Stentorian build...

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  • CADman_ks
    Senior Member
    • Jan 2012
    • 497

    Stentorian build...

    I just wanted to give everyone a heads up on the Stentorians.

    I built my front baffles this evening. Before I started, I carefully measured the speakers, and the fronts were running a little bit OVER the 6.125" that they are called out for on the plans.

    I don't have a Jasper jig, so I build my own. I got the diameter dialed into EXACTLY what I was going for, 5.4", which is what my speakers measured, which would give me an outside of 6.15". Well, somewhere along the way, my home-bilt circle jig slipped, and my holes ended up being EXACTLY 5.375, which is what the plans called for. I put the 3/8" rebates in there, and the speakers would NOT go in. I couldn't even force them in there, and if I had, there's no way that I was ever getting them out.

    Fortunately, I had a drum sander for my drill press, and MDF machines pretty easily, so I took them over there, and opened up all of the holes a little bit, and recut the rebates, and now my speakers drop in. Make sure that you measure yours to ensure that you get the right size holes the first time.

    Also, I did find a flaw in the plan as well. THERE ARE 7 SPEAKER HOLES TO CUT FOR EACH SPEAKER!!! Holy cow! am I tired of cutting circles! :E Since I had doubled up my thickness to 1 1/2", I had to make 14 speaker holes PER cab, because my bit would only reach a little over 3/4"! I have literally cut 24 speaker holes tonite! (I still have the tweeters hole to get yet!!!)

    Seriously, though, Curt's plan is great, and I think that it's not really that bad of a project for your first build, but be prepared to cut a LOT of circles. I'm looking forward to actually getting to the part where I assemble cabs. GREAT JOB CURT! :T

    CADman_ks
    CADman_ks
    - Stentorian build...
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  • ---k---
    Ultra Senior Member
    • Nov 2005
    • 5202

    #2
    Yeah, wait until you try and follow some of my plans! I state up front that my dimensions are likely to be wrong!

    I've done a lot of hand detailing with a dremel to get my drivers to fit on various projects. One project, ... actually two projects ..., I had to cut the front baffles three times before I got it right. :doh:

    And, if you're tired of cutting holes, check out these crazy braces you could be doing:

    Click image for larger version

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    photo provided by that crazy master of ovrekill Joey Butts.
    Last edited by theSven; 02 May 2023, 11:46 Tuesday. Reason: Update image location
    - Ryan

    CJD Ochocinco! ND140/BC25SC06 MTM & TM
    CJD Khanspires - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS225 WMTMW
    CJD Khancenter - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS180 WTMW Center

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    • CADman_ks
      Senior Member
      • Jan 2012
      • 497

      #3
      Originally posted by ---k---
      Yeah, wait until you try and follow some of my plans! I state up front that my dimensions are likely to be wrong!
      Actually, as good as his plans were, I laid out the ENTIRE thing in CAD before I started. That way, I not only know what's going to happen, it helps me to get a better mental picture of how I'm going to go about it. Then, I can also make drawings of individual pieces, and hold those in my hands while I'm making said pieces.

      Does that mean that I still didn't screw some stuff up. No. Made several wrong cuts, and drilled several wrong holes, that I know have to fix.

      Originally posted by ---k---
      I've done a lot of hand detailing with a dremel to get my drivers to fit on various projects. One project, ... actually two projects ..., I had to cut the front baffles three times before I got it right. :doh:
      At least I didn't have to start over on my front baffles. All the while that I was making them, I kept thinking, "don't let something go wrong with these, please..."


      Originally posted by ---k---
      And, if you're tired of cutting holes, check out these crazy braces you could be doing:

      photo provided by that crazy master of ovrekill Joey Butts.
      Yeah, I just scanned that whole RS center build thread. That IS truly some crazy stuff there!

      One thing that I will say about building these speakers, though, is that I have NEVER cleaned up my shop as much as I'm cleaning it right now. The piles of "dust" from the MDF are just HUGE!

      CADman_ks
      CADman_ks
      - Stentorian build...
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      - BT speaker / sub build...

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      • CADman_ks
        Senior Member
        • Jan 2012
        • 497

        #4
        Update...

        Yesterday I was able to heat up the garage to the point that I could lay down some glue and get the cabs glued together. I used screws for the cabinet, and really for the most part, it went really well. Since these will be shop speakers, using screws wasn't an bad deal for me, and it actually allowed me to assembly them pretty quickly. I didn't use any BIG clamps to clamp anything because the screws did a great job of pulling things together.

        When I was done, I had pretty much square cabs, so something worked out right.

        I still need to cut the rebates for tweeters, and so the baffles aren't quite done yet.

        Weighed the cabs last nite with the baffles, and they are 49lbs. I estimated 50, so I was close.

        Spent the evening tonite building the crossovers, because it was too cold to go out into the unheated shop. I sure hope that my crossovers work, because I went ahead and made them up permanently. Probably not the best idea, but I did it. That took me 4 hours!

        Sorry for the crappy pics. I had to take them with my phone, because I couldn't find the cables to the point and shoot camera, and didn't feel like getting out the SLR for this.

        Front view:

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        Back view: (this is the area where the crossover will live)

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        Crossover:

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        I pretty much stuck with the layout that Curt had on his design. That made making it much easier, and it was easier to trace to see if there were possible errors. I did make the overall plate a little bit bigger than his though, so that that I wasn't quite so crowded, but the size of this would have worked.

        Is still have to add some binding posts in that lower right corner, but I don't have them yet. The terminal blocks are from the left:

        Woofer +
        Upper Woofer +
        Tweeter +
        Woofer -
        Upper Woofer -
        Tweeter -
        Input -
        Input +

        All of the minuses are together with a terminal clips, but they are a little hard to see in these photos.

        CADman_ks
        Last edited by theSven; 02 May 2023, 11:47 Tuesday. Reason: Update image location
        CADman_ks
        - Stentorian build...
        - Ochocinco build...
        - BT speaker / sub build...

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        • Brendan_L
          Member
          • Sep 2006
          • 39

          #5
          Can you post your cut sheet? I'm going to start on my cabinets this weekend. I too am going to go with 1.5" front baffles.

          I'm sure you know already, but since you mentioned it, watch out that you don't get a lungful of MDF dust.
          I knew a guy who got pneumonia from building lots of speakers for resale.

          Comment

          • CADman_ks
            Senior Member
            • Jan 2012
            • 497

            #6
            Originally posted by Brendan_L
            Can you post your cut sheet? I'm going to start on my cabinets this weekend. I too am going to go with 1.5" front baffles.
            I've attached the PDF file of my cutlist. I hope that it is understandable. Like I said, I may have done my cabinet build a little bit different than normal. I didn't have a lot of time to work on this before I had to leave for the evening. If you need more, let me know, and I can get you any detail you'd like, about how I did it.

            Originally posted by Brendan_L
            I'm sure you know already, but since you mentioned it, watch out that you don't get a lungful of MDF dust.
            I knew a guy who got pneumonia from building lots of speakers for resale.
            LOL! I actually took one MDF bath while I was routing. I probably should have been wearing a mask, but I wasn't...

            Enjoy...

            CADman_ks
            Attached Files
            CADman_ks
            - Stentorian build...
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            • Brendan_L
              Member
              • Sep 2006
              • 39

              #7
              Cadman,

              That cut sheet is awesome. I just spent 3 hours in my also unheated shop.

              Thanks for providing it.
              Hopefully I will get to start gluing and clamping today.

              I went the easy route on the crossovers, Madisound builds them for just $6.

              I used finish grade birch so I will not be using any screws or brads.

              Comment

              • Brendan_L
                Member
                • Sep 2006
                • 39

                #8
                I'm trying to figure out the round over from Curt's pictures.
                It looks like only the left, top and right of the front baffle have a 3/4 round over?

                Is there any rounding on the top and back? I assume that would be left to builders preferences.

                Comment

                • CADman_ks
                  Senior Member
                  • Jan 2012
                  • 497

                  #9
                  Originally posted by Brendan_L
                  I'm trying to figure out the round over from Curt's pictures.
                  It looks like only the left, top and right of the front baffle have a 3/4 round over?

                  Is there any rounding on the top and back? I assume that would be left to builders preferences.
                  Because I used screws, I could only go 3/8" roundover. I did basically all of the edges but the ones on the back.

                  I did ask Curt about this, and he never gave me the value, but said it was better with some than none. I was originally going to leave mine square on the front so that I could add some speaker covers. He talked me out of covers, because they change they cause additional diffraction effects..

                  I'm still going to try to do speaker covers, but I'm going to do it without frames. We'll see how that goes for me...

                  CADman_ks
                  CADman_ks
                  - Stentorian build...
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                  • CADman_ks
                    Senior Member
                    • Jan 2012
                    • 497

                    #10
                    Originally posted by Brendan_L
                    Cadman,

                    That cut sheet is awesome. I just spent 3 hours in my also unheated shop.

                    Thanks for providing it. ...
                    Glad I could help! I hate to cut anything without a cutsheet. I have access to CAD, so I just usually do it myself.

                    Originally posted by Brendan_L
                    ...

                    I went the easy route on the crossovers, Madisound builds them for just $6.
                    That's not a bad deal at all. I can't hardly believe that they put that together for $6. They obviously know something that I don't. I took me 4 HOURS to do my two! But, I enjoyed, and I think that I have a better understanding of what's really going on there, or at least where the power is going...

                    CADman_ks
                    CADman_ks
                    - Stentorian build...
                    - Ochocinco build...
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                    • Brendan_L
                      Member
                      • Sep 2006
                      • 39

                      #11
                      Grrrr.
                      Nail gun (said I wouldn't use one but I did use it to mount the inner front baffle) hit something in the plywood and punctured the surface of the sides. I swear I had positioned vertically.

                      Best way to fix it? Cut a piece out of the top layer of ply and then get some veneer from the top layer of a sacrificial piece of plywood I'm not using?

                      Or should I just go with filler?

                      It's always something.

                      Comment

                      • CADman_ks
                        Senior Member
                        • Jan 2012
                        • 497

                        #12
                        Originally posted by Brendan_L
                        Grrrr.
                        Nail gun (said I wouldn't use one but I did use it to mount the inner front baffle) hit something in the plywood and punctured the surface of the sides. I swear I had positioned vertically.

                        Best way to fix it? Cut a piece out of the top layer of ply and then get some veneer from the top layer of a sacrificial piece of plywood I'm not using?

                        Or should I just go with filler?

                        It's always something.
                        It always something, isn't it!! (see my thread on why do things explode. )

                        That's the one thing that I always hate about nail guns. You've got to be careful that the nail won't hit something and veer off. If your finger is there, it's not fun!

                        I've never tried to salvage veneer, but I would think that you could salvage some veneer from a scrap piece, and fill that in. But, I would think that it will always be visible to some extent.

                        Are you going to stain them or paint them? It's going to be a lot more noticeable with stain than paint. If I was going to stain them, I think that I would use some GOOD quality filler, and take my chances. There are some fillers out there that do a better job of taking stains than others.

                        Another option would be to stain the whole thing with the imperfection, and then fill that back up with some filler after the fact. In that case, you can get some of that filler that's like play-doh, and you can get several different colors, and mix them together to get the exact color that you're after...

                        Still all sucks, though...

                        CADman_ks
                        CADman_ks
                        - Stentorian build...
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                        • CADman_ks
                          Senior Member
                          • Jan 2012
                          • 497

                          #13
                          They're Alive!!!! Baaahhhaaaaahhhahhahaha...

                          Damn binding posts didn't get here again today, so I finally said screw it, I'm takin' ---k---'s advice, and I'm riggin' the things in the shop so that I can listen to them out there.

                          That, coupled with the fact that the weather has just been gorgeous here the last couple of days, I couldn't take the waiting anymore. Weather is supposed to turn tonite and tomorrow, and I didn't want to be hanging these things in the cold. So, now I have to take the boards out to put the binding posts on, but that's just fine.

                          The verdict....

                          HOLY FRICKIN' CRAP!! ARE THESE THINGS LOUD??? Did you say something? I can't hear you!!! The stereo is up way to high!!!! :T:-y:T:-y:T:-y:T:-y:T:-yThis sums up how loud they are: I got this text from my wife, IN THE HOUSE, about 100 yards from the shop, with all the doors and windows closed on the shop, and this is what it said: "Is that your stereo I hear?". Yes. Yes it is honey... :twisted::twisted::twisted::twisted:

                          I have them hooked up to a 140W receiver, that I have a separate EQ on, and I have the EQ attenuated a little higher than I probably should, but I only got to 3 on the volume knob. 11 would stop your heart I think! I repeated the tests that I did with my cheap-a$$ phone dB meter, and with the volume at 5, I was 98 with my last speakers, and let's just say that the sound wasn't, wasn't, well, well, it blew at that level. The Stents hit 101 on the meter, at volume 3 and the sound is just as clear as it at 1. (This receiver is old enough that it does not list the volume as dB, so I'm forced to go with 1-10 or 11)

                          These things are awesome!

                          A few more observations...

                          I was a little bit concerned about the bass output when I A/B'ed them against my Klipsch KG-2's. They had bass, but it wasn't really "punchy". These speakers do have a fair amount of bass in them, and while it may not be punchy, it is very clear and clean. I was so concernced that I thought that I would need a sub woofer with these things. I think I'm good for now. Might get one later, but I'm good right now.

                          Highs are pretty crisp, and I don't personally think that there is too much. In the shop, mid sounds a little different than my old speakers, and I don't think that's a bad thing, it's just something that I have to get used to. I think that there is MORE mid there than there was with my old speakers, and that's what I'm hearing. I'm actually hearing things that I probably wouldn't normally hear with my old speakers.

                          My normal listening position in the shop is a little bit off axis, and away from the sweet spot. But I just checked, and the speakers sound pretty much the same as they do in the sweet spot. Maybe a little more treble in the sweet spot, but other than that, I can't tell a whole lot of difference. None of this is metered, other than with my ears.

                          I took some pictures of them installed on the wall, and a close-up picture of the brackets that I designed that hang them from the main posts in my shop.

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                          Dang I love these speakers!!!

                          CADman_ks
                          Last edited by theSven; 02 May 2023, 11:48 Tuesday. Reason: Update image location
                          CADman_ks
                          - Stentorian build...
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                          - BT speaker / sub build...

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                          • ---k---
                            Ultra Senior Member
                            • Nov 2005
                            • 5202

                            #14
                            That's great. I'm glad you're loving them. They look great. :T
                            - Ryan

                            CJD Ochocinco! ND140/BC25SC06 MTM & TM
                            CJD Khanspires - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS225 WMTMW
                            CJD Khancenter - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS180 WTMW Center

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                            • BOBinGA
                              Senior Member
                              • Mar 2009
                              • 303

                              #15
                              Those look great. The hanging brackets are something else. But since this is a woodworking shop, you might want to condsider some grills for those. Sawdust gets in everything that's not covered and I don't think a grill would make that much difference in the environment they are in.

                              -Bob
                              -Bob

                              The PEDS 2.1 mini system
                              My A7 Project - another small desktop speaker
                              The B3 Hybrid Dipole - thread incomplete and outdated

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                              • CADman_ks
                                Senior Member
                                • Jan 2012
                                • 497

                                #16
                                Originally posted by ---k---
                                ...They look great. ...
                                Originally posted by BOBinGA
                                Those look great. The hanging brackets are something else. ...
                                Thanks for the ups guys!! LOL on the brackets! OK. I admit that the brackets are probably overkill, but hey, when you have access to a laser at work, you have to use it. You just don't have a choice. I can't imagine needing to design something without the option of being able to laser cut the steel. We design everything to take advantage of that machine.

                                You also notice that I did not take any UP CLOSE picture of the actual finish on the speakers. Let's just say that they are NOT inside the house quality. I ended painting them with a roller and gloss black paint because I couldn't get the drivers back out after I installed them for test listening. I covered all of the drivers up and just painted them with the roller. I didn't want to take the risk of ruining a driver while filling holes and doing some final sanding, so I skipped that step. Actually, the rolled on gloss black doesn't really look that bad. Because it's rolled, it kind of has that modeled "leather" look like paint does when you roll it on, which is what I figured it would look like. I figured this paint scheme would be OK, since they are in the shop anyway. From a distance, they look OK, but up close, not as much.

                                Originally posted by BOBinGA
                                ...But since this is a woodworking shop, you might want to consider some grills for those. Sawdust gets in everything that's not covered and I don't think a grill would make that much difference in the environment they are in.
                                ...
                                Grills are in the plan. I'm going to try to do some "0" thickness grills that wrap around the front. The idea is to stretch them over the front and around to the sides, and then capture them in a groove that I have running all around.

                                It may not work, but if it does, then my grills shouldn't be interfering with the sound. If that doesn't work, I'll make some "thin" grills out of some 1/4 hardboard that I have around.

                                I actually don't anticipate sawdust staying on them very long if it gets on there. The Xmax will blow it right off! LOL!!

                                CADman_ks
                                CADman_ks
                                - Stentorian build...
                                - Ochocinco build...
                                - BT speaker / sub build...

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                                • ---k---
                                  Ultra Senior Member
                                  • Nov 2005
                                  • 5202

                                  #17
                                  Originally posted by CADman_ks
                                  You also notice that I did not take any UP CLOSE picture of the actual finish on the speakers. Let's just say that they are NOT inside the house quality. I ended painting them with a roller and gloss black paint because I couldn't get the drivers back out after I installed them for test listening.
                                  Hey! I'm offended. How do you think I painted my Khans! Sounds like they look about the same to me. :P
                                  - Ryan

                                  CJD Ochocinco! ND140/BC25SC06 MTM & TM
                                  CJD Khanspires - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS225 WMTMW
                                  CJD Khancenter - A Dayton RS28/RS150/RS180 WTMW Center

                                  Comment

                                  • CADman_ks
                                    Senior Member
                                    • Jan 2012
                                    • 497

                                    #18
                                    Originally posted by ---k---
                                    Hey! I'm offended. How do you think I painted my Khans! Sounds like they look about the same to me. :P
                                    My bad, no offense meant...

                                    Let me re-phrase that this way... With the current finish, there is probably not enough WAF there to actually put them inside the house. I was actually hoping that I could have done a little bit better job of finishing them as well, and it would have helped if I could have actually sanded them without fear of honking them up.

                                    You know, though, all kidding aside, that black paint doesn't really look all that bad rolled on there. I think if it were butt smooth to begin with, the finish wouldn't be all that bad. Rolling it, definitely gives it that modeled look.

                                    I don't know if it was the particular brand of black paint that I used (Valspar), or if it's black paint in general, but it was some different kind of latex than I've ever used. It was very thick, and you could tell that it had a LOT of pigments in there to get the black color. It rolled on nice, and covered EXTREMELY well, but it was thick...

                                    CADman_ks
                                    CADman_ks
                                    - Stentorian build...
                                    - Ochocinco build...
                                    - BT speaker / sub build...

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                                    • evan
                                      Member
                                      • Jan 2007
                                      • 43

                                      #19
                                      Thanks for posting your build. They look great. Also, thanks for sharing the pdf of your cutlist.

                                      Are you still running these in your shop? Do you have any more comments about their performance?
                                      Evan.

                                      Comment

                                      • CADman_ks
                                        Senior Member
                                        • Jan 2012
                                        • 497

                                        #20
                                        Originally posted by evan
                                        Thanks for posting your build. They look great. Also, thanks for sharing the pdf of your cutlist.

                                        Are you still running these in your shop? Do you have any more comments about their performance?
                                        Yes, I'm still using them in my shop.

                                        For what I wanted them for, they are GREAT! I wanted some speakers that could go LOUD if I wanted to go loud. With that being said, I don't go LOUD that often, because these things get loud, really loud.

                                        But, they sound great, and I can really fill that space WITHOUT needing to crank it up very far, and that was something that I was wanting as well. They sound good in my large space. Could probably use a little more bass, or should I say deeper bass, but other than that, they are really nice speakers, and I'm glad that I built them for this application...
                                        CADman_ks
                                        - Stentorian build...
                                        - Ochocinco build...
                                        - BT speaker / sub build...

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                                        • evan
                                          Member
                                          • Jan 2007
                                          • 43

                                          #21
                                          Originally posted by CADman_ks
                                          Yes, I'm still using them in my shop.

                                          For what I wanted them for, they are GREAT! I wanted some speakers that could go LOUD if I wanted to go loud. With that being said, I don't go LOUD that often, because these things get loud, really loud.

                                          But, they sound great, and I can really fill that space WITHOUT needing to crank it up very far, and that was something that I was wanting as well. They sound good in my large space. Could probably use a little more bass, or should I say deeper bass, but other than that, they are really nice speakers, and I'm glad that I built them for this application...
                                          Thanks for the input. I was about ready to spend $2000 on 5 speakers in Polk's RTiA line (in 3 purchases since I can't afford them all at once) and a friend suggested I take another look at DIY options. He is building a pair of Statements and suggested I look at Curt's designs. It's shocking how similar the Stentorians look to the RTiA9 and at a third of the price.

                                          The main reason I'm looking for new speakers is because I just finished building a box for a IXL-18.4 that I'm running with a Dayton SA-1000. It plays reasonably low and loud so I don't need the other speakers to be able to get crazy low but the output of my current Paradigm speakers just can't keep up.
                                          Evan.

                                          Comment

                                          • joeybutts
                                            Senior Member
                                            • Sep 2009
                                            • 476

                                            #22
                                            These are a garage option right now for me, but the dubstep electronica missing bass has me hesitant.

                                            Oh yeah. Cutouts are fun, eh? Probably why my six subwoofers for my HT are taking forever to be built. (just like the other 5 HT speakers in there did.........)

                                            Fantastic job and those brackets for mounting are gorgeous. Might have missed it but did you create those?

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