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DIY AMT Center Channel Speaker

W

wlagarde

New Member
I'm nearing completion of a DIY build for a center channel channel speaker for my home theater. I created this to match my two front channel ESS AMT-1's. The lower section of the cabinet is made from furniture grade walnut plywood (enclosure volume is 0.26cu ft to match the Thiele/Small parameters of the mid-bass driver) and the upper AMT grill frame is made from solid walnut. I purchased a set of ESS AMT-1 Tower crossovers on eBay that I rebuilt per second order Linkwitz-Riley specs for the project. The inductors were rewound and set to 3.2mH using my impedance bridge and I purchased new high quality Dayton Audio metalized polypropylene 12uf caps from www.partsexpress.com. I purchased the ESS AMT Heil on eBay and it turned out to be an 8ohm version of the AMT. The mid-bass driver is a Tangband W5-1611SAF 5" 8ohm unit also purchased from parts express. I crossed over at 800Hz to matched the 800Hz crossover point of my ESS AMT-1s. I also scored an ESS AMT-1 badge on eBay for the project. I still have make the grills but the result so far is outstanding with an excellent center channel match both sonically and aethetically for my ESS AMT-1's.
 

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Great idea and great job! I bet that is one sweet sounding room.

If you have the space, you might try pulling them out a little bit from the wall. I have found that Heils like to have a little room, others may prefer them closer to the wall though. Just something you might want to try.

Stunning. I would bet that you could sell those.
 
Guys thanks for the compliments. I will try pulling them out from the wall. How far away is optimal? or is that just preference?
 
My personal preference is to pull them out a couple of feet or more. Play around with it a bit, you may find a sweet spot or find that it doesn't matter to you. Seriously though, fantastic job. I wish I had one.
 
Nice work!

wlagarde said:
Guys thanks for the compliments. I will try pulling them out from the wall. How far away is optimal? or is that just preference?
Click to expand...


I think I've read that 18-24 inches is optimal. May I also suggest putting the center channel on risers so that the AMT's on all 3 speakers are at the same level?
 
Great Job!!!
I first thought they were new factory builds, then I saw the subsequent photos. I've read very good reviews if the TB "1611"
I've built an AMT knockoff using a TANGBAND 5 incher also. The "2143" Bamboo-Paper cone Full-Range..

Again, VERY NICE WORK......
 

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Handsome work. I'd have never thought to veer from the conventional center channel horizontal layout, but it makes sense - not to my dog, however.

TillyBed.jpg
 
Thanks all for the suggestions and compliments. I love the picture of the dog! Will post pictures of the final product once the grills are installed.
 
essNeff said:
Great Job!!!
I first thought they were new factory builds, then I saw the subsequent photos. I've read very good reviews if the TB "1611"
I've built an AMT knockoff using a TANGBAND 5 incher also. The "2143" Bamboo-Paper cone Full-Range..

Again, VERY NICE WORK......
Click to expand...

Nice work with your builds there. It looks like you pared a dome tweeter with the AMT and I see you mounted the midrange and woofers above and below the tweeters. The wood veneer looks beautiful. Are you pleased with the way they sound?

I almost picked the same TangBand you used but I chose the polypropylene version because of the aluminum pole piece which boasted wider dispersion hoping to provide good coverage for the people seated to the sides of the screen.
 
The Dome acts as a Super Tweeter to cover the 18k rolloff of the AMT 3.
I really like the TB 2143.......It does vocals very well!
Roy Orbison is almost a religious experience.
Nat Cole's voice has a beautifully rich texture to it.
Highly recommended!
 
I finished the grills. Attached a photo of the finished product. Pleased with how the project turned out. It matches the AMT-1s both sonically and cosmetically very nicely.
 

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Very nice. I use something similar for my main speakers so I know the sonics you are achieving. Great woodwork as well. Did you build the cabs or have them built?
 
djnagle - Yes I completely agree. The one area the AMT-1's lack in is the low frequencies but a sub fixes that. I've got a Velodyne sub mated with mine.
 
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