[toxteth ogrady]

A couple people wanted to see what kind of progress I was making on my Okara's, so I posted some pictures in the gallery. The cabinet is unorthodox in its construction as it's built up from 27 blanks of 1/2" Finnish birch ply. It measures 12.25"H x 6.75"W x 10.5"D. The front baffle is 2" thick, top and bottom 1" thick, sides are .75" thick and the back is 1.5" thick.

This is not the way North Creek recommends building these cabinets, although when I spoke to George Short about my idea he mentioned he always wanted to build a cabinet that way but never had the time. I had an idea and went for it...but I'll never do it again! Way too much work. This kind of construction is too time consuming and presents way to many problems for the home woodworker.

But they are really beautiful and are exactly how I envisioned they would look. I'll post more pics when they're finished.

Cheers

t. ogrady

[gonefishin]

Hi tOgrady   Sounds like a cool project.  Any links to get some more info?  Do you have an estimated cost?  Have you heard the speakers before.

   nice job...I'd love to hear about your progress.

[toxteth ogrady]

Hi Gonefishin

Here's the url for the Okara's on the North Creek Music website http://northcreekmusic.com/OkaraII/OkaraII.htm

North Creek Music kits tend to be a little higher priced than most diy designs but they are widely regarded as some of the finer/finest diy kits. George Short is a wizard when it comes to crossover design and you'll realize this when you hear his speakers. From the two models I've listened to, the Okara II and the Borealis, I would describe the sound as lucid and sweet.

I was able to hear the Okara's my friend built for his home theater system. We pulled them into his 2 channel system and compared them to his Revel M20's which I think is a well reviewed speaker around $2000. Both of us preferred the Okara's and it was then I decided to build them.
 
The way I've chosen to build them has added about 30% to the price, around $900 (the upgraded version) - still a good deal but getting up there. The biggest expense has been acquiring the tools. I love the process though, and having the right tools makes all the difference.

cheers
t. ogrady

[scottpretti]

Hi t ogrady,

Baltic birch is a thing of beauty!  Must have taken a few hours to sand those boxes down.   I have also built the Upgraded OkaraIIs, no doubt about it, spoiled me silly with the sound of this speaker.  I posted some pics in the gallery, think they are on page 5 now.  Just got done with two Poseidons, will post some more pics soon.  I feel the Okaras sounded much better then the Revels too

Thanks, Scott

[JohnR]

Wow! Very nice, it does look like an incredible amount of work.

Here's the link: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?action=gallery;area=browse;album=96

[toxteth ogrady]

Baltic birch is a thing of beauty! Must have taken a few hours to sand those boxes down. I have also built the Upgraded OkaraIIs, no doubt about it, spoiled me silly with the sound of this speaker. I posted some pics in the gallery, think they are on page 5 now. Just got done with two Poseidons, will post some more pics soon. I feel the Okaras sounded much better then the Revels too

 

Hi Scott

These are made from Finn ply which is even nicer than baltic birch. I like the stuff so much I'm building some furniture from it.

Your Okara's look great! I like the white baffle contrasted with the Light wood veneer. Looks like maple from here.

How are those Poseidons? How seamless are they integrating and how do you have them set up? I think George Short recommends stuffing the port and crossing over about 80hz.

I'm planning on mating the Okara's with stereo subs and was considering either the North Creek Poseidon, Rick Craigs 'Whomp', or the Adire Rava SE. So your input would be appreciated.

Wow! Very nice, it does look like an incredible amount of work.

Hi John,

Thanks for the compliment. I got the idea from a Finnish speaker manufacturer called Penaudio - www.penaudio.fi  They have a speaker called the Charisma that uses finn birch as a veneer.


cheers
t. ogrady

[Thump553]

A few months ago the US importer for Penaudio brought two different pairs of his speakers to the CT Audio Society for us to check out.  I looked at your gallery before I knew you were using the Penaudios as a model and my first thought was that your speakers looked just as impressive as the Penaudios.  Congrats on a job well done.

27 blanks per speaker though-you must have gone crazy cutting, etc.  Plus you must have an awful lot of (expensive) scrap lying around now.