Fred's Home Theater Project

fcraven · « **Reply #20 on:** 12 Sep 2008, 02:44 am »

After much worrying about my faux pas I got home and found the caulk willing to let go. So, I followed Danny's advice and gave it a twisty (my words not his) and now it's right. The inductors are actually closer, but the are now on different plains.

fcraven · « **Reply #21 on:** 13 Sep 2008, 05:00 pm »

I can't do too much this weekend...uh, I have to sing tonight, and a lot tomorrow,... and there's a weather concern. SO, here's a picture of my Neo-2X crossover. this time around I got the inductors on different plains, and every thing is laid out on a separate board. Nothing is soldered yet.

The brown stuff is Caulk and the inductors are attached with Gorilla glue. The smaller inductor is actually let into the board. (i.e. I just carved a notch)

Also the surrounds are looking good, I may get primer on them soon. And rumors have it that the face plate for my tweeters will be RED.

fcraven · « **Reply #22 on:** 29 Sep 2008, 10:59 pm »

Well, it's been a while since I've updated so first things first, there are a couple more pictures here: http://gallery.me.com/operadad#gallery. Things are moving along as I finally got the Sub woofer done... well, I got it together and had a chance to listen to it in its not yet fully tweaked nor fully painted but close enough to play state.

I have to you tell you all that in a well dampened (and I'm assuming my sub is well dampened) enclosure, the servo sub can do some incredibly awesome stuff. FWIW, the window started rattling as soon as the 15-300HZ sweep began, with notable "sound" at about 18HZ so, yeah, it really is a "Sub" woofer, at least that is one amateur's (my) observation, with the tools at my disposal, which is nothing but a couple test disks.

Also my rear channels are now mounted on the wall, and I had some fun getting into the attic to run the wires, 'nuff said about that. They seemed a little too loud-- DUH -- until I turned them down. Still working on the ported Left and Right and the sealed center Neo-2X's but, I do have the crossovers done now. so I'm getting closer, there's just a lot of sculpting to do.

KS · « **Reply #23 on:** 1 Oct 2008, 03:58 am »

Why no-rez plus sand? Why not either one or the other to stop resonance?

Did the sub get rained on?...oh, you must mean that it is well damped.

Great woodworking. You must be very pleased with your inventiveness and your quality workmanship.

fcraven · « **Reply #24 on:** 1 Oct 2008, 07:31 pm »

Quote from: KS on 1 Oct 2008, 03:58 am

Why no-rez plus sand? Why not either one or the other to stop resonance?

Because Danny said that's what he was doing, and I wanted to give it try. The next subwoofer I build will be interesting in that I will have no internal bracing--all exoskeleton, that's the idea anyway, if I ever build another one.

Quote

Did the sub get rained on?...oh, you must mean that it is well damped.

IT POURED.

Quote

Great woodworking. You must be very pleased with your inventiveness and your quality workmanship.

Actually I'm quite critical of it. But for me, I'm not just doing this for the (eventual) sound, I enjoy the process. Which is one of the reasons to build. If one doesn't WANT take the time needed to build something, then I recommend buying speakers, but if one does like to build things, then speakers are great to build. Not only can the look cool when done, they sound cool too, and you don't have to pluck strum or hit any strings to make them sing. (yeah, that would be the not finished harpsichord in my bedroom).

fcraven · « **Reply #25 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 09:33 pm »

Not the best picture, but it's something. Here are my ported Neo-2Xs primed and almost ready for paint. If it weren't for the fact that I want a nice paint job on these, I could install the speakers now.

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #26 on:** 13 Oct 2008, 10:55 pm »

Very impressive workmanship Fred. Very nice!

Bob

Hank · « **Reply #27 on:** 14 Oct 2008, 02:13 am »

Smooth, Fred, SMOOTH!

cujobob · « **Reply #28 on:** 14 Oct 2008, 03:01 am »

Nice job on those, they're going to look incredible when finished! We're all waiting on your impressions since few, if any, have had the balls to build ported floorstanding Neos.

Btw, your subwoofer turned out great, too

fcraven · « **Reply #29 on:** 14 Oct 2008, 09:07 pm »

Quote from: Hank on 14 Oct 2008, 02:13 am

Smooth, Fred, SMOOTH!

The advantage to my approach is that I'm using up some old, but expensive paint ($100.00/gal) which is just taking up room on the shelves in the rather messy garage.

The disadvantage, is that I'm doing this all by hand. Brushed, and sanded. The results are a stunning appearance, without the extreme perfection of sprayed lacquer. (Yes I could do that, but I'm not in the mood for that kind of mess and clean up). And hand work requires a lot of time. Last night I was hoping to get a base coat of blue on the back and bottom of the main speakers, but I was too tired by the time I was ready to do that, so maybe tonight.

Also, this paint is all alkyd (ok, there's been a little acrylic involved but only a little), so there is a LONG drying wait between coats, and I like to sand between coats, so there many coats, and much waiting.

Hey, but it's therapeutic.

Right now I MAY be bringing the speakers up to my office in Addison for auditioning purposes. My boss supports bringing them in, but we have to sneak them in (not supposed to have such sound systems in the building), So, it would be after hours. If we did that it would be for Stereo, not the full surround, and I might bring the subwoofer, although it's rather heavy, I'm not sure if I want to try to move it.

More updates coming as we get closer, and I still need to make the grills to keep little hands from being too tempted.

fcraven · « **Reply #30 on:** 16 Oct 2008, 01:40 pm »

Here's a picture of the back of the speaker, and yes, the paint is dry. This is Delft Blue Brilliant Enamel, which was made by Schreuder and imported by Fine Paints of Europe http://finepaintsofeurope.com/. I originally used this color on some trim in the bathroom and on the tile in the kitchen (as a part of a special finish). This particular brand is no longer imported, but you can still get some mighty fine stuff like this: http://www.finepaintsofeurope.com/hollandlac_brilliant.aspx from FPE (and you thought audiophile speakers were expensive). The rest of the rest of the speaker will be painted with the same brand, but will not be so "colorful"...except for the bright red tweeter face plate.

Technically its marine enamel, and may be applied to your boat above the waterline.

TRADERXFAN · « **Reply #31 on:** 16 Oct 2008, 02:47 pm »

Thanks for sharing that info Fred. Looks great.

Is that just brushed on?

fcraven · « **Reply #32 on:** 17 Oct 2008, 04:31 pm »

So, using up old paint, here's the ingredients:

here's some color sampling:

There is no black involved at all, it's all red or green, to the lower left of the woofer, I've added a little white to make it more "gray" not sure where, I'm going with it yet. No, it's not as exciting as bright red or blue, but these don't need to be too distracting in the way the look

...however, I like the punch of red on the Tweeter face plate.

ebag4 · « **Reply #33 on:** 17 Oct 2008, 04:40 pm »

That finish is incredible, especially being brushed on. I wish I could get my finishes to look half as nice. Excellent work!

fcraven · « **Reply #34 on:** 17 Oct 2008, 05:35 pm »

Quote from: ebag4 on 17 Oct 2008, 04:40 pm

That finish is incredible, especially being brushed on. I wish I could get my finishes to look half as nice. Excellent work!

The magic in the finish is almost all in the paint. VERY VERY good paint + a decent brush = a wonderful finish. Most house paint in the US, just sucks, even the "good" stuff from the professional paint stores. Now, for an even better finish, spray lacquer, and buff it out. This stuff is not that perfect, but it's real. When all is said and done if you look close enough you will notice that it was hand brushed, but it has a certain elegance, and subtlety that can't be found with a regular sprayed finished, or, of course, the usual brushed finish.

The Black version of this paint is perhaps the most extraordinary paint for your front door. Although, my front door is Coach Green (the dark green paint above). Think of this paint like the paint version of audiophile sound equipment. Not everyone will notice the subtlety , but they will notice the fact that its really nice.

TRADERXFAN · « **Reply #35 on:** 17 Oct 2008, 05:53 pm »

Yeah, very analogous situation to audio. I was reading through the information on that link you posted on the supplier/importer... they explained a lot of the difference in quality. Also, there is an interesting discussion of why paint peels quickly in modern housing due to trapped humidity.

I didn't realize that they had such rigorous standards for painters in Europe. I don't know if this is statistically significant, but the 3 painters I have hired/known in the midwest US were all some form of heavy alcohol and/or drug users!

Are you sanding between coats and/or using the swedish putty? Just curious to what extent you were taking this paint job. Sounds from the website that, to get the best results, they recommend doing both.

-Tony

TomS · « **Reply #36 on:** 17 Oct 2008, 05:59 pm »

Those are going to be SO classy. I wish I had just a drop of the knowledge and talent some of you true craftsman have. Great work and keep the pictures coming! Tom

fcraven · « **Reply #37 on:** 17 Oct 2008, 06:01 pm »

Quote from: TRADERXFAN on 17 Oct 2008, 05:53 pm

Are you sanding between coats and/or using the swedish putty? Just curious to what extent you were taking this paint job. Sounds from the website that, to get the best results, they recommend doing both.

Sanding between coats, yes, using 320 grit at this point, will use 400 with the final coats. No Swedish putty needed with MDF. Typically you use swedish putty with wood to fill grain in. It is essentially real thick primer. Very good stuff, just not needed in this application. The only place I might use it is to refine (hide) any glue joints.

One more point of interest, this kind of paint is becoming increasingly prohibited because of the VOCs.

WGH · « **Reply #38 on:** 17 Oct 2008, 08:03 pm »

Quote from: fcraven on 17 Oct 2008, 06:01 pm

No Swedish putty needed with MDF....
The only place I might use it is to refine (hide) any glue joints.

I have never used Swedish putty, my favorite putty to use under paint is Bondo (yes, the auto body stuff). Bondo sets hard and is sandable in 15 minutes, sticks like crazy, sands super smooth, and most important - it doesn't need any priming.

Wayne

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #39 on:** 17 Oct 2008, 08:48 pm »

Thanks for the heads up Wayne.
That little tidbit of knowledge you just shared solved some issues I've had on my next speaker building project.
I've been mentally building them for a couple months now.

You 'da man. I owe you one.

Bob