[Don Parsons]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to this forum, but have been hanging out at PE for about 2 years. I recently finished a pair of RA8s and promised Al I would post. First I would like to say if you are considering doing one of Al's designs, I recommend it highly. Al has been great to deal with and supported his kit admirably to this newbie.

These are going to be recessed into an entertainment nook, so I built them sealed and mated them with a Dayton RSS315HF sealed sub. They sound absolutely incredible. I let them play in my room for 2-3 months in raw mdf with the backs screwed on and no stuffing. They sounded great that way. After sealing and stuffing the cabs they are unbelievable.

Here is an original picture:

I have a friend who is a finishes furniture, and I asked him if he would paint these black for me. He got going on them, and found that he couldn't leave them alone until he had completely buffed them out to a piano black finish. I really wanted them piano black, but didn't have the heart to ask because I know that very soon they will be buried in that wall behind grills.

Here is a snap from tonight:

Al, I can't thank you enough for this design. It is incredible, and I will be in touch for a center channel design to compare.

The after look:

Thanks,

Don Parsons

[RAW]

Don. aa

Well done .All the effort and moving around them large speakers was it all worth it in the end.

Looks are stunning in the high gloss black.I believe you said your finisher did pianos, looks like wonderfull work.

Over all how many hours you haver on them now?
With the placment how do you find them over ll for midrange an low end response.

And as far a a center channel.In the works now the RA6C,.The crossover design is near completion.And we have a few sitting here ready to drop crossovers in and send out to customers who are waiting.

[ooheadsoo]

Wow, that is some finish.  Congrats on the great speakers!

[Don Parsons]

Don. aa

Well done .All the effort and moving around them large speakers was it all worth it in the end.

Looks are stunning in the high gloss black.I believe you said your finisher did pianos, looks like wonderfull work.

Over all how many hours you haver on them now?
With the placment how do you find them over ll for midrange an low end response.

And as far a a center channel.In the works now the RA6C,.The crossover design is near completion.And we have a few sitting here ready to drop crossovers in and send out to customers who are waiting.

How many hours like in broken in or to get them built?

I have in the neighborhood of 100 hours of play time in on them. And probably 50 hours of labor getting them up and running, plus my painter. I got a great deal on that paint job, $400, he has almost $300 in materials in them.

The mid and highs are like nothing I have ever heard before, unbelievable!  As they got more broken in, the lows got better and were a little more punchy, and with the back sealed and stuffed, they got better still. I have them crossed at 100hz to the sub and the new sub is fantastic with them. With the sub turned off, they don't play that low. I would guess the ported alignment would make a significant difference.

Question: with that placement shouldn't the walls reinforce the lows?

[RAW]

Don over all you have a lot of time on them now ,so you have a complete sense of how they will sound .I would say you are past a break in stage with them now.

As far as the lows I know you built them sealed and you were putting them into the wall area.Over all the lows will increase due to you placement as we talked about using them sealed and your roll off you were using on them with a sub.

Look great and enjoy.