So... they're done! Well.. almost, they need to be painted. I'm going to listen to them for a while first.
First off, my thanks for Phil the speaker builder, for his craftsmanship. They turned out great.
Important notes i'd like to share:
Check your crossovers. Triple check them. After these were glued together and i got them home, i realized something was amiss with one channel. One tweeter wasn't quite as bright as it should have been. Subtle, but incorrect. After taking all the drivers out and tracing the circuit with a flashlight in a myriad of contorted poses to work through one of the holes from the extremis, i found the issue. One bad connection. It was lucky the crossover was somewhat visible through the speaker hole.
They're heavy! With the vibration absorption material + some extra Dynamat put inside, these suckers are HEAVY. Knock hard on one side though, no reverberation, just a solid "DOK" sound
Try that on some speakers at your local audio store and compare how boxy many will sound.
They sound great! Risking cliche, i'm listening to my records and CD's 'again for the first time'. It's amazing to hear variance in recording quality between albums. I'm a part time studio engineer hobbyist and know a little bit about recording and microphones, and it's great fun to go through tracks with the HT8's and really deconstruct what's going on. Checkout the Mutations album from Beck. Recorded 24 bit 96Khz. It's a really smooth album with a lot of acoustic instruments. Fantastic recording.
Even though they're not broken in yet, the HT8's sound great at very low volumes. I live in an apartment, and this is a requirement. Last night they were playing at conversational volumes and the response felt very even. Massive bass even down to a whisper. That feels strange indeed. Deep, full, solid, not boomy whatsoever bass, at all volumes. Cool.
The positioning and room aren't ideal, but it's not bad. Ideally they'd have a bit more to breathe, but these are the consequences and realities of life. I have the extremis bass drivers pointing inward, because i do not need any more bass in this small room!!
What's next? Finish the GB150 amps (which are also DIY), they're almost done. I'm currently playing the HT8's through a pair of 18 watt SET KT88 tube monoblocks, and it's a great match but not headbanger volume capable. Still more than enough to get complaints from the neighbors. Have some locals over for a listen, once the GB150's are complete. Paint them.
Yes, that's vinyl on the table.
More shots here:
http://www.robotbreeder.com/photography/v/projects/RAWHT8/Thanks Phil and Al. Much enjoyment here.
Cheers,
/A
