What I've been up to lately

[snmhanson]

Last fall I started on three seperate speaker projects. After a couple of injuries and a long cold winter I finally have them finished. Just thought I would post the results here.

First up was my most challenging build to date - Paul Carmody's Tarkus. I deviated from his design and curved both the sides and the back while keeping the angles on the front. I haven't seen the Tarkus on this board but there have been a few builds on the PE Tech Talk forum. I actually finished this build last winter but thought I would include it here. Finish is Macassar Ebony.

Next up is another Carmody build - the OS MTM. These were supposed to be speakers for my son's room but they turned out so well that I'm not sure if they will ever make it there. I also built a center to go along with these but I need to order a new tweeter for it because it was destroyed when trying to solder the wire to it. I used Sappele for the body of the speaker with a solid birch baffle. The baffle wasn't flush with the speaker body when I glued it on so I came up with the idea of routing a channel around it and filling it with black dyed epoxy.

Finally, I have the Marsala surrounds to go along with my Statement Monitor and 2RCC front sound stage. I needed something that could be tucked up and out of the way and this was the best solution I could find. I think I am going to put two more of these in the back of the room. These are in curly maple, though there isn't much curl to it.

Feel free to offer any comments or advice on any of these builds.

Matt

[impala454]

Awesome on all three :T Especially that curved one. I love that ebony finish.

[john trials]

Yeah...I agree. Great builds. They all look beautiful. That black dyed epoxy trick to give a visual separation of the baffle from the rest of the enclosure was smart. It looks very nice.

Seeing your curved Tarkus makes me think it would be cool if the baffle was also smoothly curved, and you could get the grain on the sides to curve along with the overall shape (kind of impossible, I know). Yours look SO nice!!!

Got any build photos of the Tarkus?

[Undefinition]

Wow, dude. Seriously, wow. :E Those Tarkus look like they are ready for showroom floor, price tag: $14,000.

[snmhanson]

Thanks for the comments. I have a new hobby (pen turning) that has been taking my spare time lately, but finishing these has reignited the speaker building spark. Maybe it's time to get started the the sealed Statements that have been on the drawing board for a while, or possibly the elusive ZRTs. After hearing the Tarkus and the OS MTMs I'll also have to check Paul's site to see if he has any other designs that appeal to me.

Here is a link to the Tarkus build: http://techtalk.parts-express.com/sh...ghlight=tarkus

Oh, and Undefinition (AKA Paul, right?), I will sell you the Tarkus for the bargain price of $10,000 - you know, since you are the designer and all. Seriously, many thanks the input you offered on the build not to mention sharing your great designs. I am actually quite blown away by the OS MTMs. I am listening to them right now and just amazed by the clarity and detail they offer, not to mention their very impressive range. They are being driven by an inexpensive tube amp and it is just pure liquid (if that makes any sense). I wish I had the time and technical ability to come up with my own designs, but I wouldn't even know where to start. For now it's just going to be my interpretation of other's proven designs.

Matt

[impala454]

Post a few pics of the pens too!

[Hank]

Beautiful work, sir! I've used Sapele also - one of my favorite 3D-look grains, along with Anegre and Makore.

[cjd]

How are those surrounds working for you? I'm thrilled with them still but havent heard much from others.

Execution of these builds is superb. Beautiful.

[snmhanson]

How are those surrounds working for you? I'm thrilled with them still but havent heard much from others.

Execution of these builds is superb. Beautiful.

I like the surrounds, though I haven't had much time to listen to them yet. They have mainly been used for my son's video game sessions. I also find that I don't have too many movies that utilize surround channels all that much. I did watch a portion of Master and Commander though and I immediately knew I made a good choice. You could tell the general direction the sound was coming from, but you couldn't pinpoint it to the speaker. The sound was definitely there, but still subtle and not overly obvious. My wife even says she notices a significant difference with them up there. And she is pleased with the appearance as well. I hope to get out for a good session this weekend. Maybe Avatar, or watch Master and Commander from the start.

I do have a couple of questions. First, I didn't put any stuffing in these - should I put a handful of stuffing in each one or are they designed to not be stuffed? Also, not that it really matters at this point, but they are wedged up at the wall/ceiling junction and just back (~2' or so) from the listening position. It is actually a junction that an alcove wall about 3' out from the actual wall forms with the ceiling, but a wall for all intents. If you look at the picture you can just see the bottom of the alcove going back to the main wall. Is that placement acceptable?

One other thing is that I am using these as the side surrounds now, but I have a couple of cheaper in-ceiling speakers way in the back of the room that are being used for the rears. I plan to build another pair of the Marsalas for the rears.

Thanks,

Matt

[Bryceo]

They looks fabulouse

[Undefinition]

Do you have any higher-res photos of the Tarkus you could email me? I'd like to put it on my site.

[dsrviola]

Post a few pics of the pens too!

+1 please

[cjd]

I do have a couple of questions. First, I didn't put any stuffing in these - should I put a handful of stuffing in each one or are they designed to not be stuffed? Also, not that it really matters at this point, but they are wedged up at the wall/ceiling junction and just back (~2' or so) from the listening position. It is actually a junction that an alcove wall about 3' out from the actual wall forms with the ceiling, but a wall for all intents. If you look at the picture you can just see the bottom of the alcove going back to the main wall. Is that placement acceptable?

Stuff to taste. A little bit will help, but you don't have nearly the reflection issues back through the cone due to the angle on the woofer. Side-wall treatment adjacent is probably what I'd worry about the most.

Placement is fine as long as they sound good. The only real caveat is where you are relative to the tweeter axis; You have to wire the crossover either for on-axis or off-axis.

C

[snmhanson]

I'd be happy to get some pictures for you Paul - and it would be an honor to have them on your site. Give me a few days to get my wife to bring the good camera home from her office. Photography is not my forte, but I'm sure I can pull off a couple nice shots for you.

I'll also post some pics of some of my pens for those that asked. I am still pretty new to pen turning, but I have some passable efforts. The satisfaction of starting and finishing a pen in the same day is a nice diversion from the often arduous job of building a speaker.

Thanks for the info on the stuffing cjd - I'll try putting a little in there and see what it does. I hope I have the tweeters wired correctly. They are off axis (well above and slightly behind the listener, aimed straight across the ceiling) and I wired them exactly as shown on the crossover diagram...

Matt

[cjd]

The crossover diagram was for off-axis so you should be set.

[JoeAngelicchio]

Where can one get more info on the Marsalas?