[flyingpoint]

The title says it all --- after lurking for more than a little while, I ordered an x-ls encore kit from Danny for my first build.  I've got basic woodworking skills, but this is truly the first time that I've tackled speakers.

And given the considerable help that all these posts have been to me, I'm going to try to keep a photo set of this build.  If nothing else, it'll give Danny someplace to point folks with a "not like this" warning.

1.  Cut List -- The MDF cut list was fairly straightforward with one small exception.  The cut list mentions 12.5" height for the sides, but after confirming with Danny, that should really be 12".  Grateful that it was long.

2.  Speaker Routing -- Here's where the fun started.  I'll admit that I was a little rusty and made a few rookie mistakes.  Like not clearing the plunge before shutting it off :




And I found some great advice about making sure the piece was screwed down to prevent shifting.  Wish I would have followed it on the first one :




But easily the best advice I received on the board was to spring for a Jasper Circle Guide.  Can't imagine doing these without this :




This was also fairly handy.  Just a simple spreadsheet that gives me the decimal equivalents.




But I've got the backs and fronts now done :

Back


Front



I'm sure there's a billion ways to do this, but I personally found it easier to gang rout things together.  Cut both port holes, cut the back recesses, cut the clear throughs, etc.

Next up, gluing and sanding.  And for the many people who have more experience than I do -- please don't hesitate to weigh in with advice and suggestions.

Thanks.

[Danny Richie]

If you haven't already, don't forget to put a radius on the back side of the woofer hole.

And thanks for posting pics of your build.

[S Clark]

Over the years, my students must have made 40-50 speakers similar to these.  The best ones usually had extra thick front baffles, or incorporated bracing.  Even though it is a small speaker, running a simple 1/2" or 5/8" hardwood dowel rod from mid front baffle to back, and from mid side to side can make a difference.  Cheap, easy, and effective.  Whenever I have varied from Danny's plans, it has been to add more bracing. 

Good luck with your project. It looks good so far. 

Scott

[mpauly]

And I found some great advice about making sure the piece was screwed down to prevent shifting.  Wish I would have followed it on the first one :

Simple solution I've used for years to hold pieces in place for many different reasons is to use double sided tape.  You'd be surprised at how much holding power a simple piece of double sided tape (also commonly referred to as carpet tape) has.  It's cheap, doesn't mark your work piece or work bench, you can cut right through it so no risk of damaging bits/blades and easy to add more for more clamping.

For a speaker faceplate, I'll just double stick tape the MDF to a sacrificial piece that's clamped to my workbench.  Mark your center points and have at it with the Jasper jig and a router.  Tape keeps the faceplate and the hole cutout firmly in place and the sacrificial board below prevents the router bit from damaging my bench.  Separate the two pieces with a putty knife.

Michael

[flyingpoint]

Things are moving along nicely.

3.  Glue-up : - Better than I was anticipating.  Went with Titebond III and lots of clamps.  I skipped screwing the sides, but used a pin nailer just to keep things in register. Clean up sanding also went well.  I'll fill the screw holes once the fronts go on :





4.  Bracing : - For whatever reason, the bracing diagram as part of the instructions wasn't quite..."intuitive" to me and this post from Grimace in February (http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=91928.0) was invaluable.  I also added a few extra battens and sealed everything up tight with silicone caulking.





5.  Router the woofer backs : - Thanks for mentioning this Danny, I had no idea that I should take this step.  Basic round radius :



6. No-Rez : - Only bought one sheet so I had to do a little bit of "patching," but I think I'm set.  I read a lot about different ways to cut this stuff, but a tablesaw worked great for me with a razor to trim where necessary :



Next up --- mounting the cross-over board on the bottom and attaching the front.  (Also need to file any additional "ears" for the tweeters to fit.)

As always, advice and suggestions hugely appreciated.

[grimace]

Looking good. Glad you were helped by my first time. I never finished up that post, but the speakers turned out great. Gave them to a friend and am slowly working my way thru some N3TLs now.

[Danny Richie]

Okay, right where the woofer is going to mount, trim a little of that foam back so that the woofer frame is not forced through it. Everything else looks good. 

[freerider]

Looks like a great job so far IMO!

I'm going through this exact same process, and am at roughly the same stage currently, 'cept my holes look much worse.  I didn't know about the hold-down screw or double sided tape trick, and I made my own jig, but used finish nails as pivot points, which are not strong enough.  Oh-well, lesson learned.

I opted to go with vinyl flooring and foam, rather than no-rez for this build, since this is a starter project for me, and I already spent more cash on wood-working tools than I did for the speaker kit!  (What's with the cost of router bits?!)

Quick question: If I used 1/16" vinyl flooring for the sound deadening layer, what kind of foam should I use for the next "dampening" layer?  I already assume polyfill up to the port opening.

[flyingpoint]

Had to set these aside for a while, but I'm making progress.

7.  Going to admit -- I wasn't looking forward to soldering.  But it ended up being easier than I would have thought, primarily with the help of this website : http://tangentsoft.net/elec/movies/ Easy to follow and perfect for a newbie.



8. Clipped off the bottoms of the solder and mounted the boards into bottoms of the speakers.  Took me a minute to figure out how to predrill the bottom of the speaker for the screws, but ended up using an old fashioned "Yankee push drill."  Also trimmed back the no-rez per Danny's suggestion.




9. Screwed and glued the fronts on the cabinets and used a bit of bondo to fill the screwholes.  Quick sanding of the cabinets and started applying cherry veneer.  Decided to try some of the peel & stick veneer -- really easy to apply and I've read good things about it :



Almost done.




Just put a coat of shellac on the speakers.  I'll sand out a couple of layers, apply some poly and do the final solders and assembly.

The help from this group has been invaluable --- if anyone has any more suggestions, please pass them along.

[S Clark]

Very nicely done. 
Twist your + and - wires to each speaker, solder things, and close it up. 

[Danny Richie]

Hey, looks good.

[eclein]

They look really well done- Congrats!!!

[freerider]

Looks good so far!    I'm looking forward to your finished veneer pictures! 

[signatureaudiolabs]

Looking good. 

[siava1018]

I put norez on the back baffle, did i make a mistake?

[Danny Richie]

I put norez on the back baffle, did i make a mistake?

You did not make a mistake.

[gijogeo]

Very inspiring flyingpoint. Doing an N2X myself as my first diy speakers. Any updates on the build?

[flyingpoint]

Yes --- they're done, up on stands and sound great.  Unfortunately, I've been out of the country for almost a month and haven't had a chance to "wrap up the post."  Heading back on Sunday and I'm hoping to take a few shots.

DEFINITELY learned a lot and I'm toying with the idea of trying a pair of N3s next.....

[flyingpoint]

Give how kind and helpful everyone has been on this string,  I thought I'd do a quick wrap-up.

10.  Final Assembly.  This went almost suspiciously smoothly.  Put a coat of shellac on the raw veneer (gives a more consistent color), followed by a few coats of poly.  Finished up with #0000 steel wool and wax.  Brushed on the poly and in hindsight, I'd probably spray next time.  Tucked a little loose polyfill into the boxes and soldered up the final connections.  If you've been following this post, you'll know that this was the first time I'd soldered anything and with the help of a few websites, it was quite easy.

Three slightly different perspectives of the finished product.  And I'd be remiss if I didn't didn't mention that they sound fantastic. 











Thanks again --- especially to you, Danny.  Your patience and advice is deeply appreciated. 

[corndog71]

Beautiful job!