Modula MTM meets Magico Mini

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  • Steve Manning
    Moderator
    • Dec 2006
    • 1879

    Modula MTM meets Magico Mini

    Well I had planned on waiting until I had everything finished before I posted the results, but it seems folks like to tell there stories as they go on this forum, so I figured I‘d do the same. About a year ago, I sent some emails back and forth with Jon Marsh asking him about his Modula MTM design and ended up deciding to build myself an pair. At least, I decided on the using the insides of his design, and made a few changes on the cabinets. Like a few other crazies I have seen on the forum, I seem to like the looks of the Magico Mini. So I decided, what the heck, how hard can it be? I’ll make myself a Magico MTM. Well, the short version, I’m still not done, but I figured I’d share what I have so far.

    I started with making a whole bunch of these:

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    A whole bunch of stacking and gluing:

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    And at the end of it all, the finished product will look something like this:

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    I have the second speaker about ½ way done, but with family commitments for the holidays, weddings, and day light savings and all that, I have not had much free time to get it finished. I can’t wait to get it finished. I fired up the finished one and liked what I heard, so I’m looking forward to how they will sound finished.
    Last edited by theSven; 21 February 2023, 20:52 Tuesday. Reason: Updated URLs for htguide
    Hold on to your butts - It's about to get Musical!



    WEBSITE: http://www.smjaudio.com/
  • ThomasW
    Moderator Emeritus
    • Aug 2000
    • 10934

    #2
    You'll need to send the completed pair to me for evaluation and testing.... :B

    Nice job.. :T

    IB subwoofer FAQ page


    "Complicated equipment and light reflectors and various other items of hardware are enough, to my mind, to prevent the birdie from coming out." ...... Henri Cartier-Bresson

    Comment

    • Hdale85
      Moderator Emeritus
      • Jan 2006
      • 16075

      #3
      Those look incredible! I've been thinking about doing a trans slam tower design that would be about 48" tall. I would use 1" MDF or BB ply most likely but I would probably veneer the sides. Just not sure i like the looks of them but I like the idea of a trans slam do to structural integrity. Of course if I do this I would have the sections cut on a cnc mill I really like your results though.

      Comment

      • augerpro
        Super Senior Member
        • Aug 2006
        • 1866

        #4
        Beautiful :T I really like the mix of red and blond wood.
        ~Brandon 8O
        Please donate to my Waveguides for CNC and 3D Printing Project!!
        Please donate to my Monster Box Construction Methods Project!!
        DriverVault
        Soma Sonus

        Comment

        • TacoD
          Super Senior Member
          • Feb 2004
          • 1078

          #5
          Wow very nice work, did you cut those panels by hand?

          Comment

          • ---k---
            Ultra Senior Member
            • Nov 2005
            • 5202

            #6
            Wow. Look great.
            - Ryan

            CJD Ochocinco! ND140/BC25SC06 MTM & TM
            CJD Khanspires - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS225 WMTMW
            CJD Khancenter - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS180 WTMW Center

            Comment

            • Silversmoky
              Senior Member
              • Nov 2007
              • 178

              #7
              Wow! Good job. Those look really good. That had to take forever!

              Comment

              • Landroval
                Senior Member
                • Dec 2005
                • 175

                #8
                Good job! Can you elaborate a bit on the cutting and stacking/aligning procedures? My friend and me have been thinking, talking and planning Magico clones for a long time, but it always seens too worksome and complicated. Some tips would be cool.

                Comment

                • ahaik
                  Senior Member
                  • Feb 2007
                  • 233

                  #9
                  WOW, that's incredible !!

                  Comment

                  • Habs4life
                    Member
                    • Apr 2006
                    • 85

                    #10
                    Originally posted by ThomasW
                    You'll need to send the completed pair to me for evaluation and testing.... :B
                    Yah and that should only take a year or two to properly evaluate.

                    Very nice job Steve :T I can imagine it took a few man hours to build those lovely cabs.

                    Comment

                    • WillyD
                      Senior Member
                      • Feb 2006
                      • 675

                      #11
                      Those are stunning and I bet you they sound just as nice!

                      Comment

                      • Steve Manning
                        Moderator
                        • Dec 2006
                        • 1879

                        #12
                        Wow guys thanks for all the kind words.... To answer some of your questions:

                        Originally posted by ThomasW
                        You'll need to send the completed pair to me for evaluation and testing.... :B

                        Nice job.. :T
                        I would love to have you listen to the finished pair Thomas... you wouldn’t happen to have a shipping truck would you though, these things are at least 75 lbs each!! Shipping from Virginia could be a bit painful.

                        Originally posted by augerpro
                        Beautiful :T I really like the mix of red and blond wood.
                        Thanks Brandon, the two woods I used are Baltic Birch and Padauk from Africa.

                        Originally posted by TacoD
                        Wow very nice work, did you cut those panels by hand?
                        Yep, I was crazy enough to cut and router all the pieces by hand. There are 32 layers per speaker, and that’s why I’m still not done. Dougie has the right idea, find someone with a CNC router, it will help keep your sanity in check.

                        Originally posted by Landroval
                        Good job! Can you elaborate a bit on the cutting and stacking/aligning procedures? My friend and me have been thinking, talking and planning Magico clones for a long time, but it always seens too worksome and complicated. Some tips would be cool.
                        Landroval, let me follow up on your question in a few minutes. I will attach a few pictures to show what I did.

                        Steve
                        Hold on to your butts - It's about to get Musical!



                        WEBSITE: http://www.smjaudio.com/

                        Comment

                        • Hdale85
                          Moderator Emeritus
                          • Jan 2006
                          • 16075

                          #13
                          Well my idea is to cut 3 holes in a triangle pattern big enough to fit 3 wooden dowels through so that all the pieces would line up properly while your stacking and gluing. After that clamp the 2 sides and one clamp in the back. Should come out about perfect needing a little sanding and finishing work. A friend and I are actually building a CNC router and this was one of the first projects I was thinking about doing on it.

                          Comment

                          • Steve Manning
                            Moderator
                            • Dec 2006
                            • 1879

                            #14
                            Originally posted by Landroval
                            Good job! Can you elaborate a bit on the cutting and stacking/aligning procedures? My friend and me have been thinking, talking and planning Magico clones for a long time, but it always seens too worksome and complicated. Some tips would be cool.
                            I started out with a using some pictures from the Magico & 6Moons websites along with the physical dimension from Magico and gave them to talented machinist that I work with. He was able to lay out two template drawings for the sectional pieces that I would need. He then made me a couple of templates made from ¼” acrylic. I used these to make what I called working templates out of MDF. These were used for layouts on the Baltic Birch and as a guide when I routered the parts with a flush trim bit. As you can see from the first set of pictures, all the parts had 5/16” alignment holes that I used to align the templates and BB with pins and then during glue up I ran 5/16” all thread through the parts. This helped not only align the parts but to also to provide clamping pressure while the glue set. I only glued up about a third of the layers at one time, and then the three major sections in one shot. This kept things a little more manageable. The top and bottom layers were aligned with dowels and I used bar clamps to hold them in place while gluing. All in all a rather time consuming process. Let me know if this is of any help.

                            Steve

                            During Glue up:

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                            The middle section dry

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                            The three sections together:

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                            Last edited by theSven; 21 February 2023, 20:55 Tuesday. Reason: Updated URLs for htguide
                            Hold on to your butts - It's about to get Musical!



                            WEBSITE: http://www.smjaudio.com/

                            Comment

                            • Gir
                              Senior Member
                              • Dec 2006
                              • 309

                              #15
                              Wow, those look fantastic! Love the wood you used for the front and back! Like Dougie, I too will be building a CNC mill and give a whirl at one of these projects. Can't wait!
                              -Tyler


                              Under deadline pressure for the next week. If you want something, it can wait. Unless it's blind screaming paroxysmally hedonistic...

                              Comment

                              • Landroval
                                Senior Member
                                • Dec 2005
                                • 175

                                #16
                                Ok, nice. Makes sense. Having some help with making the templates seems to be a good idea. ...aaand even then there will be a lot of routing to do.

                                Comment

                                • Xander
                                  Senior Member
                                  • Dec 2007
                                  • 132

                                  #17
                                  That is beautiful, great job. I hope I can build something like that someday.

                                  Comment

                                  • peter_m
                                    Senior Member
                                    • Sep 2007
                                    • 227

                                    #18
                                    Looks awesome! How stiff is the finished product? LOL How did you decide on the final shape to use for your layers? There isn't much information on the best shapes to use for reducing standing waves...

                                    Comment

                                    • tpremo55
                                      Senior Member
                                      • Apr 2006
                                      • 113

                                      #19
                                      Excellent looking pair of speakers! Very nice job and kudos on the decision to use a router and actually get through it all. That is painfully time consuming as I have done some of that in the past.

                                      Comment

                                      • tpremo55
                                        Senior Member
                                        • Apr 2006
                                        • 113

                                        #20
                                        Originally posted by peter_m
                                        Looks awesome! How stiff is the finished product? LOL How did you decide on the final shape to use for your layers? There isn't much information on the best shapes to use for reducing standing waves...
                                        Standing waves are simpy those that can reflect back and forth between two parallel surfaces seperated at a distance equal to the wavelength (or some even fraction thereof) within the enclosure. As many have stated, the repeated reflection should be minimized with damping material as much as non-parallel sides might provide for. That said, I too was interested in minimizing this effect - and simply used a design that would minimize the direct reflection back and forth and further forced the wave through as many layers of damping material as reasonable. The bigger issue in my estimation is the reflection of the backwave back into the back of the midrange speaker cone which may introduce distortion. If you look at the B&Ws, this is what they appear to minimize in their designs as well. Take a cross section and consider the reflections in the box. If you have wave propogation analysis software, all the better.

                                        Comment

                                        • Alaric
                                          Ultra Senior Member
                                          • Jan 2006
                                          • 4143

                                          #21
                                          wow

                                          If the sound is even halfway equal to the obvious effort and craftsmanship , they should sound stunning. Congrats on some very fine work. :T
                                          Lee

                                          Marantz PM7200-RIP
                                          Marantz PM-KI Pearl
                                          Schiit Modi 3
                                          Marantz CD5005
                                          Paradigm Studio 60 v.3

                                          Comment

                                          • yousuredo2
                                            Senior Member
                                            • Jun 2006
                                            • 206

                                            #22
                                            SaaaaaaaaWeeeeeeeeeet !!!
                                            My System
                                            ~ BenQ w5000 DLP 1080p Projector
                                            ~ Sony Bravia SXRD KDS-60A3000
                                            ~ Onkyo tx sr805
                                            ~ Sony PS.3
                                            ~ Xbox 360
                                            ~ Natalie P's Main L/R
                                            ~ Polk Csi A6 -Center
                                            ~ Polk RTi6 Rears
                                            ~ Behringer ep2500
                                            ~ Behringer Fbq 2496

                                            Comment

                                            • gmed
                                              Senior Member
                                              • Dec 2006
                                              • 207

                                              #23
                                              Great work. Love them. It makes it really easy using CNC for the whole thing. I went through hell for almost a year just making one by hand. I dont know if youve seen mine. But anyhow, very sweet. Hopefully one day we can meet at a DIY meet and hear them.

                                              DIY (Do it yourself): Cabinetry, speakers, subwoofers, crossovers, measurements. Jon and Thomas have probably designed and built as many speakers as any non-professionals. Who are we kidding? They are pros, they just don't do it for a living. This has got to be one of the most advanced places on the net to talk speaker building, period.


                                              G
                                              Last edited by theSven; 21 February 2023, 13:10 Tuesday. Reason: Fixed link remove php4 and change to https

                                              Comment

                                              • M.Roberts8
                                                Senior Member
                                                • Jan 2006
                                                • 229

                                                #24
                                                Absolutely beautiful! :T :E ;x(

                                                Comment

                                                • Steve Manning
                                                  Moderator
                                                  • Dec 2006
                                                  • 1879

                                                  #25
                                                  Originally posted by gmed
                                                  Great work. Love them. It makes it really easy using CNC for the whole thing. I went through hell for almost a year just making one by hand. I dont know if youve seen mine. But anyhow, very sweet. Hopefully one day we can meet at a DIY meet and hear them.

                                                  https://www.htguide.com/forum/showth...5&page=3&pp=35

                                                  G
                                                  G - Yes I had seen your project, they look great. I have been following your progress ever since you first posted it. I can appreciate your trip through hell, though it looks like we used slightly different construction techniques, it looks like neither of us escaped the joy of all that routering.

                                                  It would be great if we could get together at DIY meet. As of yet I have not seen anything close to Virginia so far, but I’m hopeful.

                                                  Steve
                                                  Last edited by theSven; 30 June 2023, 13:44 Friday. Reason: Update htguide url
                                                  Hold on to your butts - It's about to get Musical!



                                                  WEBSITE: http://www.smjaudio.com/

                                                  Comment

                                                  • Steve Manning
                                                    Moderator
                                                    • Dec 2006
                                                    • 1879

                                                    #26
                                                    Done at Last ......

                                                    Well after almost 15 months of collecting parts and making lots of sawdust, they are finally finished …… arty:

                                                    Since my last update where I had just finished the first speaker, I decided that not only did I need to finish speaker #2, but what the heck I should go ahead and make some matching stands for the speakers to sit on. Since I had plenty of Baltic Birch scraps laying about I decided to continue the “Translam” theme…..

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                                                    I also, with help from a friend at work, cloned Magico’s concept for speaker feet for the stands. Which if I do say so myself turned out rather cool…. The speakers almost lock into place sitting on the steel ball bearings.

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                                                    To be continued …..
                                                    Last edited by theSven; 21 February 2023, 20:57 Tuesday. Reason: Updated URLs for htguide
                                                    Hold on to your butts - It's about to get Musical!



                                                    WEBSITE: http://www.smjaudio.com/

                                                    Comment

                                                    • Steve Manning
                                                      Moderator
                                                      • Dec 2006
                                                      • 1879

                                                      #27
                                                      The Rest .....

                                                      The remainder of the pictures show the crossovers going in to place and the finished speakers on the stands. I’ve been breaking them in over the last week and really like how they sound. Many thanks to Jon Marsh for his help in getting me started on this project and in general to you folks who come up with these designs and share them with the rest of us. I wish I lived close enough to anyone that has built the Modula MTM’s in a more “conventional” cabinet, just to find out if there is any difference in the sound between the two. The DIY meets I see planned on the forum, are a little bit too far to travel from Virginia… oh well, one of these days.


                                                      Steve


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                                                      Last edited by theSven; 21 February 2023, 20:59 Tuesday. Reason: Updated URLs for htguide
                                                      Hold on to your butts - It's about to get Musical!



                                                      WEBSITE: http://www.smjaudio.com/

                                                      Comment

                                                      • ThomasW
                                                        Moderator Emeritus
                                                        • Aug 2000
                                                        • 10934

                                                        #28
                                                        Sweet..... :T

                                                        IB subwoofer FAQ page


                                                        "Complicated equipment and light reflectors and various other items of hardware are enough, to my mind, to prevent the birdie from coming out." ...... Henri Cartier-Bresson

                                                        Comment

                                                        • Hdale85
                                                          Moderator Emeritus
                                                          • Jan 2006
                                                          • 16075

                                                          #29
                                                          Yes those look awesome! Makes me want to try it out...

                                                          Comment

                                                          • ---k---
                                                            Ultra Senior Member
                                                            • Nov 2005
                                                            • 5202

                                                            #30
                                                            Wow. Those look amazing. :T
                                                            - Ryan

                                                            CJD Ochocinco! ND140/BC25SC06 MTM & TM
                                                            CJD Khanspires - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS225 WMTMW
                                                            CJD Khancenter - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS180 WTMW Center

                                                            Comment

                                                            • Silversmoky
                                                              Senior Member
                                                              • Nov 2007
                                                              • 178

                                                              #31
                                                              I really think these have got to be some of the nicest I have seen! I like your matching stands and the feet built right in to them with the ball bearings. Awesome Job!

                                                              Comment

                                                              • Gir
                                                                Senior Member
                                                                • Dec 2006
                                                                • 309

                                                                #32
                                                                I'm totally jealous. 8O 8O 8O 8O
                                                                -Tyler


                                                                Under deadline pressure for the next week. If you want something, it can wait. Unless it's blind screaming paroxysmally hedonistic...

                                                                Comment

                                                                • itssmoke
                                                                  Junior Member
                                                                  • Apr 2008
                                                                  • 23

                                                                  #33
                                                                  hello. the guys at madisound turned me on to this site. i am thankful! you people are amazing, everywhere i look simply stunning designs and craftmanship. these are inspirational to say the least!! congratulations

                                                                  Comment

                                                                  • Wildcard26
                                                                    Junior Member
                                                                    • Aug 2006
                                                                    • 29

                                                                    #34
                                                                    BRAVO! That's all I can say about those...Just Spectacular.

                                                                    Comment

                                                                    • Brian Walter
                                                                      Senior Member
                                                                      • Sep 2005
                                                                      • 318

                                                                      #35
                                                                      Wow, those are really great. You've got far more patience than I do. ;x(

                                                                      Brian Walter

                                                                      Comment

                                                                      • 69Stingray
                                                                        Senior Member
                                                                        • Feb 2007
                                                                        • 100

                                                                        #36
                                                                        Wow. Great work. 8)

                                                                        Comment

                                                                        • Steve Manning
                                                                          Moderator
                                                                          • Dec 2006
                                                                          • 1879

                                                                          #37
                                                                          Thanks ......

                                                                          Thanks everyone for the kind words. All the wonderful feedback just adds to the overall enjoyment of the project. It makes me glad that I ran across this site when I did.

                                                                          Steve
                                                                          Hold on to your butts - It's about to get Musical!



                                                                          WEBSITE: http://www.smjaudio.com/

                                                                          Comment

                                                                          • 1Michael
                                                                            Senior Member
                                                                            • Sep 2006
                                                                            • 293

                                                                            #38
                                                                            Those look great! How far are you from the Chesapeake Square Mall?
                                                                            Michael
                                                                            Chesapeake Va.

                                                                            Comment

                                                                            • Steve Manning
                                                                              Moderator
                                                                              • Dec 2006
                                                                              • 1879

                                                                              #39
                                                                              Originally posted by buggers
                                                                              Those look great! How far are you from the Chesapeake Square Mall?

                                                                              Hi Buggers,

                                                                              Thanks ....... I live ~20 minutes from the mall.

                                                                              Steve
                                                                              Hold on to your butts - It's about to get Musical!



                                                                              WEBSITE: http://www.smjaudio.com/

                                                                              Comment

                                                                              • james5
                                                                                Member
                                                                                • Dec 2007
                                                                                • 70

                                                                                #40
                                                                                where did you get the ball bearing assebly you used for your stand?

                                                                                Comment

                                                                                • Steve Manning
                                                                                  Moderator
                                                                                  • Dec 2006
                                                                                  • 1879

                                                                                  #41
                                                                                  Hi James,

                                                                                  I got the steel balls from McMaster-Carr, http://www.mcmaster.com/ . They have just about anything you can think of and are very fast at getting the stuff to you. The particular ones I ordered are, p/n 9291K36. As for the other part of the assembly, a friend of mine made them for me. They are made from aluminum and are black anodized. There is one in the stand and a corresponding one on the bottom of the speaker and the ball sits between the two.

                                                                                  Steve


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                                                                                  Last edited by theSven; 21 February 2023, 21:00 Tuesday. Reason: Updated URLs for htguide
                                                                                  Hold on to your butts - It's about to get Musical!



                                                                                  WEBSITE: http://www.smjaudio.com/

                                                                                  Comment

                                                                                  • H.T.C
                                                                                    Senior Member
                                                                                    • Nov 2003
                                                                                    • 368

                                                                                    #42
                                                                                    Those are very nice...like they came out of a assembly line or factory !!!
                                                                                    Robert

                                                                                    Comment

                                                                                    • Brian Babas
                                                                                      Junior Member
                                                                                      • Dec 2018
                                                                                      • 1

                                                                                      #43
                                                                                      WOW. I love your work. Ive been trying to come up this a similar design. Where did you get all your info for crossover and box dims?

                                                                                      Comment

                                                                                      • Steve Manning
                                                                                        Moderator
                                                                                        • Dec 2006
                                                                                        • 1879

                                                                                        #44
                                                                                        Originally posted by Brian Babas
                                                                                        WOW. I love your work. Ive been trying to come up this a similar design. Where did you get all your info for crossover and box dims?
                                                                                        Thanks Brian, you have an email on the way.
                                                                                        Hold on to your butts - It's about to get Musical!



                                                                                        WEBSITE: http://www.smjaudio.com/

                                                                                        Comment

                                                                                        • theSven
                                                                                          Master of None
                                                                                          • Jan 2014
                                                                                          • 855

                                                                                          #45
                                                                                          Originally posted by Steve Manning
                                                                                          Wow guys thanks for all the kind words.... To answer some of your questions:


                                                                                          Yep, I was crazy enough to cut and router all the pieces by hand. There are 32 layers per speaker, and that’s why I’m still not done. Dougie has the right idea, find someone with a CNC router, it will help keep your sanity in check.


                                                                                          Steve
                                                                                          Hey all these years later and you finally did get a CNC Steve!
                                                                                          Painter in training

                                                                                          Comment

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