dpg

*** MODS, if you're reading this, is it possible for you to change the thread title to "RS150 MTM translam build (formerly Tritrix translam)" or something? Just so folks won't get confused as I didn't use the tritrix. Thanks. ***

Yes, I'm doing all of the routing myself, which makes me 100% insane. When I first saw the Magico Minis, I knew I wanted to do a translam. The Minis are crazy expensive and I’m looking for something on the other end of the price scale. This is to be a 5 speaker setup for my family room, about 80 % home theater, 20% music. After much research, I went ahead with Curt’s tritrix. The mains and center are to be MTM, while the surrounds will be MT.

I ordered 4 sheets of 4×8 Baltic birch plywood (B/BB). Doing a translam, I suppose the most sane thing to do would be taking it to get CNC’d, but I had a hard time finding a local shop with a CNC willing to cut plywood. I guess I didn’t look that hard (plus I like the idea of doing it all myself).

I studied quite a few translam builds from other folks and decided to use the same approximate proportions as the Magico Minis while using Curt’s baffle dimensions. I love the sound of sealed enclosures, and I’ll be using this setup with a sub, so sealed it is. The resulting enclosure volume is a little more than Curt’s recommended sealed enclosure, but I’m trying to leave the door open for the RS150 MTM should I choose to upgrade in the future. The baffle will be replaceable, so upgrading won’t involve rebuilding the enclosure. And with a roundover, the baffle dimensions are very close to the tritrix. This build is going to take plenty of work so I hope the compromise doesn’t impact performance too much.

When I researched for this build, I found that pictures of the process were really helpful, so I thought I'd return the favor. More build details here:
http://speakerstuff.com/?cat=3 (Excuse the bare site, I just threw it up last night)

Here's the first enclosure, dry stacked, no sanding.


I'll try to keep this up to date as I go. Thanks to all the folks here, your posts have been a big help!

---------------------------------------
Update 1-18-2010

Alright, I'm done cutting the mains. Need warmer weather to start gluing.









---------------------------------------
Update 1-22-2010:

I'm ditching the tritrix per feedback. I can spring for the RS drivers and I want to go with one of CJD's RS150 designs with the Seas tweeter. This seems like a no-brainer (now I just need to find something to do with the tritrix!).



---------------------------------------
Update 2-22-2010:

Progress has been slow but steady as the weather hasn't been great for working in the garage. Here I drilled some holes for dowels using a drill press and template.



For the bottoms, I drilled holes all the way through and used hurricane nuts so I can use these later to bolt the box to the stand.



And the next layer from the bottom is the brace, so the holes will be covered...



It's been so cold outside I had to bring everything inside for gluing. I did two layers at a time and clamped. I tried three at a time but I couldn't get enough clamp pressure to close everything. Two layers was just fine with about 30 minutes clamp pressure. The dowels help a lot with gluing. Despite using a drill press and template to make holes for the dowels, it still wasn't perfectly aligned.



Here are both enclosures glued with one sanded. For sanding I started with 100 grit because it was the roughest I had on hand. After 20 minutes of little progress and an arm that was about to fall off, I ran to the store and got some 60 grit which went MUCH faster. The finished off with some 220 grit. I applied one coat of Zinsser sanding sealer (sealcoat) on the inside before applying the acoustic foam.



This is the 3/4" Parts Express sonic barrier. Feels stiff and heavy duty, I like it!





I dumped the sawdust from the sander and mixed it with PVA glue to fill the voids.



That's it for now!

---------------------------------------

Baffles cut for mains and center. For the mains, I'm using hurricane nuts in the rear to mount the drivers.



I know, grills suck, but there are lots of kids in the house and it's not worth taking a chance. When the kids grow up, I'll take the grills off, but I don't want to be stuck with grill guide holes. So I used a drill press to drill holes in the back of the baffle so that it drills almost all the way through to the front. Then I dropped in magnets and sealed the rear with silicon. Now the front baffle will look nice and clean, but will still hold a grill. I was going to built my own grills, but I ended up ordering a pair of PE grills when I noticed my box is around the same size as one of their enclosures.



This is a shot of the rear baffle taken from the bottom. The two side by side holes are for the terminals, while the holes in the center will be used to affix the baffle with socket screws.



Primed all MDF with automotive high build primer. I love this stuff! Parts of the stands are in there but it's kinda hard to describe what it'll look like.



Here's the dry fit front baffle. There is a small gap on the top and bottom from the box growing a bit due to the humidity. I can barely tell in person so I think I can live with it. The translam now has 2 coats of Zinsser coat, dry sanded with 220 grit, then 1 coat of semi-gloss Polycrylic. I'm planning on two more coats and then I'll see if I want more. The picture doesn't really do it justice. I'll take some glam shots once everything is complete.



Rear shot



------------------------------------

I know I owe you guys some sexy pics but this will have to do for now. I'm just waiting for some parts that will be here on Friday, and I should be done this weekend, woohoo!

I finished up the center channel which will be hidden in the entertainment center behind grill cloth. Here's some snaps of the partial BSC crossovers for the RS150s and the 27TDFC. They're on MDF, 16 gauge wire between components mounted with hot glue.





The crossovers are mounted with velcro connected with 12 gauge speaker wire (monoprice). The box has the dampening on the walls with a little bit of acoutica-stuff/polyfill/whatever it's called in the enclosure.



I'm still waiting on the inductors for the RS150 crossovers for the mains, but I went ahead and put everything together. Both the front and rear baffles are floated with screws through oversized holes and washers to allow for expansion. Here's a pic of the gasket before attaching the rear baffle.



The stands were finished separately: primer, black paint, polycrylic for the MDF and sealer with polycrylic for the BB ply. After finishing, the pieces in the center of the stand were glued together with wood glue to make one piece. It was then attached to the bottom and top pieces using screws. I didn't want to use any glue on that part in case I wish to make the stands taller later on. The stands are attached to the speaker with 1/4" socket cap screws threaded through the hurricane nuts already in the bottom of the speaker (see previous posts), with rubber grommets to create a small gap. Rubber feet on the bottom of the stands for the wooden floors.

The front baffle is attached with wood screws that are screwed in from the rear by reaching my hand through the driver cutouts.



As for the rear baffle, I would have done the same as the front baffle if I could do this over. Instead, I used socket cap screws visible from the back, but they weren't very nice to the surrounding paint. One of the bolts has a large standoff that I was planning to use to anchor the speakers to the wall or the entertainment center. Now I'm not confident I'll even use them, so that was a mistake.



Here they are in room. They'll be a little farther apart than this when all is done.



And here's with the pull-down projector screen. The center channel is behind all that grill cloth in the entertainment center.



---------------------------------------

DONE! *Crossovers, dampening and drivers installed, sounds amazing!

Listening impressions:*I'm afraid I can't really give these speakers a fair audition. *Not only am I novice with this, I also have an absolute horrible room for acoustics: laminate flooring and the couch is on the back wall. *Building these sealed, I have to augment them with a sub, so bass from my Dayton Reference 12" is boomy (extension is impressive, but this room is making it boomy). *As for the flooring, I have a rug, but it's not positioned to catch that first reflection point. *For the side wall first reflections, I have another couch (good) and a stone fireplace (bad). *I'm planning on treating the wall behind the speakers, behind the couch, and building a couple of bass traps, but right now the room is really hurting things. *In addition, the speakers are not positioned as wide as I'd like, so the sound stage feels kinda narrow.

All that considered, these things still sound awesome. *They feel very balanced and accurate. *I'm hearing things in music I didn't know were there. *It gives me a whole new appreciation for the music I'm listening to. *I find myself saying, "Ohhh, that's what it's supposed to sound like, that sounds good!" *The tweeters are so smooth and don't offend me at all, even with crappy recordings with no dynamic range. *I'm not a fan of metal tweeters (I probably haven't heard any good ones), so these tweeters are welcome here. *The RS150s seem to blend well with the 27TDFCs. *CJD, whatever you did to design this crossover, I AM SOLD. *Midbass is tight and punchy and transitions well with the sub. *Well I'll say it SHOULD transition well once I get my sub from sounding like I'm underwater and a whale is talking. *I was really worried about the low speaker height until I heard them and I can now comfortably say it's a non-issue. *Anyway, as a novice audiophile that's the best way I can explain what I'm hearing.

Now for some speaker porn...























Big thanks to CJD and all those in this thread who helped with feedback. This is one of the most welcoming forums I've been on. No flame wars and you guys are quick to help. I'm 100% certain I couldn't of done this without you. Thank you so much!

__________________
www.speakerstuff.com

ripcard

Very nice work. I like your approach to getting the shape you want for your templates. That is a lot of bracing though. Do you think that much is required? I thought translam was stiff by design, plus your sides are curved. That many braces eat up a lot of internal volume.

__________________
My CLD Dynamic 2T, 2CC
and 1S builds.

ClosetSciFiGeek

That is a lot of work. I like your design concept. The removable baffle is a great idea. That much work almost demands scanspeak level drivers. You could always move that direction in the future with the removable baffles. Kudos that is really neat.

john trials

Those are going to be so nice!!!!!!!!!!! Good job on the build website. I like it!

As far as I'm concerned, you can never have enough bracing (as long as the internal volume is taken into account). It's too bad you won't be able to see the insides when they're done. It looks so nice.

I agree with ClosetSciFiGeek: If I was going to put that much $ and effort into an enclosure, I'd want to fill it with the best drivers I could afford. Smart idea making the baffles replaceable.

My only other tip would be to make a jig on a drill press so you could make some alignment holes in each section. It'll make assembly easier, and therefore there will be less sanding.

I'm looking forward to watching your progress...VERY COOL! I've got to try a translam some day.

__________________
Statements: "They usually kill the desire to build anything else."

dpg

Thanks so much for the feedback guys...

@ripcord: yeah, the bracing is really overkill. I figured if I'm spending this much time on it, I might as well go overboard, haha. Regarding the volume, the tritrix don't require much volume for sealed. A Qtc of .707 requires even less volume, so even with the bracing I'm over Curt's recommended volume. I made the cabinets pretty deep for aesthetic reasons so the bracing helps eat up the space. We'll see how this works out if I change drivers, but I modeled a few popular higher end drivers and I think I'll be fine if I stay sealed.

@ClosetSciFiGeek: I think with all this work I might end up wanting better drivers. But in my case, ignorance is bliss. I spent years in car audio where the sound quality was crap by comparison. In most systems, imaging was horrible, response was unpredictable, and only after thousands of dollars and a lot of fine tuning do you have marginal sound quality. Now I'm listening to entry level home audio setups and am blown away. So I think no matter what, this will sound great because my ears have been so ruined from car audio. I'm scared to go to any DIY events or audition good speakers because I know I'll end up wanting to upgrade all my gear!

@john: Man, now you have me thinking more about this... I do have a drill press and I was thinking about making some holes and using dowels for assembly, but I remember reading from someone that they had better luck aligning the pieces manually. I'm using four different templates that technically have the same outside pattern, but there are very slight variations that I feel I'll only be able to compensate for by aligning by hand. But I really like the idea of using jig and then just dropping the pieces on. I think I may glue a few layers by hand and see how fast I'm going and go from there.

duketbrd88

Looks great!!!!!!!!!

numberoneoppa

These look beautiful. Keep it up!

Bear

You can also cut a blank test baffle and use that as a guide for glue-up. It looks like you've already notched each layer for the baffle, so that's really you're ultimate alignment target.

__________________
Welcome to Rivendell, Mr. Anderson.

---k---

Wow.

__________________
-Ryan
The Sietecerocero Project! ND140/BC25SC06 MTM & TM
My CJD Khanspires - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS225 WMTMW
My CJD Khancenter - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS180 WTMW Center
My CJD In-Khan-Neatos - A Dayton RS180/RS150/RS28 In/On Wall MTW

JonMarsh

VERY nice work creating the template, this is something I tell myself I'm going to try some day, probably with an LBL front panel, though I suppose I should work up the nerve to try aluminum. Considering you're going down the Magico path a bit, please consider LBL instead of MDF for your front panel. I don't think you'll regret it...

Your bracing is just fine, IMO!

__________________
the AudioWorx
_______________________________

Modula MT
M8ta
Modula Neo D CC
Ardent
Modula MT XE
Modula Xtreme


still coming in 2010....

Ardent Cxi (updated design, new woofers)
Ardent CCX (Compact Center Xtreme)

cjd

With all that hard work...

Upgrade to my RS150 based MTM. Box doesn't change, only baffle. And cost, but it's still not horribly expensive. Maybe double the Tri-trix.

Looks great, regardless.

JonMarsh

+1

I'm with CJ

__________________
the AudioWorx
_______________________________

Modula MT
M8ta
Modula Neo D CC
Ardent
Modula MT XE
Modula Xtreme


still coming in 2010....

Ardent Cxi (updated design, new woofers)
Ardent CCX (Compact Center Xtreme)

savage25xtreme

nothing wrong with the tritrix, but there are many MTMs I would do first with this much time and effort into the cabinet, but to each there own.

How would the Nat P's or Modula MTM work in this enclosure?

What will you be driving these with? maybe 8 ohm is a requirement?

Point is I would pick a Dayton RS series design. Either way, go with black drivers in that translam

__________________
Gavin

BAMTM Build

dpg

@JonMarsh: Wow, those bamboo panels are beautiful. But I'm having a hard time finding anything but 4x8 sheets. I'm planning on painting the front panel black... it'd be a shame to get that nice bamboo and then paint over it. I imagine even using the BB ply would be more stable than the MDF. I've never finished plywood before, but my concern was painting the end grain and flushing the drivers in the ply. Is this an issue? What do you thinking of using the 3/4" BB ply for the front baffles?

Regarding the RS150, that was what I was kinda future-proofing this enclosure for. It's why the volume is a little larger and the baffle is a little longer than the tritrix wants. I knew when I posted here I would want to start spending more money!

JonMarsh

The Magico uses a translam to make the enclosure walls stiff and non-resonant, and Aluminum FP for the same reason. Yes, LBL looks nice when it's finished, but the reason I use it is for stiffness (harder and stiffer than maple) and "deadness" - desirable properties for a front panel, IMO. It's "eco", too, in that it grows back quickly, and it's quite stable over time, compared with solid hardwoods, as it's a manufactured wood product.

I buy 1" X 12" (which is actually 3/4", not 1") at my nearest Rockler store. That's very easy to deal with for front panels- I expect 4' X 8' sheets to be VERY expensive!

OK, take anything I say with a grain of salt, as I'm the LBL fanboi on this forum.

I do use BB ply for projects, and if you find it machines OK for your front panels including driver rebates, then cool- I just haven't like the way it behaviors for that kind of thing- a lot depends on what kind of grade you get, and if you get true imported baltic birch.

__________________
the AudioWorx
_______________________________

Modula MT
M8ta
Modula Neo D CC
Ardent
Modula MT XE
Modula Xtreme


still coming in 2010....

Ardent Cxi (updated design, new woofers)
Ardent CCX (Compact Center Xtreme)

cjd

Jon,

You clearly haven't seen my floors... LBL.

gmed

Love it.
this is why when I win the lotto, the first thing I do is by a CNC router!

JonMarsh

Pictures?

__________________
the AudioWorx
_______________________________

Modula MT
M8ta
Modula Neo D CC
Ardent
Modula MT XE
Modula Xtreme


still coming in 2010....

Ardent Cxi (updated design, new woofers)
Ardent CCX (Compact Center Xtreme)

cygor98

yeah these kinds of projects make me want a cnc router for sure. Oh the possibilities

cjd

Pardon the thread wandering here...

The oak floor was already there. The rest I've installed. Almost done, still have the living room + stairs (and the stair is why I've not yet done it...)

Attached Thumbnails

   

JonMarsh

Nice!

__________________
the AudioWorx
_______________________________

Modula MT
M8ta
Modula Neo D CC
Ardent
Modula MT XE
Modula Xtreme


still coming in 2010....

Ardent Cxi (updated design, new woofers)
Ardent CCX (Compact Center Xtreme)

djn04

Lookin good. I can't imagine routing that many pieces by hand. I fully agree with the moving up in the driver department. This much work begs for some scanspeaks.

When you're gluing them up I recommend you use some dowels to keep everything lined up. That's what I did and it helped a lot. Also be prepared to do some serious sanding.

dpg

Thanks for the info Jon. I'm going to try it with the BB-ply and see how it turns out. I don't have a Rockler near by and it's not on their website. I'm sure I could find the bamboo at a lumber yard around here, but it would likely be in big sheets meaning mucho $$ like you said. The BB ply I have is rated B/BB and was advertised as authentic Baltic Birch (well, Russian Birch). It's got "made in Russia" on the corners and I bought it from a Russian guy, so I think it's legit. Other than one of the sheets being pretty warped, the quality looks pretty good. Of course I'll find out for sure when I recess the drivers.

I think I'm going to stick with the Tritrix for now. I'm scared to run a sustained 4-ohm load on my receiver, and I can't stomach getting an external amp right now. This project actually started out with me getting a few RB1 kits from Madisound. I still have a set sitting in my garage waiting for enclosures. The Tritrix was me "upgrading". I don't know how I would explain to my wife that I have two sets of speakers laying around that I haven't built yet, and I need a third, haha. That said, for a budget build, I've actually spent more on the wood than drivers!

Alright, I'm done cutting the mains. Need warmer weather to start gluing.

(Pictures are now in the first post)

dpg

Hey djn, I've read up on your build, awesome work. What did you do with the inside waste?

ClosetSciFiGeek

Probably used those snow shovels and chucked it in the garbage

Steidl Guitars

As djn04 mentioned and you've no doubt thought of, those things will slide like mad when you start gluing them up. How are you going to keep them aligned for gluing?

dpg

I was originally planning on gluing each layer one by one... glue, clamp, shoot in some brad nails, then to the next layer (this after reading gmed's experience). I'd like to use dowels as djn mentions, but I'm concerned because these pieces were built from 4 templates that are almost identical on the outside, but from the constant routing some of the templates showed some wear that was then transferred to the new pieces. I'm concerned the dowels won't give me any flexibility should I want to adjust any once piece slightly. Maybe I'm over-thinking it, I dunno. Anyway, like most things in my shop, I'll get out there and see what does and doesn't work. Thanks to this board, I have a few ideas now to play with.

---k---

Understand you sticking with the TriTrix. I think your planing ahead well with the removable baffle. That will give you room to grow.

If you want to explore fancier wood for the baffle, where are you located? You might also look for Woodcraft stores or local hardwood stores. There are a lot of hardwood stores out there that sell small wood for woodworking. Might want to look around.

If you stick with birch ply, try covering the cut areas with painter's tape or contact paper. It will help (not eliminate) tear out problems. I like BB ply. I have had some tearout problems, but... go slow.

__________________
-Ryan
The Sietecerocero Project! ND140/BC25SC06 MTM & TM
My CJD Khanspires - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS225 WMTMW
My CJD Khancenter - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS180 WTMW Center
My CJD In-Khan-Neatos - A Dayton RS180/RS150/RS28 In/On Wall MTW

dpg

I'm not married to the BB ply idea, it's just here. I live in Central MD, between DC and Baltimore. I'll look around for a hardwood store that sells smaller pieces, I'm sure they're around. What other hardwood should I be looking for, oak, maple?

djn04

I just let the guy who did the cnc'ing for me keep it. I didn't have any plans for it and I got a good price on the cnc work. I probably could have used it for another project but I didn't have anything in mind.

The brad nail idea will probably work just make sure you line them up well even a little bit off will leave you with a lot of sanding.

These are going to look awesome when you're done.

Somebody on here made the mini's with aluminum baffles. I would love to do this with mine but I don't even want to know how much it would cost

cjd

Go BB ply with the tri-trix.

When you decide to upgrade, you can do the RS MTM which will slide right in there. Your wife will probably hear the difference...

good luck with that.

Space

This is extremely sweet cabinet building!

For anyone who needs small pieces of bamboo ply or maple-face ApplePly, check out this link: Plywerk. They sell these as artist panels.

---k---

Maybe a bit far from you, but a quick google turned up:
http://www.worldofhardwoods.com/
http://www.mcilvain.com/index.php

The hardwood store by me sells pieces in all shapes and sizes and about 30 different varities that change frequently. Much of the shapes and sizes are dictated by the knots in the wood and such.

If nothing else, it is fun just to visit a type of store like this.

__________________
-Ryan
The Sietecerocero Project! ND140/BC25SC06 MTM & TM
My CJD Khanspires - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS225 WMTMW
My CJD Khancenter - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS180 WTMW Center
My CJD In-Khan-Neatos - A Dayton RS180/RS150/RS28 In/On Wall MTW

dpg

cjd, I'm still trying to figure out how I can get your RS150 design in there. I haven't bought a receiver yet, but was originally looking at an entry level receiver for the 8-ohm tritrix. With a 4-ohm load, the RS150 MTMs will mean I need a 4-ohm stable receiver (cheapest I can find is the Onkyo SR707 for $600). This puts me at ~1k with drivers, and I haven't even built a sub yet. I'll keep plugging away at this, thanks.