Fleetie wrote:

Wood and me don't get along very well, so constructing speakers
myself is not an option. I know, because I've tried it a few times!

If I were forced to do it again, and had access to the necessary
equipment, I reckon I'd use =10mm thick aluminium plate for the
cabinets, and not wood.

If you can machine 10mm ally plate, you should be able to machine wood.


--
Wally
www.forthsailing.com
www.wally.myby.co.uk

"Wally" wrote
Fleetie wrote:

Wood and me don't get along very well, so constructing speakers
myself is not an option. I know, because I've tried it a few times!

If I were forced to do it again, and had access to the necessary
equipment, I reckon I'd use =10mm thick aluminium plate for the
cabinets, and not wood.

If you can machine 10mm ally plate, you should be able to machine wood.

I can't.

But if I had the equipment to cut aluminium and if I were motivated
to make some speakers, that's what I'd use.

Wood splinters and splits.

Aluminium behaves itself.


Martin
--
M.A.Poyser Tel.: 07967 110890
Manchester, U.K. http://www.fleetie.demon.co.uk

In message , Dave Plowman
writes
In article ,
Jem Raid wrote:
Must be great to know how something is going to sound before you've
even made them. Are you trying to sell the kits or something?
LoL there aren't any kits, most DIY speakers and amps are far superior
to the overengineered and overly priced rip offs that crowd the pages of
the so called 'hifi' magazines.

*Most* diy amps and speakers? Wonder if you'll feel the same after you've
made yours - or will, to the point, others?

e.g.classic milestone DIY amps, the JLH Class A (1969) and what is now
known as the Gainclone (2001), both using ordinary components in a
different and innovative way, and then copied and sold to the punters
for 100 times the price of the components. In the case of the Gainclone
the component price using the very best availaible would be about £100
for a pair including the (2) power supplies; the cost of buying a pair
of Gaincard amps and a pair of power supplies is about £7,000.

I wouldn't dream of defending high priced fancy 'naimed' stuff. However,
at the decent budget end, NAD etc, you'll not even buy the components -
even in bulk - for what they cost.

As regards DIY speakers, few will have the equipment or skills to make
them *look* other than DIY, and poor diy at that.

I'm not knocking making sound equipment. But it's best to make the things
you can't buy at a reasonable price.


But the finish quality of most modern hi-fi speakers is pretty poor.
(With the exception of people like Monitor Audio who do produce superb
cabinets).

I recently bought (cheap, to monitor some pro-audio DACs at work) a pair
of B&W DM601s. Perfectly OK speakers, and I know they are low-cost ones
at a selling price of £300, but the finish quality is appalling. Tatty
black vinyl wrap that looks as if it comes with a £50 system from Tesco.

An amateur, with a bit of care can produce far higher quality cabinets.
--
Chris Morriss

In message , Fleetie
writes
"Wally" wrote
Fleetie wrote:

Wood and me don't get along very well, so constructing speakers
myself is not an option. I know, because I've tried it a few times!

If I were forced to do it again, and had access to the necessary
equipment, I reckon I'd use =10mm thick aluminium plate for the
cabinets, and not wood.

If you can machine 10mm ally plate, you should be able to machine wood.

I can't.

But if I had the equipment to cut aluminium and if I were motivated
to make some speakers, that's what I'd use.

Wood splinters and splits.

Aluminium behaves itself.


Martin

But 20mm MDF can be machined to high accuracy. It doesn't splinter, but
I suggest you don't breath in the dust produced when machining it!
--
Chris Morriss

In message , Chris Morriss
writes
In message , Dave Plowman
writes
In article ,
Jem Raid wrote:
Must be great to know how something is going to sound before you've
even made them. Are you trying to sell the kits or something?
LoL there aren't any kits, most DIY speakers and amps are far superior
to the overengineered and overly priced rip offs that crowd the pages of
the so called 'hifi' magazines.

*Most* diy amps and speakers? Wonder if you'll feel the same after you've
made yours - or will, to the point, others?

e.g.classic milestone DIY amps, the JLH Class A (1969) and what is now
known as the Gainclone (2001), both using ordinary components in a
different and innovative way, and then copied and sold to the punters
for 100 times the price of the components. In the case of the Gainclone
the component price using the very best availaible would be about £100
for a pair including the (2) power supplies; the cost of buying a pair
of Gaincard amps and a pair of power supplies is about £7,000.

I wouldn't dream of defending high priced fancy 'naimed' stuff. However,
at the decent budget end, NAD etc, you'll not even buy the components -
even in bulk - for what they cost.

As regards DIY speakers, few will have the equipment or skills to make
them *look* other than DIY, and poor diy at that.

I'm not knocking making sound equipment. But it's best to make the things
you can't buy at a reasonable price.


But the finish quality of most modern hi-fi speakers is pretty poor.
(With the exception of people like Monitor Audio who do produce superb
cabinets).

I recently bought (cheap, to monitor some pro-audio DACs at work) a
pair of B&W DM601s. Perfectly OK speakers, and I know they are
low-cost ones at a selling price of £300, but the finish quality is
appalling. Tatty black vinyl wrap that looks as if it comes with a £50
system from Tesco.

An amateur, with a bit of care can produce far higher quality cabinets.

(No not 601s, they are of course DM602s!)
--
Chris Morriss

Fleetie wrote:

If you can machine 10mm ally plate, you should be able to machine
wood.

I can't.

But if I had the equipment to cut aluminium and if I were motivated
to make some speakers, that's what I'd use.

Cutting it isn't the whole story - you have to join the bits together and
make holes, and that's machining.


Wood splinters and splits.

Aluminium behaves itself.

MDF also behaves itself. Are you aware that the tools used to work metal are
excellent for precise working of wood?


--
Wally
www.forthsailing.com
www.wally.myby.co.uk

"Dave Plowman" wrote in message
...
In article ,
Jem Raid wrote:
Well, I suppose you could build the room round the horn...

Or tweak the horn, especially when you have made it yourself, which is
one of the fundamentals of DIY HiFi, the other is that you get "high
end" stuff for peanuts.

You and I obviously have a different definition of 'high end' when it
comes to sound quality.

Why not make a pair yourself it's not going to cost much and the results
might just be astounding!

Folded horn speakers are anything but new. And 'ye canna change the laws
of physics, captin'.

I would agree that folded horns are not new but then neither are boxes,
folded horns because of the design sound better than boxes. Clear and open
as opposed to muffled and sad when you listen to them side by side :-)

J
PS sorry Dave in a hurry this am sent this to your email by mistake.

--
*Hang in there, retirement is only thirty years away! *

Dave Plowman London SW 12
RIP Acorn

Dear Martin,

One of the other posts, in reply to Dave has got a picture of the MDF I
bought this morning.

It cost me £18.80.

J

ps thanks for the supportive comments, may I add that the DIY forums are
totally unlike this one and may also I ask you to read some of the posts on
Amp Chip DIY: http://ampchipdiy.com/phpBB2/viewforum.php?f=2 absolutely
fascinating and they fall over themselves with advice for newcomers.

"Chris Morriss" wrote in message
news
In message , Dave Plowman
writes
In article ,
Jem Raid wrote:
Must be great to know how something is going to sound before you've
even made them. Are you trying to sell the kits or something?
LoL there aren't any kits, most DIY speakers and amps are far superior
to the overengineered and overly priced rip offs that crowd the pages
of
the so called 'hifi' magazines.

*Most* diy amps and speakers? Wonder if you'll feel the same after you've
made yours - or will, to the point, others?

e.g.classic milestone DIY amps, the JLH Class A (1969) and what is now
known as the Gainclone (2001), both using ordinary components in a
different and innovative way, and then copied and sold to the punters
for 100 times the price of the components. In the case of the Gainclone
the component price using the very best availaible would be about £100
for a pair including the (2) power supplies; the cost of buying a pair
of Gaincard amps and a pair of power supplies is about £7,000.

I wouldn't dream of defending high priced fancy 'naimed' stuff. However,
at the decent budget end, NAD etc, you'll not even buy the components -
even in bulk - for what they cost.

As regards DIY speakers, few will have the equipment or skills to make
them *look* other than DIY, and poor diy at that.

I'm not knocking making sound equipment. But it's best to make the things
you can't buy at a reasonable price.


But the finish quality of most modern hi-fi speakers is pretty poor.
(With the exception of people like Monitor Audio who do produce superb
cabinets).

I recently bought (cheap, to monitor some pro-audio DACs at work) a pair
of B&W DM601s. Perfectly OK speakers, and I know they are low-cost ones
at a selling price of £300, but the finish quality is appalling. Tatty
black vinyl wrap that looks as if it comes with a £50 system from Tesco.

An amateur, with a bit of care can produce far higher quality cabinets.
--
Chris Morriss

Dear Chris,

Your coments bear out my experience in engineering, the people who do know
how to do things well are all over 50 and most of them want to or do get out
of it, creating a skill shortage despite the shrinkage of manufacturing.
This obviously spills over into other industries as well, it's a shame and
it looks as though the DIY'ers will have to carry the skills as best they
can.

J

This is the last comment I will make if anyone wants to contact me please
email me direct.

I have found the discourse to be very interesting and it has served to
re-inforce my opinion of DIY Hi-Fi.

Put simply, where the DIY'ers start the trade will follow, history shows
this to be the case.

J