[rklein]

Hi:

I recently completed the cabinet build for the TRT kit from Rick.  Now mind you I received the SS 9600 tweeters and all other items from Rick back in December of 08.  At that time I also bought the SS 18W/8531G and 18W4531G woofers from a fellow AC'er who had fallen on hard times and needed to abandon his kit build.  Between working on my Mom's house, and my house, my kit build had to take a back seat until recently.

As I stated the cabinets are completed but not yet veneered.  I will post pictures soon... .  The speakers sound great.  I am still getting used to the bass these things produce.  The mids sound really good.  I am coming from a pair of Odyssey Nightengales, which I loved as well.  The Nightengales had startling high's but was lean in the bass department.

I wanted to post a question regarding speaker spikes, cones, etc.  My listening room is in the basement.  I finished it over 10 years ago for my then 16 year old daughter to use (needed her own space... ).  Anyway she now 26 and out teaching, so I made it into my man cave.  There is a concrete slab which I had nailed 2 by 4's flat into.  I then used R-16 insulation in between the joices.  I then installed a floating pergo floor on top of the flat 2 by 4's.  I know I still need to do room treatments, however, my question is what would be the best method for getting the speakers off the floor.  I have looked at Herbie's Audio Lab products as well as Auralex products.  I have also looked at what Parts Express has to offer.  Maybe a granite slab.  I remember Al Wooley had something called Wave Zorbers he offered with his speaker kits.  Obviously, DIY solutions would also be welcome. 

I appreciate any comments or suggestions any of you might have.

Yours,

rklein

[ichillpill]

I'd love to see pics of your TRT!

[rklein]

Funny that you should reply to this thread.  I have had my TRT's up and running for at least 6 months in their unfinished MDF state.  I was digging them so much that I got lazy and just didn't want to take the time to finish them up.  Long story short is that I finally took the drivers back out and plan on finishing them up in the next couple of weeks.  As soon as they are done, I will post some pics.

Thanks,

rklein

[rklein]

Well.... my previous post said I would finish my TRT's in "the next couple of weeks".  I lied!    It took WAY LONGER than I had anticipated.  Anyway, my TRT's are now happily back in my listening room being driven by my new Nightshade Audio NS-60 SE tube amp along with a new Nightshade Audio Beacon III.  All I can say is these ScanSpeak drivers along with Rick's crossover design had made for a very enjoyable totally non-fatiguing sound.  I apologize for not taking pics of my build.  However, I did manage to take a few pics before I broke my back carting these puppies back down in my listening room.

Many thanks to FredT300B, Bill Baker at Response Audio, Hank, Christof, Jim Salk, Icedsounds, Al Wooley and X5nut44 who answered my many PM's and in doing so shared with me their advice in regards to this build. Finally, I wish to thank Rick Craig for an awesome design and his support as well.























Cheers,

Randy

[S Clark]

Congrats on a job very well done!   

[rklein]

Congrats on a job very well done!

Thanks.  My OCD really reared its ugly head during the finishing of the Rosewood veneer.

Randy

[jmc207]

Beautiful speakers! They have that "glow from within" look kinda like the nice tube equipment you have driving them. Bet they sound that way as well. Congratulations.
-John

[rklein]

John:

Thanks for the kind words.

Randy

[poseidonsvoice]

Wow 

Masterful work. It reminds of some of the manufacturers here on AC and betters many of them!

Anand.

[rave959]

Awesome work! 
 


Ian

[rklein]

Anand:

I have seen your handiwork on some of your builds.    Thank you!  I would love to pick your brain just a little about your Buffalo II build...   I am still coming to grips on  spending the amount of cash to do that build right.(PH regs, dual mono, etc...)

Ian:

Thank you

Randy

[dflee]

Randy
You must be very proud! I know I would be. If they sound half as good as your finish, they must be awesome.

Don

[rklein]

Don:

Yep... proud of what you build is a big part of DIY'ing.    Thanks for your comments.

BTW, the TRT's sound very good with SS amps, however, they have a little more depth with tubes.

Randy

[rklein]

Since I did not take pictures of my build, I thought I would go ahead and share my build process. 

Rick’s design is based on Zaph’s ZRT model.  However, Rick designed his own crossovers and his TRT model is a different beast.  In Rick’s words:

“We christened it the "TRT", or Texas Revelator Tower. It's going to be 38" tall and 9" wide. The depth will vary according to whether you want a sealed box (augmented with a subwoofer) or ported (full-range). It will have two Scan-Speak 7" Revelator woofers and a Scan-Speak AirCirc tweeter in a "MMT" format.

 For the DIY's out there you may notice that this is the same driver combination and layout as designed by Zaph Audio; however, this is going to be much different because one woofer is 4 ohms and the other 8. I look forward to the results”.   

Rick’s design  calls for ¾” MDF on the sides, back, top and bottom with 1” MDF for the fronts.  BTW, all MDF is not the same.  I originally went to Home Depot and then to Lowes.  However, a cabinet/wood guy recommended a place called Cleveland Plywood.   The MDF at HD and Lowes is made off shore by China and shipped in.  Cleveland Plywood had MDF/HDF made in Canada with stricter QC.  There was no comparison in the quality and I was able to buy it under my friend’s business tax I.D.  which made it cheaper than HD or Lowes.

I copied a design from speaker builder Lee Taylor.  His speakers feature veneered fronts, tops and backs with black sides.  I wanted a black piano hand rubbed finish for the sides with a South American Rosewood veneer for the fronts, tops/bottoms, and backs.  While Rick’s design calls for the width to be 9”, I decided to cut two extra side panels of ¾ MDF which I then used my router on the front edge using an Ogee Stepped Shear Cut Bit.  This enabled me to glue the side panels on to the original design while only adding 1/8” per side.

For those of you who have this perception of needing a bunch of expensive power tools for a project like this, THERE IS HOPE!!!  It is best to have a table saw for the cutting of your MDF pieces.  However, you could do a fine job using a circular saw with metal guides (Home Depot).  A router is needed along with a  Jasper Jig (Parts Express - $38.00) for cutting the driver holes. 

I chose raw veneer purchased from Certainly Wood as it was much less expensive than going the paperback veneer route.  Both Jim Salk and Christof recommended using a vacuum veneer press, especially with Rosewood.  However, I just couldn’t justify the added expense for a single project.  I ended up using Titebond III along with the iron on method.  Hopefully, the adhesion between the Rosewood veneer and the MDF won’t fail over time.  I learned very quickly to also buy some veneer softener!!!  I chose Waterlox to finish the veneer.  I was able to score four pint cans of the original formula at a hardware store in Cleveland.  It was last of their supply as everything now is VOC compliant.  I applied the Waterlox with a Syntoc brush made by Purdy, but quickly switched to applying the Waterlox with cotton rags purchased at Sherwin Williams.  I just could not get a thin enough coat using the brush.  I sanded in between the 8 coats of Waterlox using 3M 800, 1000, 1500, and 2000 grit sandpaper which can be bought at most auto parts stores.

In finishing the side panels, I almost bought a Porter Cable sprayer for $120 to apply the lacquer.  Now if I plan on building more speakers or other projects I would most definitely invest in a quality sprayer. However, for this single project, my cabinet/wood guy again recommended getting a small sprayer at Home Depot for $5.00.  I ended up having to buy about 8($40) of these little sprayers but it was perfect for spraying 4 panels!!  Those 7 sprayers enabled me to apply 5 coats of black lacquer along with 5 more coats of the top coat lacquer.  Obviously, I needed to cut the lacquer down with Lacquer Thinner.  Below is a picture of this sprayer along with a can of Waterlox. 



I still need to hand rub the side panels out but I will let the panels cure for a couple of months as I am in no hurry to do this.  BTW, if spraying lacquer, DO IT OUTSIDE!!  Or at the very least spread some sheets down on your garage floor and do it inside the garage close to your OPEN garage doors.

I took my time in the build process but it was really enjoyable and since I wear a suit and tie 5 days a week was great therapy as well!

Randy

[cstory]

Those are great looking speakers. It's also nice to see another north eastern Ohioan in the Selah camp.

I'm always thinking about my next Selah speaker pair and the one that keeps coming to mind for me would be the TRT's with the RAAL tweeter. Sort of just adding another woofer to my Grandeur's.

Great Job.

Chuck

[Jazzman53]

Those are gorgeous speakers!  WOW!!

[rklein]

cstory and Jazzman53:

Thanks for your comments.  I will say this...my next purchase will definately be bass traps!!

Either DIY or maybe GIK.  These TRT's can put out great bass in my room.  I never had this type of "problem" with my Odyssey Nightengales.  They were a very nice speaker in their own right but the TRT's are on a different level altogether.

Randy

[satfrat]

You can't beat a loudspeaker that uses high quality parts/drivers, especially Scan-Speak.    I'm a big fan of their drivers, just love the sweet midrange and smooth highs from these drivers in my Odyssey Lorelei's so I can only imagine how good yours are. 
 
 Thanks for sharing the pictures of your finished work. A more detailed pictorial would have been both nice and educational but beggars can't be choosers.   
 
Cheers,
Robin

[rklein]

Robin:

I too wish I had taken pics of my build.  The ScanSpeak drivers used by Klaus in the Lorelies especially the woofer are very good.  The woofer is different than mine.  But I think it is the same driver that Fritz uses in his Carbon 7 speakers that got great comments (along with the Lorelies) at RMAF.  I am always sorry that I didn't spend the extra cash to step up to the Lorelies over the Nightengales.  Don't get me wrong...I enjoyed my Nightengales(still have them) but I think the Lorelies are in a different league.

Randy

[Bill Baker]

They really look sharp Randy. Now as you put some decent hours on them, you can keep us posted on their sound.
 Glad you were able to get back to them after other priorities.