Cabinet Building questions

[yousuredo2]

Let me start by saying, Thanx for all the Help, questions answered, and in general the amount of info provided here, By all of you...

I Love building, designing, and being creative...
And Google Sketchup is a great Tool (for me anyways)...
I have been designing a few different boxes, I have a few questions...

- First, help me decide what is overkill, and what is good design...
- Port Holes should face forward, backwards, downwards, and why ?
- Rounding over, 45's and, and what jon did on the large speaker with the funky angle top and sides...what is the benifit of this ?
- Any benifits to sort of TL a ported box, from the speaker to the port...?
- Does internal Bracing benifit from, thickness, 45's, roundovers, and type or size of hole ?
- Sand , or other filler, what is this for excactly, and how much is needed...?
- I know alot of People are saying "OVERKILL, what a waist of time", but I do love to build, and this is fun & relaxing for me...so, if any of this is benificial, I want to do it...If it is a waist of time and materials, then I dont...
- Can a Painted serface be veneered ? (thinking I might paint 'em for now, save up and get alot of veneer to do several cabinets at once, to hopefully get the best match on all cabinets)(I know it will have to be sanded before hand)
- Reason for Towers leaned back 5 degrees ?
well these are not realy cabinets building ???'s But...
- Bi-Amping...my reciever has A/B/A&B...can this be used for Bi-Amping, and what is the benifit of this ?
- Lpad's, worth it or not...seems to me alot of people building speakers arent used to how BRIGHT the tweeter is, could this be used to tame it some ?
- some usefull links to where you get your materials for whatever...

thanx again for all your patients,
chris

[ThomasW]

http://www.mfr-eng.com/sb201.htm

http://www.mfr-eng.com/ldc.htm

[opt-e]

Wow this Sketchup app is quite nice.

[yousuredo2]

http://www.mfr-eng.com/sb201.htm
http://www.mfr-eng.com/ldc.htm

Hey ThomasW, thanx...
Will any one book have all the answeres...(I hate reading, more of a hands on type of guy) and I wll never finish a serries of books, but don't mind reading a book or two in a years time or so...

the Only reason I havent broke down and bought a book yet is, I see so many different books, and No clue as to whitch one has the most answers, several are recomended, but I will never read several...

[ThomasW]

Start with 201. The 'Loudspeaker Design Cookbook' has enough formulas, charts and graphs to make the reader go blind...

[Paul H]

Start with 201. The 'Loudspeaker Design Cookbook' has enough formulas, charts and graphs to make the reader go blind...

201 has enough charts & formulas to drive someone insane also - but for those who don't want that there's good written material and explanations too - I'll second Thomas' recommendation. :T

[yousuredo2]

Ok, sounds good to me...
so, does it defenitly answer all my ?'s above ?

[KeithM]

Let me start by saying, Thanx for all the Help, questions answered, and in general the amount of info provided here, By all of you...

I Love building, designing, and being creative...
And Google Sketchup is a great Tool (for me anyways)...
I have been designing a few different boxes, I have a few questions...

- First, help me decide what is overkill, and what is good design...
The box or an idea for speakers to build?
- Port Holes should face forward, backwards, downwards, and why ?
backwards if they're away from the wall, forwards if they're wall-mounted(not recommended)
- Rounding over, 45's and, and what jon did on the large speaker with the funky angle top and sides...what is the benifit of this ?
Better baffle diffraction. And looks if you're into funky stuff
- Any benifits to sort of TL a ported box, from the speaker to the port...?
barely if any
- Does internal Bracing benifit from, thickness, 45's, roundovers, and type or size of hole ?
Thickness, yes. All others, not really if any
- Sand , or other filler, what is this for excactly, and how much is needed...?
It's the keep the resonances off the ground and effecting the sound.
- I know alot of People are saying "OVERKILL, what a waist of time", but I do love to build, and this is fun & relaxing for me...so, if any of this is benificial, I want to do it...If it is a waist of time and materials, then I dont...
As long as the front baffle is the same size and you like it, it's fine.
- Can a Painted serface be veneered ? (thinking I might paint 'em for now, save up and get alot of veneer to do several cabinets at once, to hopefully get the best match on all cabinets)(I know it will have to be sanded before hand)
As far as I know you can, if not you might need a primer
- Reason for Towers leaned back 5 degrees ?
Not a big deal
well these are not realy cabinets building ???'s But...
- Bi-Amping...my reciever has A/B/A&B...can this be used for Bi-Amping, and what is the benifit of this ?
The reveiver just has multiple zones. Biamping is usually an active crossover, the 2 amps. The benifit is a cleaner sound.
- Lpad's, worth it or not...seems to me alot of people building speakers arent used to how BRIGHT the tweeter is, could this be used to tame it some ?
Yes, but most designs have the tweeter in a flat response with the woofer so you won't really need one
- some usefull links to where you get your materials for whatever...
www.partsexpress.com or www.madisound.com for speaker parts, mdf can be at home depot, lowes, etc.
thanx again for all your patients,
chris

There it all is

[opt-e]

A lot of your questions have already been answered in one thread or another.. you just gotta wade through all the crap 8O

[yousuredo2]

WOW thanx...
well done keith...
and thanx to the other too...
I am still learning, and sorting all of this new info...
chris

[seattle_ice]

Veneering over a painted surface can be done, if you prep it first. Glue does not like to stick to shiny, glossy surfaces, so you should sand it with a rough (<120 grit) sandpaper first. Make sure the surface is clean, then go to it. This is still not quite as good as wood glue directly to wood, but it does work.

Many of the speakers that you see that are angled forwards and/or backwards are done to 'time align' the sound waves. Opinions vary as to the necessity and or efficacy of this approach, but my understanding of the reasoning is that the sound from the different drivers will arrive at the listening point at different times, so changing the distance (angling) will correct for this.

This forum needs a FAQ. Someone could spend a few hundred of their spare hours collating all the Q & A's throughout the forum. 8O

[jonathanb3478]

Many of the speakers that you see that are angled forwards and/or backwards are done to 'time align' the sound waves. Opinions vary as to the necessity and or efficacy of this approach, but my understanding of the reasoning is that the sound from the different drivers will arrive at the listening point at different times, so changing the distance (angling) will correct for this.

In cases of drastic angles this can be the reason, for something like a 5-deg lean, it is for adjusting the sweetspot height at the listening position. The design ends up with a vertical dispersion that is too far below the tweeter height, or too far above. One or the other is corrected for, depending on the direction the top of the baffle is angled toward. That is how I understand the minor slopes.

Check out the relevant parts of this page, for an example of what I am talking about.