My First DIY (Kit) - Zaph 5.2

[707kevin]

Hey all. Thought I'd post up my progress so far on the Zaph ZA5.2s. This is my first speaker project and my first woodworking project, so by all means, point and laugh now...

I've got a small room, and no need for 'loud' so I figured the za5 series would be great. These will be running on my HK AVR 254 (Love it, BTW - no problems with mine!)

A friend gave me 1/2 sheet of 3/4" marine grade 13 ply mahogany, so I figured I'd put it to use on the baffles.

I made my own circle jig, but it was definitely not perfect. I'll be happy with the results though. I'll shim the drivers to center them so the oversize holes are not as noticeable. The port tube holes came out pretty good.

I've got a bit of filling and sanding to do. The narrow space between the mid and tweeter and mid and port chipped off. I tried taping, faster router, slower router, it must had been a dull bit. (hurray for borrowed tools).

I think I want to do a 45 deg bevel rather than a round over just to make them a bit different than most. would that effect sound noticeably, or be a bad idea?

Final finish will be a ebony stain, then a satin clear. Just keeping everything simple. The natural mahogany just would not go with my other stuff.

Boxes will be satin black or charcoal.

Heh - drivers in the baffle with no boxes sound 100x better than what I already have I can't wait to finish these!!! I Like the looks of the zaph driver so much I started cutting the center and mtm versions also. When I can get the kits I'll move the 5.2's to the bedroom, or use them for surrounds.

I haven't posted much, but I've been reading for almost a year. I've learned a TON here, great site!!

feedback and suggestions wanted! More details as I finish them.

[Dean100]

Looking good so far! :T

[blue934]

agreed. very nice work. the 45deg bevel will be fine.

david

[707kevin]

Thanks a lot.

Made the mtm baffles today, screwed up the second one though. I got through 5 baffles before I really screwed one up, not bad! lol.

[blue934]

didn't notice, are you building a center?

i think i am going to try that to replace my existing dayton da135/silky mtm.

[fbov]

Hey all. ...I made my own circle jig, but it was definitely not perfect. I'll be happy with the results though. I'll shim the drivers ...The narrow space between the mid and tweeter and mid and port chipped off. ...

...I think I want to do a 45 deg bevel rather than a round over just to make them a bit different than most. would that effect sound noticeably, or be a bad idea?...

I haven't posted much, ... More details as I finish them.

Kevin,
First off, this is a hobby, so you only have to please yourself, both in what you make and how much you interact here (pictures always welcome, as you obviously know). Any of Zaph's kits are a great place to start and very few of us achieve press-fit tolerances when recessing drivers. The biggest benefit comes from the flush part and your depth looks good. I also used a 45* bevel (as you can see) and I got favorable comments on sound quality when I took them to a DIY event so it's clearly not a bad thing.

Tear out of thin sections like your port are usually a tradeoff to acheive tighter driver spacing, but port location was up to you.... One easy way to fill the gap is to add an accent strip down the front, or at least in both the driver and port gaps. Otherwise the fill may look like a repair, and you want the repair to looks like it was planned.

I've got a similar issue with tear out between drivers, but in an MTM, so it's on both sides and not perfectly centered. The recess radii are also a bit large, so I'm thinking maybe a thin strip of inlay lining all three driver recesses, with special attention to how they overlap in the torn out area.... but I digress.

I'll close with a word of warning; this may not be your last build... It's a fun hobby!

Have fun,
Frank

[707kevin]

fbov - thanks a lot for the words

didn't notice, are you building a center?

I think i am going to try that to replace my existing dayton da135/silky mtm.

I'm cutting the baffle so I don't have to set up the tools later when I order parts for the center and MTM's. Just not sure how much later.


Heres my thinking. The parts that aren't perfect, I KNOW aren't perfect, and I know how to improve them next time. To me, that's enough sometimes
I know people that will never notice a flaw, and people that will make the same mistake over and over and over. Both annoy me

Maybe if I have time today I'll get the bevel taken care of. I had a great interview yesterday, so this might not be my first & last project after all...

[Thooms]

I know the feeling. It's annoying to finish something knowing you could've done something differently.

Good job though, to me they look fantastic!

[omarmipi]

Nice! I like the mahogany.

[707kevin]

Nice! I like the mahogany.

Thanks. I'll set up my lights and see if I can get some accurate pics of them stained. I really like the way the ebony stain worked out on the mahogany.