[Daygloworange]

Can I get the OB7 with a non-veneered curved front baffle? (any pics of that curve?)

Yes. We can offer the curved machining on the raw MDF baffle.  $100.00 upcharge to the flat pack price, for either OB 5 or OB 7. No, I never took any pics of the raw curved baffle.

And do I need to biscuit join the frames to the external panels or are they pegged?

You could biscuit them in. We don't. You would have a hard time breaking the enclosure apart with just the braces glued in place. With the top, bottom, back and front in place, it ain't comin' apart.

While I'm at it, still doing any of the LS cabinets?

Yes, we have a number of CLS-9's on the go. We'll post pictures of the latest ones shortly.

Cheers

[gprro]

whats the shipping avg. on the ob7 flat pacs? Shipping would be to 27613, raleigh, nc.

[TRADERXFAN]

It was $155 to me in suburb of Chicago...

[Daygloworange]

Here's a walk through layout and assembly of our OB 7 flat pack. The OB 5 is virtually identical.

First thing is the side panels. They are not square. The bottoms of the sides are angled 3 deg., and the top is angled 2 deg. The speaker sits on the floor with a 3 deg. tilt back.



Start by laying out for your braces. The plans start measurements from the bottom. Start measuring up from the bottom corner that meets the baffle (where I have the 3 deg. markings in the photo). Mark your lines perpendicular to the edge that the baffle will be glued to.



The next photo shows the top and false bottom in place. The false bottom is if you intend to mount the crossover inside the speaker, and can be omitted if using external crossovers. It serves as a ledge to locate and fasten the solid bottom to. Be careful, as the top, bottom and false bottom have the crosscuts bevelled due to the angled top and bottom profile of the side panels.

If you are using the false bottom, it must be inset from the bottom edge of the side panel the thickness of the solid bottom (you must add the thickness of the gasket material when compressed to the amount you recess the false bottom). Also if using the false bottom, you must re-size the solid bottom slightly undersize (length and width) so that it can be removed easily. You can do this by sanding, or running it through a table saw.

All braces, tops and bottoms should be glued flush to the front edge of the speaker. We've left a tiny allowance on the back edge of the sides so that when you are done, you can sand the side panel edges flush to the back panel.



The next photo shows the bottom (sans false bottom) and back in place.



This photo shows the layout for the braces. The 2 hole braces go between the drivers on the front baffle, the hole and a half braces go directly behind the hole for the driver so that there is clearance for the driver motor. The oval hole brace (not shown) goes closest to the bottom. It is shaped this way to make space for the crossover to be installed in the bottom of the speaker.



Make sure when you glue down your braces they are flush to the front, and are 90 deg. perpendicular to the panel.

The sequence we would recommend is that you glue down your braces first, tops (we've left them undrilled, so that you can customize your own scheme of how you'd like to run the wire to the MTM section drivers) and bottoms next, then the back panel.

Next, we would install the NoRez at this point, to the partial assembly, and the corresponding side panel. After that, glue on the opposite side panel, and you will have a rock solid enclosure.

Good luck with your build, and have fun. 

Let us know how you made out!

Cheers 

[TRADERXFAN]

THANKS!

[Daygloworange]

Here are some photos of our flat pack OB 7 that Bill Baker from Response Audio is building out as a test pair for calibrating the custom crossovers he will be offering for OB 7's.






Cheers

[TRADERXFAN]

Well, so far so good but I have some questions...

I have all of the braces lined out. Everything looks like it is lined up correctly. Since I intend to do the removable bottoms:

1)  What do you suggest as far as the gasket material?

2) How do the bases attach to the bottom? Is the intention to drill a hole through the larger recessed holes in the bottom of the base, through the bottom of the cabinet, and into the hollowed out false bottom -and then screw all three together?

Now I need to go out and get a little heater, my glue says to be above 50F and Its borderline in that garage!

[Daygloworange]

1)  What do you suggest as far as the gasket material?

We use thin 1/4 wide closed cell foam gasket that's got an adhesive on it. Someone gave me a number of rolls of it years ago. You could probably get something very similar at a hardware center for sealing door jambs and windows. Or get adhesive backed felt and lined the perimeter of the false bottom.

2) How do the bases attach to the bottom? Is the intention to drill a hole through the larger recessed holes in the bottom of the base, through the bottom of the cabinet, and into the hollowed out false bottom -and then screw all three together?

You have your choice of attachment methods. You could simply use (coarse threaded) wood screws, or lag type bolts, or you could drill for inserts and use machine screws. Depends on how picky you are about details. The bases are pre-drilled and have a large countersink for all these methods, and are also pre-drilled for the inserts that come with the GR supplied inserts for the Vampire spikes.

We use 1/4 - 20 inserts with pan head machine screws equipped with a large washer.

Cheers

[TRADERXFAN]

Thanks for that advice Denny...

So far so good.

I forgot to mention earlier -that crate was VERY WELL packed. It was impressive how everything was so precisely packed. And after seeing how thin the pieces were, I am very glad that I bought this from you. I can't imagine trying to route those pieces out myself. There is barely anything to hold onto. And my wife thanks you as well, she is glad that I will be keeping all my fingers, which would be questionable had I been let loose with the power tools!

Could you please help me on these questions too?

Is it best to drill out the driver holes first before gluing on the front baffle? or after so its got something to support it?

Should I take a driver and mark the holes with the pencil into the mdf -using the driver as a template?

[Bill Baker]

Is it best to drill out the driver holes first before gluing on the front baffle? or after so its got something to support it?

I would do it before mounting the baffle. I take it you are using real wood veneer? If you do it afterwards, you will have a mess of sawdust inside the cabinet and it will be impossible to get it out of all the fill material.

Should I take a driver and mark the holes with the pencil into the mdf -using the driver as a template?

 Do this after you apply the veneer. Yes, use a driver as a template. Make all your marks and drill them out before mounting the baffle as well.

[Bill Baker]

Here is a picture of my baffles after applying the veneer and routing out the driver holes.

[TRADERXFAN]

Thanks for the info Bill...

At this point I plan to use the bedliner finish, no veneer. Currently we have some nice looking rosewood veneered Av123 Strata Mini's. She really likes they way they look:
http://www.audiocircle.com/gallery/displayimage.php?pos=-18025

So when considering building the ob-7's to replace them, I had asked my wife about what kind of veneer she would like. I showed her some sampled of a website, and what the bedliner looked like on an older post of a guy who used it on his ob-5's... after asking how much veneer would cost, she said "don't go buying any fancy wood, lets just see if we can get them to play a cd" So that is where we are going. I don't have a router so this is the best option I think.

I am going to take your advice of course. Going to drill the baffles before I mount them to the cabinet. I don't have the screws here yet, I didn't order the Ob-7 kit until I saw the tracking number on the flatpack. I did have some m-130's from a previous idea, so I was able to mark the spots in the baffle.
I have some drill bits, but without the screws, I am going to wait and make sure I make the holes the right size...

[Bill Baker]

Hi Trader,
 Drilling out the screw holes is no big deal and you can do this last if you want. Even after applying the finish. There really is not enough of a mess with this to worry about. You can simply vacuum off the debris after drilling so you can do this either after mounting the baffle or before.

 If you are going with a full black liner finish (or even the vinyl), you will want to pick up some wood putty to apply to all the joints after sanding. No matter how good you think your sanding job is, cracks will appear in the bed liner finish over time.

 After sanding the cabinets, apply the wood putty and sand again. Depending on how well the assembly went together and how clean your butt joints are, you may need to repeat this a few times.

 I chose the vinyl veneer to save time and keep me from having to spray the liner indoors (it's about 10 degrees here in NY). It's very easy to apply and I think only one roll would be needed for a pair of speakers costing less than 20 bucks which is less than what 4 cans of bed liner would cost. Just another option.

http://www.partsexpress.com/pe/showdetl.cfm?&Partnumber=261-610

[TRADERXFAN]

Thanks again Bill! I would not have known to use the putty and do all of that sanding. I was going to just clean it with the alcohol damped rag and spray it on... so you saved me there.

I do like this vinyl idea though... Since it is even colder here in Chicago, -like 2 degrees was the high today, I wouldn't be able to do the spraying for a while.


Denny, would you be able to share any pictures of how you did the false bottoms? I was looking at the base and I think I am going to have to move the gasket to the outside for there to be space to line up with those screw holes. I put the gasket just a smidge away from the center cutout. I was thinking the gasket should be inside the holes.

Also, should I caulk the edges to make sure its airtight? If so, what kind of caulk, a silicone?

-Tony

[Bill Baker]

Hello Trader.
 Yes, with the vinyl you will still want all the seams to be as smooth as possible. Even the vinyl veneer will show the slightest imperfections in the surface. Think of it like bad bodywork performed under a car's new paint job.

 I have seen seems show even with real wood veneer. It's not as critical here but you do want a smooth surface without any high or low spots. Basically it is good practice to do this no matter what finish one is using.

 The most important tool when applying vinyl veneer is sharp razor blades to do the trimming. Don't go looking through the garage for old razor blades as the $2 spent on a small package of 5 brand new ones will more than save you from the major headaches of using a dull blade. You can pick them up anywhere. Car parts place, K-Mart, CVS, Hardware store, etc.

I didn't get my flat pack with false bottoms so I cannot provide any advice on the best way to arrange this. I am sure Denny will chime in a answer your inquiries.

[Daygloworange]

Denny, would you be able to share any pictures of how you did the false bottoms? I was looking at the base and I think I am going to have to move the gasket to the outside for there to be space to line up with those screw holes. I put the gasket just a smidge away from the center cutout. I was thinking the gasket should be inside the holes.

Also, should I caulk the edges to make sure its airtight? If so, what kind of caulk, a silicone?

Tony,

Caulk isn't required, as the parts tolerance fit is very tight, and the glue seals it airtight.

As far as the false bottoms, the foam gasket tape that we use is 1/4" wide. We slit it with a razor blade into an 1/8 wide strip, and then trace around the screw holes as we go around the perimeter of the false bottom. This will seal perfectly, no worries.

I'll post a picture about what I mean, so that there's no ambiguity.

Cheers

[mnapuran]

All flat packs gone now?

[Daygloworange]

I have parts left over for 2 flat packs. Then that's it for a while.

After getting numerous requests, I'm going to design up a horizontal OB 7 center channel flatpack in the coming weeks.

Cheers

[Daygloworange]

We've finally got the enclosures designed for the OB 7 center channel flat pack.

The one piece back panel bridges between the two sealed enclosures, and features triangulated cutouts to minimize backwave reflections of the open baffle drivers, to make the back panel as acoustically transparent as possible while maintaining rigidity of the enclosure.

Price for an OB 7 center channel flat pack will be $185.00. Optional grill frames will be available for the top and bottom, and will be $15.00 each.

Custom height stands for the center channel will also be available on a per spec basis.

Here are some pics during dry mock up before the baffle edges were radiused.





Cheers

[jonwb]

rough outer dimensions on the center channel?

Thanks...