototype - and it is remarkable how it can be tweaked to suit the room, and the detail and top end is just so clear and musical.......

Cheers,

Hugh

[Raj]

Hi Steve,

How much did it cost you to have the work done at the joiners, I live in the UK also and would like an idea of how much is generally charged for this type of service.


Thanks
Raj

[StevieM]

Sorry Raj, i can't help you with this one. I work in a shipyard, and the 'in-house' joiners shop cut the pieces out of scrap offcuts for me. Similarly, they applied the shellac using the spraybooth. As they did the work during their lunch breaks, all it cost me was a couple of bottles of wine as a thankyou.
As I see it you have a couple of avenues to explore. Firstly find a local, small timber suppliers/joinery shop and get them to quote. Secondly, find a local custom kitchen suppliers and see if they will quote for you. All you need is somewhere with a decent panel saw.

Good luck
Steve

[Raj]

Hi Steve,

I have a couple of projects in mind that I had considered giving to fabricators etc, and was interested in how much it would cost for this reason. You see I'm in a situation where I could buy the tools myself, or give the work to the specialists so to speak. Trouble is with all the rip-off merchants it's hard to get a trustworthy quote, hence the question.

Thanks
Raja

[StevieM]

Hi Raja

I agree it's a difficult decision, and there are a lot of rip off merchants about, as well as a lot of inept workmen !! If I have a job to do, I usually use that as a reason to buy the necessary tools to try doing it myself. If I hadn't got access to some colleague's expertise and tools at work then I would have had a go at cutting the panels myself.
If you can cut a straight line in ply or mdf over a distance of less than 1 metre then you can build these speakers. The cabinets assemble in such a way that no two panels form a precise corner. This makes manufacture and assembly less demanding. I tidied up the exposed panel edges with iron-on veneer (bought from Wilmslow Audio at the same time as the drive units).

Good luck
Steve