The FrankenZilch Econo-Horn: Now in Stereo!

[wilberforce]

My father always says that a wise man knows his strengths and weaknesses and chooses his battles accordingly

Sometimes the best monies spent are the ones where you default to the pros and really get the job done right. I've always felt that if you don't possess the chops or the time to pull it off in the manner that it deserves, going that route sure makes sense to me.

That a pretty complex design and deserved the full and not half ass effort. It appears that you got the full ass on this one.

Beautiful job! I'm sure your incredibly pleased. :thmbsp:

Exactly. As much as I love DIY, I am no carpenter, and this cabinet is complicated. But this was the best of both worlds; I deferred to experts like the cabinetmaker and Zilch, but also had fun in finishing them, soldering up the crossovers, putting them all together. I am more than pleased, because they sound monstrous. They take up quite a bit of real estate in the room, but it's worth it!

 

[wilberforce]

Agree 'cept that the buy thread is in Barter Town and the OP isn't a subscriber. Could be :yes: but would need to do it soon as the group badge buy ends 4/4 I believe.


wilberforce, those are very cool. If I had available corners I would build those.

Thanks! I should be a subscriber after all this time, and will get around to that one of these days soon. But I don't know that these are really official econowaves--they've got the modified econo xo, and the waveguide, but beyond that, the similarity ends. And in the end, they weren't exactly "econo." That fifty bucks I spent for the first black cab turned out to be the most expensive fifty bucks I ever spent!

And by the way, although these are 'corner' cabinets, they don't sit in corners in this room. I put the old one in a corner to see how it sounded, and the bass was too much--the corner walls became part of the horn, and this room is too small for that. In fact, my next project is going to be a couple of DIY bass traps.

 

[clydeselsor]

Beautiful job!

 

[tx_polkhead]

I have to ask, are you in the Dallas area? I think I saw that enclosure on CL, maybe last year???

 

[doucanoe]

Exactly. As much as I love DIY, I am no carpenter, and this cabinet is complicated. But this was the best of both worlds; I deferred to experts like the cabinetmaker and Zilch, but also had fun in finishing them, soldering up the crossovers, putting them all together. I am more than pleased, because they sound monstrous. They take up quite a bit of real estate in the room, but it's worth it!

Some of us fortunate ones (including myself from time to time) have taken the same approach around these parts utilizing the talents of AK'er ejfud. The mans got some serious furniture grade woodworking chops and the shop to make it happen.

I'll design it, build my crossovers and whatnot but if I really want it too look purdy, really purdy, you can bet I'm calling Gary :yes:


RC

 

[WhiteSE]

awesomeness!!!!

 

[wilberforce]

I have to ask, are you in the Dallas area? I think I saw that enclosure on CL, maybe last year???

No, I'm in Southern California.

 

[donprice]

Sweet! Just add a little birch (?) iron-on veneer banding on those exposed edges....

How do you keep the SO from using the bracing in the horn section for knick-knack shelves?

 

[bakes]

Sweet! Just add a little birch (?) iron-on veneer banding on those exposed edges....

How do you keep the SO from using the bracing in the horn section for knick-knack shelves?

My guess is one good organ track and she'll see the Hummells dancing and that'll be the last of that.

Those look awesome - bet they project a soundfield into the middle of the room in a big way. Very very nicely done!:tresbon:

 

[4343]

Standard econowave, but with a few different components:

Here's a cut and paste of the parts list, but this might not be the final version--we changed a resistor and a cap in the tweaking stage. it's all in the diyaudio thread.

PE Parts list:

L1 = 255-040
L2 = 266-552
C1 = 027-422
C2 = 027-430
C3 = 027-412
R1 = 004-16
R2 = 004-12.5*
LP1 = 260-255
Terminals = 091-1247

*Non-standard for the driver/waveguide combo

Not sure what the part numbers are without looking 'em up on PE, but the final parts change according to Zilch:

"C3 = 3.9uf, R2 = 30 Ohms. Try that.... "

And here is the result:
http://www.diyaudio.com/forums/multi-way/169755-what-would-you-do-cabinet-16.html#post2291492

 

[wilberforce]

Sweet! Just add a little birch (?) iron-on veneer banding on those exposed edges....

That's what I was originally going to do, but the cabinetmaker suggested sanding and finishing the exposed edges for a more mid-century look, and I agreed when I saw it. It's expensive no-void Russian birch, and I like the way the stripes of the plys look when finished.

How do you keep the SO from using the bracing in the horn section for knick-knack shelves?

That's easy! She doesn't live here anymore. Three foot tall, 150 pound speaker cabinets probably have a WAF rating of -.02.

 

[hypertone]

Those are amazing!! :thmbsp:

 

[wilberforce]

Those look awesome - bet they project a soundfield into the middle of the room in a big way. Very very nicely done!:tresbon:

Thanks, and thanks to everyone for the compliments!

Yes, they project a HUGE soundfield even at medium volume. It fills the whole room--close your eyes, and there are no speakers, just big, extremely clean music. The Sherwood tube amp is a great match for them--it has more than enough power at 36 watts a side to get STUPID loud. :yes: It's by far the best system I've ever had at home.

 

[donprice]

That's easy! She doesn't live here anymore. Three foot tall, 150 pound speaker cabinets probably have a WAF rating of -.02.

Yeah, I have a JBL B460 sub that supports a little christmas village scene each year. That and assorted family photos and big stupid candle. One of these days I'll crank it up see if I can use it to knock the ceramic dolls off the top of the entertainment center.:thmbsp:

 

[bwaslo]

I like the exposed plywood edges, too.

 

[wilberforce]

Beautiful work WF. Nice to see the completion of your distinctive two channel system. Now what about a home theater rig?

I missed this earlier, Chris. Wouldn't these be cool with five of them? I'm not sure you'd need a subwoofer, if you did, it would just be for the rumbles, these things have bass for days.

Unfortunately, or maybe for preserving what's left of my hearing, fortunately, I don't have the space nor could I justify spending the dough. Don't give me ideas, though... :scratch2:

 

[4343]

I missed this earlier, Chris. Wouldn't these be cool with five of them? I'm not sure you'd need a subwoofer, if you did, it would just be for the rumbles, these things have bass for days.

Unfortunately, or maybe for preserving what's left of my hearing, fortunately, I don't have the space nor could I justify spending the dough. Don't give me ideas, though... :scratch2:

Here's an idea, 3 for the front and something smaller, like, I don't know, 4311's maybe for the rear...:thmbsp:

 

[wilberforce]

Here's an idea, 3 for the front and something smaller, like, I don't know, 4311's maybe for the rear...:thmbsp:

Hmm, I just DO happen to have a pair of 4311s around... The original black cab could be the center, I'd just need to replace its guts...

Don't get me started! :sigh: That'll have to wait for a bigger room, and that particular upgrade may be a ways off...

 

[4343]

Hmm, I just DO happen to have a pair of 4311s around... The original black cab could be the center, I'd just need to replace its guts...

Don't get me started! :sigh: That'll have to wait for a bigger room, and that particular upgrade may be a ways off...

Well, if you happen to run across a pair of the QSC waveguides, I'm in the same boat, looking for a single...