Thinking about Zaph ZD5

[kravi4ka]

Hi guys,

I've been thinking quite a lot about the ZD5 and it looks like the time has come. I have a few ideas that I would like to discuss though - I really like the translam approach and will definitely go for that. I am thinking about doing it the opposite way of the Magico mini i.e. cut all the panels the size of the side walls and cut the ones in the middle and stack them one next to the other and not one over the other. I hope that makes sense
So I was thinking about using that to make the front and back walls thicker making sure the Revelator can breathe. But I got further - what if I do not cut the inner part straight but in wave patterns hoping to avoid standing waves? If I do it like sine waves the volume will not change and I can do that for all sides - front-back, up-down, the only problem that I can think of is the way I will have to stick the absorbing material (whispermat, felt or whatever I can find).
I will really appreciate any opinion on that, may be I should try and make a small sketch of it, to make it clearer...

[ThomasW]

If you make the interior surfaces curved like the Magico, I see little added benefit to making the walls wavy.

That said if you're making these using a CNC machine go ahead what's to lose? If you're cutting these by hand I wouldn't bother.

[kravi4ka]

Hi Thomas,
Thanks a lot, you always come to the rescue, a true gentleman

I am trying to do something else - I want to cut all BB as the size of the side walls and use 10 sheets (18 mm times 10 is almost the 178mm baffle width specified by Zaph) and cut the "inner" 8 sheets -stacking vertically positioned sheets , so to say, instead of the Magico where all panels are cut the same as the top/bottom wall and stacked one over the other, the top and bottom not being cut. Sorry for the primitive way of describing instead of posting the picture, I saw a picture from someone with a ZD5 that did exactly this but I cannot find it
The idea of the wave pattern on the inside part of the back wall came from a picture of a horn speaker , the curve on the bottom of the chamber is cut in the way I am thinking about, obviously from sheets of particle board or MDF, to form the curve. I hope that makes it clear...

http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV2fYTES

http://www.postimage.org/image.php?v=aV2fZhBi

Do you think that's an overkill and I should just make the back wall thicker,say 1 inch? Yes I am doing all cutting by hand, in the way I plan it it is just cutting a square part of the board and I was thinking of doing something better...
Only problem was how to attach the Sound Barrier on that, otherwise I can make each board different than the other to "maximize diffraction " as I was thinking

Thanks for replying

[jkrutke]

Probably overkill in my opinion. Make the rear nice and thick and use quality damping and you should be good. There was another guy who did vertical plywood with this design and it looked classy:

[ThomasW]

I understood your initial description, and you're over thinking this or making it more of a problem that it really is...

Diffraction isn't really an issue inside the box.

The box is too small to have standing waves in the low end of the passband. And as long as there's adequate damping material it will prevent standing waves in the rest of the passband.

If you want to make the interior all wavy and fancy for aesthetic reasons that's fine, but it's not necessary from an acoustic standpoint.

[kravi4ka]

Thanks Zaph, Thomas!

I knew it might be a silly idea but it would torture me for the rest of my life if I didn't ask
Thanks Zaph for the pictures, that is exactly what I was talking about - isn't that just gorgeous?!?!?!?

[Sakura]

You know, bamboo "boards" made from glued together strips of bamboo look a lot like that. Might be an interesting material to consider if you like that look.

The restaurant I went to tonight had tables made out of the stuff.

[kravi4ka]

You know, bamboo "boards" made from glued together strips of bamboo look a lot like that. Might be an interesting material to consider if you like that look.

The restaurant I went to tonight had tables made out of the stuff.

Thanks a lot for the suggestion, problem is were I live you can't find these, BB is the best alternative to MDF, which i do not like somehow, not just for looks. I will try to think of something in that direction though.

[Steve Manning]

Here’s another idea for you, if you haven’t already seen it, http://www.nuforce.com/Product-Speaker.htm. Both the brochure and the technical paper give some good information and a good look at how the speakers are made.
Steve