[irishpatrick33]

First off I would like to thank everybody for their help. If it wasn't for people on this forum and others, I would have never been able to accomplish the task. That being said, the project took me about 6 months longer than it should have. There are many reasons it took so long, which I'll explain later.

So without further ado...... I bring you my creation.

[irishpatrick33]

The assembly:


What's that?

[irishpatrick33]

Those are the strangest looking speaker stands ever?




Dynamat

[irishpatrick33]

WTF? Yes, I think I have built the first FULL RANGE SINGLE DRIVER OMNIDIRECTIONAL OPEN BAFFLE.

[irishpatrick33]

Still seems like it's missing something?

No I wasn't talking about wire connections!


That's more like it!

[irishpatrick33]

Finished product

However, I did turn the driver 180 degrees so the speaker wire falls straight down.

[irishpatrick33]

Construction:

[Russell Dawkins]

Interesting configuration. I'm wondering if you get any bass or even lower mids at all, since it looks like your seated ear height is pretty much on the null zone.

[irishpatrick33]

So there you have it.

What quite possibly is the first FULL RANGE SINGLE DRIVER OMNIDIRECTIONAL OPEN BAFFLE SPEAKER. And it should have been done long ago!

I think most of the pictures speak for themselves. EJ Jordan JX92S drivers, dynamat, solid wood balls, wood rod, steel bars (2 sizes), #5 hardness floor tile and various small hardware.

I originally wanted to make the baffles out of wood. But the Jordan's magnet is HUGE, and the basket is tiny. So I could not mount it to a baffle that was thick. That canceled out the wood idea. So I chose floor tile instead. Not a bad idea, if I told the guy cutting the tile the right place to cut. I told him to stay inside of the circle I marked. HUGE MISTAKE! I literally spent a month using a dremel tool grinding down the cutout for the driver. You would not believe how hard it is to grind this material down. I have no clue how the guy at the tile store even cut this stuff. He did an amazing job.

So now I had baffles, but needed a base/stand. So I bought a bunch of metal rod and built a brace to weld it all together. I once again handed the duties off to a qualified person to do in their free time. It took a month or so for them to get around to it, but it was worth the wait. He did a real nice job.

So then I filled in the honeycomb like structure on the back of the tile with tile patch. I sanded everything down. Unfortunately, I slipped a bunch of times with the dremel and had to paint the face of the tile too.

I also butchered the drivers. I talked to the people at EJ Jordan. They strongly suggested that I did not install a phase plug. However I had little choice. How else would I support the deflecting ball? They suggested I use a heat gun and warm it up and could simply remove the dust cap. Well, I tried it. But I got scared very early. After 2 minutes with a heat gun at close range I decided it was too long to wait for the dustcap the slide off and started prying. Well, I slipped and put dents in the cone. Very minor stuff, but should have been avoided. I waited longer the second time around and the dustcap came off easily. You really have to heat these things up big time for the glue to release.

[irishpatrick33]

Interesting configuration. I'm wondering if you get any bass or even lower mids at all, since it looks like your seated ear height is pretty much on the null zone.

I do.

I based the height off of the Duevel Planets. I also copied their driver to deflector ratio. Seated ear level seems to be the sweet spot. When I stand the difference is noticeable. Mind you, it's not a Maggy type difference. But I expected the omnidirectional aspect to make listening pretty even regardless of listening position.

I have listened for about 20 minutes. I used Lord of the Rings to test the low frequency. I was disappointed. Don't get me wrong, it was there. But it's apparent I need EQ. I have no EQ yet.

I also tried Nelly Furtado's Say It Right. I was amazed. BASS! Now I have no clue why the LOTR clip did not produce acceptable bass and Say It Right did. I'm guessing it's because Say It Right has brief intermittent bass. Where as the dungeon scene in LOTR is non stop bass. I think that scene is putting way too much on the drivers plate.

I am going to assume these speakers will be much better for music rather than movies. With proper EQ, I have no doubt the bass will make me happy. I doubt they will ever move a lot of air. But I don't need a whole lot LF either. The nightmare is going to be toeing these puppies.

[irishpatrick33]

So somebody might be wondering... I wonder what a nutcase like this uses for source, speaker wire, and amplification?



A Nintendo Wii of course!

No I am not kidding. A little homebrew software and music and movies are at the ready. That is a Virtue Audio 2 amp. Epson projector. And to top it all off Cat 5 ethernet caple as speaker wire.

The economy sucks!

[opnly bafld]

Do you notice a difference with and w/o the ball?

Lin

[irishpatrick33]

Do you notice a difference with and w/o the ball?

Lin

Haven't tried it yet. I literally listened for 20 minutes and got all Dr. Frankenstein like and ran to the computer to say "IT'S ALIVE!".

I should mention that I ran a horrible control experiment. Everything is new for me: amplifier, speaker wire, source, etc..

I'll get back to you when I figure things out.

[Bob in St. Louis]

When you're saying you're getting LF, how much are you talking about.
Also, how much more do you think you'll get with EQ?

Interesting design, very creative.
When you say you're going to adjust the toe...........um.........  ........ 
Ya lost me there.

Bob

[opnly bafld]

When you're saying you're getting LF, how much are you talking about.
Also, how much more do you think you'll get with EQ?

Maybe LF stands for "light frequencies" in this case.
To answer your ? Bob let me ask a question.
Before or after it blows up?

IP33 I think you should be looking at bass augmentation as soon as the funds allow.

Lin

[Bob in St. Louis]

  

[irishpatrick33]

When you're saying you're getting LF, how much are you talking about.
Also, how much more do you think you'll get with EQ?

Interesting design, very creative.
When you say you're going to adjust the toe...........um.........  ........ 
Ya lost me there.

Bob

Bob

I was speaking of toe-in. But due to the design there are more variables than just toe-in. I have to figure out where the speakers should be located, then I have to figure out which way to direct them (360 degrees of possibility).

Getting more LF? As I mentioned before, I don't need a lot of it. I am in the minority there I presume. Even if I was of the same mindset, my townhouse neighbors wouldn't like me too much. But I still need adequate bass. To give you some idea of my personal tastes, I was perfectly happy with the bass from my old Maggies. That being said, the speakers are capable of creating quality bass. It will never shake anything, I can tell you that much for sure. The problem right now is that high frequencies are there long before the lows and mids. I can get the quality bass, but I have to turn the volume up a little bit. I look to EQ as a way pull back the highs a bit.

The speakers play surprisingly loud being powered by the 40wpc T amp. It's all completely worthless until I have the dial 1/4 the way up. Beyond 1/4 the difference in quality seems to increase exponentially. Music starts becoming fuller and less lean. The speakers seem very neutral. I tend to think these speakers have a lot in common with my old Maggies. The Maggies were power hungry, neutral, and light on bass. These speakers are all those things. But I am not sure if they compare with the Maggies soundstage. But it's a horrible comparison considering I had Manley Mahi monoblocks powering the Maggies.

Still it's very early to take away any real impressions. The amplifier supposedly takes 100 hours to break in. Not sure how long the drivers will take, but I am sure it's longer than a few hours.

[lonewolfny42]

That sure is different....  

Good luck with the new speakers irishpatrick33....

[Mariusz]

To love it or hate it is nobody's call....... unless, you build those for our (AC) approval.
What we (I) think doesn't really matter as long as it makes you listen to music and enjoy it in the same time. Speakers I own are for my own pleasures and listening preferences and not to pleased the masses. As to creativeness and effort, you score points to be sure.
Adding sub like REL Cube or building OB sub of your own would elevate the WOW factor and listening experience.

Cool project and happy listening

Mariusz

[srb]

I hate it.  And I love it.
 
Enjoy!
 
Steve