[JohninCR]

I haven't had much luck soliciting opinions on the DIY forums.  I guess they only care about the sound. 

The glue is drying on my side panels now, so it's time to decide on the front baffle.  Have have some beautiful 30cm thick exotic wood that I've been saving for front baffles. I drew up some front profiles, and now I'm soliciting opinions.  Note that #1 isn't really an option, because it is only 7.5"x29" and the top needs to be wider for baffle step reasons. 

I've all but decided to go with #8, since it has no difficult curves to duplicate, and it has 2 quite different and unique looks depending which is right and left. Also, I think an angular baffle is less likely to clash with the triangular voids on the sides, which might be problematic with a curved front.  #3 reflects the look if I use a large felt ring around the little 4" driver. 

My wife thinks #8 is "weird".  What do you think?  I know any of them will look much better in real life.

[accentstryping]

I like #9 if its within your woodworking capabilities.    MMM

[nathanm]

I like
#6 for the goth coffin look - easy to cut
#11 nice and curvy - harder to cut (assuming hand tools\jigaw that is)

[DSK]

9, 10 & 11 .... I like symmetry and smooth, flowing lines without sharp angles or corners.

[jon_010101]

I would almost certainly go with #1... if only because it would require the least effort 

[ooheadsoo]

Most of them look like coffins on paper    Don't the round ones exacerbate diffraction problems?  #8 does look good but the angles you chose look a little awkward.  Perhaps if you tweaked #8 a bit...

[JLM]

They all look like coffins, space aliens, or cartoon characters.  None provide a sense of grace, balance, or proper proportion.  Keep your eyes open to forms from your life, nature, architecture, etc.

I wouldn't waste a nice piece of wood on any of them.  It would be great if you can find a shape that reflects you.

[Bob in St. Louis]

John, 2,3,4,5 has been done to death. The rest do seem to resemble coffins on 'paper' (Ok, on screen).
#8 has some interesting merits in my mind, but looks inherently 'unstable'. Weather that's perceived, or for real, I don't know. If these will be placed near side walls, wouldn't you gain LFs if the sides are perfectly verticle, almost 'flush' with the walls? The curved examples may have that wierd wavefront thing going on between the side walls and the non-straight walls; like a fat man squeezing himself between two close objects. You know.

I thought you were going to do a multiple driver set-up?  Didn't I read that somewhere? Something like (3) 15 inchers?
If this is the case, how about (2) on bottom, one on top. Pyramidal like.

Bob

( I just found the thread where you stated a (3) driver baffle, are you building (2) rigs )? Or changed your mind?

[R_burke]

My personal preference is 3, don't think I've ever seen anything like it in a speaker.

[JoshK]

These aren't within my personal aesthetix.  Have you modeled these in BDS or other baffle diffraction modeler?  This can help you immensely with understanding what will need to be compensated in the network. 

I personally agree with JLM and others that the aesthetix is rather odd. I think it will make for a smaller niche then if you chose a baffle shape that is more common. 

[JohninCR]

Thanks for the input everyone.  Now I understand why commercial stuff is almost always rectangles, because after that it's more of a personal preference in art forms.  I realize the crude 2 dimensional drawings can't convey much, so they would probably all look much better as the real thing.  It's not a commercial effort, so I want to go with something quite different.  I'll post pics of the real thing quite soon.

Bob,
I haven't seen anyone else using pentagons, so I don't know about 3 and 5 having been done to death.  BTW, this is for Planet10's Frugelhorn.  My big OB multiway with 15's will have to be close to rectangle, and the 15's make their own statement.  Flair would be in the finish like Jamo's.  The smaller 2-way OBs will be some type of truncated pyramid.

R-burke,
Here are some real life #3's and #5's that I've already built.

[Bob in St. Louis]

Well, after seeing that picture John, I realize the image I had in my mind of that design/shape was of YOUR baffles I've seen in various posts/forums.  Sorry about that.
I do like them very much. I suppose I was thinking that design was more common that it really is.

Bob

[JohninCR]

Well, after seeing that picture John, I realize the image I had in my mind of that design/shape was of YOUR baffles I've seen in various posts/forums.  Sorry about that.
I do like them very much. I suppose I was thinking that design was more common that it really is.

Bob

Hi Bob,

My nickname for the big cab with the small OB on top is the Aunt Jemiama cab, because the
shape always remind me of a bottle of her maple syrup.  I'm going for a bit more elegance with
these small cabs.

I can highly recommend the pentagon shape for a sealed or BR box.  Avoiding parallel sides is
good, but the top of the cab makes a great rifle-like sight for quickly and accurately aiming your
speakers.  It even makes checking for proper placement from the listening position easy.  I hate
the whole toe-in dance routine.

[Duke]

Aesthetically, I'd pick number 10 or number 11.  Sonically though, it's undesirable to have a uniform path length to the cabinet edge. 

Putting top priority on sound quality, I lean towards Number 8.  I think that would offer the best combination of spreading out the path lengths to the cabinet edges and providing good baffle width.  Very creative, and I think it looks a little better than 8 Reversed.

Very innovative set of designs, nicely done.  From what I see there I like the way your mind works, JohninCR.

I haven't been a regular here - is this a DIY or a commercial effort?

Very best of luck to you.

Duke

[JohninCR]

Very innovative set of designs, nicely done.  From what I see there I like the way your mind works, JohninCR.
I haven't been a regular here - is this a DIY or a commercial effort?
Very best of luck to you.
Duke

Thanks Duke,
These are just for me.  I just have to satisfy my curiousity regarding rear horns just to be sure I'm not
missing something I like better before I continue my OB pursuits.

[JohninCR]

They're semi-finished (just a rubdown with raw linseed oil), and they're sounding great.
Notice the different look depending upon L/R orientation.  Sorry, I didn't notice the
concrete is high in the center there, the speakers don't lean.

[Bob in St. Louis]

I see your influence John........  Very nice indeed.





Pink Floyd "The Division Bell"
Bob

[Duke]

John, those are absoutely stunning.  I just showed them to my wife, and she said "they look like something you'd see in an art studio".  When's the last time you heard that about a pair of speakers??

I tip my virtual hat to you.  Your speaker kung-fu is mighty mighty.

Duke

[JohninCR]

Duke,

Thank you so much.  I've had that wood curing for 2 years just waiting
for a special way to use it.  Something that would look at home in an
art gallery is exactly what I was shooting for.

[Rob Babcock]

I really like them!  Those first ones above really remind me of H.P. Lovecraft!  Er, that's meant as a compliment!   The finished ones below are beautiful.  How do they sound?