Introducing the LE14a Deluxe EconoWaves!

[dodog]

Another ewave thread? Yes, but please indulge me.

Over a year ago my buddy Bryan talked me into selling my Klipsch and making some ewaves. Being naive, I jumped in. Luckily Bryan had some cheap Barzilay cabs for me. Of course, the cabs needed work, I needed woofers, compression drivers, waveguides, crossover boards, money...... Here's what I started with (note the water stains on top):

Being totally lost, I skulked into the ewave thread and found out that people there were really nice and helpful. I caught skywave-rider's ear, we discussed some options and decided to chart unknown territories. Who wants to build something that's been done and tested when you can mix and match and hope for the best? I was able to source a pair of refoamed LE14a woofers and, after much discussion, it was decided that I would take the top-end off of the Deluxe model, the bottom-end off of jackgiff's LE14a. Here's the franken-schematic:

I quickly set to work in gathering crossover parts and secured some boards from wiredbecker. I decided to splurge on the 1% Daytons and built my crossovers:

I originally ordered the QSC waveguides but didn't calculate their size correctly. They were far too big for my cabs and I really didn't want to have to cut them. skywave-rider suggested Wayne Parham's (at the time) new H290C waveguides and he was kind enough to test some B&C DE250 compression drivers, using my crossovers, with the H290C. The measurements can be seen here:

http://www.audiokarma.org/forums/showpost.php?p=6113189&postcount=14769


I quickly realized that I don't have any real woodworking tools and would be reliant on the help of others. I figured that Bryan got me into this mess, he had an ultimate set of tools, so he could make me some baffles. The biggest problem was that winter was fast approaching and Bryan lives 3-4 hours away. Baffles would have to be cut to fit AND I wanted the waveguide and woofers to be flush-mounted. I'd have to wait until Spring for the baffles so I set to work on the cabs. I sanded them down to raw veneer, used oxalic acid (wood bleach) on the tops to minimize the water stains, applied 3 coats of tung oil (this stuff is amazing (no affiliation): http://www.realmilkpaint.com/oil.html) and 2 coats of walnut colored Howard's "Citrus Shield" paste wax (no affiliation: http://www.howardproducts.com/prod-citrus-shield.php). Here's the empty, finished cabs:

 

[dodog]

I stole Duffinator's idea and made a 2x4 frame on the bottom of the cabs. I went 70's home-muscle style and filled tin cans with concrete mix, added a large bolt and when they cured, I mounted them to the frame. This partly helps offset the tippiness of the fronts AND it added mass to the cabs. I won't be near an IKEA any year soon so I had to compromise on the legs. I decided on some tapered wood legs that I first coated with tung oil. After 4 coats it just wasn't dark enough so I used some mahogany stain to bring out the grain and darken them up. For whatever reason I didn't take pics of the final legs but here they are with the first coat of tung:

I knew that the final cabs would be quite heavy (they feel to be at least 60 lbs.) so I wasn't worried about using wood over steel. I occasionally see posts where people speculate that the cab wouldn't be coupled well enough with wood legs or some other such nonsense. These things are stout and they don't move an iota when the music is playing.


Spring came and I got my baffles! Nothing too exciting, just some shots of them being primed:

I ended up painting the baffles with some VHT (GM Satin) black engine enamel. I knew that I wouldn't be able to cook them at 200 degrees as suggested so I opted to go with about 6 coats. Final pics are further down.

Each cab has a vertical cross brack, mounted with wood screws, using a Kreg jig. These braces intersect with another brace that runs from baffle to back of cab and the tops and sides are coupled with angled braces. Again, I didn't take any pics so you'll have to use your imagination. I wanted to use ports on the cabs and didn't want insulation to be chuffing out so I opted for Bonded Logic denim insulation. It's really easy to tear and sticks well with 3M adhesive spray. I believe I borrowed this idea from dumptruck. Here are all the components mounted, with the cabs stuffed. The back panel has all the stuffing as well and you can see the port tubes (heavy-duty 4" mailer tubes). With some help from dumptruck I was able to model my woofers in WinISD and "tuned" the cabs to 33 Hz. Some pics of the stuffing, tubes and final crossovers (peeking out) as well as the backside of the assembled cabs:

 

[dodog]

Before I finish this off I want to give some thanks in a somewhat logical order.

Zilch - The man who helped start this all. I wish I had spent more time in the speaker forum when he was still around as I've found his old posts to be priceless. I hope my build is in the spirit of what he started and that he would have approved.

Wayne Parham - His white paper is a great read and his waveguide is amazing. Wayne doesn't get enough credit for his work.

wiredbecker - Keeping the ewave spirit and project alive. His boards are top-notch and his instructions are so helpful that even this idiot could follow them.

Zonker92, Duffinator, similost, djnagle - Each of your projects are beautiful and inspirational. I think I "borrowed" ideas from you all. Thanks for advice and support that you've given in threads and PMs.

dumptruck - His help with WinISD and the pics of his build have been invaluable. I only understand about 1/3 of what he offers but I hope that I've gotten the gist.

jackgiff - Thanks for the advice on the crossover and for your work on the LE14a schematics.

skywave-rider - His extreme patience and willingness to answer my stupid questions made this whole project that much more bearable. The measurements of the drivers on my crossovers was just a great thing to do. I can't say enough nice things about this guy.

bryana - I saved the best for last. Bryan is a helluva a guy. He doesn't post much even though he's always watching. Bryan would give you the shirt off his back to help you and never asks for a thing in return. A model AK'er. Thanks for the push to get these started and to convince me to get rid of those Klipsch. Your work on the baffles is just awesome. Your advice on stains, cuts, etc. also made this all that much easier. Now get to work and get my Trek back to riding condition!

*If I've forgotten anyone, it's NOT personal. I have a terrible memory and I really should have taken notes over the last year. Everyone in the ewave thread is great and extremely helpful.

OK, here's some *final* pics. Yes, there is some rope-caulk peeking out that I've since removed. Yes, the pictures are crooked. Yes, the EQ does look it would sound terrible but it's really just on for eye-candy and not in the signal chain (I like visuals). Yes, that is two copies of "Layla", I'm in the process of culling the herd. I had thought about repurposing the grills but I really dig the enamel (and no, it doesn't look as strange and shiny as it does in the last pic). Both woofers are mounted the same way (the motors are in the exact same position). It wasn't until I got them inside that I noticed that one woofer has the black striping in a horizontal position on the basket, the other in a vertical. Strange, but zero effect on the sound. Here ya go:

 

[dodog]

So, how do they sound?

AMAZING!

These are polite, but they punch, if that makes sense. The soundstage is W-I-D-E and the separation of instruments is amazing. They put out a lot of bass (I'm afraid that they'll piss off my wife who is usually in the room upstairs) but they aren't boomy. I need to tweak the L-pads a bit and possibly mess with where they sit but for now they're just barely toed in and they sound great. I've played about 5 Ry Cooder CD's so far and they sound like he's right in the room. Instrumentals shine on these. I've heard little things like people talking, breathing, picks hitting strings, etc. that I've never heard before. It's eery. Cymbals and percussion are just crystal-clear and there is no sizzle or fatigue. I thought I'd heard good speakers before but nothing near this league. I can't imagine ever going back to vintage, even if it's at garage-sale prices. I think I'm in love. Why the hell did I wait so long to do this?

 

[Vaughn]

Awesome, I built this combo a while back with the le14a crossover on bottom and deluxe crossover on top. Fantastic sounding but I didn't have those beautiful Barzilay cabinets to put it in and they were just too big for my small home.

 

[DCinDC]

Congrats! Those are nice!

 

[I.R.Brainiac]

I could live with those...very sweet.

 

[donprice]

Got to love the Barzilays. Beautiful.

Crank it up and enjoy :thmbsp:

 

[RS Steve]

Very cool, congrats! :thmbsp:

 

[Zonker92]

Fantastic! I love them! And that veneer looks terrific. I bet they sound great. :thmbsp:

Do you have any photos of the undersides? I'm trying to understand how you mounted the legs.

 

[audiozaz]

These look great man! :thmbsp:

Try a bit more toe-in sometimes, just enough so that the two speakers "cross beams" right before your head. I think Earl Geddes and/or Wayne Parnham recommend this. I've found that I like it better this way on my TD15M/QSC speaker.

az

 

[Gang-Twanger]

For someone who doesn't know a whole lot about woodworking and speaker-building, you did one hell of a job with those. They look fantastic! Killer job on those veneers (I need to do more work to the veneers on my W90's... The veneers are in excellent shape for a pair of 50 year old speakers, but I know they can look a lot better... I only cleaned them and threw on a coat of Howards F&W, but I was still expecting better results).

By the way, I see you have Blue Cheer's "Vincebus Eruptum" LP. I have one of those plus the Hendrix AYE LP (Actually, I have a good 90% of the albums you have on that wall... Probably 60% of them on vinyl and the rest on one format or another... I'm a big fan of '60's and '70's music). I always dug that Blue Cheer cover.

 

[saltwater]

Nice job. Glad to see you got them done. I got vacation in November, may have to come hear them.

 

[dodog]

Nice job. Glad to see you got them done. I got vacation in November, may have to come hear them.

Shoot me a PM and let me know when you'll be in town. You're welcome anytime.

 

[dodog]

These look great man! :thmbsp:

Try a bit more toe-in sometimes, just enough so that the two speakers "cross beams" right before your head. I think Earl Geddes and/or Wayne Parnham recommend this. I've found that I like it better this way on my TD15M/QSC speaker.

az

I will try different placement at some point. The only real limiting factor is that my wife is my helper and she's about 5'4", 100 lb. Just moving these the 20 feet from the garage to where they are now was really tough for her. I'll give it a week or so before I get her to help again.

 

[dodog]

Fantastic! I love them! And that veneer looks terrific. I bet they sound great. :thmbsp:

Do you have any photos of the undersides? I'm trying to understand how you mounted the legs.

I do have pics somewhere but I couldn't find them. I started with a rectangular 2x4 frame, added a third rail bisecting the middle (think two boxes). The legs screw into little welded plates, similar to these:

http://assets4.designsponge.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/04/table3.jpg

I just mounted the plates on the corners of the frames, three of the holes are screwed in, the 4th is floating inside the frame.

That really is a terrible description and I'll try to remedy it with pics.

 

[Copa1934]

Oh my!

Another ewave thread? Yes, but please indulge me.....

Indulge? Dude you rock!

:ntwrthy::ntwrthy::ntwrthy::ntwrthy:

I love it when "vintage" cabinets are saved from an untimely death and re-purposed. Way cool!

With e-wave there is no end to the possibilities. I have a set of Heath Cabs that, if my buddy doesn't take them off my hands, I might e-wave.

Congrats on a nice job!

 

[MCM_Fan]

Wow, those look GREAT and your timing is perfect! I have two sets of mid century speaker cabinets that need drivers and crossovers. Originally, I was going to just move the drivers and rebuilt crossovers from an old set of Infinity Qbs into the smaller cabs and do the same with the drivers and crossovers from a set of Diatone DS-73Ds for the larger cabinets.

Here's a couple photos of the two sets of cabinets:

You can see more images and detailed descriptions here and here.

I really need to get better photos of both cabinets. The downstairs cabinets are amazing and match the center console (they are part of a set). When I took them apart, I was amazed to see beautiful book-matched walnut veneer on the INSIDE of the cabinets!

But then, over the holiday weekend, I discovered the massive econowave thread...

For the past several days, I've been obsessed with econowaving both sets of cabinets. I've been looking at many different wave guide/CD and woofer options. My plans, for now, are basic econowaves in the smaller cabinets upstairs and LE14A econowaves in the larger cabinets downstairs.

The front baffle of the smaller cabinets is only 20.5" tall, so it will be a tight fit and nothing bigger than the standard econowave will really work.

Thankfully, the downstairs cabinets have a taller baffle that should just accommodate an LE14A with a small wave guide.

So, thanks to your inspiration, I plan to proceed. Before I do, I have few questions (I hope you don't mind).

What are the internal dimensions/volume of your cabinets? What are the dimensions of the front baffles? Did you make any adjustments to the standard LE14A crossovers due to cabinet volume? What are the dimensions of your ports?

What are the dimensions of Wayne's H290C waveguides? Do they accept screw on or bolt on compression drivers? Again did you make any adjustments to the crossovers for these specific waveguides?

Thanks again for the inspiration and any help you can offer. I know I have a LOT of work to do, but I can't wait to get mid century econowaves both upstairs and downstairs.

 

[Copa1934]

Wow...

Wow, those look GREAT and your timing is perfect! I have two sets of mid century speaker cabinets that need drivers and crossovers. Originally, I was going to just move the drivers and rebuilt crossovers from an old set of Infinity Qbs into the smaller cabs and do the same with the drivers and crossovers from a set of Diatone DS-73Ds for the larger cabinets....

Awesome furniture! And matching, era, clock, too cool.

 

[SleeperSupra]

I used to have that same subwoofer.