LCR Statement Monitor Build

[lundowner]

HI. I have been lurking for quite some time and have finally started my project. I am starting with the Center and then will go on to do the monitors. I have all the parts except the tweeter (should be here Monday) and am almost done with the cabinet. Here are picture of the cabinet and the cutouts in the back panel and the layout for the front baffle. I hope to tomorrow to cut out the front baffle. A qusetion on the front baffle. What is the best way to open up the back of the cutouts? I have seen a couple of different ways. Is the router bit the best? If so I need to get one and not sure of the size and what it is called. I also need to get a flush bit and am not exactly sure of what to get as they have all different sizes.

JS

[Rightbrained]

I usually use a 1/2 roundover on mine but others prefer 3/4.
A 1/4" flush trim bit with a guide bearing is great for flushing all the edges.

[lundowner]

I usually use a 1/2 roundover on mine but others prefer 3/4.
A 1/4" flush trim bit with a guide bearing is great for flushing all the edges.

Thanks. I used the 1/2" roundover. I got the baffle done today and also got the crossovers done. I have attached pics of the crossovers. I did one for the woofers and another for the mid and tweeter. I made sure I can get them out thru the woofer holes. What have the folks here found to be the best place to mount these in the this particular speaker and what have you used to mount them with. I was thinking of using velcro. Just not sure where the best place to attach it is.

JS

[ThomasW]

http://www.htguide.com/forum/showthread.php4?t=31659&highlight=crossover+mounting+velcro

[lundowner]

I mounted the larger xover board on the side. I hot glued the velcro in place and it fit right in. For the woofer board I originally had it on the other side but the big cap got in the way of the driver. It looks like I'll just put it on the top of the cross brace. Does anyone see a problem with that? It would lie flat on top of the brace. Does it hurt to have these close to the drivers or do they need to be as far away as they can?

I received the tweeter yesterday afternoon and I hooked everything up and it all seemed to work ok. I do have one question on the hookup. For the woofers I used a standard spade terminal to connect and the tweeter came with a crimp on terminal. The W4 has 1 standard spade terminal on one side and a smaller terminal on the other. Why two different sizes and does anyone know what size it is? I then installed the port and glued the baffle on. This afternoon I hope to see how it sounds after I trim the front and back and round off the edges.

Is it all right to do a 1/2" roundoff to the whole baffle, all 4 sides? I know 3/4" is recommened but my router won't take a bit that size. I also plan on using grills so I am just doing it for looks more than anything else.

After I get it all hooked up and working for a while, I'll go back and finish the cabinet. I haven't decided whether to use veneer or just paint it. I refinished our kitchen cabinets with paint a couple of years ago and it came out really nice and is long lasting. I'm thinking I might do that here.

JS

[john trials]

Different sized terminals are helpful so you don't mix up the polarity if you use connectors (in the future, if you ever remove the W4s).

Someone recommended using 3/4" quarter-round molding on the vertical sides of the baffle. That's what I'm going to do, as my router has a 1/4" collet, and will not take a 3/4" roundover bit, either.

I priced the molding at Home Depot, and it's about $15 for 4 five-foot long sections...that's cheaper than the roundover router bit.

[Jim Holtz]

I mounted the larger xover board on the side. I hot glued the velcro in place and it fit right in. For the woofer board I originally had it on the other side but the big cap got in the way of the driver. It looks like I'll just put it on the top of the cross brace. Does anyone see a problem with that? It would lie flat on top of the brace. Does it hurt to have these close to the drivers or do they need to be as far away as they can?

I received the tweeter yesterday afternoon and I hooked everything up and it all seemed to work ok. I do have one question on the hookup. For the woofers I used a standard spade terminal to connect and the tweeter came with a crimp on terminal. The W4 has 1 standard spade terminal on one side and a smaller terminal on the other. Why two different sizes and does anyone know what size it is? I then installed the port and glued the baffle on. This afternoon I hope to see how it sounds after I trim the front and back and round off the edges.

Is it all right to do a 1/2" roundoff to the whole baffle, all 4 sides? I know 3/4" is recommened but my router won't take a bit that size. I also plan on using grills so I am just doing it for looks more than anything else.

After I get it all hooked up and working for a while, I'll go back and finish the cabinet. I haven't decided whether to use veneer or just paint it. I refinished our kitchen cabinets with paint a couple of years ago and it came out really nice and is long lasting. I'm thinking I might do that here.

JS

Hi JS,

I can't give you a scientific answer on crossover vs. driver positioning but I do try to get inductors as far away from the drivers as possible within the mounting restrictions of tight cabinets.

The terminal sizes are standard and available from many sources. I usually get mine from Madisound when I order other parts.

The purpose of the roundovers on the front baffle sides is to help smooth the frequency response. Whether the differences between a 1/4" vs a 1/2" roundover are audible is doubtful. I'm sure it could be measured but I'd worry about other things before the roundovers. The grills will impact the sound far greater than the roundover.

HTH

Jim

[lundowner]

Hi JS,

I can't give you a scientific answer on crossover vs. driver positioning but I do try to get inductors as far away from the drivers as possible within the mounting restrictions of tight cabinets.

HTH

Jim

Thanks Jim, I'll see if I can get them further away. Not a lot of room. Where did you mount yours on your center channel?

JS

[Jim Holtz]

Thanks Jim, I'll see if I can get them further away. Not a lot of room. Where did you mount yours on your center channel?

JS

Hi JS,

I mounted the crossover on the bottom of the cabinet against the back baffle. Sometimes it's not possible to get it positioned very far away from the drivers.

Jim

[lundowner]

Well I got tis up and running today and I must say, it sounds really nice to my untrained ear. At first I had a problem with no bass, but I checked my connections and found I had reversed the leads on one of the rs180's. After, it all seems great. I attached a picture of the unfinished cabinet. I'll get to that after I listen a while.

I notice in some of the other threads they talk about adjusting the foam in the tunnel to change the sound. I'd love to do that but am not sure what to listen for. What exactly changes when you remove some foam. I have 1" Hobby Lobby foam in there with a 45 degree bevel cut 2"s back from the front.

I have this turned with the tweeter on the bottom as it is above the TV. The tweeter is about 6 1/2' above the floor and the back is about 10"s from the rear wall. I have it angled slightly towrds the listening area. Not sure if this is necessary or not.

JS

[Jim Holtz]

Hi J.S.,

It sounds to me like you have the foam exactly right. It'll work a bit better with 18" clearance from the back of the cabinet but 12" will be fine for the center. If you want to play with the foam you can slide it closer or further away from the driver. I'm guessing the effects will be subtle in this application.

Ribbon down is exactly how it should be oriented. Let it play at normal volumes for about 20 hours and then do a little critical listening to it. Let us know how you come out.

Jim

[lundowner]

I noticed in the original thread there was some mention on the "tunneling effect" and that you can correct it by varying the foam length and the relief on the rear of the baffle. Can someone describe the "tunneling effect"?

[Jim Holtz]

I noticed in the original thread there was some mention on the "tunneling effect" and that you can correct it by varying the foam length and the relief on the rear of the baffle. Can someone describe the "tunneling effect"?

Actually, tunneling will be caused by the the back of the front baffle rather than foam too close. The mid will have a "cupped" or closed in sound is the back of the front baffle isn't scalloped out to allow the sound waves to exit the rear of the driver smoothly. I like to use a 3/4" round over bit but I've also used a 45 degree bit successfully.

Foam too close will cause a "dead" sound that lacks sparkle and dynamics.

Someone else can probably come up with a better description but I think that'll give you an idea of what it sounds like.

HTH

Jim

[lundowner]

Actually, tunneling will be caused by the the back of the front baffle rather than foam too close. The mid will have a "cupped" or closed in sound is the back of the front baffle isn't scalloped out to allow the sound waves to exit the rear of the driver smoothly. I like to use a 3/4" round over bit but I've also used a 45 degree bit successfully.


Jim

That describes what I hear occasionally, but not all the time. I used a 1/2" roundover when I cut out the baffle as that is the biggest I have. I suppose I can go in with a jigsaw and open it a little more and see what happens.

Thanks!

JS

[Jim Holtz]

HERE is a great picture of a perfect back baffle, IMHO. :T

Jim

[lundowner]

HERE is a great picture of a perfect back baffle, IMHO. :T

Jim

I saw that too. Wish I had the tools and/or skill. I also have it glued on already. I think I can open it up with my jigsaw with no problem. Then I can see if it changes. It isn't real noticable, but we're striving for perfection I guess and before I finish the cabinet, I want top make sure everything is good to go.

JS

[Jim Holtz]

I saw that too. Wish I had the tools and/or skill. I also have it glued on already. I think I can open it up with my jigsaw with no problem. Then I can see if it changes. It isn't real noticable, but we're striving for perfection I guess and before I finish the cabinet, I want top make sure everything is good to go.

JS

Just an FYI... I've never come close to that nice of cutout either. :W It'll work the same ugly as pretty. Now you know why I post limited pictures. :rofl:

Jim

[lundowner]

I was able to scallop the back of the opening for the mid and it did not change anything, so I guess the 1/2" roundover I had there was enough. I did start playing with the foam and that made a big difference. Whatever I was hearing was changeble that way. As I have it now the foam is about 3" back of the mid. I cut off a little at a time unitl what I was hearing went away. Hard to describe the sound, but it's gone.

Anyway, this is truely an amazing speaker. At first, I was a little bit disappointed as I was watching tv as the voices were different than what I was used to. I had expected this great clarity and sound and what I was hearing wasn't, except at certain times. Then I realized what I was hearing was the very precise detail that this design brings out. An example. A man sitting at a table turns his head downward. The whole tone of his voice changes as it is directed at the table and your hearing the reflection off of it. He picks his head up and turns it and you can almost tell where the microphone is situated. Another example. The people are riding in a car. It actually sounds different and muffled until they get out. Totally amazing. It also demostrates that in the televison world, they send out a lot of badly recorded stuff. I haven't watched a Bluray with it yet. I wanted to give it time to break in.

Thanks Jim for a wonderful design. I wish I could start on the monitors right away but my discretionary fund is currently depleted so it will have to wait a little bit. Hopefully in a couple of months.

JS

[Jim Holtz]

I was able to scallop the back of the opening for the mid and it did not change anything, so I guess the 1/2" roundover I had there was enough. I did start playing withe the foam and that made a big difference. Whatever I was hearing was changeble that way. As I have it now the foam is about 3" back of the mid. I cut off a little at a time unitl what I was hearing went away. Hard to describe the sound, but it's gone.

Anyway, this is truely an amazing speaker. At first, I was a little bit disappointed as I was watching tv as the voices were different than what I was used to. I had expected this great clarity and sound and what I was hearing wasn't, except at certain times. Then I realized what I was hearing was the very precise detail that this design brings out. An example. A man sitting at a table turns his head downward. The whole tone of his voice changes as it is directed at the table and your hearing the reflection off of it. He picks his head up and turns it and you can almost tell where the microphone is situated. Another example. The people are riding in a car. It actually sounds different and muffled until they get out. Totally amazing. It also demostrates that in the televison world, they send out a lot of badly recorded stuff. I haven't watched a Bluray with it yet. I wanted to give it time to break in.

Thanks Jim for a wonderful design. I wish I could start on the monitors right away but my discrecionary fund is currently depleted so it will have to wait a little bit. Hopefully in a couple of months.

JS

Hi J.S.

I suspect the closer positioning to the wall is impacting the sound a little which would explain the foam adjustment. It's nice to be adjustable. :T

Anyway, I'm pleased to hear it turned out so well. BTW, it's Curt who deserves the credit for the design rather than I. He's the genius, I just do the heavy lifting.

Enjoy!

Jim

[FroDaddy]

...It also demostrates that in the televison world, they send out a lot of badly recorded stuff. I haven't watched a Bluray with it yet...

I'm also finding alot of movies made in the 1990's used microphones that had a narrow frequency response; for instance an HD broadcast of Back to the Future didn't have as full voices as current movies. I've heard this as late as a broadcast of the movie Enemy of the State.

With Blu-Ray you can hear which movies had skilled sound technicians. This spans different codecs (PCM, TrueHD, DTS-MA), and some DVDs even have better voices than some "high-def" ones due to the way it was recorded originally. Sounding "good" is subjective to each person, but I'm sure you'll discover this for yourself.

[lundowner]

So how do you guys set your speakers up then. Tonight I got kind of frustrated as one show would be dead on and the next sounded like they were in a cave. So I would pause it and adjust the foam and so on. I know I can't keep doing this. That would be silly. Is there some standard that's generally used to get it right and then chalk up the other stuff to bad sound tracks? Like Jim said, I'm probably getting stuff off the back wall. Is there anything I can put on it to lessen the effect. It's really not visable behind the speaker.

JS

[Jim Holtz]

So how do you guys set your speakers up then. Tonight I got kind of frustrated as one show would be dead on and the next sounded like they were in a cave. So I would pause it and adjust the foam and so on. I know I can't keep doing this. That would be silly. Is there some standard that's generally used to get it right and then chalk up the other stuff to bad sound tracks? Like Jim said, I'm probably getting stuff off the back wall. Is there anything I can put on it to lessen the effect. It's really not visable behind the speaker.

JS

Hi JS,

Here's what I'd suggest. Set it up so it sounds good with a known well recorded soundtrack and then leave it alone. If the source isn't good, it'll reflect that. Not everything you listen to and like will be well recorded.

HTH

Jim

[lundowner]

Hi JS,

Here's what I'd suggest. Set it up so it sounds good with a known well recorded soundtrack and then leave it alone. If the source isn't good, it'll reflect that. Not everything you listen to and like will be well recorded.

HTH

Jim

Any Suggestions anyone? I am a Netflix subscriber? LOL As this is only HT, I really need it for the movies.

[lundowner]

As I am sitting here thinking about the tuning, I am wondering if someone can explain exactly what happens that causes voices to sound different when you play with the foam? Like I stated above, sometimes dialog is right on and very natural sounding and other times without changing anything, there is a hollow tone to it. Frodaddy describe it in the original thread as "tunneling" and it does sound like everyone is in a tunnel. Sometimes it is just one voice in a scene so I assume this is frequecy related. Moving the foam changes it. At one point just to hear what it would sound like I removed all the foam and it was really bad. Everything sounded like that. Does being close to the wall effect this? Don't get me wrong, it isn't terrible, just wondering why.

Slow day at work today and my mind is wandering.

JS

[BeerParty]

As I am sitting here thinking about the tuning, I am wondering if someone can explain exactly what happens that causes voices to sound different when you play with the foam? Like I stated above, sometimes dialog is right on and very natural sounding and other times without changing anything, there is a hollow tone to it. Frodaddy describe it in the original thread as "tunneling" and it does sound like everyone is in a tunnel. Sometimes it is just one voice in a scene so I assume this is frequecy related. Moving the foam changes it. At one point just to hear what it would sound like I removed all the foam and it was really bad. Everything sounded like that. Does being close to the wall effect this? Don't get me wrong, it isn't terrible, just wondering why.

Slow day at work today and my mind is wandering.

JS

As a quick check, I would try moving the speaker further away from the wall (say about 24").

I think the "tunneling" sound is from the reflection of the mid off the rear wall - that is why changing the foam in the tunnel changes the sound: the foam is attenuating/absorbing different frequencies when you change it (OK, I'm guessing here, but it seems reasonable to me :roll: ). If this fixes the problem, you could try moving the speaker back into place and put some acoustical treatment behind the speaker.

[Jim Holtz]

As I am sitting here thinking about the tuning, I am wondering if someone can explain exactly what happens that causes voices to sound different when you play with the foam? Like I stated above, sometimes dialog is right on and very natural sounding and other times without changing anything, there is a hollow tone to it. Frodaddy describe it in the original thread as "tunneling" and it does sound like everyone is in a tunnel. Sometimes it is just one voice in a scene so I assume this is frequecy related. Moving the foam changes it. At one point just to hear what it would sound like I removed all the foam and it was really bad. Everything sounded like that. Does being close to the wall effect this? Don't get me wrong, it isn't terrible, just wondering why.

Slow day at work today and my mind is wandering.

JS

Lets take a good look at what's going on. 1st of all, hollow sounding mids often indicate reversed polarity on the drivers. Number one thing to do is check your crossover and make sure the drivers are wired properly and the crossover is assembled correctly.

2nd, what is the source you are hearing the hollow voices on? can your preamp/receiver put out a mono signal? If it can, hook the center up as a main channel and play really well recorded music and see what it sounds like. If it sounds good on music, it'll sound good on movies unless the DVD is poorly recorded. Make sure your receiver/processor is setup for 5.1 or more depending on your current setup. Regardless you want a good signal going to the center. You can easily run the center full range.

Start the testing with the foam 2" back from the drivers with a 45 degree bevel on the driver end. You had asked earlier what happened when the foam was pulled away from the driver? It allows more sound to escape the rear tunnel. The 2" setting was determined through extensive testing with the center well away from the wall behind it.

The crossover and polarity check is first though. Let us know how you come out.

Jim

[lundowner]

Thanks. I'll give all this a look and will report back.

JS

[lundowner]

First I checked the polarity on my drivers and they were set fine. I then pulled out the crossovers and checked them. They also seemed fine altho I had a little trouble getting one out as it is a little bigas it has both the mid and tweeter nets on it. Banged it around a little trying to get it to slide out. The foam in the woofer part is pretty thick. Put it all back and took it down off the shelf and set it in the middle of the room and played some cd's using the bluray. Set it up mono and it seemed fine. Actually sounded really nice. Listened to different cd's for about 45 minutes or so and then turned on the TV. That also sounded good so I suspected it was the wall refelction bounce as the middle of the room sounded the best. Keep in mind this wasn't bad. It just wasn't right. Put the thing back on the shelf to experiment with wall treatments behind and it was fine. Sounded just like the middle of the room. I suspect I have a cold solder joint or something that got fixed when I was struggling to get the crossover out to check. What I think I'll do over the weekend is pull it out and rebuild it into 2 smaller boards that I can put in the back. Then I'll have 1 board for each driver.

Thanks for the tips and insight. It's looking the best yet.

[Jim Holtz]

Excellent! :T

Jim

[lundowner]

Yesterday I went and rebuilt that one big crossover into 2 smaller ones like I said above and believe it or not, it actually sounds better. Can't explain what, maybe clearer? After listening a while I decided to put the foam in the tunnel back to the original 2" back and a 45° angle on the cut. It sounded even better. Not sure what was exactly wrong on the crossover but it sure seems good now.

Now I am going to work on the finish. Nothing fancy, just sealer, primer and black satin paint. Hopefully I can get a picture posted by the end of the week.

Thanks again for all the help.

JS

[Jim Holtz]

I love it when a plan comes together! :B

Jim

[lundowner]

Well as promised, here are the pictures after painting. I realize now I do not have great cabinet skills. I thought I had it pretty good after sealing and sanding, but when I put the paint on, it shows a lot of errors. I know now what to look for when I do the monitors. I am not real concerned here as they are up on a shelf and covered with a grill (a wife requirement) and the errors can only be seen when looking closely. I attached pictures of with and without the grill. The L&R monitors will have to be done better. I plan on building and finishoing the cabinets before I even order the parts. I'll take my time and get it right. I rushed this a little as I hated my old center.

JS

[lundowner]

I have a question on the crossover for the monitors. I have some Dayton Caps already that I can combine and make the 70 and maybe one of the 50's. If I combine a few of these in one monitor and then use the BOM stated sizes on the other, will this affect anything? Also, what would happen if I only got to 47uF instead of 50uF in one of the circuits? Just trying to use up what I have.

JS

[Curt C]

Without starting another cap war, here is my opinion:
The 70 ufd is not all that critical, and could be made up of poly caps, electrolytic caps, or a combination of both. Keep in mind that electrolytics normally measure higher than their rated capacitance, so 68 ufd ‘lytics would be fine, as well as a 47 ufd ‘lytic paralleled with a 20 ufd poly, for two possible examples.

The mid cap, I’d probably want to do in all poly, but there may be some advantages to making up the 50 ufd by paralleling lower value caps. –Here I’d want to use the same mix of caps for each speaker, though. While 47 ufd will likely work, it would drive my obsessive-compulsive tendencies crazy until I made both sides the same, regardless of their relative aural attributes.

C

[lundowner]

Without starting another cap war, here is my opinion:
The 70 ufd is not all that critical, and could be made up of poly caps, electrolytic caps, or a combination of both. Keep in mind that electrolytics normally measure higher than their rated capacitance, so 68 ufd ‘lytics would be fine, as well as a 47 ufd ‘lytic paralleled with a 20 ufd poly, for two possible examples.

The mid cap, I’d probably want to do in all poly, but there may be some advantages to making up the 50 ufd by paralleling lower value caps. –Here I’d want to use the same mix of caps for each speaker, though. While 47 ufd will likely work, it would drive my obsessive-compulsive tendencies crazy until I made both sides the same, regardless of their relative aural attributes.

C

I don't think I have enough to get 2 70 uF's. I will have to go over what I have and just make sure the values mirror each other. Maybe use what I have and when I go to purchase, get a lower value so I have enough for two circuits. I kind of thought the same thing, that's why I asked. It would probably drive me crazy too.

JS

[lundowner]

Here is what I can do to try and utilize some old parts that I have. For the 70uF circuit for the woofer.

1 40uF
1 12uF
1 15uF
1 03uF

That will get me to the 70Uf.

For the mid's circuit that needs a 50uF I can use 1 20uF and a 1 30uF. These all would be the Dayton poly caps. Going this way will give me identical configurations in both the left and right speakers and save me a few bucks. It's not that big of a savings, so if anyone see's disadvantages to doing this let me know.

Thanks!

JS

[Curt C]

Looks good to me!

C

[lundowner]

I started the cabinets yesterday for the monitors. I have them all cut out and have started glueing up the sides. I need to cut the holes for the baffles too.

I had a question on foam for the woofer section. I assume you don't need any up where the port and tweeter are and the mid tunnel is lined with 1" foam. What size is recommended for the woofer on the monitor? I was wondering if I could use the 1" hobby lobby foam or does it need to be thicker?

JS

[lundowner]

I decided to go with 2"fiberglass for the lining. I assume I need to leave the gaps between the side braces on the mid tunnel open so the woofer has access to the port on the other side of the tunnel. Is that correct?

Speaking of the port, this is from Jim's comment on the builders page:

We felt it was very important to have inner/outer flares to eliminate port noise so the Precision kit was the logical selection. The tube length is 3” which combined with the flares equals an over all length of 8” total for a cabinet tuning of 34 Hz.

I got my parts yesterday and I took a look at the Precision Port kit. It has the 2 flares, 2 sleeves and the tube. I take this to mean that I should cut the tube to 3" and then put it together and this will give me the proper length. I have never used flared ports before and not sure how they are measured.

The cabinets are almost done. I cut the baffel yesterday evening and had a minor setback. When cutting the tweeter hole, as I was doing the recess for the flange, I went a step bigger on the Jasper jig instead of step smaller and the flange recess is wider than the tweeter's flange. I filled in the whole gap with bondo and today I'll sand it smooth and start that hole again. I think this should work. I really don't want to have to buy another sheet of mdf just for the one baffle. Does anyone see a problem with the patch?

JS

[john trials]

Lundowner, I'm interested in how the Bondo works out. If you are painting your baffle, it should work well.

I'm not that far along in my Statement build, but I will probably need to use Bondo to fill some gaps, as I'm using 3/4" quarter-round molding for the baffle edges (I don't have a large enough router to do 3/4" roundover).

I'm interested in how the Bondo will react to the heat of an iron. I plan on using the glue/iron method to attach veneer. I may have to run a test, but if you've tried it, I'd like to hear your results. Bondo doesn't deteriorate on a car in the baking sun, but I'm not sure that is as hot as an iron. At least with the glue/iron method, it will be exposed to heat for a very short duration.

[BeerParty]

I got my parts yesterday and I took a look at the Precision Port kit. It has the 2 flares, 2 sleeves and the tube. I take this to mean that I should cut the tube to 3" and then put it together and this will give me the proper length.

Cutting the tube to 3" is correct. Once the 3" tube is connected to the inner and outer flare, the overall length of the port will be 8" long.

You can see a picture of a finished port for the Monitors in this post .

[lundowner]

Lundowner, I'm interested in how the Bondo works out. If you are painting your baffle, it should work well.

I'm interested in how the Bondo will react to the heat of an iron. I plan on using the glue/iron method to attach veneer.

I sanded down the Bondo and cut out the tweeter recess and hole. Came out real nice. Better than I thought it would. I'll post a picture after I glue the baffle on this weekend. I am not using veneer, just plain old paint, so I am not sure how it will react to an iron. I'm fairly sure you won't have a problem as it is rock hard after it dries.

Cutting the tube to 3" is correct. Once the 3" tube is connected to the inner and outer flare, the overall length of the port will be 8" long.

Thanks. I have been following your thread. I hope to have the cabinets done and finished in the next few days. Part of my problem is now is the time when you need to take your time with the finish and I just want to rush and get everything working and then go back and do the finish. When you do it that way you end up with raw MDF finished speakers because you don't want to give them up while waiting for BONDO, primer and paint to dry. This time I am determioned to get the finish done before listening to them. Hopefully, I'll have the patience.

[lundowner]

I got the cabinets together today. Now to get the Bondo out and start fixing my mistakes. I also have to make the cutouts in the tweeter for the terminals. I see pictures where folks have a real neat and trim cut out. Do they use a template or something? Mine never look like that and I guess as to the size by trial and error. After that, all I have left is to sand and seal and prime. You can see on the right where I used Bondo on the tweeter hole. Can't wait to listen to them.

JS

[BeerParty]

I also have to make the cutouts in the twetter for the terminals. I see pictures where folks have a real neat and trim cut out. Do they use a template or something? Mine never look like that and I guess as to the size by trial and error.

I just finished cutting out mine - I used a Dremel tool and a sanding tube. It does not look perfect, but it'll be invisible after the tweeter is installed so I'm not worried.

Keep up the good work!

[FroDaddy]

...I see pictures where folks have a real neat and trim cut out. Do they use a template or something? Mine never look like that and I guess as to the size by trial and error....

I made my own template by measuring the back of the tweeter with a caliper like this one:



I also used the caliper to measure the speakers for the recess diameter and the cutout diameter before making any cuts. For the cutout diameter I measured the lip and did some math to come up with the cutout size.

HTH