Elsinore DIY Speaker Build

Tyson · « **on:** 7 May 2009, 01:55 am »

Hello all,
I thought I might post some pictures from my "work in progress" build of the Elsinores. These speakers are designed by Joe Rasmussen who is a big contributor over on diyaudio.com and it looked like a fun/interesting project to do. The link to the plans, design goals, and other project details can be found at http://www.customanalogue.com/elsinore/elsinore_index.htm

First, 1 inch (25mm) thick mdf is hard to come by, so I had to buy several sheets of 1/2" (12.5mm) MDF from Home Depot and glue them together.

Lots of Glue:

Lots of Clamps!

Lots of clamps and a great set of tools courtesy of ThomasW (who is an active poster and a moderator over on Hometheaterguide). The tools are great, but Thomas' guidance and expertise was by far the most valuable part of this whole project.

Next day, time to start cutting them to size, courtesy of these saws:

and

and the first pass:

Now, time to start drafting!! This is where Thomas' experience REALLY kicks in, I would have severely screwed this up if I'd been doing it on my own, but with his guidance it was a snap:

Pic of the workspace in Thomas' basement:

Ready for cutouts:

Time to start cutting and routing:

Main Braces are done!

Front panel has bottom sub-panel attached:

Rear View:

Main Front Panel with sub panels attached and routed:

Rear Vew:

Next up, assembly, wiring, and acoustic stuffing. Stay tuned....

Hogg · « **Reply #1 on:** 7 May 2009, 02:31 am »

The project looks great so far

. Did you order the parts from Custom Analogue Audio as well? What do you plan to drive the speakers with? Keep us informed on your project

Jim

Tyson · « **Reply #2 on:** 7 May 2009, 03:03 am »

At first I'll be running it with my DCX 2496 active crossover, mimicing the crossover point and slopes of the passive crossover. This should give me a good idea of the general quality of the drivers, box alignment, and overall sound. Assuming it sounds good (and I've got no reason to think it won't), then I'll build the passive crossover and do the veneer work.

Rocket · « **Reply #3 on:** 7 May 2009, 08:49 am »

Hi Tyson,

What made you chose this particular design? What speaker/tweeters are you using in the design?

Regards

Rod

Soundsgreat · « **Reply #4 on:** 7 May 2009, 08:51 am »

Hi,

Very interesting and impressive !!

Will be keeping a close watch on this thread

! Could you please mention the drivers that you'll be using in this project !

Regards.

Tyson · « **Reply #5 on:** 7 May 2009, 02:49 pm »

The drivers are peerless HDS 810921 tweeter:

and the peerless HDS 830875 Nomex woofer (Four per side):

The top woofers are run full range in an MTM configuration, with the tweeter recessed to time and phase align it, and the bottom 2 woofers are there to "fill in" the bass at 400hz and below. This actually compensates (acoustically) for the normal 6db baffle step loss that every speaker has once the wavelength becomes larger than the width of the baffle.

Net result, from 400hz on up, it acts as a point source, and below 400hz it acts as a line source, with zero loss of efficiency from baffle step loss/compensation. Pretty impressive!

Tyson · « **Reply #6 on:** 7 May 2009, 02:53 pm »

Here is a pic from Joe's site, so you can see what the end result looks like.

Mine will be a light wood, such as birch or bird's eye maple:

Here's a skeleton view of the construction:

Carl V · « **Reply #7 on:** 7 May 2009, 04:14 pm »

Nice design
Nice drivers....looks to be a nice project

Thomas is a Moderator on HTG Home Theater Guide
HTT Home Theater Talk is no longer around. Thomas
was a contributor there.

rajacat · « **Reply #8 on:** 7 May 2009, 04:45 pm »

Tyson,

Is that felt surrounding the tweeter?

-Roy

Tyson · « **Reply #9 on:** 7 May 2009, 05:05 pm »

Yes, the tweeter is recessed almost an inch back into the cabinet to align it with the acoustic center of the woofers, and then 2 layers of felt with different sized cutouts are used to slightly horn-load it, and also to eliminate edge diffraction. Here's a close up:

and

Pez · « **Reply #10 on:** 7 May 2009, 05:19 pm »

Wow, so far so good, must be Thomas doing most of the cutting.

rajacat · « **Reply #11 on:** 7 May 2009, 05:33 pm »

Wow, huge project! It must be nice to have professional grade cabinet tools available. Lookin' good.

Hmmm...I guess I'll try the felt on my speakers. I wonder if a Scotch Brite pad would do

? Thanks for the pics.

-Roy

Pez · « **Reply #12 on:** 7 May 2009, 06:10 pm »

What's up with the routed out part where the tweeter goes? Why no hole there?

Bob in St. Louis · « **Reply #13 on:** 7 May 2009, 06:22 pm »

Is this the same ThomasW that the "main dude" on the Cult of the Infinite Baffled site?

Nice build Tyson, looks like fun!

Bob

JoshK · « **Reply #14 on:** 7 May 2009, 08:28 pm »

Quote from: Bob in St. Louis on 7 May 2009, 06:22 pm

Is this the same ThomasW that the "main dude" on the Cult of the Infinite Baffled site?

Nice build Tyson, looks like fun!

Bob

Indeed, same ThomasW.

Tyson · « **Reply #15 on:** 8 May 2009, 03:27 am »

Quote from: Pez on 7 May 2009, 06:10 pm

What's up with the routed out part where the tweeter goes? Why no hole there?

Nah, routing recess was done first, we'll use a round saw to cut out that middle part.

mgalusha · « **Reply #16 on:** 8 May 2009, 01:16 pm »

Nice. I had wondered where you were going to build these and I recognized Thomas shop in the first picture. Yeah, I am that sick.

Looking forward to hearing these.

mike

Pez · « **Reply #17 on:** 8 May 2009, 09:20 pm »

Tyson,
Is it too late to suggest a design change?

The latest tribute to H1N1 perhaps...

JoshK · « **Reply #18 on:** 9 May 2009, 12:15 am »

Quote from: Pez on 8 May 2009, 09:20 pm

Tyson,
Is it too late to suggest a design change?

The latest tribute to H1N1 perhaps...

We are back to nOrh again?

Tyson · « **Reply #19 on:** 9 May 2009, 02:10 am »

The 4.0's are still one of the few pieces of audio gear I regret selling, to this day.